Built in the 1970s, the harbour has been given Blue Flag status by the Foundation for Environmental Education in recognition of both its effort to protect the local environment and its high standard of safety and service facilities.

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Slowly putt-putting out of the harbour in a brightly painted blue-and-orange ramshackle boat, the fisherman will likely take you towards the bays and reefs of the tiny outer islands.

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But April and May are an especially magical time to visit as this is when great blue herons and great egrets are nesting and harbour seals are giving birth to pups.

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In fact, several of the more sophisticated spots are in hotels, including the glass-walled Blu Horizon in the Shangri-La overlooking Sydney Harbour, Hemmesphere in the Establishment Hotel and the cavernous lobby-level Water Bar in BLUE Sydney.

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But if you hit one of those beautiful winter days when the sea is calm and the sky is blue, continue along the coast path for about two miles until it curves into the hidden bay and tiny old harbour of Lamorna Cove.

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