Kiama

Postcode: 2533

Kiama is a picturesque township, 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. The town's population is about 19,500, and the entire district population is about 20,000. The main tourist attraction is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama is known as a "Tidy town". It features beautiful beaches, numerous caravan parks and numerous cafes, seafood restaurants and fish and chip shops as well as an information centre, mall and library.

The town is served by Kiama Station on the South Coast Line. It is served by road in the form of the Princes Highway and the Kiama Bypass.

The Kiama area includes many beautiful and picturesque attractions, being situated on the coast south of the Minnamurra River, and to the west lie the foothills of Saddleback Mountain and Mount Brandon. Also to the west is the town of Jamberoo with pasture-land in between. Also of note is seven Mile Beach to the south. Kiama has several excellent and well known surfing beaches, including Surf Beach, 'Mystics' and Joneses Beach, as well as other beaches situated in coves between headlands such as Black Beach.

The name "Kiama" is derived from the Aboriginal word - Kiarama - which means "Place where the sea makes a noise". This is in reference to the famous Kiama Blowhole. Every year thousands of tourists from all over the world come to see the beauitful large fountains of water that the blowhole creates. Blowholes are a rare natural phenomenon. A lesser known blowhole that is ironically usually more impressive in its spurting, though smaller in its rock formation, is Little Blowhole, on a headland south of the central part of Kiama. Both have areas for viewing, though the Kiama Blowhole attracts more tourists.

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