Kiama | Day trip from Sydney

On a day off, two friends and I decided to head south to meet another friend in Kiama. It was a 2.5 hour train ride down from Central station, which passed by quickly in the company of friends. Parts of the journey were very scenic as we went along the coast, catching glimpses of green hills and sparkling beaches. 

Karenna – who I met in Adelaide – met us at Kiama station. Having lived in the town for several weeks, she was our tour guide for the day. We’d done little research into what Kiama offers, and were keen to put the day’s itinerary in her very capable hands. 

Our first stop was for a drink. It was a hot day, mid heat wave, so I chose a refreshing ginger beer to sip whilst we spent an hour catching up. 

We then wandered the town centre, including browsing the local market shops. I bought a pair of polymer clay daisy earrings that I couldn’t stop staring at. They were only $14 (about £7), so I was pleased with them. Kirsty tried on a beautiful linen look coordinate set that ticked the boxes of something she’d been looking for. 

We went to Woolworths to pick up picnic snacks, and spent a considerable amount of time wandering the aisles. We loaded fruit, bread, chips, dips, popcorn and more into the trolley, and then divided items at the checkout. Bags full, we embarked on a scenic coastal walk to get to our picnic spot on Kendalls beach. 

We saw the rock pool, very similar to the baths that dot Sydney’s scenic coast. At the top of the hill was the lighthouse. Then we walked on to the blowhole. I wasn’t expecting much, having tried to see some known blowholes in Western Australia, and having no luck. So I was surprised and impressed when we saw lots of water shoot up into the air. It would splash high and come back down again in heavy, rainfall-like patters, or in clouds of mist, rainbows refracting in the air. 

We continued walking, hunger stirring in our stomachs. By the time we reached Kendalls we were keen to relax in the shade for a while, having been in the sun for the entire walk. So we set up picnic blankets on the north end of the beach, where the cliff cast a shadow of relief. We spent the following hour snacking on picnic food, chatting, and laughing. When we got cooler, we moved into the sunshine and attempted a swim (you can read about this here!) before drying off in the sun. For the next few hours, we continued picking at our picnic snacks, laughing, and chatting. At one point, we saw signs of a whale near the horizon, water shooting in the air.

Karenna then accompanied us back to the station. We were all sandy and tired. It was a happy tired though. Kirsty put it as like ‘coming back from the fireworks as a kid’ which I thought was beautiful, and accurate.