Grand Pacific Drive, Stanwell to Jervis Bay

One our first day in Kiama we meet some lovely folks from Toowoomba who are also staying in the same van park.  We shared a lot of information between the lot of us but one thing we did decide, after seeing their photos, was that we had to follow at least part of the Grand Pacific Drive.  After looking at the map we decided to spread it out over two days, north of Kiama to Stanwell the first day, and south of Kiama to Jervis Bay the next day. 

We took the Tourist Drive as much as we possibly could but you do have to divert to the M1 at a few points. Our journey took us first to Shellharbour then we skirted around Lake Illawarra on to Port Kembla. Port Kembla has seen many rises and even bigger falls in the 1980's.  It is now a suburb of Wollongong and is an international trade gateway for agriculture, construction and mining industries.  Next we arrived at Wollongong where we noted that even though it was one of the older towns in NSW it has certainly grown into a bustling metropolis with lots of kerbside restaurants and cafes.

We continued northward to Bullambi and Bulli, all the time stopping at lookouts to get different perspectives of the gorgeous coastline. Our next stop was for photos at the Sea Cliff Bridge that was very much a highlight of our road trip.  The bridge is a remarkable engineering triumph and we were in awe as we drove across the bridge and looked up at the soaring cliffs above us and the ocean crashing below us.

Our last stop north was at the Hindu Temple at Stanwell Tops.  Philip confessed that he was a bit "templed out" so I wandered around the perimeter and took in all the beautiful carvings.  I didn't venture inside however as I know that it would have taken me hours to explore.  Another time perhaps.

Stanwell Tops was our turn-around point so we retraced our steps and stopped at some of the viewing points that we missed on the way up.  We were feeling the hunger pangs so a quick search online had us booked into Relish on Addison at Shellharbour for lunch.  So glad we did as the meal was 10/10.  I had some very fresh oysters Kilpatrick for starters while Philip (surprise, surprise), chose the Calamari and then we both ordered the Salmon for main.  We didn't think we could eat three courses but after watching the waitresses deliver Eton Mess to tables around us we decided to indulge ourselves with a share plate. Wow.

The next day was a longer day because the Grand Pacific Drive south of Kiama zig zags in and out of the coastal towns and is a really lovely drive.  The drive hugs the coastline and there are so many lookouts with incredible views.  We pulled into most of them just to stretch the legs but we did find some hidden gems when we walked like this cemetery at Gerringong.  I know that it might be morbid to some but reading the headstones that date back to the 1800's tells some really heartbreaking stories. We were surprised at how many Irish immigrants had arrived into this area.

Onwards to Gerroa and Shoalhaven Heads that must have a good reputation as a surf beach given the number of surfers in the water....brrrrrrr....Too cold for me..

From Shoalhaven we needed to get back onto the M1 and on to Nowra before once again turning off the highway and taking the Jervis Bay Road.  Jervis Bay is now known as Booderee National Park and even though we just wanted to drive to the point where the nuclear power station was to be built, we still had to pay the $13 for the privilege.  When we arrived at the point we took the short walk down to the beach where Jervis Bay is said to have the whitest sands in the world and the water the bluest of blues. The day was quite cloudy so I didn't get to see that colour but any photos that I have seen show it to be very beautiful.

We turned north again at Jervis Bay and headed to Huskisson for lunch at the Huskisson Hotel Bistro.  Another scrumptious meal and we enjoyed walking it off around the bay area after lunch.  There is a memorial on the foreshore dedicated to the ones that lost their lives in the collision between HMAS Voyager and HMAS Melbourne in February 1964.  It is a beautiful dedication parkland and as we have just celebrated Anzac Day, the memorials had many wreaths laying at them.

We stopped off at Nowra on our way home at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. If you are ever in this area this museum is worth a visit.  The Australian Fleet Air Arm Museum is a military aerospace museum located at the naval air station HMAS Albatross. The display covers all the RAN's planes from the late 1940's and includes 34 aircraft and helicopters.  You would need at least a full day to read the literature and listen to the very interesting video presentations.  Sadly we did not have that much time but thoroughly enjoyed the little time we had.

