25001 readers to be exact, 3 days before the end of the financial year on 30th June 2020 and 4 - 5 months before my blog's 5th anniversary in November 2020.
Wow - a huge thank you to all my readers around the world. I hope everyone will continue to read my blog and follow me on all my adventures. Don't forget to watch my YouTube channel as well, as some adventures are better captured on video rather then still photography.
I hope that the world will return to normal soon so the country's boarders will reopen for travel. There is still a long way to go before international travel resumes and there are discussions that this may not happen for upto another 2 years which means I may have to miss my annual ski trip to Canada next January 2021 if this eventuated.
For now it is still unsafe to travel beyond NSW which means no plans to travel interstate to Victoria.
For now I do have a list of places of interest to visit within NSW so stay tuned.
Thank you to all my readers again and welcome to any readers of my blogs. Stay safe.
Sunday 28th June 2020
Today I took my first day trip out of Sydney by train down the South Coast to Kiama.
A total of 3 hours on public transport one way. It was not the most perfect day today for a day trip but it did not rain - just overcast and a little windy down in Kiama but the sun did peep out in the early afternoon when I arrived.
I love long train trips as long as there are toliets on board. This seems to be a problem on the South Coast trains because there aren't any on board unless there is one at the very rear or very front carriage. It's very different to the intercity trains to the Blue Mountains where every carriage has a toliet or two and the train trip is around the same duration one way. Therefore ensure you use the bathroom before you depart on a trip down to Kiama.
I took so many photos and videos. Most of my time down in Kiama was spent at The Blowhole along with hundreds of other day trippers. It certainly is a beautiful spot - better in Summer and Spring when it is warmer. Kiama is not really a swimming beach due to it's high rockface clifts along most of the coastline and pounding waves but it is a walking beach. Paths around the coastline go forever. There is also the main drag for shopping cafes for eating and ice cream palours galore. There is a quieter beach side to Kiama however - calm enough to see a solitary pelican floating around on the water. Don't expect it to be a pretty little beach as the sand is rather dark in colour with an almost black rim to it - probably why there is a salt water tidal rock pool (or 2) amongst the rocks offering safe swimming away from "surf breaks". If you want to go for a swim and I am unsure how safe it is, visit Bombo which is a real beach and is just one train station before Kiama station. It was nice on my way to Kiama around 1.30 pm but by 3.30 pm it was getting dark and windy as well as overcast and most people had left the beach to go home.
After my visit to the Blowhole, I had a quick walk down the main shopping strip of Kiama before a quick toliet stop and boarding an awaiting train from Kiama Station back to Sydney. By now it is 4 pm and I won't be home until around 7 pm hopefully in time for Masterchef! ( and dinner!)
Next time I visit the South Coast I hope to leave earlier or try to dpend a weekend down there so I can explore the area more - so much to see and do down there! You can tell it was my first trip down to Kiama ( not my first trip down the South Coast though). We all did the school excursion for the day down the South Coast to Kiama back in the good old days as a school student in NSW.
I will be uploading photos as soon as I get home as most are on my other phone and also select and upload a video onto my YouTube channel also on my other phone.
I have just selected and uploaded a video onto my YouTube channel ( check it out to see a group of young boys getting quite close to the edge of the blow hole - they were lucky but visitors who have strayed from behind the barrier around the blow hole have drowned and died in the past from slipping on the rock face and falling into the blow hole) and currently working on uploading some more photos onto my blog.
For all my readers that are not from NSW I have included a rail network map to show you where I reside and where my day trip destination of Kiama is. The Illawarra line starts at Bondi Junction and unoffically ends at Waterfall but continues onto Kiama where it is officially the end of the Illawarra line - however not quite ( our train network is a little more complicated then just the end of the line and if I ever travel further on the connecting XPT or Explorer looking train connecting on a separate platform in the future I will write about it and tell you - I just have to find out where it travels to first)
On the train trip down I started taking photos of stations at Sutherland (main
(split) transfer station on Illawarra line to Cronulla) and after Waterfall as well as the scenery. I missed a few photo opportunities along the way as they were really blink and you will miss them land marks. I didn't take any photos on my return train trip back to Sydney as it was getting dark quite quickly and I was getting tired and a little hungry. I wanted to sleep on the train but it was not the most comfortable therefore stayed awake and went through my photos I had taken.
Kiama Station - end of the line for electric trains however the Illawarra train line continues onto 3 more stations with a transfer connection onto a waiting diesel train on the next platform that continues onto Gerringong, Berry & Bombaderry the real end of the train line. ( similar intercity train line Central towards Bowral where electric trains stop at Campbelltown and you transfer to a waiting diesel train on the end platform to Bowral and beyond although the Southern Highlands train line is a little more complicated with split trains refer my previous blogs to Bowral)
The main drag of Kiama cafes, fast food joints & ice cream parlours galore! There is a bit of shopping but nothing that made me want to have a second look at. I did not find any shopping centres or supermarkets in Kiama - unsure if there were any but there was a bottle shop maybe a few.
War Memorial Arch & other war memorials - I remember this landmark from my school days
Nope not going to any of the above places today except back to Sydney
The Collective Kiama. If you have read my previous blog on Gleve Markets, there is a similar store on Glebe Point Rd. These stores are like mini makers markets but instead of being outdoors and limited to a weekends or being part of The Big Design Market or Finders Keepers Markets which are only twice a year, these are a more permanent type of market open most days of tge week all year round - stall holders share space with other stall holders hence don't have the burden of paying rent for a whole store on their own and may have the option of either consignment sale of their goods or percentage commission on sales of their goods.
Old Fire Station which is tiny now housing an arts and crafts stall.
Historical Buildings Just One of the Churches with it's own mini cemetery attached
Freight train via Kiama
Tree and wooden bridge lined street along the beach
Historical Buildings & The Police Sation & Court House
Lone pelican on the water
The Beach - the quieter side of Kiama
The Cottage
The Museum (closed on the day of my visit)
Visitors Information Centre
The Lighthouse
Kiama Blow Hole - Just like lava spewing out of a volano!
Scenic walks around Kiama's coastline
