Do the Grand Pacific Drive

A road by any other name would probably be as grand. One of my favorite stretches of road, Lawrence Hargrave Drive — from Bald Hill at the southern end of Royal National Park all the way down the coast to Wollongong — has always been a scenic, pleasant, and intimate way, to drive south from Sydney.

Now a new name has entered the geography of the region. For at least a couple of years now, Lawrence Hargrave Drive has become part of the grandly-named Grand Pacific Drive which starts at Royal National Park and takes the coastal route to Wollongong, passing the equally grandly-named Sea Cliff Bridge between the towns of Coalcliff and Clifton.

All the way to Nowra

Grand Pacific Drive then heads further south from Wollongong all the way to Kiama, then on to Gerringong and Geroa and, further south, Shoalhaven Heads before rejoining the Pacific Highway just north of Nowra and Bomaderry.

All in all it's 169 kilometres from start to finish, and while you surely can drive to Nowra and back to Sydney in four hours or so, you'd really want to dawdle along the beaches and scenic villages of the South Coast.

Take your time, and have a grand time.

• Grand Pacific Drive: The Scenic Coastal Route
• Images of the South Coast
• South from Sydney
• The Beaches of Jervis Bay
• Narooma and Bermagui

Photo: Hang-gliding and paragliding at Bald Hill © Larry Rivera, licensed to About.com, Inc.