General
Info:
Although it's New South Wales' third-largest city,
WOLLONGONG
has more of a country-town feel, with the students of Wollongong University giving it extra life in term time. Eighty kilometres south of Sydney, it's essentially an industrial centre (Australia's largest steelworks is at nearby Port Kembla) but there are a few natural attractions to make it worth visiting - such as the
Illawarra Escarpment
, which rises dramatically beyond and provides a lush backdrop to the city.
The highlight of the city itself is
Wollongong Harbour
, with its maritime feel enhanced by a fishing fleet in Belmore Basin, a fish market, a few seafood restaurants, and a picturesque nineteenth-century lighthouse on the breakwater. On either side are Wollongong's central
surf beaches
: choose North Beach for the best surf, the harbour beaches for more gentle swimming. There's not really much to see in the
city
centre
, which has been swallowed up by a giant shopping mall on Crown Street, but if you want to kill a few hours, visit the
City Gallery
, on the corner of Kembla and Burelli streets (Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun noon-4pm; free), a regional art centre showing changing exhibitions plus a permanent collection with an emphasis on contemporary Aboriginal and colonial Illawarra artists. Wollongong is also home to the vast
Nan Tien
Buddhist Temple
, the largest in Australia, on Berkeley Road, Berkeley, south of the centre and reached from Wollongong by train. The temple offers monthly two-day meditation retreats (tel 02/4272 0600 for details).
If you're
driving from Sydney
, the quickest route to take is the Princes Highway past Heathcote and the Royal National Park, avoiding the coast. However, a more scenic coastal and bush route involves driving through the Royal National Park, emerging above the cliffs at
Otford
. A few kilometres on is the impressive clifftop lookout on
Bald Hill
above Stanwell Park - you'll see not only the vista but also the breathtaking sight of
hang-gliders
taking off and soaring down. You can join in with the Sydney Hang Gliding Centre (tel 02/4294 4294,
www.hanggliding.com.au
), which offers tandem flights with an instructor for around $180 during the week, $195 weekends (available daily depending on the weather); the centre also runs courses. At
Coalcliff
the
Imperial Hotel
is a must for an en-route drink, as it sits right on the cliff's edge. By the time you get to
Austinmer
you're at the base of the stunning cliffs and into some heavy surf territory; another drinking hole here is the legendary
Headlands Hotel
, which also offers budget accommodation. There's impressive cliff scenery as you pass through
Scarborough
,
Wombarra
and
Thirroul
, tiny seaside villages with a station, lovely local beaches and not much else; Thirroul is the spot where the English novelist D.H. Lawrence wrote
Kangaroo
during his short Australian interlude. The appropriately named
Sublime Point
, on the Bulli Pass at the Illawarra Escarpment, is a place to stop for fantastic views. If you have your own transport you can explore the escarpment using the
walking tracks
on Mount Kembla and Mount Keira, about 10km from Wollongong.
More Wollongong travel guides (each guide contains specific sub-sections):
Wollongong
Practicalities