We finally drove into the van park around 5.00 pm just in time to watch the Super Moon rise over the cliffs.  It was a fitting way to end the day.

Exploring the Southern Highlands

We are now booked in to Kendalls Beach Side Caravan Park at Kiama and we will be here until Friday.  The reason we chose Kiama was because of its location.  It gives you easy access to the Southern Highlands and forms part of the Grand Pacific Drive.  Yesterday we decided to explore the Southern Highlands.

We decided to ascend the mountains via Macquarie Pass.  The drive up the mountain is not for the faint hearted and we would never tow the van up or down this road.  It is both steep and two sections are single lane.  But....the views!  They are truly spectacular but sadly there is nowhere to pull off the road to take any photos.  Once we reached the highlands we were gobsmacked.  It is just so lovely and we timed our trip here at the right time.  The autumn colours are spectacular.  

Our first stop was at the Centennial Winery at Bowral.  We had a wine tasting here and particularly enjoyed the Pinot Grigio and the Bong Bong Sparkling.  The cold climate, where they do on occasion get snow, is especially good for  Riesling, Sparkling and Pinot Noir. 

By the time we purchased our wine it was almost lunch so we headed to Mossvale where the Bistro at the Mossvale Hotel is renowned for its chargrilled steak. We were very hungry by the time we arrived there and the steaks were as good as their reputation. After our hearty lunch we had a wander around Mossvale to walk off our lunch and also a spot of photography.  Mossvale is one of the older towns in the area and we thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the streets.  It is also very pretty with its autumn hues.

Next place on the list was Robertson where a stop at the Robertson Pie Shop is a necessity.  We stocked up on a variety of pies for the freezer and indulged ourselves with apple turnovers while we sat outside in the sunshine.  Their Portuguese Tarts also come as a recommendation but sadly they were sold out of them.

It is not very far from Robertson to Fitzroy Falls that was next stop on our road trip.  Everything is in close proximity on the highlands and it was only a ten minute drive to the falls.  We were surprised at how many people were here but then we remembered it was a long weekend.  The walk to the falls is part of the West Rim Walk that is about 3.5km.  We didn't do the whole walk but a fair majority of it.  First stop on the trail was the suspended lookout over the falls.  My hands are sweating as I recall standing on the platform as I tried looking out and not down.  It was scary.  I tried getting a few photos but the height just defeated me.  The Southern Highlands have an elevation of around 800 metres and the Fitzroy Falls plunge 81metres into a very deep ravine.  We continued on the track and came to another lookout that gave us a splendid view of the falls without standing on a suspended platform!

By the time we made it back to our vehicle it was time to once more descend the mountain range this time via the Jamberoo Mountain Road.  A few kilometres down this road we saw a small sign pointing to Jamberoo lookout in the Budderoo National Park.  It was a very sharp turn into the lookout and you would miss the sign if you were driving too fast.  I'm so pleased we stopped here as the views from the viewing platform were spectacularly expansive from the rolling hills 800 metres below us to the Pacific Ocean.  

The drive down the range was also not for an inexperienced driver. The road was windy and narrow.  We meet a vehicle towing a trailer coming towards us on one tight corner and thank goodness Philip stopped because the trailer missed us by inches.  No caravans or vehicles over 10 metres allowed on this road, understandably.

It was a perfect day albeit a little cool.  The temperature didn't rise above 16 degrees however the sun shone for most of the day.  The Southern Highlands are a place I would like to explore more in depth another time. The little towns have a village feel and Philip commented that if you shut your eyes you could imagine yourself in the middle of the UK. It is such a picturesque area with its cattle paddocks fenced with giant conifers and cattle grazing happily in those paddocks.  The Southern Highlands have stolen my heart.

The Lake Macquarie/Newcastle area.....

