South Coast NSW

Sea Cliffs, Lighthouses and the Start of the South Coast

The South Coast begins with one of the most cinematic stretches in New South Wales. At Stanwell Park, the road feels suspended between escarpment and sea, and Bald Hill Lookout gives that first dramatic sense of scale. It is the kind of place where you stop before the journey has really even begun.

Then comes the Sea Cliff Bridge — one of the most recognisable road scenes in Australia. The curve out over the ocean changes the rhythm completely. It is not just a route south, but an experience in itself.

Wollongong and Kiama bring the first classic headland stops. Flagstaff Hill opens wide views back toward the escarpment, while Kiama adds movement and atmosphere through the Blowhole and the more intimate Little Blowhole nearby. It is an iconic start, but still only the beginning.

Berry, Jervis Bay and the Shift to Postcard Coastline

South of Kiama, the coast begins to soften into one of its most photogenic stretches. Berry makes a perfect inland detour — part historic village, part road trip ritual, and still one of those towns people talk about long after they have left.

Then Jervis Bay changes the colour palette altogether. Hyams Beach is all white sand and clear water, almost unreal in its brightness, and the bay carries a calmer, more sheltered beauty than the cliff-lined coast to the north.

Huskisson gives this section its everyday centre. It is the kind of coastal town that works as both a base and a pause point — easygoing, practical and close to everything that makes the bay so memorable.

Oyster Country, Headlands and Ancient Coastal Formations

The Eurobodalla feels quieter, broader and more grounded. Around Ulladulla and Mollymook, the coast still carries that holiday-town ease, but it also starts to feel more spacious and less polished than the white sands further north.

Batemans Bay shifts the journey into oyster country. The Clyde River is part of the identity here, and that local food culture gives the region a different kind of richness — less about spectacle, more about place.

Narooma closes this chapter with one of the South Coast’s most recognisable natural details. Australia Rock, deep blue water and the rugged breakwall atmosphere make it feel both scenic and distinctly local.

The Deep Blue Finish Near the Victorian Border

The Sapphire Coast feels like the South Coast at its wildest. Bermagui’s Blue Pool is one of those rare places that feels both dramatic and calm at once — a natural ocean pool cut into the cliffs, with water so clear it hardly seems real.

Merimbula softens the mood again through boardwalks, lake edges and the sleepy holiday-town rhythm that defines so much of this far south stretch.

Then Eden brings the journey to its final, deeper note. It has history, harder coastline and a sense of distance that makes the ending feel complete. This is the South Coast at its most rugged and reflective.

The Route in Brief

Region	Key Stop	Highlight
Grand Pacific Drive	Sea Cliff Bridge	Iconic over-water drive between cliff and ocean
Illawarra	Kiama	Blowhole and dramatic headland stop
Shoalhaven	Jervis Bay	Hyams Beach and the bay’s clear white-sand coastline
Eurobodalla	Batemans Bay	Clyde River oysters and a slower local rhythm
Nature Coast	Narooma	Australia Rock and deep blue coastal scenery
Sapphire Coast	Bermagui / Eden	Blue Pool, rugged coastline and the far south finish