Port Kembla to Minnamurra
Day 53 | Port Kembla to Minnamurra 30km (1238 km) | 9 hr
Started out from Port Kembla Beach today to avoid the long traverse around the Port Kembla steelworks south of Wollongong. Overcast skies and a chilly dawn wind didn't make for a picture perfect sunrise but did make for a fast warm up march down long Port Kembla and Windang Beaches to the mouth of Lake Illawara.
After crossing the mouth of the lake it was over to Warilla Beach and Windang Island - looking somewhat spooky in the cloudy gloom - an intriguing place in which to wander. 'Shipwrecked' rails and carriage wheels scattered on the rock platforms added to the eerie atmosphere. (I believe in the1880s rails and trolleys were used to move stone to create a break wall for the mouth of Lake Illawara).
Warilla Beach has a great shared path above the sand with a convenient pedestrian/bike bridge across Elliott Lake. Perhaps it's the influence of Shell in this area, but the 'outdoor facilities' - benches, picnic areas, pathways, etc all have a rather luxurious 'resort' feel to them around here - climate emergency and all that, but extra nice for a coastal walker.
Next it was around Barrack Point to Blacks Beach followed by Shell Harbour North and Cowrie Island. I noted the Ocean Beach Hotel as a potentially excellent spot for a sundowner one day - but it was not this day.
On on around Shell Cove, past the Gravel Loader and out to magnificent Bass Point Aquatic Reserve and Bushrangers Bay. This area does not seem to get the kudos it deserves. Incredible rock platforms, spectacularly-coloured lichen-covered rocks, amazing eroded inlets and a whole host of secret little nooks and crannies just waiting to be enjoyed. Magic place (even despite the slag heaps of the large quarry a little inland).
It's technically possible to walk all the way around the rock shelves (and that was my intention) but there were definitely a few 'technical' sections that led to a 'discretion is the better part of valour' decision on my part to take the long way round via the road to Maloneys Bay.
Awesome Killalea Beach and the Farm were next. Killalea Regional Park is well known to locals but again does not seem to figure on any 'must see places' list - it should! Highly recommended.
At the southern edge of Killalea is magical Mystics Beach and then wonderfully isolated Minnamurra Beach. The Minnamurra River cuts this off from the Minnamurra 'mainland' but you can access it from the northern end in Killalea Park or by swimming or boating across the river.
Coast photos never look as 'tourist promo' when the skies are grey. I so love Killalea and Bass Point that I'd hoped to show them in a 'perfect' light. But then again, I was reflecting that perhaps, these spots that I know and love so well, just want to keep their 'lights under a bushel' remaining a little shrouded to thus reward those who take the time to discover and appreciate them all by themselves! Go for it.
So, another great day's meander. Tomorrow will be the final day of this stage - Kiama to Gerringong on the superb Kiama Coastal Walk, with a bonus catch up with some old friends from my Brunei days. What a joy!