The coast between Sydney and Wollongong in New South Wales is a row of picturesque little villages nestled between the escarpment and some of the best beaches in Australia. People around here call it 'God's country'.
Bald Hill is a popular place for motorcyclists and tourists to stop and watch the hang gliders and paragliders take off in a colourful swirl over the aqua seas.
From Bald Hill one can have a 360-degree view of Stanwell Park, the Sea Cliff bridge, right to the outer point of Port Kembla to the South, and to the North the beautiful white cliffs of the Royal National Park coast.
The
Sea Cliff bridge was built because the old road between Coalcliff and
Scarborough was literally falling apart, and rocks as large as cars fell down onto the road in stormy weather. The cantilever bridge has a walkway and cycleway with stunning views to the North. Before Wollongong council decided to cut them all off many people attached padlocks to the bridge to signify a special relationship or event, but it caused rust and other problems on the bridge. One day I did the 4.5km walk from Coalcliff to
Clifton and back I found a council worker cutting the locks. He said he had one of the worst jobs because it felt like sacrilege, but he added that the council was planning a large art structure to provide the opportunity for people to display their sentimentalities.
Lawrence Hargrave was an Australian pioneer of flight who experimented with box kites in the early 20th century on this very hill and it is apt that paragliders and hang gliders like flying here. I've had many tandem flights and consider it one of the highlights of my life. Well worth trying if ever you visit this stunning coast.
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| Taken during one of my tandem flights over Bald Hill |
