Heading South to Kiama

 

When Malcolm told me, “Tomorrow morning we will be taking a train ride to Kiama,” I did not hesitate to say, “Yes!”

 

View of the Kiama Lighthouse with crowds
gathered against the fence overlooking
the world's largest blowhole

I only paused a moment before I asked him, “How to spell that name, ah?” And he obliged by spelling out the alphabets: K-I-A-M-A.

 

He also told me that we will have an early start because the train ride to Kiama, a coastal town some 120km south of Sydney, will take an estimated time of two hours and 40 minutes.

 

This means that we should catch the 7.30am train from nearby North Strathfield station to Central station where we will change to the train bound for Kiama. 

 

View of the beautiful beach from the train

When we boarded this train, Malcolm let me sit at the window seat on the Left side of the carriage so that I could enjoy the view. He and his wife have enjoyed this excursion before so he was well informed enough to be my official guide. 

 

As I settled into my comfortable seat, I read the notice on the wall which said: “This is a quiet carriage,” which means that passengers who preferred peace and quiet during their ride would choose to sit here.

 

In the unfortunate event, some passengers made themselves a nuisance, they can be told off and asked to move away to sit in other carriages of the train.

 

My Beef & Mushroom pie
with a cup of hot coffee

Bearing this in mind, we hardly talked or only spoke in hushed tones during our ride.

 

I watched as the scenery changed while the train whizzed its way to the South Coast, moving underground, above ground and through tunnels, passing roads heavy with vehicular traffic, shady woodlands and footpaths where people walked and jogged.

 

When we passed through the National Park, I hoped to spot a koala, kangaroo or emu in the bush, but it did not happen. Waterfall, the southern-most suburb of Sydney, marked the edge of the city’s metropolitan area.

 

As we descended downhill, Malcolm told me to expect to feel the train moving down an incline, cutting through hills via tunnels. I watched the train tracks that curved around hillsides and in some places, there was a steep drop below.

 

Sculpture of the iconic pelican

When we passed Otford on the way to Stanwell Park, I caught my first exciting glimpse of the ocean. After Coalcliff, the town so named after the coal mines here, I saw where the Tasman Sea opened to the Pacific Ocean and in the distance, I saw waves crashing onto rocks.

 

By this time, we had been on the train for one hour and 10 minutes. So it will not be long before we arrived at our destination.

 

At Scarborough, we enjoyed the ocean view along the way, the rocky beaches, seaside towns, villages and hamlets, boxy houses with flat roofs in compact compounds alongside new-built houses complete with solar panels on the roofs.

 

We passed Wollongong, the third largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle, and home to one of their top-rated universities.

 

Can see a small spray shooting up
from the blowhole!

It was about 16km more to Kiama when we spotted the old railway station, a red-brick building with a chimney.

 

Outside of Albion Park, there were green fields dotted by black cows and in the paddock, there were horses. More cows were grazing on grassy slopes near Shellharbour Junction and when we passed Minnamurra, we saw a golf course.

 

Finally, we passed Bombo (reminded me of Bomba, our fire services!) a town which borders the ocean. Here I spotted more affluent homes with their own swimming pools. And promptly at 10.50am, we arrived at Kiama station.

 

Malcolm remembers the layout of the town and quickly led me to a pastry shop to get a hot snack and coffee. He needed a sugary fix so he picked a Brownie while I was happy to have a warm Beef & Mushroom Pie.

 

Here's the spot where waves enters the narrow
opening into the bottom of the blowhole

Typical of small-town-shops, there was hardly any seating room but we were happy to have our orders as takeaways to savour with a sea view.

 

We found a park bench and table facing the sea and while being watched by a one-legged seagull, I munched my way through my juicy pie and sipped hot coffee before starting our scenic walk.

 

I learnt that Kiama, a quaint town with historic buildings, charming cafes, boutiques and weekly farmers’ markets, is one of the South Coast’s most popular destinations for day trips.

 

The name Kiama is derived from the aboriginal word, kiarama which means, “place where the sea makes a noise.” Kiama is also known as, “the place where the mountains touch the sea.”

 

A charming rockpool for swimming

This is in reference to one of its main tourist attractions, the Kiama Blowhole, a natural rock formation where ocean waves shoot water high into the air, creating a spectacular spray and loud “whoob” noise.

 

Beyond the blowhole, it is known for its stunning coastal scenery, beautiful beaches, coastal walks, the historical Kiama Lighthouse and its relaxed vibe as a popular South Coast getaway.

 

Before heading to the blowhole, Malcolm pointed me towards the Information Centre perched on a hillock. As I walked (slowly!) uphill, I was distracted by the panoramic views of the cobalt blue sea, where frothy waves were breaking on the rocks, people enjoying the bright sun, having fun at their picnics.

 

Stopped at this seaside cafe for a spot of lunch

At the Info Centre, we overheard a loud conversation when someone asked if the blowhole was “on” that day. There was some laughter but I did not hear the reply.

 

Sometimes when the tide was very low, there may not be any spectacular action at the blowhole. When we left the Info Centre, I was hopeful that on that day the blowhole will be active, just for me.

 

Then we walked on towards the Kiama Lighthouse, a tall structure which overlooked the magnificent blowhole.

 

Cold prawns washed down
with cold beer!

The first thing I saw in front of the Lighthouse was the large crowd gathered along the fence that faced the blowhole, patiently waiting for the water to surge through the hole with a splash.

 

Malcolm said previously, there was no fence and visitors were so bold as to climb too close to watch that it became potentially perilous. So fences were put up around the blowhole to prevent any untoward incidents.

 

Everywhere, signs were put up to warn and remind visitors NOT TO climb over the rocks but recalcitrant people were seen clambering onto the rocks to pose for photos.

 

We paused to spend some time observing and marveling at God’s wonderful creation as the roaring sea surged through the world’s largest blowhole, a 2.5-meter fissure in the volcanic rocks that may blast water up to 30 meters high.

 

Close encounter with Mr Pelican

Armed with his OSMO Pocket 3 camera, Malcolm patiently captured photos and videos of the blowhole as water surged through the hole.

 

Then we went to the edge of the cliff to peep at the spot where the waves entered the narrow opening from the ocean into the bottom of the blowhole. The sound of the strong waves and surging water here echoed in a resounding “whoob” as water was forced upwards in a spray from the fissure in the rocks.

 

Having enjoyed the sight and sound of this mighty blowhole, we continued our walk along a path that led us to a natural rockpool to see people sunning themselves and swimming safely.

 

As the sun beat down upon us, it was time to seek some food so we made our way to a seaside café where diners were already enjoying their meal, seated both indoors and outdoors.

 

This church was among the historic
 buildings we saw in Kiama

We found a table outside – thankfully in the shade – to enjoy our order of cold whole prawns dipped in Thousand Island sauce and dish of fish (perch) and chips, washed down with cold beer.

 

With our stomachs full, we headed to the Main Street to browse around in the shops, in search of souvenir best-buys. After we have walked off any post-lunch lethargy, we made our way back to the train station.

 

Our return train set off promptly for the two-hour-40-minute ride back to the city. Meanwhile the skies had grown overcast and about half an hour into our ride, it started to drizzle.

 

We were grateful that the sun was bright during our walkabout in Kiama and glad that the rain only came down when we were already on the way back.

 

Seated comfortably in the train, I watched the scenery change through the falling rain and thanked God for a lovely day outdoors, enjoying the wonders of His creation in Kiama, a popular South Coast destination.

 

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