Goodbye, Wollongong! From sea-level to 721m high…

Day 9: Robertson, NSW
Distance cycled: 63km

We decided to head towards Moss Vale, and not stay in Shellharbour for a night as what we had in mind initially. 5 minutes before the alarm went off at 5am, raindrops pounded on our tent. Once again, we were farewelled with rain. 7:03am: Goodbye, Wollongong!

Once we arrived at Windang (where we thought was Shellharbour), we paused for breakfast by Lake Illawarra. It was beautiful. We could see through to the bottom of the clear-blue lake as we cycled across the bridge into Shellharbour.

It never stopped raining. We took shelter at the Albion Park City Stadium. Then, we recharged with Subway for lunch at the Albion Park town centre. By 1pm, we were at the start of the Macquarie Pass National Park at 200m elevation. In 8km, we ascended 400m in altitude. After about 2km of the incline, we literally took it step-by-step. It was not easy given the weight we carried and the heavy fog with merely 20m visibility. Nevertheless, it was quite an experience! We made it out of the Pass in 2.5 hours! ; )

Few more kilometres down the road, we arrived at Robertson. This is our home for the night.

Locations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong - Robertson

Day 8: Wollongong, NSW

We finished what we wanted to do at the library and set off to the beach to have lunch. Sitting at a beach side kiosk, we enjoyed the sun, sand and sea. It was ironic. The last few days, we sat in the library, staring out the window at sunny days. Finally, when we were outside, the clouds took over shortly after lunch. We wanted to have a dip in the rock pool too, only our feet got wet. It was too cold.

Locations: [NSW] North Sydney - Heathcote - Coledale - Wollongong