South Coast - NSW, Travel Information

Touring – South Coast

The Illawarra region, and south to the town of Berry, provides some spectacular scenery, with the drive easily accessed from Sydney at the southern edge of the Royal National Park.

The Spectacular Illawarra and More

Stanwell Tops, the start of the drive south, has a direct link with the earliest days of manned flight. It was there, in 1894, that aeronautical pioneer Lawrence Hargrave lashed together four box kites and was lifted five metres into the air. A monument to Hargrave is located near the car park, with its breathtaking views down the South Coast. Hang-gliders regularly use the cliffs as a base for their flights. Lawrence Hargrave Drive hugs the coastline, passing through such picturesque villages as Coalcliff, Scarborough, Wombarra, Coledale, Austinmer and Thirroul. Regrettably, this road is closed until 2006 for a $40 million upgrade. The only other ways south are the Southern Expressway or the old Princes Highway.

Accommodation South Coast, New South Wales

At the heart of the Illawarra region, Wollongong was once principally known for its heavy industry, especially the steel-making and allied industries around Port Kembla. The third-largest city in the state, Wollongong has reinvented itself as a pleasant and scenic place, boasting great restaurants, fine stretches of beach and coastal scenery, and a dramatic mountainous hinterland. Gazetted in 1834, explorers Bass and Flinders were the earliest European visitors to Wollongong, with dairy farming established in the following decade.

Apart from Wollongong Harbour, the base for the local fishing fleet, there is also a major university in the city. Visitors should take time to see the Wollongong City Art Gallery, the largest regional art gallery in Australia; as well as the 19 hectare Botanic Gardens. The Nan Tien Temple, occupying 55 hectares of land south of the city, is the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. Port Kembla has embraced its industrial heritage as a tourist attraction. The steel industry started in the late 1920s and BHP arrived in 1935. Australia’s Industry World at Port Kembla attracts some 16,000 tourists a year and allows visitors to see behind the scenes, giving exclusive tour access to the Port Kembla Steelworks. From Port Kembla, visitors have a choice of following the Princes Highway, which skirts the western shores of Lake Illawarra; or the scenic coastal route, designated Tourist Drive 10, which goes through Windang and Warilla to Shellharbour.

Located 25 kilometres from Wollongong, Shellharbour was established as a port for the timber trade. The area around the Norfolk pine-lined harbour has many historic buildings. The Illawarra’s latest golf course, the $10 million Shellharbour Links, is located near Killalea State Park. Nearby attractions include the Illawarra Railway Museum near Albion Park and the Illawarra Motoring Museum at Kembla Grange. Tourist Drive 10 and the Princes Highway converge at Dunmore. At nearby Minnamurra a rainforest habitat preserves what little remains of ancient Australian vegetation.

Kiama is largely known for its blowhole, a natural phenomenon on the rocky coastal shelf in front of the 1887 lighthouse. In the right tidal conditions, sea spray is blown up to 60 metres into the air, providing a dramatic spectacle. Explorer George Bass noted the blowhole in 1797, although it was well known to the local Wodi Wodi Aboriginal tribe long before then.

Kiama harbour was developed for the local basalt-quarrying industry, but the opening of the railway line from Sydney in 1893 spurred a tourism boom that has never really flagged. These days, Kiama has become a boutique holiday destination, offering many fine restaurants and cafes, as well as antique, homewares and gift shops. Fishing is a popular recreation, the seas teeming with snapper, flathead, bream, marlin and tuna.

At Omega, the Princes Highway continues on to Berry. Alternatively, a coastal route to the town takes in the small resort towns of Gerringong and Shoalhaven Heads.

Referred to as Broughton Creek until 1890, Berry became a thriving rural community highlighted by large plantings of oaks and elms. These days, the town is highly fashionable, with Sydney daytrippers and weekend visitors drawn by the antique and craft stores, restaurants and bistros. Much of the history of the region can be relived at the Coolangatta Historic Estate, with its many restored and refurbished 19th century buildings.