SOUTH COAST Right: Tigers by the pool at Symbio Wildlife Park. reptiles, which are sure to captivate visitors of all ages. Also from Stanwell Tops it’s a downhill swoop to Sea Cliff Bridge, a highlight of the Grand Pacifi c Drive. This $52 million cantilever bridge was completed in 2005, after subsidence forced the existing road to close. In its place is a 665-metre-long engineering Wollongong’s best beaches. Austinmer, of prawns at one of Wollongong’s feat that curves around the cliffs or “Austi” to locals, is the pick of the waterfront eateries. 50 metres out to sea. It’s fun to drive, area’s beaches. Framed by pines, it’s The Grand Pacifi c Drive continues but even better to get out and walk an iconic slice of Australia: a perfectly its beachy way south to Nowra, but the purpose-built pedestrian sidewalk, curved beach, crystal clear rockpool and to really appreciate the drive south it’s Left: Aerial view of the Sea Cliff Bridge, part of the Grand Pacifi c Drive. Photo: Dee Kramer Photography/Tourism Wollongong. with parking provided at either end. the salty smell of fi sh and chips. best to spend a few nights. Above: View from Stanwell Tops overlooking beach and coastline. Back in the car again, you are now Keep following the big brown signs If it’s time to turn back, you can Photo: Hamilton Lund/Destination NSW. in Scarborough, a charming old coal of the Grand Pacifi c Drive, which artfully retrace your steps or else take the mining village, the pride of which is the sticks to the lesser-traffi cked coast freeway back to Sydney. Or for one recently reopened Scarborough Hotel. roads to vibrant Wollongong, New South last detour, spear inland to the Illawarra Once a drinking den for coalminers, it has Wales’s third largest city. You’ll pass Fly, a treetop walk with more views of had a spectacular but tasteful revamp. laid-back coastal suburbs like Thirroul and this lovely and often overlooked part of Grand After a coffee at Audley Weir, the Spectacular because of the wraparound Bulli and you might catch glimpses of greater Sydney. park’s main food hub, it’s a short drive ocean view, and tasteful because of the the popular coastal cycle/walking path, through winding roads to Stanwell Tops. free art gallery and the seafaring relics which runs to Flagstaff Hill, at the heart ● Further information: Grand Pacifi c It’s a case of getting there is half the that line the walls. It offers coffee, lunch of Wollongong. Drive starts from Waterfall near Royal Pacifi c fun, the twisting road forces you to slow and of course a beer. But be warned, on Take a gander at Flagstaff Hill’s two National Park on the southern edge of down and take in towering eucalypts and weekends it fi lls up fast! lighthouses and the historic fort, which metropolitan Sydney to Wollongong, lush ferny embankments. From Scarborough Hotel it’s a was built to repel a feared Russian with overnight options to continue south. On leaving the park, make sure meandering drive downhill to some of attack. Then treat yourself to a platter www.grandpacifi cdrive.com.au you stop at Bald Hill at Stanwell Tops, Drive a panoramic lookout and a popular launching spot for hang-gliders, catching By Julie Ihle. rising thermals from the ocean. It has also been a favourite ice-cream stop for Symbio Wildlife Park. generations of Sydneysiders on a jaunt Only 45 minutes For more information visit south of Sydney on south. Buy an ice-cream from the dinky www.symbiozoo.com.au Grand Pacific Drive. or call 4294 1244 pink van, snare a picnic bench and enjoy JUST SOUTH OF SYDNEY and an So grab a set of wheels and your the sparkling blue Pacifi c, ringed by the easy day trip by car, lies a glittering camera and you’re all set. Once you are Illawarra Escarpment. Pacifi c playground dotted with unspoilt at Royal National Park, just follow the From Stanwell Tops you are a fi ve- beaches, quaint seafaring cottages and Grand Pacifi c Drive’s brown ’reassurance minute drive from the whole family’s funky eateries. Add a tantalising dash signs’ with their distinctive blue, yellow favourite detour – Symbio Wildlife Park. of rainforest and a coastal bridge that is and green stripes. They are home to hundreds of unique an engineering marvel and you have the Royal National Park sets the tone for Australian and exotic wildlife including Grand Pacifi c Drive. the trip. As well as its natural beauty, it koalas, kangaroos, Sumatran tigers, red Grand Pacifi c Drive runs from Royal lays claim to being the world’s second pandas, meerkats, dingos and crocodiles. National Park, on the southern fringe of oldest national park, (after America’s There are daily shows, keeper talks and Sydney, to the coastal city of Wollongong Yellowstone). Opened in 1879, it covers up-close animal encounters. At the end with options to continue further south. a kingly 16,000ha and old-school touches of June Symbio will open a brand new It is easily do-able as a scenic day trip, abound, like wooden punts and covered indoor reptile house, with displays of at 60km one way, plus side trips. picnic areas at Audley Weir. some of the world’s most venomous 70 WHERE WHERE 71 .