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Tag: Illawarra

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Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk

View from the top of the tower

Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk

Ever gone walking through a forest, looked up at the trees and wondered what it would look like from the canopy? Well at the Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk you can find out. Situated just over half an hour west of Kiama, this walk takes you through the canopy of a temperate rainforest.

Checking In

On arrival, check in at reception to confirm you allocated time, because there is a limit on how many people can be there each hour. Make sure you don’t miss out by booking ahead on their web site. At reception they have a small gift shop and café that sells drinks and snacks. There are also toilet facilities, so make use of them as there are none on the walk.

The Walk

The 500m walkway is constructed of sturdy steel, making you feel safe when you are on it. Walking along, you look down to the forest floor 20 to 30m below. Surrounded by trees, you really are a part of the forest canopy. At two points, 25m cantilever bridges extend out from the main walkway. These bounce slightly as you walk on them, but they are very safe and anchored by large steel cables. Walking to the end of the bridges takes you over the escarpment for amazing views.

The highlight of the walk is Knights Tower, which rises 45m above the forest floor, providing beautiful views all the way to the coast.

On the walk to or from the reception building, check out the decorations and displays on the way, including a miniature village.

What Did We Think?

We had a great time here and really enjoyed the views and also the feeling of being in the treetops. For the more adventurous, there is a zip line that runs through the trees. Of course, you could always do both if you wanted.

Tiny village
Tiny village
Covered entrance to the tree top walk
Covered entrance to the tree top walk
The walkway and trees
The walkway and trees
The walkway and trees Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk
The walkway and trees
Observation tower Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk
Observation tower
The walkway and tree tops from the tower Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk
The walkway and tree tops from the tower
View from the top of the tower Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk
View from the top of the tower
Steps
Steps leading up from the end of the walk

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Port Kembla Heritage Park

Breakwater Battery Sign

Port Kembla Heritage Park

Containing many large artefacts from Port Kembla’s military and industrial past, the Port Kembla Heritage Park is both an interesting and educational to visit. We parked at the end of Gloucester Boulevard, although you could also use the carpark at Foreshore Road.

The area formed an integral part of the defences of Port Kembla during the Second World War, with several large guns emplaced here. Along with the battery at Hill 60, they defended the vital steel works from a potential Japanese invasion. The guns are long gone with the only reminder they were here being the large concrete emplacements and command tower which is now the Breakwater Battery Museum.

The field of white painted concrete tetrahedrons is one of the first things you see when arriving. Originally placed on the beach to impede enemy tanks they now form a display near the old gun emplacements. They are similar to the ones at Stockton that are sometimes visible at low tide.

Gun Emplacement with anti-tank tetrahedrons Port Kembla Heritage Park
Gun Emplacement with anti-tank tetrahedrons
Tetrahedron anti-tank obstacles Port Kembla Heritage Park
Tetrahedron anti-tank obstacles

Breakwater Battery Museum

Although closed during our visit, the museum houses local military memorabilia. Housed in the old command centre for the gun battery, it is only open every 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month from 11AM to 4PM. If you intend visiting, check the opening times because they may change.

Sited next to the museum is a German 77mm field gun captured by the 45th Battalion AIF on the 8th of August 1918.

Breakwater Battery Museum Port Kembla Heritage Park
Breakwater Battery Museum
German 77mm Field Gun
German 77mm Field Gun

Monuments and Memorials

Scattered around the park are several monuments and memorials to significant local events. The largest memorial is to the Dalfram Dispute of 1938. The dispute was a political industrial dispute at Port Kembla, protesting the export of pig iron from Australia to Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It became famous for providing the nickname of Pig Iron Bob to Attorney General Robert Menzies, later to serve as Prime Minister.

Two monuments to the dispute are located here, one that looks like a giant grenade and a smaller plaque with a picture of the Dalfram.

Representing the area’s industrial past, a large Cowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam Crane sits below the museum. Nearby are several anchors and a dredge bucket, representing Port Kembla’s shipping heritage.

Dalfram Dispute Memorial
Dalfram Dispute Memorial
Dalfram Dispute Memorial Port Kembla Heritage Park
Dalfram Dispute Memorial
Anchor from the Gabriella
Anchor from the Gabriella. Memorial to lives lost when she capsized
Cowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam Crane
Cowans-Sheldon 30 Ton Steam Crane
Dredge bucket
Dredge bucket
Anchor and Chain Port Kembla Heritage Park
Anchor and Chain

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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Bass Point Reserve

Bushranger Bay Bass Point

Bass Point Reserve

A place of significant cultural value, Bass Point Reserve is Heritage Listed, due to extensive Aboriginal and Colonial use of the area. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Elouera people lived here at least 20,000 years ago. Colonial settlers arrived 1803, although European explorers had passed through before this. Settled by cedar cutters and graziers, much of the area was cleared. Land clearing, disease and hostility by Europeans resulted in the collapse of the Aboriginal population.

The Gravel Loader

One of the first sites you see at Bass Point is the gravel loader which services the local basalt quarry. It forms an interesting contrast to the other more natural heritage areas because of its industrial use.

The Gravel Loader Bass Point
The Gravel Loader

Bass Point

Walking through the Reserve, we saw some small lizards, but no other wildlife, although larger native animals inhabit the area. The eroded basalt on the shore has places where colourful orange algae grow, adding some colour to the otherwise dull rocks.

Lizard
Lizard at Bass Point
Bass Point Reserve
Weathered Basalt and Orange Algae at Bass Point Reserve

US Cities Service Boston & 6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial

On 16 May 1943, the US oil tanker US Cities Service Boston grounded here during a storm. Australian soldiers from the 6th Australian Machine Gun Battalion camping nearby assisted in the rescue of the 62 crew on board. All lives from the Boston were saved but four Australian soldiers perished in the rescue. Each year, a remembrance service commemorates the loss.

6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial
6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial
"US Cities Service Boston" & 6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial
“US Cities Service Boston” & 6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial
"US Cities Service Boston" & 6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial
“US Cities Service Boston” & 6th Machine Gun Battalion Memorial

Bushrangers Bay

At the end of Bass Point Tourist Road is a small carpark that services Bushrangers Bay. This beautiful bay has vegetation growing down to the water line. A well-maintained wooden walkway provides access down to the pebble beach.

A viewing platform designed to provide views over the bay sits above and to the left of the steps but was overgrown when we visited. This obscured what would otherwise have been a great view.

Bushrangers Bay is a Marine Reserve, so fishing or removing anything from the area is prohibited.

Wooden steps down to Bushranger Bay
Wooden steps down to Bushranger Bay
Bushranger Bay Bass Point
Bushranger Bay

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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