Heading South

Allan Whiting takes a trip down memory lane, with a two-day excursion into his own backyard - the glorious stretch of south coast between Botany Bay and the 'blowhole' town of Kiama

After years of wandering around various parts of the globe and extensive travelling through the remotest parts of Outback Australia, I received what seemed like an anti-climactic request from the editor: "Why don't you and Keryn slide into a KEA motorhome and meander down the South Coast?" The better half jumped at it, because in her childhood she was a steelworks girl, living close by the mills at Port Kembla.

As we headed from KEA's Sydney headquarters to Botany Bay to begin our odyssey, these words from TS Eliot's poem Little Gidding (Four Quartets) ran through my head:

'We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.'

I drive beside Botany Bay almost too often, usually on my way to the Big Smoke or the airport, but seen without the prejudice of familiarity, it's quite beautiful and of enormous historic significance, being the birthplace of modern Australia.

We stopped in one of the many parking bays along the white sandy foreshore and marvelled at this pristine waterway, within sight of the airport, the refinery and the commercial towers of Sydney.

You can easily spend a day around Botany Bay, taking in the beaches, the restaurants and Botany Bay National Park - the site of first contact between the crew of Captain James Cook's Endeavour and the local Aborigines in 1770. It's also the place where famous French explorer Jean François de Galaup, Comte de Lapérouse, arrived within a week of the First Fleet in 1788 with orders from France to inspect the British settlement.

Half-an-hour south is Royal National Park, the second area in the world to be designated a national park. For locals who live in the hamlets of Bundeena and Maianbar it's just bush and tall forest with a road through it, but to visitors it's a scenic snapshot of what the coastal environment was like before the arrival of  white man.

The RNP roads cut through natural vegetation that varies from rainforest, to tall woodlands and heath land. There are dozens of grassy, riverside picnic sites at Audley, along with boat hire and there's camping right on the waterfront at Bundeena on a sandy beachfront.

Just south of Bundeena is Wattamolla, with its cliff-top picnic area, waterfall and river mouth, backing onto an uncrowded stretch of beach. Garie is another great stop, offering plenty of car parking and a patrolled beach with surf club.

The park road emerges from the forest at aptly named Bald Hill, which was the site of Lawrence Hargrave's 1894 powered flight experiments. Today, it's a favourite site for hang-gliders and an ideal spot to take in the view of coastal hills stretching towards the horizon.

Whales are visible from here, as they pass along the coast in early summer and late autumn.

The coast road drops down from the hill and soon soars out above the ocean, on the Sea Cliff Bridge, which was completed in late 2005. Before the bridge, rock falls causing road closures were commonplace.

Heading South

Allan Whiting takes a trip down memory lane, with a two-day excursion into his own backyard - the glorious stretch of south coast between Botany Bay and the 'blowhole' town of Kiama

After years of wandering around various parts of the globe and extensive travelling through the remotest parts of Outback Australia, I received what seemed like an anti-climactic request from the editor: "Why don't you and Keryn slide into a KEA motorhome and meander down the South Coast?" The better half jumped at it, because in her childhood she was a steelworks girl, living close by the mills at Port Kembla.

As we headed from KEA's Sydney headquarters to Botany Bay to begin our odyssey, these words from TS Eliot's poem Little Gidding (Four Quartets) ran through my head:

'We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.'

I drive beside Botany Bay almost too often, usually on my way to the Big Smoke or the airport, but seen without the prejudice of familiarity, it's quite beautiful and of enormous historic significance, being the birthplace of modern Australia.

We stopped in one of the many parking bays along the white sandy foreshore and marvelled at this pristine waterway, within sight of the airport, the refinery and the commercial towers of Sydney.

You can easily spend a day around Botany Bay, taking in the beaches, the restaurants and Botany Bay National Park - the site of first contact between the crew of Captain James Cook's Endeavour and the local Aborigines in 1770. It's also the place where famous French explorer Jean François de Galaup, Comte de Lapérouse, arrived within a week of the First Fleet in 1788 with orders from France to inspect the British settlement.

