[Sydney Trip] Day 5: Road Trip to Melbourne

We started bright and early at 6:48am for our road trip to Melbourne. We drove through Grand Pacific Drive towards Wollongong and had a quick break at Garie Beach and also at Otford Lookout point, Royal National Park.

Scenic coastal drive

A sight to behold

On a whim, we decided to go to Nan Tien Temple, one the largest Buddhist temples in southern hemisphere, without realizing that it’s a Monday – the only day in the week when the temple’s closed 

Our next stop was Kiama, a township located 120km south of Sydney. We saw the Kiama Blowhole, where water was sprayed up every now and then from the hole formed by the rocks on the coast. What an apt name for the place, as Kiarama, the original aboriginal word means 'place where the sea makes a noise'.

At Kiama

Lunch was also in Kiama, where we spotted a Thai restaurant named Thai Harbourview and went right in. It was a good choice – their pad thai, tom yum and sausage fried rice were good.

Thai food for lunch

Given that our hotel is located in Metung, about 700km far from Sydney, the planned coastal drive was proven to be an ambitious route. So it’s then decided to switch to faster route via Capital Territory. We stopped by at one KFC outlet for a break and then at Jen & Dazza’s diner at Cann River for dinner. After what seemed like a long drive, we finally reached the hotel at 10:13pm.