After returning to the Blue Mountains for the morning, we finally made our way back towards Sydney for the “start” of our drive towards Melbourne, where we’re returning the campervan in a little over a week.

Royal National Park

Our first stop was Royal National Park, just south of Sydney. There wasn’t specific we wanted to see or do there, except to pay homage to its very existence. You see, its claim to fame is being the second national park in the world, just a few years behind the incomparable Yellowstone. In fact, it was simply called The National Park for the first 75 years of its history, maintaining its “the” status even while numerous other national parks were established throughout Australia. Finally in 1955, to commemorate an official visit from Queen Elizabeth II in 1955—the first British monarch to visit Australia—the name was changed to Royal. I’m sure it helped reduce confusion, too.

Given our schedule, we only spent a couple hours in the park, first stopping at the visitor center, which is primarily a small cafe and gift shop, and hanging out at the nearby river.

We then made it over to the famed Mattawolla area, checking out the small waterfall (guarded by a tall fence to prevent cliff jumpers, though we watched numerous people do it anyway) and the local swimming beaches.

While the park is now a UNESCO-listed Biosphere Reserve, it was primarily designated as a recreational park for Sydney residents, and you can certainly get that vibe during a visit. It’s too bad we didn’t have time for a hike there.

Grand Pacific Drive

After departing Royal National Park, it was time for some coastal driving along the Grand Pacific Drive, which begins near the park’s southern boundary. The highlight of the scenic drive is the Sea Cliff Bridge, a curving affair that jets out over the rugged coastline. This bridge apparently elicits exceptional pride from Australians. It was fun to see, but we didn’t loiter around too much; it was already late in the day at this point.

We did manage to pair dinner with a brewery stop, at Five Barrel in nearby Wollongong, before heading off for our campsite. -S 🇦🇺