Grand Pacific Drive
(Sydney's Royal National Park to Wollongong)
15th April, 2007
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Text and photographs © David Powell, except where indicated.  
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The "Grand Pacific Drive" is a scenic tourist drive stretching south from Sydney's Royal National Park (the second oldest in the world) to Nowra, a 2-3 hour drive hugging the coast. Non-stop, that is. Stopping to smell the roses, so to speak, can stretch it out to days. The Drive was created as an attempt to boost tourism in the region when the Sea Cliff Bridge was reopened in December 2005. The bridge replaced a section of road that was closed in 2003 due to regular rock falls. Parts of the bypassed section of road can still be seen, wedged between the bridge and the cliff face, although a good sized chunk appears to have vanished, either due to a landslide or human action. We only travelled part of the Drive, Stanwell Park to Wollongong (along the Lawrence Hargrave Drive).

Stanwell park
Bald Hill
Sea Cliff
Stanwell Park from Bald Hill
Image © David Powell, 2007
Bald Hill
Image © David Powell, 2007
Sea Cliff Bridge from Bald Hill
Image © David Powell, 2007

Hargrave memorial
Lawrence Hargrave Memorial
Image © David Powell, 2007
First stop on the Lawrence Hargrave Drive was Bald Hill at Stanwell Park. Bald Hill is one of the most popular lookouts along the Illawarra coastline and it's not hard to see why with clear views up and down the coast. Spectacular views. Views of the mountains meeting the sea. Further south the mountains retreat from the coast, but in the north there's little or no coastal plateau and the drop down to the sea is amongst the most dramatic in the country. There's barely enough room for the road, rail line and the tiny (and very narrow!) hamlets scattered along the northern Illawarra coast and precariously perched on the cliff edge. Some of the hamlets consisting of only the main road and a single parallel side street - there's no room for anything more. At one spot the mountains drop directly to the sea below, hence the need for the Sea Cliff Bridge, which is really an elevated roadway, partly over the rock shelf at the sea's edge and partly over the sea itself.

Apart from being a mecca for hang glider enthusiasts and its great views, Bald Hill is also famous for having played a vital role in the early years of aviation. It was there from the 1880's into the early 1900's that Lawrence Hargrave experimented with flight. In 1894, 9 years before Orville & Wright, Hargrave flew in his box kite. He is credited with pioneering work on curved aerofoils, essential for controlled heavier-than-air flight, rotary air plane engines and he even designed a seaplane.

Sea Cliff, RTA
Sea Cliff Bridge from the air
Image © RTA, 2007
Heading south from Stanwell Park is the hamlet of Coalcliff .. a beach, railway station, one side street of houses and a coke work in the hills. About 1.5km south of Coalcliff is Clifton, which is much the same sans the beach, railway station and coke works. Doesn't leave much, I guess - two streets, a handful of houses, oh, and a public telephone. The names of those hamlets should give you an idea of the local geography.☺ All existing on a very narrow and sloping strip of land wedged between the mountain escarpment and the sea cliffs. Still, with the bridge back up there's a bit of a building boom going on. Not that there's much land, more a matter of renovation.

Covering 665 metres of the road between Coalcliff and Clifton is the Sea Cliff Bridge. Certainly not the largest & longest in the world (not even in Australia), far from it, but impressive nonetheless, especially with much of it perched on the shoreline or over the ocean (even more at high tide). There's a walkway stretching the full length of the bridge, for the more energetically inclined. There's some limited parking at the southern end (on the shoulder of the road) and at the northern end you can find street parking along Paterson Road (Coalcliff's side street), if you're lucky. While you can see almost all of the bridge from Bald Hill, it's a fair way in the distance it's often hazy with sea spray. Up close you can only see part of the bridge at any one time, unless maybe at low tide from the tip of the rock shelf offshore at Coalcliff. The nice promo shots in the tourist mags and the Drive's website all seem to have been taken offshore from a helicopter - the angle of the shots is just not possible whilst standing on terra firma. Still, we managed to see the bridge from both ends and walk partway along the walkway, from both ends. The more dramatic close-up views are from the southern end, however sun glare is a problem from that direction. The best option is to get a long distance view from Bald Hill (zooming with a decent camera or binoculars is a good idea) and then close up of the different sections.

Sea Cliff Bridge, North view
Coalcliff
Sea Cliff
Sea Cliff Bridge, North view
Image © David Powell, 2007
View north from Coalcliff
Image © David Powell, 2007
Sea Cliff Bridge, South view
Image © David Powell, 2007

Scarborough
View north from Cape Horn, Scarborough
Image © David Powell, 2007
Scarborough
View south from Cape Horn, Scarborough
Image © David Powell, 2007
The next village heading south was Scarborough, much the same as Coalcliff and Clifton, with a railway station, primary school and a small beach. Strangely, Scarborough Beach isn't in Scarborough but in the next hamlet south, Wombarra. Scarborough is perched on Cape Horn and there're great views up and down the coast, the latter overlooking a small beach. Looking south you can see all the way to Wollongong and beyond. To the north you can see the headland that Clifton is perched on and beyond that Bald Hill. Coalcliff and the Bridge are sadly hidden from view. Still, looking north you can see how steep the slope is and you have to be amazed at how they can fit in a road, rail line and a hamlet in such a restricted space. Still, people are if nothing else, inventive and necessity is the mother of invention. For some odd reason the prime land in Scarborough, right at the cliff's edge, was taken up by a school. A high rate of ball loss I daresay.☺

