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Stage 3 - Stanwell Park to Bulli

After serving up a hearty breakfast on the deck looking down the rainforest gully to the beach, our host kindly guided us to the start of the Wodi Wodi Track, which we would use to reach the climb up the Illawarra Escarpment. Having sent our case and one large pack on by courier to our destination, the weight on our backs was much lower, but the humidity was much higher! We climbed much more quickly then the ascent of Palm Jungle, but still reached the top soaked in perspiration in the still humid air of the escarpment slope.

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Long hot climb up the escarpment

Fortunately, a cooling wind awaited us as we crested the last sandstone rockface and reached the plateau, making our walk along the edge of the escarpment a pleasant stroll, as we passed through increasingly tall eucalypt forests with an understorey of bracken, punctuated by clumps of gymea lilies and grass trees and patches of sedge in the lower moister areas. The sun began to beat more strongly as we moved away from the edge and steadily climbed along a dirt track built on an exposed surface seam of coal – hardly surprising when the bituminous smell of the Coalcliff colliery had earlier wafted up from the base of the escarpment.

Gymea lilies

In the escarpment forest

Unfortunately, the Illawarra Escarpment Walk is not complete and, finding ourselves at the end of the section, we were obliged to walk along the Prince's Highway for 2 km until we could rejoin another section. The experience was educational, if not enjoyable, with the bric-a-brac of “civilisation” visible at every step; not only the usual bottles, cans and cigarette packs, but everything from a toy dinosaur to a baby's basket (minus the baby). When will we wake up and stop throwing our rubbish from car windows?

The second section of track was brief and emerged at Sublime Point, 400m above the Pacific Ocean. The wind had finally cleared the sea mist, leaving a magnificent and hard-earned view southward down the coast, over the agglomeration of Wollongong and its neighbouring towns. The view made us realise that the next few days would be spent in “urban bushwalking”.

View over Wollongong from Sublime Point

Descending the escarpment

After a suitable rest, we readied ourselves for the descent, only to find that the walking track was closed for repairs; we had to choose between a 10 km detour along the main roads or a very steep descent of over 300 m on a track with rusting ladders and railings and exposed star pickets that had once held back long missing timber steps. My, those ladders were rickety as we descended once more into the still humidity of the rainforest on the steep escarpment slopes.

Finally, we emerged in Austinmer and descended through suburbia, where the opulence of the houses decreased with altitude, until we reached sea-level and the ocean, leaving a few kilometres to walk along the beaches to our next stop at Bulli Tourist Park, 18 km from our start.

Hallelujah, the logistics had worked; our case and pack were waiting for us on arrival. Thank you, Mr Fastway. A few laps in a saltwater pool built into the rock platform and a quick body-surf in the ocean in front of our cabin left us feeling refreshed once more (memo to self: always remove mobile phone from bathers pocket before body-surfing!).

Thirroul Beach and the Escarpement from Stanwell Park to Sublime Point


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