  After six weeks meandering down the east coast of Australia it was time for us to head inland again. Our next stop, Goulburn in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. This road trip had we of taken the A48 through the Great Dividing Range would have only had us travelling about 140kms today, instead of the 200kms it ended up taking, however upon researching the route, in particular an eight kilometre section of the Illawarra Highway, known as Macquarie Pass encouraged us to travel a little further north around the range. This notorious section of road, has been classified by dangerousroads.org as one of the most famous roads in New South Wales and a road that 'designed in 1898... bears the legacy of its era.' Despite many grey nomads throwing caution to the wind and taking on the A48 whilst towing a caravan, once we saw this video on youtube we opted to leave the heroism to the grey nomads and save Florence from potential jack-knifing disaster. Taking this longer route via the B88 we coasted into Goulburn smoothly, with our caravan in tact and the afternoon left to explore the area.
Rocky Hill War MemorialAfter getting in some beach time at Kiama, we made our way across the great dividing ranges and inland towards the M31, which brought us to a New South Wales country town called Goulburn. The town was established in 1833, to accommodate farmers who had bought blocks of land for farming in the region. By 1841 Goulburn had grown to include a courthouse, police barracks, many churches, a hospital, post office and with it about 1,500 residents. In 1863, Queen Victoria declared the town a city unofficially. After many years of legal battles it was officially declared a city in 1885 thanks to the Crown Lands Act made in 1884. Through all these years, Goulburn has been the regional hub for wool sales and other agricultural activities.
Today, the oldest inland city of Australia is still a regional hub with a population of 22,890.
We had half a day in Goulburn so we thought we would take a drive around town. The main attraction in Goulburn according to some is the Big Merino, which is the world’s largest standing concrete constructed sheep. It is one of Australia’s 150 useless big things, its pointless, but quite fascinating to look at. Our drive took us into the town to have a browse around, a descent presence of heritage listed buildings represent its oldest inland city in Australia name. On the hill south of the town appears to be a “castle like structure”, which grabbed our curiosity. We found out it was a memorial made for world war one, so we made our way to the hill. Up the top of the hill gives you wide open views of the New South Wales countryside and a nice aerial view of Goulburn. Going through the gates brings you to this beautiful stone conglomerate tower structure that was commissioned in 1925. The inside welcomes you with a stone tablet of people in the region who enlisted in world war one. It was a surprise to find someone by the last name of Proud on there, unsure if there is any ancestry, but will trace it back some time. Going up the staircase is a display of beautifully framed photos from the war times, leading you up to the top of the tower for more views over the town and countryside. After our self guided town tour of Goulburn, we went for a look out at Bungonia National Park.
Making our way home from Bungonia made for a really fulfilling day in Goulburn. It was a good way to break up the trip from Kiama to Canberra. Although Canberra was only another 90 kilometres to drive, it was worth stopping the night in Goulburn and taking in this quaint New South Wales country town. National parks, heritage buildings and a relaxed country vibe made for a worthwhile visit.  
This is one of the oldest National Parks in New South Wales, being first protected in 1872, incorporates an impressive gorge, brimming with limestone. Mining began in 1871 and now operates as Marulan South Limestone Mine, facilitating supplies used in the construction industry. A sign indicates that mining of the limestone quarry seen from the Bungonia Lookdown is now only used on an as needs basis, when supply is more heavily in demand.  
 Looking down onto Shoalhaven River from Mt Ayre 
The park is known as an 'Adventure Playground' of the South, enticing those who dare opportunities to participate in rock climbing, abseiling, caving and walking. There are five walking tracks to traverse through the park, but as the sun had begun to make its decent behind the mountains, we decided on the 'white' track a short 1.5 kilometre trek through native bush lands to the top of Mount Ayre that offered up intimidating views of Shoalhaven River at the base of the gorge. The Bungonia Lookdown, a protruding walkway, which cantilevers past a rocky outcrop over the gorge, provided a spectacular setting for stunning photos and over the other side at Adams Lookout a well preserved path led to additional viewing platforms of the limestone divide. With more time we would have liked to explore some of the other tracks that coil around the gorge, what a great excuse to return.  |
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