Heading on south is Wombarra and Coledale, now effectively grown into one village. Wombarra-Coledale makes a change in the scenery - at this point the mountains and the sea begin to diverge with a coastal plateau maybe a kilometre wide at this point tho' there's still a coastal cliff, maybe 50-100 metres high. Further south the level area drops and widens considerably into the city of Wollongong, the third largest in the state, and the rich farming region of the Illawarra. At Coledale we stopped at the Mike Dwyer Park, opposite the hospital with views east across the ocean and, more immediately, a rock shelf stretching out several 100 metres at low tide (at high tide it's entirely covered and only a small, narrow beach separates land and sea) and what appear to be the remaints of early 20th century sewage outfalls - all that's left now are rows of concrete pillars stretching out to the end of the rock shelf. Looking south is Coledale beach in the foreground and in the distance the view stretches as far as Shellharbour and Bass Point, south of Wollongong. A short distance south we stopped at Coledale Beach and had a walk around the rock shelf. The tide was going out but there was still some impressive waves crashing onto the outer edge of the shelf. On the other side of the shelf you could see all the different rock layers in the cliff including a few small coal seams (the productive seams are higher up in the mountains). An amazing variety of vegetation clings to the side of the cliffs. Even a few small caves. Despite being exposed, Scarborough Beach is fairly placid, especially given the rough surf dozens of metres away at the rock shelf. The waves all seem to break well short of the beach, no doubt a continuation of the rock shelf below sea level.

Coledale
Coalcliff
Sea Cliff
Rocks from Mike Dwyer Reserve, Coledale
Image © David Powell, 2007
Coledale Beach from Mike Dwyer Reserve
Image © David Powell, 2007
Rock platform, north of Coledale Beach
Image © David Powell, 2007

Sea Cliff Bridge, North view
Coaldale
Coledale
Rock platform, north of Coledale Beach
Image © David Powell, 2007
Rock platform, north of Coledale Beach
Image © David Powell, 2007
Cynthia .. who splashed me?
Image © David Powell, 2007

Next stop was Brickyard Point at Austinmer. Arguably Austinmer is the northern-most suburb of Wollongong. From Austinmer on south to the heart of the 'Gong the built-up area is contiguous. Still, Austinmer manages to retain something of a coastal village atmosphere with some of the trappings of suburbia. Naturally enuf, more great views. Didn't get to see the northern view, but from the map it looked to give the view up to Coledale and beyond. Looking south was Tuckerman Park and a beach that presumably has some name but not in any of the maps I have and beyond that a series of headlands jutting out in succession. Add to that a collection of impressive Norfolk Pine's. There's a rather tatty looking and run-down motel on the site, but I'm sure the developers will discover that place soon.

Austinmer
Austinmer
Austinmer
South view, Brickyard Point, Austinmer
Image © David Powell, 2007
Rock shelf, Brickyard Point, Austinmer
Image © David Powell, 2007
View from carpark, Brickyard Point
Image © David Powell, 2007

We ended the trip at Wollongong where we had lunch at a wonderful little cafe on a side street off the Crown Street Mall, aptly named "Hideaway Cafe" since it does a good job of it. The decor could have done with a bit of attention, but the food was simply delicious and the place had a nice atmosphere. They even have live music two evenings a week. A little bit of Europe. France or Italy maybe. Restaurant guides list it as a mid-range eatery, so not overpriced and not cheap & nasty. Personally I very recommend the place. Oh, details ... 81 Church Street, 02-4229-6186.☺

After lunch we did a bit of shopping and had a look at some old buildings in the city centre. Saw the St Michael's Cathedral, Allowrie Terrace and the city courthouse. The present St Michael's was built in 1858-1859 (replacing a previous building), built in Gothic style with the traditional cross plan. The church has a steep slate roof, a steeple and is built using large sandstone blocks. Allowrie Terrace is an unknown, other than that it was built before 1859. The present court house was built in 1885.

St Michael's, Wollongong
Allowrie Tce, Wollongong
Courthouse, Wollongong
St Michael's Cathedral, Wollongong
Image © David Powell, 2007
Allowrie Terrace, Wollongong
Image © David Powell, 2007
Courthouse, Wollongong
Image © David Powell, 2007

Some web sites of relevance (valid as of April 2007)
Wikipedia, Lawrence Hargrave: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Hargrave
Wikipedia, Sea Cliff Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Cliff_Bridge
Grand Pacific Drive: http://www.grandpacificdrive.com.au
Tourism Wollongong - Sea Cliff Bridge: http://www.tourismwollongong.com.au/nwcv/nw_bridge.html
NSW Heritage Office, St Michael's Cathedral: http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_subnav_02_2.cfm?itemid=5045655