OH! Magazine - Australian Version January 2014 (Australian Version) | Page 32

TONI
KRASICKI

GET YE TO ‘THE GONG’!
Blessed with beautiful beaches, Australia’s oldest national park and lush rolling
hills, Wollongong is shaking it’s steel city moniker and becoming renowned as
a haven for lovers of all things outdoors. Toni Krasicki explains.

riends of mine living in Wollongong
are constantly gloating, and never
fail to remind me that they live in
paradise. They say the stunning beaches,
not too crowded surf breaks, and lack of
gridlocked peak hour traffic, makes city
living easy and enjoyable. Over the years
I have heeded their advice and spent
many weekends exploring the many
layers of the city. However, ‘The Gong’, as
fondly known by locals and visitors alike,
is highly underestimated and often just
used as a gateway to destinations further
south. NSW’s third largest city is within

F

32

ISSUE 6 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

cooee distance of Sydney, only 80
kilometres, so sees it’s fair share of
daytrippers, but stay a little longer and
you’ll unearth a region rich in natural
beauty offering an abundance of outdoor
pursuits.
Heading south from Sydney, the best
way to experience the region and ensure
you don’t bypass the city is to take the
scenic route along the Grand Pacific
Drive starting at the Royal National Park,
Australia’s oldest. Peppered with caves,
Aboriginal rock engravings and middens,
as well as walking tracks and secluded

beaches, the park is traversed by the
26-kilometre multi-day Otford Track
walk. I join Ian Wells from Sydney Coast
Walks for a history lesson on everything
from the first landowners to how the
sandstone cliff faces were formed, while
making our way around the northern end
of the park at Jibbon Point.
I’ve walked the Otford Track a couple of
times, and one of the highlights, apart
from camping in the park, is the heritagelisted cabins built during the Depression
to house families. Although only accessible
on foot, they are used as weekenders by

adventuregirlwrites.com

(Where, Oh Where? )