Weekend in wilderness
Another weekend jaunt to South Coast, not far down but only around Nowra, was a relaxing getaway.
Can't imagine an Aussie road trip without meeting a Big Thing! We headed straight to The Big Potato - looked like unwashed ones in the market, nevertheless as iconic for Aussies as at least for Bangalis! What Bengali would skip potatoes from daily diet!
A couple of clicks later, we steered to long-due activities at Illawarra Fly for our son, who, due to his school commitments, missed them when we ventured earlier this year. Finally he had the gripping thrill at of ziplining, rope walking, and climbing up the tower for the sweeping view of surrounding rainforest.
But that hardly sufficed our lust for calculated adventures. At our next destination, Carrington Falls, we got close to some real wilderness. Viewing and capturing the falls from the guarded viewpoints only furthered our thirst for more. We decided to join a handful of others at the top of the falls. It was simply satisfying to dabble in the ankle deep upstream to reach the fork of the falls and exhilarating to sit there watching and listening it tumble down 50m, continuing as Kangaroo River. Needless to mention, the columnar rock formations of the escarpment along the valley are a beauty to behold - but only for those who dare to quell any qualm they have about overwhelming height.
Afterwards, we tried our "feet" at Kiama Coastal Walk for a while. My camera has utterly failed to catch the magnificence of a rolling verdant headland gracefully giving way to the blue coastline.
We wrapped up the day with capturing a flimsy mist settling on hilltops around Werri Beach.
Next day, before returning home, we stopped by at Calburra Beach, Penguin Head Lookout, Wollumboola Lake, and Point Perpendicular Lighthouse.
Calburra Beach and Penguin Point were pretty normal. But the charm of shallow tepid waters and the sea berm at Wollumboola was a hidden coastal gem we unveiled, more as I love to wade through the shallow safe waves to reach enticing sandbars. This was no different. We spent hours waddling, rolling, and dabbling in the slightly turbulent streams between the sandbars and walked up the Warrain Beach far south towards Kinghorn Point, watching nesting bird colonies in this pristine part.
While the Lighthouse wasn't far from what we're already accustomed to, the drone shots conjured the magic in it. Thanks to our gentle giant Rav4 for loyally concealing us from the blazing sun and clouds of dirt kicked off the 10 Km unsealed road (12 mins drive) leading to the lighthouse from the visitor booth on Currawong Road. The cheery elderly security person queried inquisitively, 'What's your country of origin?' We warily replied and he broke into a broad chuckle to chatter about the ongoing test cricket series - a jovial respite from the drag of a dreary lonely sun baked day.
Speeding past Shoalhaven, we stopped at the widely known Berry Donut Van for some crispy tasty cinnamon donut delight and coffee before heading home through the beauty of Gerringong, Kiama.
Thus our two-day short trip concluded with another bag full of cherishable memories.
Dona, Sydney, Dec '24
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