Wollongong

Wollongong is a narrow coastal strip about 50km south of Sydney. Sheltered from the afternoon sunset by a steep and jagged mountain escarpment, almost all of the city and its suburbs are within 5km of the beach. For a scenic drive from the north, get there via the Royal National Park. You could visit for a weekend, but you’re not really doing the area justice with less than a week.

For all of that, the Coal Coast (named for the numerous coal mines dug into the escarpment) isn’t predominantly a surfing destination, like the Gold Coast or Byron Shire. It’s as diverse and exciting as you care to make it, but you have to be prepared to travel away from the coastal caravan parks, which can be hard because their locations are amongst the best on Australia’s east coast.

Where to eat

Get away from the parks and you’ll discover the best of Wollongong. There’s a vibrant and bustling local market scene all along the coast. Every Thursday night, along Crown Street in Wollongong, the boulevard is transformed into an eat street market, where pop-up food vendors serve meals from around the world. You’ll also find an Eat Street at Bulli Showground every second Saturday and you’d be mad to pass up the kebabs from Lebanese restaurant, Samaras, or the double-cooked pulled pork burgers from 2 Smoking Barrels.

Bring the kids on Saturday night for live music and let them loose in the sheep enclosure that looks to have been left out specifically for that reason.

Come back to the showground Sunday mornings for the Bulli Village Market, or visit the Coledale Markets on the fourth Sunday of every month. There’s also a market with local growers and producers every Friday on Crown Street Mall, and twilight markets on the first Friday of the month in October through to March. The Dapto Markets, every Sunday, is one of the biggest and the place to find antiques and old wares, amongst local fruit and produce. You might see my mum there, selling antiques and collectables.

As well as the various markets, there’s no shortage of local produce to search out. Visit Glenbernie Orchard in Darkes Forest to pick your own apples or try their cider.

Bulli Village Markets

Where to play

If you're staying at the Coledale Camping Reserve or Bulli Beach Tourist Park, as well as those at Towradgi and East Corrimal, you can walk to excellent surf spots, some of them well-known regional classics. The coast is so jagged there are spots that fire in a north swell and others that are epic when waves are from the south. They aren’t hard to find.

You could also fish along most beaches here for salmon, whiting and the occasional flathead. I’ve seen many beach fishos having a field day in productive gutters at Bulli.

For a wildlife adventure, head north to Helensburgh and visit the Symbio Wildlife Park, which is an interactive local zoo. While you’re there, head down the road and check out Kellys Falls.

Walking and biking  

If you can get yourself up onto the escarpment you’ll find a wide range of walking, cycling and mountain biking tracks for all manner of fitness and expertise. A local favourite ride starts halfway up Bulli Pass, along the Escarpment Trail, with a pullover where you can park. Follow it for 500 metres and turn left down a narrow track that drops into some wild and woolly mountain bike trails, spitting you out a few kilometres from the beach.

Or you could follow the Escarpment Trail for about 7km to the top of Brokers Nose (it’s hard work, though, at 440 metres above sea level) and the best view of Wollongong anywhere. In fact, there are so many bike trails that shoot off in all directions that you would need a long stay to down them all.

Road cyclists can slide into their lycra and follow the coast road north. Winding along Lawrence Hargrave Drive, you’ll hug the beaches of Austinmer, Wombarra, Coledale and cross the famous Sea Cliff Bridge. From here the hills get steeper as you climb up to Coalcliff, drop down to Stanwell Park and then climb Bald Hill for a spectacular look back south over Wollongong. Meet the family for a picnic here to watch the hang gliders, or continue into the Royal National Park.

There’s a more relaxed walk through Grevillea Park, behind the Bulli Showgrounds, or stay at sea level and stroll or ride on the mostly-flat bike track that runs 20km along the coast between Thirroul and Stuart Park in Wollongong. There are also relaxing walks through the Wollongong Botanic Gardens, around Bellambi Lagoon (park at the end of Murray Road, East Corrimal) or about Wollongong Harbour and Flagstaff Hill.

Whatever you come to the Gong for, you’ll definitely find it. Despite being only a tiny area crammed into a very narrow strip of habitable paradise, it’s still a slow-paced, quiet coastal metropolis that’s easy to fall in love with. If you visit once, you’ll definitely come again. 

Where to stay

Top of the list for places to stay is the Coledale Camping Reserve. The local surf lifesaving club runs the small campground, which is a narrow patch of grass right on the sands of Coledale beach. It’s the spot to go if you’re interested in fishing, surfing and late-morning walks to the local café. It’s such a nice spot that there’s a couple who live over the road, but still drag their caravan down once a year just so they don’t have to cross it to go to the beach.

During holiday seasons, the park fills up with people who have travelled miles (often two or three) to relax over the holiday break. Unfortunately there’s nowhere to legally free camp in the Wollongong region, despite many frequently inhabiting the coastal car parks. Nearby Appin has a free spot across from the pub, though.

There’s also a handful of council run parks dotted down the coast, although the best of the bunch is Bulli Beach Tourist Park. You’ll find it squeezed between the local cemetery and Bulli Beach. A mix of permanent vans, cabins and powered sites, the park has easy access to the beach, tidy-but-dated facilities.

The caravan park is about 100 metres north of Collins Creek – the site of the first place Lieutenant James Cook tried to land on Australia’s east coast. He couldn’t because of the large swell at the time, so moved onto Botany Bay. While not very attractive, there are brass and tile motifs commemorating Cook on the stone change rooms at the Bulli sea pool.

Best time to visit

The Gong is great year round, although it gets ‘awning destroying’ windy through autumn, due to strong, local westerlies roaring down the escarpment.