A few days after making it back to Sydney from our week long adventure in Gold Coast and Byron Bay, I headed down to Wollongong to visit Matt for a couple days. I hadn't gotten to see him for a while so I was looking forward to spending some time with him, and he still had a few places in mind around the area that he wanted to show me. We were also planning on going to the beach for a couple of days, but the weather was so cold and rainy the whole week it just didn't work out. When the weather finally cleared up a bit, we went to a nearby suburb called Kiama for the day. It was just a few train stops away, and was a cute little town right on the water (just like most of the suburbs to the North or South of Sydney). Once we got there, we grabbed a bite to eat at a nice cafe and then explored around a little. In one area over by the water there were these rocks right by the shore that formed a blowhole. There were signs around describing how they were formed and how the blowhole functioned. Essentially what happens is the waves from the ocean push water into the open areas under the rocks, and once that water builds up, it creates pressure, causing the water to release the pressure by shooting up in the air, and ultimately creating a blowhole. It was pretty neat. We were only there during low tide, though, so the water didn't shoot up as high as it can sometimes get, but it was still fun to watch. We continued to walk around the Kiama for a while-- we walked over to a cute little lighthouse, and another area with all the fishing boats, and Matt told me all about these plants in the area that he had to do a report on in high school biology.
After Kiama, we stopped at another suburb area called Minnamurra on our way back to Wollongong (well, Oak Flats really). We were only there for a short time since it was about to rain and we needed to head back for dinner anyways, but it was probably my most favorite place that I visited in all of Australia. After getting off the train, we walked about 10 minutes through a neighborhood, then over by the beach, up a hill, and finally out to a little cliff overlooking the ocean. It was so peaceful up there, and the view was beautiful. I could have stayed there all day, I loved it. We stayed as long as we could but had to leave to catch our train. We got on the train, headed home, went to the grocery, made a scrumptious dinner (well Matt made the dinner--steak, mashed potatoes, and veggies. yummmm), watched the Pirates of the Carribbean, and then went to bed. I'd say it was a pretty great day :)
After Kiama, we stopped at another suburb area called Minnamurra on our way back to Wollongong (well, Oak Flats really). We were only there for a short time since it was about to rain and we needed to head back for dinner anyways, but it was probably my most favorite place that I visited in all of Australia. After getting off the train, we walked about 10 minutes through a neighborhood, then over by the beach, up a hill, and finally out to a little cliff overlooking the ocean. It was so peaceful up there, and the view was beautiful. I could have stayed there all day, I loved it. We stayed as long as we could but had to leave to catch our train. We got on the train, headed home, went to the grocery, made a scrumptious dinner (well Matt made the dinner--steak, mashed potatoes, and veggies. yummmm), watched the Pirates of the Carribbean, and then went to bed. I'd say it was a pretty great day :)