A Drive Away
The McKeoghs at Bald Hill LookoutLast Sunday I discovered the enclave of Burrill Lake, South Coast, New South Wales, when I drove across the bridged road that is on the same level of its still waters. What caught my eye were the mounds of hills that lay beside the lake, all trimmed an even green and that reminded me of mysterious islands lying low amidst the clouds.
A drive away in my neighbourhood opens up vistas of discovery and impressions of delight. They may come around a bend after cruising through a country road, or surprise me after negotiating a steep incline. They may be man-made, like quaint building facades or unusual signs, but more often than not, they are part of the landscape and topography.
Bald Hill Lookout, near Stanwell Park and where a tremor hit only last week, offers stunning views of the Tasman Sea and the series of rolling hilly coast south of the greater Sydney area. Driving home at night always makes me look out at the fairy night lights of the Wollongong metropolitan area when I am still on the escarpment top freeway. A hint of China veers above the treetops along part of the southern distributor leading to Dapto, in the form of sweeping saffron coloured roof tiles of the Nan Tien Temple.
What is best enjoyed on a care free weekend morning is swinging through the curves of the road leading to Kiamia Beach. Heading further south towards Nowra and Ulladalla, there are pastoral grazing grounds with dairy cattle and grazing sheep, vineyards and several opportunities to turn into side roads that lead to delightful beach hideaways like Gerringong, Huskisson and Mollymook. Molly offers pristine stretches of open wave coast line which you can claim all to yourself. In contrast, the town of Berry is inundated by Sydney visitors every weekend, but you can still capture a bit of countryside quiet from an early breakfast or a late dinner in one of its homely cafes.
The small enclave of Milton offers everything in miniature along its main strip - a town hall, a war memorial and so forth, but with lots of history. The opening to the Tasman Sea from the small harbour of Ulladalla is best viewed with a seafood lunch. It is comforting to know that the town's MacDonalds only opened in October 2006, and with leather seats, Heart Foundation approved menus and a sleek modern setting. Its only disturbing thing is that, approaching from the north, the Mackers sign enticing customers is labelled "Over the hill".
Away from the ocean, I can wander to the best pies "in the world" from a cottage in Kangaroo Valley, if I venture along a winding and mountainous road inland from Nowra, or cut through orchard laden paths to the Southern Highlands. The highland towns of Bowral, Berrima, Mittagong and Suttons Forest offer autumn mists, Anglo-Celtic souvenirs and cosy hideaways.
I can get to Australia's first modern inland settlement, Goulburn, if I proceed further south inland via the Hume Highway on the way to the nation's capital, Canberra, and come back home to a sumptous Italian dinner in Wollongong.
A drive away in my neighbourhood opens up vistas of discovery and impressions of delight. They may come around a bend after cruising through a country road, or surprise me after negotiating a steep incline. They may be man-made, like quaint building facades or unusual signs, but more often than not, they are part of the landscape and topography.
Bald Hill Lookout, near Stanwell Park and where a tremor hit only last week, offers stunning views of the Tasman Sea and the series of rolling hilly coast south of the greater Sydney area. Driving home at night always makes me look out at the fairy night lights of the Wollongong metropolitan area when I am still on the escarpment top freeway. A hint of China veers above the treetops along part of the southern distributor leading to Dapto, in the form of sweeping saffron coloured roof tiles of the Nan Tien Temple.
What is best enjoyed on a care free weekend morning is swinging through the curves of the road leading to Kiamia Beach. Heading further south towards Nowra and Ulladalla, there are pastoral grazing grounds with dairy cattle and grazing sheep, vineyards and several opportunities to turn into side roads that lead to delightful beach hideaways like Gerringong, Huskisson and Mollymook. Molly offers pristine stretches of open wave coast line which you can claim all to yourself. In contrast, the town of Berry is inundated by Sydney visitors every weekend, but you can still capture a bit of countryside quiet from an early breakfast or a late dinner in one of its homely cafes.
The small enclave of Milton offers everything in miniature along its main strip - a town hall, a war memorial and so forth, but with lots of history. The opening to the Tasman Sea from the small harbour of Ulladalla is best viewed with a seafood lunch. It is comforting to know that the town's MacDonalds only opened in October 2006, and with leather seats, Heart Foundation approved menus and a sleek modern setting. Its only disturbing thing is that, approaching from the north, the Mackers sign enticing customers is labelled "Over the hill".
Away from the ocean, I can wander to the best pies "in the world" from a cottage in Kangaroo Valley, if I venture along a winding and mountainous road inland from Nowra, or cut through orchard laden paths to the Southern Highlands. The highland towns of Bowral, Berrima, Mittagong and Suttons Forest offer autumn mists, Anglo-Celtic souvenirs and cosy hideaways.
I can get to Australia's first modern inland settlement, Goulburn, if I proceed further south inland via the Hume Highway on the way to the nation's capital, Canberra, and come back home to a sumptous Italian dinner in Wollongong.
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