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Stage 7 - Kiama to Gerroa

After a week of R & R, canoeing and conventional tourism, it was finally time to put our boots back on and resume the walk south along the green pasture covered headlands and basalt cliffs of the Kiama Coast.

A last farewell to Kendall's Beach .......

.......and the Little Blowhole

Rounding the first headland, we had one of our more unusual encounters - two people teaching penguins to swim! They were volunteers for WIRES, the injured animal rescue service, and were hand-rearing two young fairy penguins that had been found almost dead. Now growing, with healthy appetites, the penguins still needed to double their body weight before they would be fit enough for release. In the meanwhile, they needed daily swimming to maintain fitness and survival skills. The dedicated volunteers of WIRES are to be applauded.

.......

Our interesting encounters continued around each headland; first, the beach fossicker with his metal detector on beautiful East's Beach, with its backdrop of green hills - $6 in coins and a few buried cans uncovered in 10 minutes, not bad beer money - followed by the cowpat man, collecting bags of manure for his garden on the headland after that.

..East's Beach

19th century stone wall

Sea cows of Kiama

Black basalt inlet

Climbing over a dry stone wall, built by the early settlers, we left Kiama town and began our crossing of a series of magnificent green pasture headlands on dairy farms between Kiama and Gerroa. The black volcanic basalt cliffs of Kiama changed to a redder hue, as the iron content of the rock increased toward the south, and the Nowra railway line appeared and disappeared on our right in a series of tunnels and cuttings. The fine sand beaches of Kiama were replaced by rocky inlets and boulder strewn shorelines.

The route south across the Dairy Coast between Kiama and Gerroa

Some of the wildlife that we met was quite unexpected

This coastline reminded us of western Ireland, but with sunshine. It also must contain some of the few remaining vestiges of privately-owned absolute sea frontage in Australia. Most farmers did not seem to worry about walkers crossing their land, though we had to develop a unique low side roll to cross the many four-stranded barbed wire / double-stranded electric wire fences, which ran right down to the cliff face (N.B. I strongly recommend against any attempt to straddle over such barriers). Only one property, just before Gerroa, showed a distinctly unfriendly attitude toward walkers (= trespassers); a shame as the view from “their” headland over Werri Beach and Lagoon was magnificent.

Not friendly!

"Illegal" view over Gerringong and Werri Lagoon from the north

"Legal" view over Werri Beach from the south

Crossing another headland at Gerringong, we decided to try the rock platform below; bad choice, the big seas and a cutting in the cliff led us to an impassable channel in the platform. Doubling back for half a kilometre, we reverted to the ascent and descent of headlands, passing Walker's Beach and temporarily joining a threesome on the Gerringong golf course.

Road's end

Walker's Beach and the Gerringong golf course

One last farm crossing and we arrived in Gerroa, with its terraces of beach houses overlooking the curving vista of Seven Mile Beach as far as Beecroft Peninsula, 30 km to the south. Only the cows grazing on the hillside above them and the drinkers at the Gerroa Boat Fisherman's Club on the crest had a better outlook. We chose to join the latter for a thirst-quenching cold beer with a view. Finally, we descended to our comfortable cedar cabin at Gerroa Shores Tourist Park. Coming from an area where summer landscapes have a harsher dryer quality, the all-embracing greenness of the Kiama coastline had left an indelible impression.

We promised to return.


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