Bald Hill
Encyclopedia
Illawarra
Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven or South Coast region. It encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama. The central region contains Lake...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's best known and most popular lookouts, situated atop the hill of that name. Not only are the views excellent, the area is also internationally known as a major hang gliding
Hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
centre. It was on the beach below Bald Hill that Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave
Lawrence Hargrave was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer.- Early life :Hargrave was born in Greenwich, England, the second son of John Fletcher Hargrave and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland...
, an Australian pioneer of flight, experimented with box kites in the early part of the 20th century. A memorial cairn dedicated to him has been erected at the peak of the hill near the carpark.
The hill is actually a tall headland, forming the northern end of the Illawarra Escarpment
Illawarra escarpment
The Illawarra Escarpment is the fold created cliffs and plateau eroded outcrop mountain range west of the Illawarra coastal plain south of Sydney, Australia, enclosing the region known as the Illawarra which stretches from Stanwell Park in the north to Kiama, Gerringong and the Shoalhaven river in...
. Stony Batter, just north of Bald Hill, forms a sandstone outcrop peak to the coastal ridge and has equally good views, reached by a track from Bald Hill Lookout that enters the Royal National Park
Royal National Park
Royal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 29 km south of Sydney CBD.Founded by Sir John Robertson, Acting Premier of New South Wales, and formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879, it is the world's second oldest purposed national park, the first usage of the term...
to a small way in. The coastal ridge continues north forming the Otford
Otford, New South Wales
Otford is a northern suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia located near the Sydney metropolitan area. It has a railway station on the CityRail South Coast Line....
and Bulgo hill formations, the escarpment itself turns into the white cliffs of the Royal National Park.
From Bald Hill Lookout you have a 360 degree view. Northwest is Stanwell Tops and Undola Ridge, which Bald Hill is the eastern tip of, and the Royal National Park
Royal National Park
Royal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 29 km south of Sydney CBD.Founded by Sir John Robertson, Acting Premier of New South Wales, and formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879, it is the world's second oldest purposed national park, the first usage of the term...
. The hills of the Royal National Park make way in the northeast for Stony Batter, accessed via a short track. To the far north from Stony Batter and Bald Hill views of the Royal National Park's white cliffs are seen, and a sharp drop to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
lays to the east. To the south is Stanwell Park
Stanwell Park, New South Wales
Stanwell Park is a picturesque coastal village and northern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is the northernmost point of the Illawarra coastal strip and lies south of Sydney's Royal National Park. It is situated in a small valley between Bald Hill to the north, Stanwell Tops...
and Mount Mitchell, about 290 metres above sea level, and the Illawarra Escarpment south to Saddleback Mountain
Saddleback Mountain (New South Wales)
Saddleback Mountain is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia which rises to about 600 metres above sea level and has spectacular views of Noorinan Mountain, 662 metres above sea level, and Barren Grounds Plateau to the west and south to Coolangatta Mountain and Pigeon House Mountain to...
and beyond to Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...
.
The name is becoming rather a misnomer, for growth of weeds and grasses has become quite prevalent on its mid slopes from its base. There are toilet and carpark facilities and several sculptures, notably one depicting a hang glider gliding above the escarpment. Motorbike tourgroups use it as a stop on their pacific tours. Otford
Otford, New South Wales
Otford is a northern suburb of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia located near the Sydney metropolitan area. It has a railway station on the CityRail South Coast Line....
has a similar lookout. Access to the lookout is by way of Lawrence Hargrave Drive
Lawrence Hargrave Drive
Lawrence Hargrave Drive is a scenic coastal road and popular tourist drive connecting the northernmost suburbs of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia to both Wollongong and Sydney....
from either Stanwell Tops, Otford or Stanwell Park. There is currently no major track to the lookout, although there is a small walking track from Chellow Dene Avenue in Stanwell Park to the top of the hill. Plans are under way to discuss the feasibility of a continuous escarpment track including the hill.