If your kids love adventure – think zipping through treetops or splashing down a water slide – the Kiama region is the perfect place for a family break.
Feb 2025 -
3
min readBe awed by the power of nature
Kiama is home to the largest coastal blowhole in the world, with the famous 2.5m-wide blowhole thrusting plumes of water up to 30m high. While it makes for a magnificent spectator sport, make sure you listen closely; the name Kiama is derived from a local Indigenous word, kiarama, which means ‘where the ocean makes a noise’. And don’t forget the petite version, the Little Blowhole, which is also worth discovering.
Hang ten at surf camp
From the Boneyard to Bombo, Kiama has a break to suit every kind of surfer. If your tribe have never paddled out before, or wants to gain more confidence in the waves, Surf Camp Australia offers weekend camps and lessons at Seven Mile Beach for beginners and intermediate surfers.
Find a kid-friendly stretch of sand
Speaking of surf, the Kiama region is home to nine beautiful beaches, so if you are looking for a day (or week!) filled with salty swims and sandcastle building, you will easily find a stretch of sand to call your own. Try Kendalls Beach, with its shallow waters and gentle waves, and sheltered Easts Beach, a short walk from the Little Blowhole.
Kendalls Beach, Kiama
Swing through the trees
Get a bird’s-eye view of Kiama’s gorgeous hinterland at Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures. Thrill-seekers can conquer Australia’s highest zipline tour, while those more interested in the panorama can potter along a 1.5km elevated steel walkway offering views of the hinterland and coast.
Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures, Knights Hill
Stretch your legs
Combining beach tracks, sealed paths and grassy headlands, Kiama’s 20km Coast Walk is the best way to get to know the famous coastline. During summer, you can stop off and swim; in winter, watch out for the migratory whales that hug the Kiama coast. For those with little feet, the walk can be broken into three easy segments of about 8km each.
Dive into an ocean pool
Feel your spirit soar as the cool ocean water hits your skin with a dip in Kiama’s many beautiful rock and ocean pools. At Blowhole Point, there’s a natural rock floor and wading area for smaller children, while Boat Harbour Ocean Pool at Gerringong is perfect for a snorkel, with its sandy beach pocket. You can also find ocean pools at South Werri Beach and Black Beach Reserve.
Blowhole Point Rock Pool, Kiama
Get two sports in one
Inject a little healthy competition into your family holiday with a day on the green playing the emerging sport of FootGolf. Located on the grounds of Jamberoo Golf Club, FootGolf combines two much-loved sports: golf and football. Players make their way around the course with a soccer ball, sinking it into a special 53cm hole in the least number of kicks.
Footgolf Jamberoo - Credit: Sue Paul, Jamberoo Golf Club
Shop local (and farm fresh)
Want to shop for your weekly fruit and veg to the sound of waves crashing just metres away? The afternoon Kiama Farmers Market spreads out over a beachside park with more than 40 stalls from local farmers, growers and artisan producers selling meat, seafood, eggs, preserves, sweets and fresh flowers. There are organised games to keep the kids entertained while you shop, live music and lots of locals enjoying an evening picnic on the grass.
Kiama Farmers' Market, Kiama
Feel the need for speed
Race the kids down steep water slides, swirl down rushing tunnels and feel your heart pound as you take on some of the most thrilling rides in the state at South Coast icon Jamberoo Action Park. The park boasts several new high-octave water slides, alongside classic favourites such as the downhill bobsled, chairlift and rock jump, as well as splash and play areas, a wave pool and extensive picnic grounds.
Jamberoo Action Park, Kiama
Explore a waterfall
Wander through a Jurassic Park-style landscape, crossing elevated swing bridges and passing epic clifftop views in the Minnamurra Rainforest, nestled on the edge of the Budderoo National Park. One of the last pockets of subtropical and warm temperate rainforest in the region, this stunning expanse is experienced on the hour-long, 1.6km loop walk; if your family is feeling more adventurous, opt to take the additional 2.6km pathway to reach the mighty upper falls.
Minnamurra Rainforest Centre, Budderoo National Park
Experience farm life
Do your kids think eggs are made at the supermarket? Teach them a little about life on the land with a 2hr walk through Buena Vista Farm, a seven-hectare family farming operation dating back to 1859. The farm tour (by appointment only) includes visiting laying hens, goats, ducks and pigs and checking out the kitchen garden and coffee grove, or book into one of the cooking workshops.
Buena Vista Farm, Gerringong - Credit: Buena Vista Farm
Put on your artistic hat
Feeling creative? Or just need a rainy-day activity? Then head to Bead Shack in Gerringong to make your own masterpiece. Sit down at the long, shared table where teachers will help you get started on beading, weaving or stringing your own creation. Regular workshops feature macramé and work with polymer clay or resin.
The Bead Shack, Gerringong - Credit: The Bead Shop
