One of the Australia's great scenic drives, the Grand Pacific Drive is a major scenic road in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Starting at the Royal National Park, it continues down to Bomaderry and is the longest tourist drive in New South Wales at 134 km long.
Understand
Most other states of Australia do not have their coastal roads as well situated as this one, with the views, the access, the length, and the variety of environments. Driving from Sydney along this route, even only in sections if restricted by time or budget, is an experience that has an impact on most travellers.
Prepare
You might need to carry special clothing for this itinerary — the climate in this area is a lot cooler than it is in Sydney. It can get mildly windy in some coastal parts especially near the southerly part of this route. The route does go through the Royal National Park, so you must pay $8 from Sutherland to Otford. However, after Otford, the road is free to use.
The next question is if you want to drive the whole way on the road, or stop and take a slower view via the bush walks along the road. This will come down to time. A simple trip along the road can be quite time-consuming. For example, from the Sutherland city centre to the Sea Cliff Bridge may only take one or two hours, or going to Kiama Blowhole can take up to 2½ hours on the road. There are other direct routes you can take to get you there faster without going on the winding ocean road. There is also Lawrence Hargrave Drive, which starts at Helensburgh and an alternate route if you want to avoid the Royal National Park and a quicker and alternate way to access the Sea Cliff Bridge from Sydney.
You can do the road in a long day, starting quite early from Sutherland (7AM) and finishing the loop back quite late. If you do so, make sure you are road tripping with someone, or a group of you who can share the driving. There are also options in staying in either Kiama or Wollongong, breaking the trip in multiple days.
Time
If you drive without stopping, then it will take just over 2½ hours. However, during holiday season, this can all change. However, if you were to stop at Wattamola, Bald Hill, Sea Cliff Bridge and some of the Wollongong beaches. It alone can take more than 4 hours. If you continue along heading east of Lake Illawarra, and stop at Kiama, Gerringong and Geroa and the Shoalhaven River, it may take 3 hours alone and the whole day to do explore everything.
Get around
There are several modes of travel that are used on the Grand Pacific Drive.
By bus or train
Most of this route is not covered by buses or trains. Buses do operate through Wollongong, but apart from that, it isn't really possible, especially in the Royal National Park.
By car
Some spur sections of the Royal National Park are unpaved. In some parts, it can also be a motorway standard road, especially from Shellharbour to Gerringong.
By bike
This route is one of the most bike-friendly routes in New South Wales. In some parts, bikes have a shared path along with pedestrians especially in Wollongong and Kiama. The only places where cyclists have to dismount are in some steep parts of Lawrence Hargrave Drive.
Drive
While not it's part of the itinerary, most people will start from Sydney and head south for around 45 minutes.
- 1 Royal National Park. Begin your journey from Australia's oldest national park.
- 2 Wollongong. Explore some of the divine beaches here.
- 3 Shellharbour. Experience one of the Southern parts of Wollongong and do some surfing.
- 4 Kiama. Stay back to see both the blowholes in action.
- 5 Jervis Bay. See one of the whitest beaches in the world.
Stay safe
The crime rate is high in Wollongong and continually increasing. Avoid parking your car on the streets at night. Try to book a hotel/motel that has a closed carpark. There are some side trips on the Royal National Park. Some tracks aren't paved. Carry a satellite phone with you.