Monday, August 09, 2010

 

Grand Pacific Drive

August 1, 2010

During one of our very good friends' visit to Australia, we decided to take her to an spectacular coastal drive - Grand Pacific Drive - from Sydney to Wollongong and beyond.


Leaving Sydney before 9am, we headed south to the Royal National Park - the second oldest national park in the world - and drove through coastal rainforests and villages. Along Lady Wakehurst Drive, we stopped off at Bald Hill Lookout for a splendid panorama across the beach at Stanwell Park.


From Bald Hill we drove down to the beach and rested for a few minutes at the park while having ice cream. We then followed Lawrence Hargrave Drive, left the car at the parking zone, walked towards the Sea Cliff bridge and walked along the footpath of the bridge that boasts magnificent views. The bridge links the coastal villages of Coalcliff and Clifton.


After enjoying the scenic and dramatic view of and from the bridge, we continued driving towards Wollongong Harbour. We strolled around the horseshoe-shaped expanse admiring the majestic view of the city beach and its array of beautiful fishing boats and lighthouses.


Before leaving the city, we grabbed something from McDonald's and headed to Nan Tien Temple situated at Berkeley. We had a lot in our itinerary so we had to get going, we even gave up looking for a cafe or restaurant for lunch. :)

Nan Tien Temple, which means 'Paradise of the South', is known to be the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. Set amidst beautifully landscaped gardens, the temple complex includes various meeting rooms, a museum, cultural, conference and accommodation facilities, a restaurant, multiple prayer halls, monumental Buddha statues, and a 7-level Pagoda. And who will not be fascinated by the cute baby Buddha statues around the gardens. :)


From Berkeley we set off further south to Kiama. On our way we made a short trip to Shellharbour Village towards Bass Point Reserve. Not spending too much time at Shellharbour, we got back on the road and continued travelling to Kiama - home to the famous Blowhole. Along with other touists, we waited for strong blows but the waves were not strong enough to give us a big explosion. We may have waited in vain but it didn't make us feel disappointed at all as we were already captivated by the beauty of the town itself. Sitting over a cup of coffee was the last stop of our fun and enjoyable daytrip. :)


We left Kiama around 5:40pm and reached Sydney after 1.5-hour trip. Stayed at our friend's Aunt's house for a luscious dinner. Yummy barbeque! :)

# posted by Chel @ 10:01 PM
Comments:
Anonymous Tourism Wollongong said...
Hi Chel

It's Kate here from the team at Tourism Wollongong.

We loved reading your post and we're so glad you had a nice road triup.

We hope to have you down our way again sometime soon.

Kate
Tourism Wollongong
Wednesday, 11 August 2010 9:14:00 AM AEST
 
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