I needed to pick a destination for a day trip on a 5-day Easter weekend. It should only be 2-3 hours away from Sydney. Being autumn down here, a beach trip was pretty much out of the question.
I somehow stumbled onto Kangaroo Valley while researching on the internet. It was a quiet village 2 hours drive from Sydney. It seemed to have the right ingredients to what a day trip should be. It had quaint little shops, good food, a fudge house and ice creamery, an award-winning bakehouse and a nearby falls that was supposed to take one’s breath away.
I guess the only way to find out was to go and check it out.
From Sydney, we drove down to the New South Wales south coast via the M7, the M5 and the Hume Highway past Wollongong. Along the scenic drive on Princes Highway just outside the beachside town of Gerringong, we had a quick photo stop at the Mt Pleasant lookout. From here, our first major stop was the Cambewarra Mountain Lookout at Beaumont.
Along the Princess Highway Google Maps directed us to follow the “signs for Nowra” and turn right onto Tourist Drive 7. After seven kilometres of twisting climbs on a road barely wide enough for two cars, we turned left onto Tourist Road. We kept driving until we found the Cambewarra Mountain Lookout.
By then it was lunchtime. I started to hear grumblings of hunger from the two boys. We had better find Kangaroo Valley – where we planned to have lunch – and quickly. Fortunately, the town itself was only 15 minutes away. I was surprised to find the short commercial strip along Moss Vale Road packed with tourists like us. If people knew about Kangaroo Valley, I asked myself, what took me so long to discover this secret gem.
Lunch was at Cafe Bella. It was an old house that had been converted into a cafe. The place served delightful food. I had the garlic prawn spaghetti while Ariel had the mushroom risotto – “A mushroom in every mouthful!”, he exclaimed. Our two boys had the all-day breakfast of bacon and two eggs on Turkish bread. My cousin, Julius (who treated us to lunch – Thanks, Julius), had a steak sandwich. We all loved the food at Cafe Bella.
After lunch we took a walk down Kangaroo Valley’s main strip ending up at the Kangaroo Valley Fudge House and Ice Creamery. We all had ice cream for dessert – Triple Swirl for the boys, English Toffee for Ariel, Cafe Creme for me and a triple scoop of Licorice for Julius! Our hunger magnificently sated, we headed for our final destination – Fitzroy Falls. It was only 15 minutes from Kangaroo Valley. The view of the falls was breathtaking. I couldn’t believe that I have only now discovered this place after ten years of living in Sydney. To me, Fitzroy Falls is grander than the Blue Mountains. And that statement speaks volumes!
And so after a day of good food, magnificent views and enjoyable company, we headed home tired but happy.
senga says
Ayyy kani ta toh ako giadto I prefer also waterfalls…I hope you visit Karijini National Park.
If you liked visiting this place, you will like Karijini for the Pilbara and the adventure of going up and down the rocks to see waterscapes and landscapes of red earth…