Page 192 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Australia
P. 192
190 NE W SOUTH W ALES AND A C T
1Royal steel industrial city – the Moss Vale, Berrima and
National Park BHP steel mill at Port Kembla Bundanoon are also ideal places
is still a major employer – in the winter for pottering
£ Loftus, then tram to Audley (Sun Wollongong is fast building a around antiques shops, dining
public hols only). g Bundeena from reputation as a leisure centre. on hearty soups, sitting by
Cronulla. n Sir Bertram Stevens Northbeach is the most open fires and taking
Drive, Audley (02) 9542 0648. & famous of its 17 surf bushwalks and country
∑ nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
beaches. Flagstaff Point, drives. The region’s
Designated a national park in with its lighthouse, boat gardens are renowned for
1879, the “Royal” is the oldest harbour, beach views and their blaze of colours in the
national park in Australia and seafood restaurants, is spring and autumn. The
the oldest in the world after popular with visitors. Fresh Corbett Gardens at Bowral
Yellowstone in the USA. It seafood is also on offer are a showpiece during its
covers 16,500 ha (37,000 acres) at the fish market in Tulip Festival (see p44).
of spectacular landscape. Wollongong harbour. Bowral is also home to
To the east, waves from the The city boasts Australia’s the Bradman Museum,
Pacific Ocean have undercut largest regional art where a fascinating
the sandstone and produced gallery, and the Nan collection of photos
coastal cliffs, interspersed by Tien Temple, the Figure in and cricketing memo
creeks, waterfalls, lagoons and largest Buddhist Nan Tien Temple rabilia commemorates
beaches. Sea eagles and terns temple in the southern the town’s famous son,
nest in caves at the Curracurrang hemisphere, built for the cricketer Sir Donald Bradman.
Rocks. Heath vegetation on the region’s Chinese community. Bradman is said to have first
plateau merges with woodlands showed signs of greatness as a
on the upper slopes and child, hitting a golf ball against
rainforest in the gorges. The 3The Southern a water tank stand with a
park is ideal for bushwalking, Highlands stumpwide strip of wood.
swimming and birdwatching. Visiting the village of Berrima
@ £ Bowral, Moss Vale, Mittagong, is like stepping back in time.
Bundanoon. n 62–70 Main St, The settlement, now home to
2Wollongong Mittagong 1300 657 559 or (02) an abundance of antiques and
4871 2888. ∑ southern-highlands.
* 280,000. £ @ @ com.au craft shops, is one of the most
n 93 Crown St (02) 4267 5910. unspoilt examples of a small
∑ visitwollongong.com.au Quaint villages, country Australian town of the 1830s.
guesthouses, homesteads and Popular walks in the area
The third largest city in the beautiful gardens are scattered include Mount Gibraltar,
state, Wollongong is situated across the lush landscape of the Carrington Falls, the magnificent
on a coastline of beautiful surf Southern Highlands. The region Fitzroy Falls at the northern tip
beaches. Mount Kembla and has been a summer retreat for of Morton National Park and
Mount Keira provide a backdrop Sydneysiders for almost 100 the majestic Kangaroo Valley.
to the city. Originally a coal and years. Villages such as Bowral, The five Wombeyan Caves, west
Fishing boats moored along Wollongong Harbour
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp484–5 and pp509–10
