As the webmaster for the Knitters Guild of NSW, I was invited to the Kiama group’s February meeting to give my “Welcome to the Knitternet” talk. I originally planned to just take the train there for the day, but the Snook and I eventually decided to use it as an excuse for a weekend away. We took off a few hours early on Friday afternoon and drove down via the Princes Highway. (It took us just over two hours to get there.) Everyone told me it was a beautiful place to visit… and it really was.

I had tried at first to book us in at the cabins near the Blowhole, but they were completely booked out. Eventually I found Bed & Views Kiama, which looked cosy and convenient. Of course, once I saw that they had alpacas, I was hooked! The house is about 5 minutes out of Kiama’s town center, up a winding road to a high ridge. The front has spectacular views down to the ocean; the back has spectacular views up to Saddleback Mountain. It was amazing.

The house really was perfect. We had paid extra for the “Lovebird Suite,” which was a self-contained unit on the end with a big triangle spa bath. The other rooms were located off the main part of the house. Everything was clean and tidy and cosy.

The B&B is run by Rudi and Sabine, an older German couple. The garden was lush and beautiful thanks to the rain of the previous weeks. They had the two alpacas (Giovanni and Vincent), a chook pen, a koi pond, lovely trees, and a swing set that I just couldn’t resist.

For our first night, we took Rudi’s suggestion of Chachi’s for dinner. This Italian restaurant is much favoured by the locals, and it was fairly full when we got there. Unfortunately I was fighting a cold so I didn’t have much appetite. The food was great though. We enjoyed our dinner, then headed up for a spa bath before bed.

Saturday morning started with a big homemade breakfast. We had scrambled eggs and toast, fruit, friands, and a very German (and delicious) selection of cold meats and cheeses. We had a couple hours to kill before my Guild meeting, so Rudi suggested the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre. Here’s the Snook posing with the alpacas as we headed out.

We paid our $11 to get in (cheap!) and quickly decided to do the full 4.2km Loop and Falls Walk. The first part was mostly on wooden walkways around and over the water at the bottom of the valley. The Snook was very helpful in explaining what all the trees were. We only ran into a few other people; for the most part we were on our own.

Here’s the Snook crossing one of the suspension bridges…

This “Big Fig” was special for its size and age. These trees are still amazing to me. They look like the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House at DisneyWorld, except they’re REAL. They are so thick and gnarled, with buttresses and tall roots that you can actually walk under. It’s so alien.

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