The Grand Pacific Drvie....

The east coast along the Pacific Ocean

This trip home from Sydney John and I chose to return via the Grand Pacific Drive. The 170km drive begins at the National Park south of Sydney and proceeds south finishing in Nowra. If you ever have the time to do this drive you will not be disappointed. John and I decided to take this drive at the last minute because of the gorgeous weather; the day was sunny, the sky was clear of clouds and the water was smooth.

The Grand Pacific Drive actually begins at Audley National Park and was lovely as we passed through rain forests with huge palms, lots of Kangaroo paws out in flower, and the signs of bottle brush everywhere. When we exited the park there was a breath taking view of the coastline at Bald Hill, which stretched from Stanwell Tops to Wollongong, I stopped to snap some shots and was asked by a group of friendly tourists to take some photos of their group. I could not get over how blue the ocean was. I have read that the colour of the ocean usually reflects the colour of the skies and so because it was such a beautiful day the ocean looked wonderful.

Once we were back on the road traveling south, we passed Stanwell Tops where some paragliders were landing down on the beach.

Further along was Coalcliff which is a beautiful little town. So many of the lucky residents live in homes built along the sandstone cliff faces there, overlooking toe Pacific Ocean. The weather continued to be magnificent and the ocean glistened all the way along the coast.

Just along from Coalcliff is the Sea Cliff Bridge. You may remember this area collapsing from a landslide back in 2003.

Consequently the state government had to rebuild the bridge and roadway and have made a wonderful job of it. They have built a bridge that juts out from the mountain so that when erosion and landslides occur, the rocks and gravel drop between the mountain and the bridge down into the ocean leaving the roadway in tact for people to use. The Sea Cliff bridge itself is about 665m long with some spectacular views off to its left.

The next town is called Clifton and had some more beautiful seaside homes dotted along it. We then passed through Scarborough and Wombarra before leveling with the beach, where fishermen appeared to be enjoying their activities. At Coledale we stopped to take some more photos and take a brief walk along the water.

We then drove onto Austinmer, Bulli and Thirroul.

Both towns have lovely old world shopping centers, cafes and antique stores. I really had to drag myself away from them after several hours lol.

There is something special about driving through many of these old country coastal villages; it really is like taking a journey back in time. There are beautifully restored old hotels, theatres and homes, which date back as far as 1853. all overlooking the pounding sea. In between the towns I was in awe of the sandstone headlands, all sculpted by the sea. In the distance out at sea is the shipping lanes which vessels transporting iron ore from Port Kembla use and although there were not that many out there we were told at a local coffee shop in Thirroul that some days see dozens of ships and container carriers sailing north.We drove south as far as Port Kembla then rejoined the highway to return to Jervis Bay.

The Grand Pacific Drive actually continues south from Port Kembla all the way to Bomerberry which is just north of Nowra however, we wanted to make it to the Berry Country Markets before the afternoon so decided to finish the drive another day. The areas are so green and lush after the recent rains that it was a pleasure to drive through them. All in all, it is a very worthwhile trip to make. If you have the time there are some spectacular walks to take along the way, especially at the National Park and around Wollongong Harbour. I hope that you enjoy these photos.