Wollongong

Thoughts on Location No 12

Wollongong, Illawarra Region, New South Wales

Not a planned location, and yet, it was not an unplanned one either.  We stopped at Wollongong to dry out.

After three days of rain while at Katoomba, it felt as though everything was wet – clothes, van, car, me – and the sunshine was so warm and so welcoming.

All the washing was done and dried on the line, in full sun, with a slight breeze.  It felt like a little dose of luxury and I cannot express how refreshing it was to smell sunlight on the sheets.

With the sun out and the surf up, Dean was in the water catching waves, avoiding the other surfers, and keeping an eye out for sharks.  A local told us a couple of tiger sharks had been spotted in the area.  At times like these, I do my emu impersonation and stick my head in the sand.  I don’t want to know about sharks in the water.

We took a ride across the bridge to the south side of Lake Illawarra entrance, it was a lovely day with families enjoying the sunshine, picnicking, children swimming and seagulls poised to snap up a treasured morsel.

We locked up the bikes and walked out to Windang Island, a small islet really, situated at the lake’s entrance.  We spent a couple of hours walking around, it was low tide, and amid the rocks, there are the ruins of an old railway line*.

Old Rail

Old Wheels

More Wheels

Little Pied Cormorant

Waves hitting Windang Island, taken from Windang Beach earlier that morning.

The Little Pied Cormorant was so photogenic, just sitting there posing for me.

We stayed four nights at the Windang Beach Tourist Park which was very nice and the managers were so friendly and very helpful.  It was very quiet with the park nestled between the shore of Lake Illawarra on one side and Windang Beach on the other.

We headed off this morning and are now a mere 33 kilometres down the road at Seven Mile Beach and I’m going to give it a go, from the north end to the south end and back again on shanks’ pony.  It’s only 22.5 kilometres and after our adventures in the Blue Mountains, I’m sure it will be easy going.  Stay tuned.

Footnote:  I couldn’t find any historical information online regarding Windang Island and the old railway line, but if you click here it will download a PDF from the Shellharbour Heritage Inventory that does contain some relevant details if you’re interested in reading it.