Kiama Coastal Walk (Minnamurra to Gerringong)

While organising a walk with my mate Tristan, as we had not been for a walk together since November 2021. We discussed new walks but due to the constant rain due to 'La niña', a lot were either rained out or were going to be sloppy muddy trails.

I was eager to try something a bit longer to test out my physical fitness and lung health since returning to work full time following my Stem Cell Transplant. I thought of the Kiama Coastal Walk, which although I had blogged about before it was just the last third of the walk, which I had done that first time with my friends (the disastrous walk I had written about). But I had done that final third numerous times since then, while Dog-sitting with my Wife, looking after her cousin's two Beagles, and once we got our own puppy Orla. I had also done the first third only once, as a fun-run for charity (for the Red Cross), which I probably why I had been thinking about it, as I am now no longer allowed to donate blood due to my Leukemia. However I had never done all 3 sections of the walk in the one go and neither had Tristan, so we agreed that this 20km walk would be our goal, deciding to drive to Gerringong and park one of our cars their, whilst the other drove us to Minnamurra to begin the walk (so we didn't need to walk back and do a total of 40km).

Leading up to the day of our walk (19th June, 2022) the weather warned of rain and we were unsure if we would be able to go. Ultimately the morning came and the weather held and I began my drive to Gerringong after confirming with Tristan he was all set to go.

While driving past Kiama to Gerringong I began to think about how long the drive was taking, and questioned with this walk was the right thing thinking it might be insanely long. (When meeting up with Tristan he told me he had the exact same thoughts driving along there).

I took the turn off to Gerringong and in my head had been planning to just drive in the middle of town for a park. However I saw a sign pointing left to Werri Lagoon (the spot in which the walk really is meant to end), and drove down that way figuring it would be much nicer to come out from the beach and not have to walk far to the car. 

I pulled up, screenshotting my Google Maps location to Tristan, realising we had never agreed on a spot to meet. He was further down, even closer to Werri Lagoon. He was walking up and jumped into the passenger seat of my car. "I guess I'm driving to Minnamurra?" I jokingly asked.
I began the drive back North, while a big trail of school boys (they were in uniforms on a weekend so I don't know) began the walk from the Gerringong end. Tristan informed me that he was getting me to drive to Minnamurra as he actually didn't know where he was supposed to go.

Turning off the main road just past Bombo train station I drove us past the golf course finally arriving at Minnamurra to begin our walk.

Leaving my car I began to work to the nearby toilet block near the tennis courts, with Tristan confusingly asking me if if I was going the right way. I had to let him know I was simply using the toilet before we began.

We made our way down to the water, looking out at a little island. Tristan asked if I knew if it had a name and I told him I had no idea. 

"You can look it up later." He told me.

I did look it up, and it is known as Rangoon Island or 'Stack Island' named after an 1870 shipwreck. After looking into it (and almost getting it confused with the SS Rangoon that shipwrecked in 1871 in Sri Lanka), I was able to find the history of it in a blurb on the 'Discover Shellharbour' website that read as follows: "The barque 'Rangoon' was wrecked on Stack Island at the mouth of the Minnamurra River on 22nd March, 1870. The anchor is situated outside the Ocean Beach Hotel at Shellharbour on land formerly owned by Captain William Wilson. Wilson assisted in the rescue of the ship-wrecked crew of the 'Rangoon'." As for why it was named Stack Island I couldn't find any further information.

We stopped to look at two information plaques, one detailing the first third of the walk, and the second information regarding Minnamurra river.

We finally began the walk. I told Tristan I had never actually been this way, as when I started the walk for the Red Cross we had begun in a street that I felt like was on top of a hill (I couldn't really remember as it had been years before).

As we began our walk we instantly began catching up. I commented to him that it was our first hike since the previous year and that we hadn't even seen each other since then. However I then remembered we had caught up a month or two prior at the Shellharbour Civic Centre for a Nature Talk on Fungi, but hadn't really gotten to properly catch up during that time due to listening to the seminar.

