Sydney to Kiama - Britz

Three nights and 816 kilometres from Sydney to Kiama in a campervan, running north up the coast first and then south past Wollongong.

Anna Bay and Port Stephens come first, where the largest coastal dune system in New South Wales sits behind the beach and bottlenose dolphins are resident in the bay. Caves Beach follows, with sea caves at its southern end that can be walked into at low tide, then The Entrance on the Central Coast.

The route then turns south through Sydney and over the Sea Cliff Bridge, which curves out over the water on piers because the cliff above the old road kept dropping rocks onto it. Wollongong and Bellambi Beach follow, then Shoalhaven Heads, Seven Mile Beach and Berry, and Kiama closes the trip, where the blowhole throws spray over the viewing platform when the swell is from the south east.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Four days for 816 kilometres is more driving than the distance suggests, because the route doubles back through Sydney in the middle of it. The compensation is two quite different coastlines inside one short trip. School holidays fill the campsites at both ends, so the dates matter rather more here than the route does. Everything on this itinerary is sealed and within two hours of a city, which makes it a sensible first camper trip for anyone who has never driven one.