Today is an absolutely magical day. The weather is just perfect, as it has been for this entire road trip.
After a continental breakfast, provided as part of our hotel package, we set off reasonably early to head out to the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk, which is a 1500 metre rainforest that includes a tree top walk set 25 metres above the ground and through the rainforest canopy.
The Illawarra Fly is about a half hour drive from Kiama. It’s a beautiful drive but is full of curves and hills so make sure your brakes are in good order for the drive back.
Believe me, if you are in the Kiama, Illawarra, Shoalhaven area make sure you don’t miss this experience. The entrance price is $22.00 for adults, seniors $20 and kids $9.50 and $55.00 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children.
There is a short walk on the downhill path which winds through ferns and rainforest down to the suspension bridge that makes up the Illawarra fly. It is so quiet and we can hear birds chirping in the bush and we finally spot some Double Bar finches and some beautiful King Parrots.
The walkway itself is a 500 metre elevated walkway featuring 2 cantilevered arms that take you right out to the forest fall line. As we walk down the 1st cantilevered walk we feel a slight movement in which adds to the adventure. It is really disconcerting looking down through the walkway grill to the forest floor far below.
After taking lots of photos of the spectacular views from one end we head to the centre of the walkway to the Knights Tower which rises up 45 metres above the forest floor. There are a number of stairs that go around in a circular motion to the platform at the top. I try not to look up or down as I go up the stairs, choosing to simply concentrate on the task at hand. We take a short break about half way up as the knees start to buckle. And then it’s back to the job at hand and we finally arrive at the top.
The views are simply spectacular and you can see right out over the valley to Lake Illawarra and the South Pacific Ocean.
After coming down from the tower and walking out to the end of the other cantilever walk, we head off back to the visitors center.
The Illawarra Fly is only around an hour and a half from Sydney and for anyone doing the Grand Pacific Drive this is a one of those experiences you won’t want to miss. It’s a great destination for all the family and both young and old will enjoy the experience.
There are 10 support towers each with 3 support cables which adds stability and the span between each tower is 40 metres. The treetop walk was pre-fabricated in Launceston (Tasmania) and shipped to Melbourne after which it was transported in sections by road to the site in 20 trucks, where the structure was assembled and erected.
We also meandered around the bush walk where we saw some beautiful Lyre birds. It is so peaceful being at one with nature.
So where do you find the Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk:
Illawarra Fly Tree Top Walk
182 Knights Hill Road
Knights Hill, NSW
Views of the Illawarra Tree Top Walk:
- This is the beginning of the walk up to the Illawarra Tree Top Walkway
- Looking down to the Forest floor way below
- Paula at the end of the Cantilever Arm of the Illawarra Tree Top walkway
- Looking down to the Illawarra Tree Tops walk way
- Paula on the path through the bush that leads to the Illawarra Fly Tree Top walk way
I loved visiting the Illawarra Fly. It’s a nice drive from Kiama, the scenery is beautiful and it’s very peaceful. I don’t think Wanda mentioned in her post above that we were the first ones there that morning so we had the place to ourselves. This is a good tip if you are planning to go as you will have some of the top view spots all to yourself.