As we came out the little forest of trees, a clearing opened up in front of us with a grass hill with two track mowed into it.

On deciding which path to walk along we decided to go left and stick along the coast (both paths met up anyway)

Along this way was slightly muddy, I assumed due to the excessive rainfall in recent times, and we made our way slowly through it until it was nice solid grass again and continued the walk, with Tristan pointing out a painted rock (commonly called NSW Rocks), however it didn't say so on the back as they usually do.

Our walk began to wind it's way uphill and gave a great view over the opening of the Minnamurra River.

Soon we found the walk led us to a footpath along the water getting our first look at Jones Beach in Kiama Downs.

Before the walk turned to our right following a footpath along through houses there was a little lookout point filled with information on Whales, I assumed built for Whale Watching. We stopped here to read the information and I remembered I hadn't put on any sunscreen and so stopped to put some on (I have to be careful with skin cancer after my chemotherapy). I then swapped my beanie that I had forgot to remove for my hat (I brought the beanie in case the wind levels were too high and my hat kept blowing off).

As we began walking past houses I commented that it wasn't the best scenery to photograph for a blog post, but I was also relieved a bit to simply enjoy the walk and chatting with my friend. He filled me in on "all the hot goss" from his birthday night, that I didn't go to as at the time I was to stressed about Covid, given my immune system is still recovering (I've stopped stressing so much now that I've had 5 shots of covid vaccine, like there's literally nothing else I can do, however I still haven't caught it, yay me). I filled him in about how full on work had been for me, and the exhaustion I was feeling. I also let of some steam by angrily ranting about certain things.

"Shouldn't you be like zen?" He asked me, "Most people who go through these life events come out of the other side with like, greater appreciation, you're like, even crankier."

"I was zen when I was at home, in between treatments. But I'm back at work now and dealing with people. I've got no more fucking zen. All my zen is fucking gone." I replied.

Before I knew it, like no time had passed at all we were walking past the Kiama Downs Surf Life Saving Club. I pointed across the carpark to a fish and chip shop, telling Tristan that you could get deep fried mars bars there.

"Or at least you could. It was years ago I had one." I explained to him, just in case that fish and chip shop was no longer there, or no longer sold them. I explained that it was a weird thing to eat, as the melted nougat had a mozzarella like texture, but I had found out from a friend they were there and had made the trip down to try one (all years ago), because I didn't get the opportunity to try one while I was in Scotland.

We continued along the footpath on North Kiama Drive, passing families out with their children. As we passed a park, we could no longer view the beach but where now walking again up a street between houses and the road began to incline.

We continued talking about a variety of things until we came to a fork in the road where North Kiama Drive split, to the right leading over the railway, however we continued along the footpath winding left onto Cliff road, continuing still past houses (at some point commenting something along the lines of: Fuck rich people, due to the large and probably expensive houses). Tristan began to fill me in on the girl he had been dating (for a while now), filling me in on the backstory of how they met, etc.

"If you write about it in your blog, mention she has a great ass." He told me.
"I'm not putting that in." I replied, apparently lying.

Soon Cliff road began to decline and the road in front of us opened up, to an a view of the ocean and Cathedral Rocks.

"It doesn't really look like the picture." Tristan commented, referring to the photo on the plaque.
"Erosion I suppose." I responded.

The road began uphill again, as we passed an area known as 'The Boneyard Beach' and I told Tristan that I had done some exploring and Bush regeneration work there once while I worked for the Green Army at Killalea State Park (it has now recently become a National Park). The conversation become about why I didn't try and get back into bush regeneration work compared to the work I was doing, as I had commented that there was no uphill climbing in my job role and it was pretty stagnant and unfulfilling work. From there the conversation somehow got on to politics, as were spoke about the recent federal election and results. I mentioned a recent argument I had had with my Dad and our differing politics and how it had caused me to hang up the phone on him and that we hadn't spoken since. Tristan explained that was why he tried to avoid talk of politics with people.