Half-an-hour south is Royal National Park, the second area in the world to be designated a national park. For locals who live in the hamlets of Bundeena and Maianbar it's just bush and tall forest with a road through it, but to visitors it's a scenic snapshot of what the coastal environment was like before the arrival of  white man.

The RNP roads cut through natural vegetation that varies from rainforest, to tall woodlands and heath land. There are dozens of grassy, riverside picnic sites at Audley, along with boat hire and there's camping right on the waterfront at Bundeena on a sandy beachfront.

Just south of Bundeena is Wattamolla, with its cliff-top picnic area, waterfall and river mouth, backing onto an uncrowded stretch of beach. Garie is another great stop, offering plenty of car parking and a patrolled beach with surf club.

The park road emerges from the forest at aptly named Bald Hill, which was the site of Lawrence Hargrave's 1894 powered flight experiments. Today, it's a favourite site for hang-gliders and an ideal spot to take in the view of coastal hills stretching towards the horizon.

Whales are visible from here, as they pass along the coast in early summer and late autumn.

The coast road drops down from the hill and soon soars out above the ocean, on the Sea Cliff Bridge, which was completed in late 2005. Before the bridge, rock falls causing road closures were commonplace.

Scenic tourist drive

Lawrence Hargrave Drive continues south towards Wollongong, passing through scenic coastal villages - each with its own beach - to Thirroul. By turning left to Thirroul, you can bypass Wollongong CBD and hug the coast, via the eastern side of Lake Illawarra.

Stuart Park is a huge grassy expanse of picnic areas, fronting a sandy beach, with restaurants and cafes nearby. Modern camping facilities are available at the nearby Wollongong Surf Leisure Resort that's only a few minutes by car or bicycle path from the CBD.

Wollongong Harbour seawall was built by convicts and still serves to protect the fishing and recreational boating fleet. Three restored cannons point menacingly out to sea from the hilltop.

You wouldn't necessarily expect to come across the southern hemisphere's largest Buddhist temple on the NSW south coast, but that's precisely what you see, glowing gold in the afternoon light, just off the F6 Freeway. The Five Islands Road exit leads to the Nan Tien (Paradise of the South) Temple and its Pilgrim Lodge motel. Visitors are welcome inside the Temple and its verdant grounds.

The freeway runs west of Lake Illawarra, but a better tourist drive is down the eastern shore of this large waterway that offers all types of water-based recreation. Soon, you get glimpses of the long stretch of Bombo Beach, with the prominent headland at Kiama in the distance.

Just north of Kiama is a new hilltop vantage point, Robert East Reserve that provides great views of Kiama and the green pastoral hinterland. A dry stone wall snakes over the hillside, making this vista reminiscent of southern England - no wonder the State was called New South Wales by our pioneers.

Kiama is loaded with quaint shops, cafés, restaurants, motels and a camp ground, along with plenty of holiday fun, and a visit to the world- famous 'blowhole' is a must. This hole in the rocky headland sprays geyser-like with a loud 'whumph', pumping sea spray from ocean swells several metres into the air. Standing upwind is wise when the Tasman Sea is angry!

Heading inland

Having spent two or more days hugging the coast, it's time to appreciate the inland countryside that nestles at the base of the Southern Highlands escarpment, so a short drive through rolling green hills out to the historic town of Jamberoo, with its water wonderland amusement park, is an ideal excursion.

Minnamurra Rainforest in Budderoo National Park is only six kilometres away and it's well worth stopping for a visit, but be there before 3pm, after which the walkways are closed to new arrivals. A one-hour return boardwalk is ideal for appreciating the lush, dense bushland and a two-hour stroll to Minnamurra Falls completes the visit.

From this point your path can lead back to the coast and further south, to the other delights of the NSW South Coast, or west, up the narrow, winding Jamberoo Pass to the cool climate wonders of the Southern Highlands.