We drove the easy 180km from Denman to Lake Macquarie on Sunday.  We tend to stay on the main highway and there is always a bit of debate about this.  It is certainly much easier towing a van on the wide roads with passing lanes but the offset is that you don't stop at the little towns that are detoured off the main highway. What we have found so far is that it is a great idea to stay 5-7 days in an area, park up the van and do day trips from your central point. That is what we decided to do in Lake Macquarie.

When we were here twelve months ago to pick up the van it was the middle of Covid lockdown.  You may remember that we had to seek special permission to drive down here to pick up the van.  Of course there was no time to have a look around the area and even if we did almost everything was shut.  So it is with relatively new eyes that we are back in this area to play the tourist.  We stayed in two different van parks as I couldn't find one that could take us for six nights.  It is heart warming to see so many people taking advantage of the amazing places in this great country but gone are the days where you could rock up at a van park and think you might get a site.......particularly on the east coast!

So, how did we fill in our time.  Walking of course!  Many, many kilometres!  I always do lots of google research before we arrive in a new place and have our days mapped out.  Our first day we spent walking around the Belmont area that encompasses Lake Macquarie. We followed the pathway around the Lake as far as we could.  It was a glorious day and there were a lot of people out and about.  We even saw someone walking their cantankerous sheep on a lead.  I tried to get a photo but they were a bit too far away.  It certainly had all the kids excited.

The following day was the van service and we had to be there by 7.30am, so once we unhooked we made our way to the little cafe in the industrial area that we were directed to on our trip last year.  It is a great little establishment run by a greek family and they make the best bacon and egg rolls.  The coffee is always double shot (yess!!!) and comes to you with a little slice of chocolate cake sitting on top of the lid. All of this for $6. We got talking to the owner and another patron and they gave us some good suggestions for places to walk. So on their advice we made our way to Merewether Beach and then on to Fort Scratchley (that was closed) and finally to Nobbys Beach in the heart of Newcastle.  We walked along the ocean pathways and we were totally smitten.  It is a very scenic place.

Newcastle is such a surprise to me. In my mind it conjured up the vision of coal mining and steel construction as we were taught in school. It is no longer the industrial hub of yesteryear but has somehow retained some of its former glory by some keen historians who have documented the area and turned the old to new. The turn of the century buildings have been restored magnificently and most of the existing hotels (of which there are many) have also retained their old charm.  We went along to a talk at the caravan park by one of the local historians who gave us a remarkable insight into the history of the area.  The slideshow he presented was extremely interesting and gave us ideas about our next walk.  The Fernleigh Track. 

The Fernleigh Track runs from Belmont to Adamstown.  The 15.5 km track runs adjacent to the existing railway line that carried both passengers and coal.  The line closed in 1991 and by 2011 it was opened to cyclists and pedestrians as a walkway.  The track has retained a lot of its original industrial features including the 200m brick lined Fernleigh tunnel.  The track is broken down into sections and we walked, over two days, three of the ten sections that was 10km and then return. 

So, we are leaving Lake Macquarie today and heading further south to Kiama.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and we feel that we have covered the area adequately. Of course you need many weeks to explore in depth but hopefully we will get to return to this lovely area another time to do just that.

Judi xx

Denman in a Day

We are in the glorious Hunter Valley at a little place called Denman.  We know this town quite well as the daughter of our very good friends from Julia Creek was married in this pretty little place.  We chose to spend a couple of nights here as it is quite central to a lot of wineries and most importantly Pukara Olives.  Unfortunately our one and only full day here turned quite bleak with showers all day long with quite cool temperatures. But we were not perturbed.  We rugged up and headed to our first winery just 5 minutes from the Denman Village Caravan park.  It is called Two Rivers Winery.  As most of the cellar doors don't open until 11am we headed to the Main Street in Denman for coffee and cake before heading off.

