Seven Mile Beach

On Sunday, we rented a car and drove south down the coast. It was spectacular.

Some of the beaches looked very similar to some of the northern Oregon beaches I grew up with, so I felt immediately at home.

Annotated photos of our day here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/redowa/SydneySevenMileBeach#

Big huge thanks to Christy L. for her simple comment “The most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen is Seven Mile Beach.” If she hadn’t said anything, we never would’ve thought to go there. And wow, we would’ve missed out on something special.

Seven Mile Beach is a national park south of Wollongong (the 3rd largest city in AU); it’s about 2.5 hours south of Sydney by car…and you can *almost* get there by train (in 3 hours). The town at the north end of the beach is Gerroa, and its “sister city” on the other side of the point is Gerringong, which has a train station. We opted to rent a car so we could come back as late as we wanted…good thing Ben is a nighttime-driving CHAMPION.

The photos speak more eloquently than this blog, so just check out the pics. But keep in mind that my little camera is no match for the breathtaking scenery, or the fastn’furious kite surfers!

Also, a tip for visiting Seven Mile Beach: go early. It gets windy in the afternoon (hence it being kite surfing paradise); so head there in the AM, stay out until the sandy wind has given you a thorough exfoliation, then go explore Gerroa, Gerringong, and Kiama. There is even a (coldcoldcold) shower at the Seven Mile Beach NP campground, so you can make yourself presentable for rambling through town. Although they are all beach towns, so no need to be too presentable.

Bonus tip: Gerringong’s teeny downtown is at the top of a big hill; get some ice cream from Scoops and enjoy the view. Old Skool Park is just next to town hall (where they occasionally have free concerts on weekends) — yet another stop in the “swing sets with a view” weekend tour!