21 beaches, 9 lookouts and a meat pie: Rediscovering NSW’s South Coast

A light breeze was blowing along Australia’s sunny South Coast of New South Wales (NSW) when we stepped out of our rental car at Otford Lookout to take in the panoramic view. 

Hyperbolic descriptions came to mind –  sun-kissed waters, golden beaches, towering cliffs – but it was my 24-year-old daughter who came up with the best words. 

“Oh. Wow.”  

They say you can’t go home again – but that doesn’t mean you can’t go back. In fact, you probably should because while you were off doing something else, the place you left behind changed, grew and became even more interesting than it used to be. 

That’s what happened in the time since we’d last been back to our ‘other’ home, the Australian coastal city of Wollongong where we’d lived for more than 12 years.

Just 90 or so minutes south of Sydney, “the Gong” as it’s affectionately called, is tucked up against the Illawarra Escarpment, a 230km-long region stretching from Bald Hill in the north to Bateman’s Bay on the NSW South Coast. It’s renowned for 21 glorious beaches, nine lookouts, a rugged industrial history and the biggest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere. 

But what had my daughter entranced was the vista. 

We’d just whizzed down from Sydney, skipping the highway in favour of the winding switchback road through the Royal National Park just for this particular view. 

In the middle distance was the Sea Cliff Bridge, a scenic section of road jutting out over the Pacific. A few headlands along, we spotted our former hometown beach in a small village called Austinmer. Beyond that, and on a clear day, you could see all the way south to Port Kembla, an industrial deep-water port and steelworks that was once the economic heart of the city. 

It was a picture-perfect way to start a NSW South Coast adventure that brought us to familiar old haunts and brand-new places to create fresh memories. 

Where did we start? With fish and chips.

Where to eat

Wollongong is bordered by lush rainforest, has a lake brimming with bream, flathead and prawns, and several harbours for recreational boating and fishing vessels. Our first stop was the patio at the Austi Beach Cafe for generously-sized chunks of barramundi and chips, joined by a bold cockatoo trying to snag our fries. 

There are several other excellent seafood options, from Diggies and the Boathouse right on North Beach to the award-winning Harbourfront Seafood Restaurant at Belmore Basin. One night, with our friends Kerry, Neale and Anna, we stopped in at Gringa, an authentic Mexican taco joint owned by an expat Canadian. The menu is rich in delicious beef birria, fish tacos and vegetarian options, ordered at a takeaway window and consumed in an open-air, market-style seating area at RGBM Brewery right next door.

Aussies also love their Thai, Malaysian and Japanese cuisine, so we also tried out a strip of funky eateries along Crown Street in downtown Wollongong. First, we stopped at our former local pub, the Illawarra Hotel (est. 1938), for a drink, then moved on to the delectable offerings at Kinn Thai Restaurant just a block away. 

My daughter was on a mission to reacquaint herself with Aussie meat pies, which are like hand-sized tourtière, but rich with gravy and a variety of fillings. Meat pies in Wollongong are as iconic as shawarma in Ottawa, and like in both places, connoisseurs can tell you that they’re not all created equally. 

We hit the Kiama Pie Shop off Railway Parade for gratifyingly flaky pastries filled with tender chunks of lamb and topped with sauce (Australian for ketchup).

One of the better-known pie shops is at the top of the twisting Macquarie Pass in Robertson, where the town’s iconic Big Potato installation is temporarily a gaudy pink homage to the 30th anniversary of the movie, Babe, which was filmed in Robertson. Stop in at either the Robertson Pie Shop, Moonacres Kitchen or Pecora Dairy, which has award-winning cheeses.   

What to do 

The Illawarra as a region is a series of interlinking villages surrounding the city of Wollongong, yet each has retained plenty of personality. To the north of Wollongong, Austinmer and Thirroul are popular surfer hangouts and, like many coastal beaches in the Illawarra, feature seawater pools for taking a dip without crashing waves.  

Thirroul was also where author D.H. Lawrence lived for six and a half weeks in 1922 while writing his antipodean novel, Kangaroo. 

Some spots, like Wollongong’s North Beach and City Beach, offer long expanses of sand, foot and cycle paths, and a few spots to grab a bite. Check out local eateries along Grand Pacific Drive, which runs the length of the northern suburbs to the city. With more than 318,000 residents, Wollongong also has a pretty vibrant cultural life, so check out the online news site, Region Illawarra, for what’s on and what’s making news. (There are lots of shops to check out, but none beats the Aldi stores, a German-owned discount chain where, along with food, you can find random gems like a Frida Kahlo lunch box sandwiched between garden tools and an office safe. Aldi deals change weekly, so customers line up before opening to grab their finds.)

