Just an hour from the heart of Sydney and half that from the Wollongong CBD is the small coastal suburb of Stanwell Park. If you’re looking for a wild old time, don’t chose Stanwell Park. Its quiet, it’s sleepy, it’s the perfect place to relax and unwind. It is the northern most point of the Illawarra coastal strip and lies south of Sydney’s Royal National Park. It’s nestled beneath the escarpment with Stanwell Tops up on the ridge. Bald Hill marks its northern boundary and Mount Mitchell to the south.
What we loved
Stanwell Park enjoys the undeveloped peace and quiet lacking in the bigger tourist destinations of the Illawarra coastal strip – at Thirroul for example. And yet it is so close them that all the entertainment and shopping options are just a short drive away if you want them. It’s surrounded by bush and beach with a smattering of little eateries.
Things might get a bit more lively in the near future however, with a shared walking/cycle track from the Royal National Park to Wollongong already underway. After almost a century of disuse, the old Otford Railway Tunnel is about to get a new lease of life as part of this project.
The historic tunnel (linking Stanwell Park and Otford), which opened in 1888 and saw its last passenger train in 1920, is described by some as the missing piece of a coastal track between Cronulla and Lake Illawarra. It all sounds awesome and we’ll be heading back to see how things turn out in about a year’s time. The nice bloke who ran the Airbnb where we stayed was a bit worried about the impact on his quiet life of all those walkers and cyclists coming through, – but worse things could happen to a place, that’s for sure.
What we did
Bald Hill lookout
As look outs go, Bald Hill is a doozie and well worth the early start to watch the sunrise spectacularly over the Tasman Sea. Despite the cool breeze, a gang of people had pulled up in the large car park to watch the morning unfold. The views down the Illawarra escarpment and over the beach and town are very beautiful. Off in the distance are the sinuous curves of the Sea Cliff Bridge. There’s a cafe up there too – but of course it wasn’t open at that time of day.
Life’s a beach
The beach is pretty and well used by the locals. It’s patrolled so very family friendly. There were always walkers, of fishers or surfers about to paddle out. There’s well serviced picnic areas in Stanwell Park Beach Reserve that we well used.
Flight plan
You cannot go to Stanwell Park without considering its place in aviation history. It was the home of Australian engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer, Lawrence Hargrave who conducted many of his experiments into human flight at Stanwell Park. He particularly studied the flight of birds and there would have been no shortage of those in the 1890s when, perhaps, he walked along the beach watching and thinking. The same excellent wind that made it possible for Hargrave to be lifted 16 feet off the ground in the box kite contraption he had designed, still make Stanwell Park popular for hang gliding and paragliding in Australia. Hargrave’s house is still there – now part of a retirement village, and his name and work live on in the name of the main road (Lawrence Hargrave Drive) and in the names of some local businesses such as 16 Feet Espresso.
Take a hike
There are a number of bushwalks in the area – and to be honest they could be better sign posted. However, that said, it wasn’t too much trouble to set off on the Wodi Wodi track from behind the railway station and then take a turn to follow it up to Stanwell Tops. The pretty tall forest is filled with birds. The escarpment is steep so all of these walks are likely to have their challenging sections.
Where we ate
Stanwell Park has a small shopping centre where there are a number of eateries and a bottleshop. On our first night we picked up some nice burgers from Stanwell Park General Store and Takeaway and a couple of beers from Stanwell Cellars. We had a very nice breakfast at the aptly named 16 Feet Espresso . We also enjoyed a great lunch at The Scarborough Hotel just up the road while we were exploring the area. It’s got spectacular ocean views in a nicely renovated turn of the century pub.
