Discover what’s beyond the blowhole and lighthouse on a stay at BIG Easts Beach.
Escape the bright lights of Sydney and head south to Kiama for a family getaway that’s more than lighthouses and blowholes. tina-louise jackson visits a NSW favourite.
Nestled deep in a valley, with a backdrop of rolling hills and a foreground of calm, blue ocean, sits BIG4 Easts Beach Holiday Park in Kiama. A two-hour drive from Sydney, this seaside village is the perfect getaway for city families like mine.
Our mission this weekend is to unplug, unwind, enjoy and appreciate the great Australian outdoors as a family. Sure, we could whizz down the water slides of nearby Jamberoo Action Park or the ziplines of Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures, but we’re choosing the path less travelled – and mostly free – for this adventure.
BIG4 Easts Beach is bustling when we arrive on Friday evening, and it’s not even school holidays. Our home for the next couple of days is one of three “seashell retreats”, two-storey cabins set one row back from the beach. The word ‘spacious’ is an understatement; this place is huge. Sleeping eight, my husband, daughter and I can have a bedroom each (and then some). Luka (11) quickly selects the top bunk of a four-bunk room, a strange choice as a comfy double bed beckons next door. Perhaps she’s never been quick enough at school camp to bags the top bunk. With a fully fitted kitchen, there’s everything we need, including a dishwasher (which I happily use), and an ironing board (which I don’t). When I said I was unplugging, I was serious.
Rainforest walks
Blessed with beautiful weather come morning, we head out to Minnamurra Rainforest, in Budderoo National Park. We drive up the surrounding hills and down country lanes lined with fields of cows and hay bales that look like huge pink marshmallows. When we arrive, we choose the loop walk, meandering through the rainforest along raised boardwalks and suspension bridges, with only birdsong and sounds of the forest to accompany us. At the visitor centre, we’re told to keep our eyes open for rainforest residents, and today is definitely our lucky day as we spot a lyrebird and an eastern water dragon while looping through the lush greenery.
Park time
We drive back through the village of Jamberoo, with a quick stop for a delicious homemade pie at Kings Patisserie & Cafe. We also take in the panoramic views from Saddleback Mountain and then head back to the park, where Luka is keen to check out the jumping pillow, water park and new resort pools, which have just reopened after a full renovation.
The new pool complex includes a heated lounge pool with children’s play areas, a plunge pool and a large main pool with plenty of room to both wallow and swim laps. A living ‘green’ wall will soon complete the area.
Back at the cabin, it’s time for us grown-ups to unwind, have a sundowner on the balcony and take in the views. From the corner of our eyes, we catch movement just beyond the headland; it’s a migrating whale and her calf, frolicking in the surf so close to the beach that we hardly need binoculars to see them breaching joyously.
After a few games of backgammon, dinner is cooked on the grill on the downstairs balcony and enjoyed with more of those stunning ocean views.
Village attractions
In the morning, we explore Kiama, with the obligatory trip to the main blowhole, perhaps what the town is most famous for. However, our primary reason for visiting is the free stingray show, held at Kiama boat ramp on Sundays (10am). Hosted by Darren from Into the Wild Nature Tours Australia, we’re joined by massive stingrays and are thrilled to learn more about these graceful creatures, as well as the importance of marine conservation.
On our way back to the park, we swing by the less-visited Little Blowhole before tackling a section of the Kiama Coastal Walk, which passes through BIG4 Easts Beach on its way to the neighbouring town of Gerringong.
We head up over the headlands, passing Love Bay’s Dreaming Poles, two totem-like structures celebrating the Aboriginal history of the region. We then picnic on the rocks before the lure of the pool and water park brings us back to Easts Beach for a final dip and whizz down the water slides.
Sweet farewells
The park has a 4pm check out from cabins on a weekend (subject to availability), meaning we can enjoy our last day to the fullest (and not arrive home with half the beach in our car and Luka stuck to the leather seats in her wet bikini). Each Sunday, an ice-cream cart supporting local charities also visits the park and there’s quite a queue by the time we get there. Still, Luka piles her tub high with toppings (not quite as high as my husband’s, though).
All too soon it’s time to leave this home away from home, and we head back to Sydney through small coastal towns, past wild beaches, over the jaw-dropping Sea Cliff Bridge and finally through the Royal National Park before reaching the city, just in time for sunset fish and chips overlooking the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.