South of the city is Shellharbour, which has spectacular opportunities to paddleboard, surf, snorkel or go for a bushwalk. It also boasts a world-class, 270-berth marina and the well-appointed Shell Cove Harbourside Dining Precinct.

A few kilometres further south is the village of Kiama, which is also accessible from Wollongong by rail for $5 if you don’t want to drive. There are several reasons to make this a day trip, including astonishing geological marvels like the famous Kiama Blowhole (a natural geological formation that blasts a jet of water into the air at high tide) and the heritage-listed Bombo Headland with its vertical rock towers. The village has a homegrown artsy feel thanks to quaint shops, and is enoute to several natural swimming holes and waterfalls, nature reserves and the charming Jamberoo Valley as well as the gorgeous Far South Coast. 

Since it butts up against a rainforest escarpment, the Illawarra makes the most of spectacular lookouts and walking tracks, from Bald Hill’s panoramic views (popular with hang gliders) to several that overlook Wollongong itself, like Mount Keira and Mount Kembla Lookouts. 

Tired of endless beaches, rainforest and sand? A short drive inland takes you to the Southern Highlands. The historic towns are all reasonably close, with the biggest – Bowral – boasting a pretty high street for shopping, blooming gardens, antique shops and quaint restaurants. Make sure you stop by The Perfume & Skincare Company for unique fragrances, a tour of the scent lab and thigh-slapping entertainment from the shopkeeper’s seemingly exhaustive store of Dad jokes. Nearby are Fitzroy Falls, the Wombeyan Caves, the towns of Mittagong and Berrima, the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk and zipline, and even a ghost village called Joadja.

How to get there

On this trip, our CAA Travel Consultant started us off in Brisbane, Queensland, for a few days after a direct flight from Vancouver. We booked into the elegant Inchcolm Hotel, a 1880s former medical practice in Spring Hill. 

Once dismissed as just a big country town, Brisbane is all grown up and has a lot to offer in terms of public art, interesting architecture, and shopping. The Queensland Museum is free to visit (180 Australian museums have free admission) and has a truly remarkable collection of dinosaurs, wildlife, bugs, snakes and marsupials on display. 

From Brisbane, we jumped on a quick flight to Sydney. There, we did the Hop on Hop Off tour, visited the Australian Museum, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Botanic Gardens. Sydney has several open-air markets, so we spent a few hours buying local in The Rocks, a historic area on a sandstone point overlooking Circular Quay that was home to the Gadigal people, then infamous for cholera, dispossession and violence during the convict era. 

As you explore the Botanic Gardens, make sure to hike up Mrs. Macquarie's Road for a spectacular view of the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, then head around the corner to find Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair. 

As the wife of the fifth governor of NSW, Elizabeth Macquarie would sit on the rock bench carved in 1810 by convicts to take in the view.

We also wandered down fun and fashionable Oxford Street to Paddington Markets, checking out economy- and couture-priced thrift stores along the way. If you have a chance, walk along George Street in the city centre, pop into the glorious Queen Victoria Building – a five-level shopping centre built in 1898 – on your way to Ultimo and neighbouring Chinatown in Haymarket for some tasty laksa soup.

Australians, like the British, drive on the opposite side of the road to North Americans. However, it’s fairly easy to navigate, and if you are looking for the freedom to explore the Illawarra at will, renting a car is worth considering. Don’t worry about paying extra for onboard navigation – an e-sim card purchased at the airport for around $30 will give you enough text, calls and data to last a month. 

When to go

Travel in the Canadian spring or fall (Australian autumn and spring, respectively) for the best prices and decent, if variable, weather. Early winter in Wollongong has daytime highs around 18°C, making it very comfortable for bushwalking or sightseeing. 

Go in spring to witness a true riot of colour and flora that takes over the landscape after a wet season. 

Beach lovers, surfers, and sunworshippers should consider visiting Australia rather than the U.S. in the Canadian winter when summer is at its peak. A word of caution: everything they say about the Aussie sun is true, so follow the Australian Cancer Council’s advice: Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a sun hat.

Ready to book?

Several CAA Travel Consultants have expertise in Oceania, which spans Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. They can help you navigate the huge range of things to do, and make sure you don’t miss out on CAA Member discounts with partners in Australia. And don’t forget travel insurance – get it when you book your flights to ensure eligibility and the kind of coverage you need for emergency medical, baggage loss, cancellations and flight delays. Get a quote, call 1-800-705-1803 or chat with your consultant and save up to 20% on your policy. 

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