From the mountains to the coast

Blue Pool

Wednesday 12th June

It was pretty windy all night and I was aware that a small branch fell on car at some stage.

4 German lads had rocked in at 9:30pm but didn't wake me - for which all of us were grateful.

I had a quick chat with fellow camper, Nicholas, who had also done a risk assessment of the trees around him and decided things were not too bad.

Nellie's Glen

There were several wrens hopping around as I prepared my coffee.  Given the wind chill factor and the presence of other campers close by, I chose a sponge bath not a mandi bath for my morning ablutions.

I went for a short walk from my campsite to Blue Pool, which is rather lovely and under other weather conditions one may have been tempted to swim.

Nellie's Glen

Nellie's Glen was next on my list and this was a lovely spot and again, in different weather, I could imagine spending some time there with a picnic interspersed with the occasional dip.

From Warris Chair Lookout
Unnamed waterfall

From there, it was a slightly longer walk to Warris Chair lookout.  Being an exposed protuberance from the escarpment, it was more than a little breezy; had I been wearing one it would definitely have been a case of 'hang onto my hat'. 

From Warris Chair Lookout

As it was, every thing about my person was in securely zipped pockets before I approached the lookout railing.  The view was pretty amazing but at times I needed to steady myself against the railing lest the wind throw me off balance. 

From Warris Chair Lookout

From there I made the short diversion to Kangaroo River. 

During a quick comfort stop, a nearby tree threw a bit of itself onto the roof; it was still outrageously windy.

Kangaroo River

I chose to continue my journey via the Jamboroo Mountain Road, noting the signs prohibiting caravans and large trucks - not that I rated anywhere near that category!

From Jambaroo Mountain Lookout

I stopped briefly at the lookout on the top of Jambaroo Mountain, it was quite a good view of mountains descending to the plains which were cultivated, then merging into the coastal area. 

As I proceeded further down the mountain the road twisted and turned through stunning Forest.

Roadworks required me to stop for a few minutes, a great opportunity for a quick snap.

Forest descending from Jambaroo Mountain

I did have a little giggle to myself as I passed the sign for Tree Top Walk definitely not in that wind!

From near the Kiama Visitor Centre

As I descended the plains opened out into much more rural landscape and at one stage one cow paddock even had its own flock of vivid white cattle egrets brightening up the scenery

The big blowhole with the sea
in the wrong direction

I reached Kiama and made my way to the  visitor centre and procured a map of the Kiama coast walk and sought advice from the lovely lady about which was her preferred section. She said the southern end, but with the weather over the past few days the mouth of the lagoon might be impassable so I went back to the idea of the northern section and the option of doing it one way and travelling by train in the other direction.  Given that trains only run every hour that might not be the best option.

So for my afternoon plan, I asked about walking short sections of that northern part and she identified a couple plus a section of the middle: the big blow hole to the little blow hole.

I was about to start my walk from the Big Blowhole, when a very nasty squall came through so a cafe with coffee and lunch occupied a half hour that would have been particularly awful for being outside.

Another temping spot to swim - blowhole point 

The walk between the blowholes basically took me all afternoon. I diverted into a caravan park that the lady at the visitor centre had recommended as potentially being more sheltered than others and after inspecting their facilities I booked and continued my walk. 

On my walk I passed the farmers market and it was rather lovely.  On my way back, it was  positively buzzing with a really nice vibe.  I didn't want to loiter, because I still had to get to my car and get to the caravan park and set up camp.

The small blowhole - not working very well!

When I finally took the car around to the caravan park, I carefully set up to use the car to shelter my awning side from the wind; of course the wind changed during the course of the evening and necessitated, once again, packing the awning away in the dark.

Because the wind was being a nuisance and blowing it was nice to have a good camp kitchen in which to prepare my dinner and clean up and while I decided not to return to sit in the shelter and warmth after my shower, mainly due to the other company in there, it was good for its purpose.

I also enjoyed a rather long hot shower after perfunctory morning ablutions

However, putting away my awning at 10 o'clock at night because the wind was getting under it and lifting it was tedious.