We soon passed the Bombo Wastewater Treatment Plant (which thankfully didn't smell, as it always use to stink near there when I was a kid).

As we crossed the road I had to laugh at a sign someone had placed on the side of the road.

We walked our way down to Bombo Beach and I began having a snack of chips while Tristan offered me his Protein Ball recipe.

As we made our way along the road the wind began to pick up and I had to swap my hat out for my beanie. I pointed back at the rockface behind us mentioning to Tristan the time I climbed it.

We came to the little tunnel that cars drive through to park at Bombo Beach and we made our way up the stairs next to it to continue the walk along the side of the highway.

Looking back the way we had come

As we passed Kiama Cemetery Tristan couldn't help but make lame Dad jokes about graveyards too me, so lame that they were actually funny.

Tristan was blown away when he saw that the rail workers had a little food truck to cater to them. He was so blown away by the fact while I shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal.

As we approached Spring Creek I pointed up at a big billboard for The Hungry Monkey, a food place in Kiama, asking him if he had ever eaten there. He said he had and it was good. I told him I wanted to go once, but knew it was always busy, I had wanted to reserve a table but had been told they only reserved for up to 6 people. I told him that the most I had to go there was four, and thus I was still yet to go there and try the burgers.

We arrived at the bridge over Spring Creek, with a sign letting us know we could turn left, and get to Kiama via the wetlands, or continue straight and enter Kiama via Gipp street. I told Tristan that when I had done it last time I hadn't even seen that sign and had just went straight. We both agreed that we were making good time and decided to go via the wetlands.

We were wondering where this walk would take us, as it turned right underneath the bridge crossing to the other side of the highway, however when we rounded the bend we saw out path flooded in front of us.

I suggested making our way across the little ledge to cross this section, but we didn't know what the path ahead would be like, so reluctantly we walked back and followed the highway, turning in towards Black Beach and away from the noise as soon as we were able. While following Spring Creek we saw a little community garden in memory of Tara and friends. We thought about who these people were and what had happened for this to be made in their memory. It made me remember that the world is a huge place and there are a billion people and a billion different things going on at any given moment and we were there on the walk at this point in time thinking about people we didn't even know.

We made our way uphill on Gipp St, while continuing to give insult and belittle each other. "This is the way"- I would comment if I were a Mandalorian.

I began asking Tristan about shows he'd been watching, commenting that I had started the Obi Wan Kenobi show that was renewing my love of Star Wars having earned a distaste for the franchise following the new Disney trilogy of films, and sentiment he agreed with.

We took a detour into Kiama as Tristan was in the mood for a coffee, and made our way to funnily enough, the Hungry Monkey where Tristan began ordering a coffee, asking me if I wanted one. I told him I was all good.

"Do you not want it because you don't want one? Or because you don't want me to pay for it?" He asked.
"I plead the fifth." I responded, before he demanded my coffee order of a small full cream latte.
I noticed he ordered using oat milk and I commented on the fact to him.
"I think I might be lactose intolerant." He said. "Except for cheese, cheese is great."
I furrowed my brow.
"You're not lactose intolerant." I replied while the girls serving us seemed to look on with bemusement.

We made our way down to the harbour where we noticed the markets was on. Both our senses were going off due to the smells of barbequing and all the food stalls. While walking through Tristan debated on whether or not to buy a sausage sizzle, but there was also a million other things to be tempted by. Almost towards the end of the crowded market stalls just near Kiama Harbour Park, I noticed a food stall selling black garlic. Two cloves for $12, which I ended up buying having never tried it before and always wanting too. As we reached the end of the harbour I asked Tristan if he wanted to walk up and around the lighthouse to do the walk as a purist. He said it was up to me. I shrugged noting I had walked around the lighthouse a hundred times. 

