Wollongong Welcomes New Bridge
Tourism Wollongong has welcomed the opening of the new $49m Sea Cliff Bridge, claiming it will breathe fresh life into a coastal strip that holds huge potential as a tourism and lifestyle centre.
Completion of the 665 metre bridge has allowed one of Australia’s most stunning coastal routes, Lawrence Hargrave Drive, to be re-opened after a two year project to divert the road around a cliff face subject to rock falls.
“By re-opening the area to through traffic from Sydney, the new bridge will re-energise the region and enable us to draw tourists and daytrippers back to the 10 coastal villages that make up Wollongong’s northern gateway,” said Tourism Wollongong General Manager Greg Binskin.
“We want to get the message out very strongly that you don’t know what you’re missing if you leave the coastal strip from Royal National Park to Wollongong out of your holiday plans.
“This is the area where the magnificent Illawarra Escarpment meets the Pacific Ocean, where Lawrence Hargrave made history in his box kite and where hang gliders visit from all over the globe to emulate Hargrave’s epic 1894 step into space.
“It’s where you can surf or sun on some of the best beaches along the coast, stop over in quaint beachside B&Bs, enjoy great local food, visit art galleries and the ever-popular Symbio Wildlife Gardens or venture onto the escarpment for horse rides, golf, trekking and abseiling adventures.
“And it’s right on the fringe of Wollongong, with its expanding selection of exciting eateries, accommodation establishments and attractions like Mt Kembla Mining Village, Bulli and Mt Kiera lookouts, Nan Tien Temple, Five Islands Brewery and Jamberoo Action Park, New South Wales’ largest theme park and soon to get another new exciting action water ride.”
Mr Binskin said among the range of marketing initiatives to help promote the region were bold new road signage, a rejigged http://www.tourismwollongong.com/ website with summer hot deals, a new 16-page travel brochure and the unveiling in the new year of Grand Pacific Drive, a 71 km driving trail from Royal National Park to Wollongong and on to the South Coast, Southern Highlands and Canberra.
“We’re also upgrading our overseas marketing thrust, because with Sea Cliff Bridge as a feature, Grand Pacific Drive is now right up there with Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and other great coastal driving routes of the world,” Mr Binskin said.
“Very clearly the welcome mat is out for all our coastal villages – Otford, Stanwell Park, Coalcliff, Clifton, Scarborough, Wombarra, Coledale, Austinmer, Thirroul and Bulli – and of course Wollongong.
“The quaint miner’s cottages still exist, as does the sense of family and community spirit that’s long been a feature of the region, so the general public can be certain of receiving a real Wollongong Welcome when they take up our invitation.”
Further information at http://www.tourismwollongong.com/
Graham Muldoon
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