Kiama

On Friday the 19th of February my family and I set of with our Caravan to Kiama.On the way down our oldest daughter needed to go to the toilet but there wasn't any stops along the way after getting off the Hume Highway. We finally found a toilet at a petrol station just outside of Wollongong on the Pacific Highway.
We arrived at Easts Caravan park approximately 4.30pm and set up the caravan beside my husbands parents.The caravan park was set in a valley and rose up the hill on both sides.It had it's own beach which we could see from our site.

On Saturday we all went  to Minnamurra rainforest.They had a boardwalk around the forest which was suitable for wheelchairs and easy for the kids to walk around.Then there was another track that wound up the hill for approximately 1300 meters to the falls.The track was very steep but it was well maintained with paving.Our son who is 6 years old went on ahead with Nanna and Poppy and he did extremely well because he walked all the way by himself with a few rest stops.Our daughters who are 9 and 8 found it hard going.Our oldest daughter kept complaining and had to rest a lot.When we made it to the falls they could see it was well worth the walk.

On Sunday we went to the Kiama blowhole which is Kiama's claim to fame. All of us, especially the kids were very dissapointed to see not much happening.On the way back to the caravan park we took a wrong turn and found a sign that said Little Blowhole. We followed the signs and when we arrived at Little Blowhole we were very happy to see that it was blowing it's top.Little Blowhole Reserve is located on Bonaira street.Even though Little Blowhole wasn't as spectacular as the major Blowhole, it was still fantastic to see.

After visiting the blowhole we spent the rest of the day at the caravan park between the pool and the beach which the kids were quite happy about.

Newnes

Newnes is a beautiful camping spot near Lithgow in NSW.It used to be an oil-shale mining town that ran for 24 years from 1906 until 1930. Appoximately 2kms from the campground (easy walk or bike ride) there is a walk around the  ruins of the town which is very interesting to see.
The free camping ground is quite large and there is a shallow river that runs beside it which is nice for the kids to cool off.

Getting There

From Lithgow take the Castlereagh Highway towards Mudgee. About 11km from the highway traffic lights at Lithgow and just past the Wallerawang Power Station is a major road junction. Take the right-hand road here ("Wolgan Road") through Lidsdale to Newnes. Watch for "Lidsdale" on the advance road signs.

The drive from Lidsdale to Newnes is 35km and would normally take at least 45 minutes. North of Lidsdale, the road is bitumen to the foot of Wolgan Gap (12km), although sometimes narrow and deteriorating. From there to Newnes (23km) it is mostly gravel with some earth and clay patches. We have a 16ft caravan and we could get to the camping area without too much trouble. There is another campground on the other side of the river which is 4wd access only.