Today I had a chance to travel to Wollongong and Kiama, which are 2 hours from Sydney, thanks to long time friend Ravi Alluru from AppLabs.   Ravi drove Anil and me on a long beautiful journey towards Kiama passing Helensburgh (where we stopped at Balaji Temple, and had soul food, Masala Dosa), drove by Grand Pacific Drive (which is featured in many Bollywood and Telugu movies, and my second stint too), walked by the secret beach (not sure how it can be a secret), stopped in the midst of pathway along Wollongong and taking HDR pics of landscape, passed by Royal National which is second oldest national park in the world, which offers spectacular scenery from sub tropical rainforests, and ended our journey at Kiama and sat on the top of basalt rock, situated at edge of eastern Australia. We returned home for hot dinner served by Mrs. Ravi. I had also chance to catch up with few more colleagues in the town

Video Link Below:

This is the video from previous ride on GPD, outside Sydney

“No So” Secret Beach

Journey towards Wollongong & Pics around it

About Wollongong: Wollongong, informally referred to as “The Gong”, is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales,Australia. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres (51 miles) south of Sydney. Wollongong’s Statistical District has a population of 292,190 (2010 est.), making Wollongong the third largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle, and the tenth largest city in Australia. However, we haven’t bumped into too many folks on the road or near the beaces

Wollongong is noted for its heavy industry, its port activity and the quality of its physical setting, occupying a narrow coastal plain between an almost continuous chain of surf beaches and the cliffline of the rainforest-covered Illawarra escarpment. Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere, is in this town. We passed by it, but did not go inside.

The name “Wollongong” is believed to mean “seas of the South” in the local aboriginal language, referring to NSW’s Southern Coast. Other meanings have been suggested, such as “great feast of fish”, “hard ground near water”, “song of the sea”, “sound of the waves”, “many snakes” and “five islands” (Source: Wiki)

About Kiama: Kiama /kaɪˈæmə/ is a township 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra, New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the 2011 census, Kiama had a population of 12,817 people.One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. The seaside town features several popular surfing beaches, caravan parks and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants. Its proximity to the south of Sydney makes it an attractive destination for a large number of day trippers. Kiama was the site of two strong volcanic flows, called the Gerringong Volcanics, which came out of Saddleback Mountain, now a collapsed volcanic vent. The Kiama Blowhole is part of an erosion process on the more recent rock, formed into columnar basalt, or latite. The beaches around Kiama offer a large range of surfing conditions. Many surfing competitions are held here every year. The name “Kiama” is derived from the Aboriginal word “kiarama“, which means “Place where the sea makes a noise”. Kiama is also known as the place where the mountains touch the sea.This is in reference to the Kiama Blowhole which attracts a large number of visitors each year. Kiama Lighthouse, on Blowhole Point, was built in 1887 and is situated close to the Kiama Blowhole (Source: Wiki)

Few pics around as we walked around our office in Sydney.