"Fuck it." He said and we cut across Blowhole Point road to Storm Bay and continued walking around Church Point. As we walked through I told him that myself and my Wife (and our Dog Orla), had come to Kiama the day before my cancer diagnosis. That we had done a walk around and I had seemed to struggle on the hills with my Wife excitedly declaring that she was getting fitter than me. (Nope, I had cancer).

The Day before my Cancer diagnosis

Walking down to Coronation Park across from Kiama surf beach I quickly stopped at some chin-up/pull-up bars to do some pull ups to test my fitness.

We made our way around Kendalls Point, passing some of the school children we had seen as we were leaving Werri Lagoon to drive to Minnamurra. I began asking Tristan if he watched the Australian ABC TV Series 'Gruen' mentioning it had recently done a bit about the new McDonalds coffee the 'Australiano', mentioning that I wanted to try it due to the wattle seed in it, mentioning that wattles seed was used as a coffee substitute anyway (I ended up trying it, didn't mind the flavour but found it a bit too sweet). We then got into a bit of a debate about covid and covid lockdowns, as well as vaccine mandates. With my attitude being pro them, having experienced the entire pandemic being vulnerable due to being immunocompromised due to my chemotherapy and Stem Cell Transplant and explaining that people who were against vaccine were often "fucking morons" as I put it, and "anti-science", while Tristan didn't disagree with me he also didn't like the idea of enforcement, feeling like mandates were pressuring people to do stuff, something he was against. I disagreed saying there wasn't force, although I agreed there was some slight coercion explaining that it was herd immunity and these things were brought in to protect people from dipshit anti-science nutters, explaining they still had the right to not get vaccinated, but they suffered consequences because of that, and if they didn't suffer those consequences it would be other people (the vulnerable), who would suffer.

We made our way across Kendalls Beach and up a small track to Kaleula Head, passing the rest of these young boys in the uniform and some adults with them, pondering if if was some school or weird scouts thing (we still don't know).

After walking over as grass hill overlooking the ocean the walk turned off into the streets of Kiama Heights as we made our way through Boanyo Ave, towards Kiama's 'Little Blowhole'.

Walking up this along this street we continued talking about politics, with Tristan filling my in on his plan to have every political decision to come as a little voting poll in an app or website for all citizens to vote on to make the country a true democracy. We turned left up Tingira Crescent and eventually turned left going down to the Little Blowhole that had a bit of a crowd of people around it. Tristan went to continue walking past it but I told him we should stop to allow it to blow at least once before we continued on. After giving a burst of water up into the air, we continued on, quickly shifting through conversation topics at a whim. We followed the coast along Marsden Head, walking along the outskirts of Tingira Crescent, glad to be off the streets again. 

We soon got our first site of Easts Beach, which I had never seen or been to before.

We walked down a tight fitting set of concrete steps down to the beach that was opposite Easts Beach Holiday Park.

"What's that?"

"A goal post?"

We made our way along the sand, walking up to walk along the grass on the border of the holiday park. As we passed through we saw a toilet block which Tristan said he wanted to go to because he needed "toilet tissue" for a runny nose. However I didn't understand what he said, hearing something else the first 3 times he said it until he explained he meant toilet paper and my brain finally allowed me to comprehend him. (I took the opportunity to take a whizz and reapply my sunscreen while stopping too).

There was a little creek passing through the park and out to the beach. So we decided to walk into the park and over a little bridge to continue along the walk. 

I commented to Tristan that the park was really pretty, and that I hadn't really gone away to a park like this since I was a kid. (Dad use to take me and my brothers away all the time to Coolendel, Sussex Inlet, Myola, etc, so I have fond memories). I said that I wanted a holiday with my Wife and Dog, having booked to stay in a Dog friendly camp ground north of Newcastle after my holiday to Japan was cancelled due to the covid pandemic beginning. However I was diagnosed with my cancer shortly after booking it and we had a hard time trying to get a refund from that place, so were yet to have a holiday away. Tristan suggested we do a joint one (or at least invite him and his girlfriend over to our house) for everyone to meet.

