We spent our first morning in Kiama catching up on housework. It’s gotta be done!

The sheets were changed, washed and hung out to dry. Clothes washing was done and hung out too. I do love my little Sphere top loader. I’m so glad we were able to find somewhere to install it in our motorhome.

I fixed the Toilet flush (it stopped working yesterday and was a simple fix). We have a Dometic toilet and if you lift the central round piece (using flat screwdriver) where the flush button is located and carefully pull it out you will find a small electrical board that clips in underneath. If you push too hard on the flush button this board can become unclipped so the fix is simply to push it back in until you hear it click into place. The other problem could have been the fuse and it is located on that electrical board so it pays to check the fuse too.

I gave our bikes a good clean and Rich gave the rear of the motorhome a good clean too.

Chores done, it was time to set off to explore Kiama.

There was great excitement amongst the campers around us during the morning. A large pod of dolphins was sighted in the bay. We quickly grabbed the camera and walked around to the beachfront to watch.

They are beautiful creatures and it was thrilling to watch them leaping out of the water, trying to catch a wave and generally looking like they were having fun. I tried to get a photo of them leaping out of the water and almost got the shot (well, maybe not!)

In the late morning we set off on our ebikes and enjoyed the challenging ride up and down the hills past Kendalls Beach, Surf Beach and out to the Lighthouse. Our first stop was at Little Blowhole. It was really blowing. The wind was blowing the spray right up onto the houses nearby.

Continuing on our ride we went past Surf Beach and out onto the headland where the Lighthouse is located. Here you will also find the famous Kiama Blowhole. It was really windy but lots of tourists were out to check out the famous natural attraction. It didn’t disappoint. I love the booming noise it makes just before the water spouts up.

We’d packed a sandwich for lunch and, after purchasing a hot coffee from the shop next to the Visitors Centre, we found a lovely spot under the huge Norfolk Island Pines. We found a table out of the wind and enjoyed lunch alfresco with a view of Surf Beach on one side and Black Beach on the other.

Kiama has a population of some 23,000 people. Interestingly, the largest age group is the 65-69 year olds. Over 40% of the population is over 60. Lots of retirees call Kiama home.

There are 3 caravan parks in Kiama and the Showground takes campers in times of overflow (probably the Christmas holidays)

Our trusty ebikes got us back to camp where we had a relaxing afternoon meeting and greeting the neighbouring campers. We had a lovely family with 3 kids next door. They were six weeks into a six month trip around Australia. What a delightful family.

Our second day was spent doing another bike ride into the main shopping area and having a wander around the historic Terrace Cottages. These delightful old buildings were once the homes of local quarry workers and were built in 1886. They are now classified as historic buildings by the National Trust. The cottages house a variety of clothing, collectables and craft stores as well as a few eateries. They are a popular tourist spot.

Kiama has some lovely old buildings such as the Post Office built in 1878, the Council Chambers, the Westpac Bank, and the Fire Station (which is now an art gallery).

The main shopping area looks out across Black Beach. Black Beach gets its name from the colour of the sand. It’s black! On either side of Black Beach are ocean pools where people can enjoy a salt-water swim. There’s a large park alongside Black Beach and a good pathway all the way around.

Some renovations were being done so we were unable to follow the path all the way around to the harbour but usually you can do this. Fresh seafood can be purchased right at the harbour each day.

We rode out to the Lighthouse to check out the famous blowhole again however it wasn’t blowing as much as the previous day. There were still hundreds of tourists watching it though.

On our way back to the park we followed the Kiama Coastal Walk via Surf Beach and on to Kendalls Beach. The pathway down to Kendalls Beach is a really steep switchback. I’m glad we were going down. I think I would have had to get off and walk my bike if we were going up. A bit too steep even for our ebikes.

After Kendalls Beach the walk detours inland and goes through Bonaira Native Gardens. The path meanders though a beautiful park full of towering native trees and dense undergrowth. It’s very dark and quiet through there as the path follows alongside a babbling creek. In the middle of the park is a large lawn area that would make a perfect picnic spot.

Back at camp it had become very windy so we pulled down our awning and packed it all away. We spent the afternoon reading.

What a shock I received when I went outside! In the morning there were only about 8 or so campers in our section. When I went outside all the sites were full. How did that happen? I must have been engrossed in my book because I didn’t really notice any noise.

Rich and I went for a stroll though the caravan park in the early evening and were surprised to find that the park was almost full. Most of the campers were families with young children. We guessed that they’d all arrived for the weekend, it was Friday after all! I love hearing the happy noise of children playing and there’s was lots of that. You did have to watch where you were walking though as you might be run into by an out of control toddler on a bike!

I’d put a chicken curry on in my little crockpot and it had been cooking away all day. I served it up in bowls with some boiled rice and yum, it was delicious. We had an early night and settled in to watch a movie on our Apple TV. We planned to head further southwards the next day.