Two Rivers Winery is only a small winery but their wine certainly packs a punch.  We were only interested in tasting the reds as they seem to be their best sellers.  The owner was quite chatty and she was able to give us a lot of information about the area and where we should dine and wine.  I also mentioned to her the I had not been able to stomach white wines of late and she said that in her humble opinion white should not be drunk until they are at least two years old.  I'm certainly going to take note of that.

We only purchased one tasting block of four wines because they were quite generous and we were driving.  They were all very good but we settled on the Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. It will be interesting to try them away from the cellar door.....

Our next stop was at Pukara Olives.  Being the foodie that I am I bought up BIG in this place.  Their olive oil varieties were incredible as is the Caramelised Balsamic Vinegar the we can't wait to try with a nice loaf of sourdough and some of their Cashew Dukkah.  Yummo. We ended purchasing a bottle of their Wasabi Olive Oil, a couple of their pesto's, a BBQ Olive oil with chilli and garlic and because we had purchased quite a lot they threw in a bottle of Basil Olive Oil.  I have become a Pukara Club member as they offer a 15% discount on all future online purchases.

We were feeling a little peckish after this and earlier in the day I had made lunch reservations at Hollydene Winery so that was our next port of call.  They have a charming cellar door where we decided to taste their wines after lunch.  Unfortunately that did not happen...

Our lunch reservation in Vines Restaurant was made for 1.30pm and we were seated by 1.40pm.  Our order was taken almost immediately and our starter of Zucchini Flowers came out soon after.  And that is where it all fell apart.  We had run into some old Julia Creek acquaintances prior to lunch and after our entree they suggested that we pull our two tables together as we were sitting side by side.  We did that and had a great old chinwag.  We actually forgot about our mains until someone in the party said that they were taking a bit long.  By this time we had been waiting one and a half hours.  One of our friends asked about the meal and theirs was delivered shortly after.  We waited another half an hour for ours.......two hours since we were first seated! The staff were very apologetic and gave us a free round of drinks and because our meal was very, very late they gave us our mains for free.  This was very kind of them but still does not redeem the extremely long wait.  We had both ordered steaks that were absolutely delicious but the plate was missing the potato gratin....anyway......moving right along.....

It was too late to try their wine that is quite unfortunate because their Rose "Holly" was really good.  The day had not improved weather wise and we actually had showers and climbed into bed almost as soon as we arrived home.  It was the warmest place to be.

We are now at Belmont, Lake Macquarie where we will be for the next five days having the caravan service, satellite dish fitted and hopefully we will get in a little kayaking if the weather stays fine.

Judi x

Coonabarabran

On our last day at Coonabarabran, and once again on advice from the caravan park owners, we drove towards Narrabri and around the 30km mark we turned down an un-signposted dirt road towards the Sandstone Caves in the Pilliga Nature Reserve.

This is Gamilaraay country and I loved reading the signpost.  It says it all.

"Yaama! (Greetings!)

This rock has always been here for our people. Our ancestors were here long ago. From this hill we can see everything. We can see the Warrumbungles and the Nandewars. All this is Gamilaraay country...

This Rock.

Water and wind have caused this rock to change over a long time.  The caves were made long ago. The rock is soft. Look out! Don't touch!

Long Ago.

Our ancestors made stone tools.  They sharpened their axes. They marked the rock. Look out! Don't collect anything!

The Land.

Around here there are plants, animals and food. We have everything we need. We live with the land. Let the land touch you!"

The 3km circuit around the sandstone hill was awesome in every meaning and sense of the word. I actually thought I could hear the chatter of the tribe as they sat in the large caves but I guess it was just the wind in the trees.  The towering sandstone cliff faces look like they could tumble at any moment but of course this is how the caves were formed and will continue to change over time.  

I loved this place so much and I am also horrified that some of the caves have been fenced off because of the reckless behaviour of people who have plundered these sacred sites. I really hope that attitudes change in coming years and we have a greater respect for these incredible sacred sites. I thank the Gamilaraay people for allowing us the privilege of walking in their ancestors footsteps.