We left Sydney early, the four of us (James, Nicky and us two) packed in James' car, the surf boards tied up on the roof. Soon we got of the freeway to drive through The Royal National Park (AU$11 entrance fee per car). We stopped at Garie Beach a good spot for surfing surrounded by nice cliffs. We drove through nice forests before getting onto the Sea Cliff Bridge at Coalcliff on the Lawrence Hargrave Drive. Between Coalcliff and Clifton a couple of years ago the cliff collapsed and the road with it. Now the road has been replaced by this bridge which follows the cliff's contours but hovers above the surf 50 metres offshore, it is really impressive. The drive from Sydney to Wollongong through the Royal National Park and down Lawrence Hargrave Drive has long been touted as New South Wales' answer to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, we have to say it is very nice and worth it but it is not as nice as the Great Ocean Road. We had lunch in a small cute town called Kaima where we also checked the impressive Blow Holes (see video). Later on we stopped at a seafood take away to have some oysters, hummmm! Around 4pm we reached our destination for the day, Batemans Bay, one of the south coast's largest holiday centres. The town is quite big but has no charm. It is packed with hotels, motels and holiday homes, but there are not many pubs and restaurants to choose from. We still managed to find a pub to have a drink. Back at our hostel we relaxed in the small pool and met Dan a guy from Newcastle (New South Wales, Australia) that joined us for dinner in the only restaurant in town!
