But with new shady barbecue and picnic facilities, new public toilets, new plantings, new parking spots and a new boardwalk leading down to the water allowing disabled access, Casuarina Sands is looking, well, decidedly new.At a cost of $2million, acting Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the upgrade was about providing a swimming spot for Canberrans while the Cotter Avenue remained closed for development of Cotter Dam.

At the reopening yesterday, jazz group Annie and the Armadillos strummed out tunes like Al Green's Take Me to the River while children were kept out of mischief with a jumping castle.

Down by the water, parents kept a watchful eye over children as they paddled on boogey boards. Mike Dawson and Jo Waxman, of Lyneham, originally from England, were enjoying the warm sun, with daughters Sabella, 10, and Talitha, 8.''I love swimming. I saw lots of algae and rocks and just behind there, there's a giant river,'' Talitha said through her snorkel.

For more, pick up a copy of Today's Canberra Times.