We continued along the coast around some grassland heading up towards the Kiama Coastal Walk Picnic Area and Lookout.

On a information signpost there for a fun-run, the 'Kiama Coastal Classic' to run, jog or walk either different sections of the coastal track, or all of it. "I'm not paying for that." I said, knowing I probably wouldn't have the fitness to run it anyway.

As we continued around we got our first view of Loves Bay, the familiar section of the Kiama Coastal walk where I had started the last third from many times.

We sat across the bay having a little lunch. I peeled my mandarin and removed my beanie letting the sunlight in my pale bald head, telling Tristan it needed some colour, but at the same time I had to be more careful of skin cancer due to the chemotherapy.

Tristan made some sort of reference to making love to each other (Loves Bay), and I probably said some filthy disgusting response to that, but I can't remember due to work being full on and taking way to long to get around to actually writing about our walk, plus I have chemo-brain).

We made our way around the beautiful hilly coast, (which had always reminded me of the British Isles along there, I can't say why. Maybe the farmland or too many films?)

The joy of walking past farmland is occasionally there will be Cows close to the fence, and we were lucky enough to be close to a few of the gorgeous animals, including one scratching itself on a nearby tree.

I could already feel a sense of satisfaction, of completion, but realistically I was just starting the start of the walk I would usually do (but thankfully I didn't have to walk back). 

We passed around a section of the walk called Bare Bluff, and I pointed at the small section of forest in the distance, telling Tristan you could walk down in amongst the trees that where remnants of an ancient rainforest known as 'The Long Brush'.

Continuing on towards this we kept seeing different birds flying over head including sea hawks and others, which Tristan would point out and name only for me to annoyingly tell him it was a Seagull or a Pelican (it never was).

As we passed the ancient remains of the forest an old couple sitting on the one section of seating offered it to us for us to have a rest. We politely told them we were just going to charge on, with Tristan commenting to me that he was shocked to encounter nice and polite people (a rarity these days, I know).

Just had we had passed the forest, Tristan pointed out telling me he could see a Dolphin. I looked to where he was pointing and noticed that there was a whole pod of them, making their way north along the coast.

We continued along past a section known as Red Cliff, glimpsing our first view of Gerringong in the distance.

Tristan began telling me about the big house located up on the hill, and the film it was used in. I knew about The Invisible Man being filmed in a house (Pebble Farm Cove, I learned as I looked it up), but Tristan was talking about another film, The Hollow Man. (I think I had tuned out and missed the start of his conversation, I think he was saying that they were similar sorts of plots in the films).

Continuing on we could see Werri Lagoon and we knew the end of the walk was a few minutes away.

Passing the 'Meadow Marsh' we read a plaque informing us of the history and of the property, however we couldn't see the property it was talking about anywhere in front of us.

The path through past the lagoon towards the beach was still pretty flooded from the recent rains, and we made our way through slowly along the sides avoiding sinking into the slopping puddles of mud.

We made our way up the small section of beach in front of us to the end of Pacific Ave, on the corner of Werri Street, where Tristan had parked his car just in front of the public toilets.

I appreciated the artwork on the toilets

Jumping into his car I was already talking to him about our next hike, as well as trying to get him to come bouldering with me at the local bouldering gym (he had pulled a muscle in his arm so needed to wait until it was feeling better). As I directed him back towards the carpark at Minnamurra I noticed the music playing from his car was 'Misty Mountain's Cold' from 'The Hobbit' he mentioned it was a cover from a guy who he listens to with a really deep voice, telling me I would probably like the artist.

As we arrived at Minnamurra the school boy group (again, I don't know if it was a school, that's just how they looked), was just arriving in the car park. 

We agreed to catch up again soon, both agreeing for a walk that was more surrounded by nature.

If you have enjoyed this post, or my blog in general, please follow it, or like my page on facebook or follow me on Instagram. 

Thanks for reading! - Steven