Jervis Bay & Winery Adventure

Itinerary

• Kiama Blowhole
• Gerringong and Gerroa
• Seven Mile Beach
• Shark Hatching Ground
• Callala Bay & Huskisson
• Hyams Beach
• Crooked River Wines

Additional Info

Headsets are available for all passengers inside the helicopter so that they can talk to eachother and share the experience while flying.

Feel free to engage your friendly pilot for his informed narrative and commentary

Customers should allow 3.5 hours in total for the whole experience including check-in, safety briefing, photo opportunity around the  helicopters, boarding, flight time, lunch and then disembarking after flight.

Free tea and coffee facilities as well as a comfortable viewing lounge overlooking the helipad is available for all passengers as well as for family and friends spectating on the ground

Safety is paramount. All safety processes and procedures as required by Touchdown Helicopters and the governments Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) are strictly adhered to in all aspects of conducting this scenic flight.

Please Note: Lunch and wine tasting not included in the price of this package.

Route Map

Detail

Departing from Illawarra Regional Airport, we’ll join the coastline over Kiama where you’ll have a birds-eye view of the famous blowhole and fishing harbour. From the air you’ll see all the little bays, beaches and coastal walking tracks that make Kiama a popular tourist spot throughout the year.

The coastline south of Kiama, as we track towards Gerringong, is as spectacular as it is dramatic. Having seen the meandering, rolling, Kiama to Gerringong walking track from the air, you’ll want to make that the next item you tick off your bucket list. The architectural masterpieces built as homes in some of the hills and valleys just off the coast are a sight to behold and a dream residence for most.

Gerringong itself is home to the award winning vineyard; Crooked River Wines. But just for now we’ll continue our flight and drop in for a closer look a bit later. More and more a home to the celebs, Gerringong and Gerroa boast some beautiful locations for swimming, surfing or maybe even people watching from a number of the great food outlets on the high street. Pssst! We even landed on Gerringong Golf Course a while back to take Guy Seabastian for a game of golf!  Werri Beach is the main attraction for surfers though, boasting two point breaks located at either end of the beach.

As we continue down the coast, the view ahead is consumed by Seven Mile Beach stretching out into the distance. Back in 1933 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith used the beach as a runway for the first commercial aeroplane flight from Australia to New Zealand. These days avid beachgoers don’t have to worry about low flying aircraft churning up the sand while they are sunbathing. If you look down below you will see the local surf school trying to teach students the noble art of balancing on a surfboard.

As we continue along Seven Mile Beach, towards the township of Shoalhaven Heads, you will begin to make out Jervis Bay in the distance. Looking inland you can see the standalone Coolangatta Mountain which was believed to be an old volcano but is actually just a product of the natural erosion of sandstone in the area. At its based is the reknowned Coolangatta Estate Winery and Restaurant.

Just south of Comerong Island and the Shoalhaven River, the picturesque Culburra Beach leads the way to Currarong. About half way along  we divert into Jervis Bay overhead the shark breeding ground at Cararma Creek. Spilling into Jervis  Bay, during breeding season, the creek is home to between 80 to 100 baby Bronze Whaler sharks. Very rarely do you see fully grown sharks in the bay but at the right time of year the shark “pups” swarm the little creek mouth.

Now in Jervis Bay proper, you’ll see how the pure white sands of the beach play with the transparent, tranqil, aquamarine waters. These sandy shores are amongst the most strikingly beautiful on the planet.  Onward  past Callala Beach, next on the itinerary is Huskisson; home to the famous Huskisson Pub and home port for both whale watching and dolphin watching cruises.

By far the most well known beach in Jervis Bay and particularly well known for its blinding white talcum powder sands is Hyams Beach. The colour of the sand is due to the pure quartz mineral composition. Your photo’s of the clear aquamarine waters gently caressing the fine white sands of the beach could easily fool people into thinking you have been whisked away by helicopter to the Caribbean. Absolutely stunning!

As you ponder the beaches below, its not hard to imagine yourself taking a warm evening stroll with the sun blushing red, your feet bathed one moment in the soft talcum powder sand and the next in the exotic waters of the bay. But decadent thoughts for what could be will have to be put on hold. Lunch at an award winning, wining and dining venue beckons. Leaving the coastline behind we head for Crooked River Winery.

Crooked River’s commercial winery was completed in 2001. The winery boasts 280,000 litres of stainless steel fermentation and storage tanks and 70,000 litres of oak barrels.  In 20 years of production, Crooked River Wines has won multiple awards for its premium quality red and white wines. Crooked River Wines is the largest vineyard on the NSW South Coast.

A spectacular setting with views overlooking the vineyard, Crooked River Restaurant is also the perfect location for lunch. With such an extensive menu there are sumptuous options for everyone no matter their taste. We guarantee that you’ll find just the right red or white to complement your meal as well.

After a couple of hours for lunch, wine tasting, contemplation and a relaxing walk around the grounds, it is time to head home. But the adventure is not quite over yet.

Departing Crooked River Winery, you will be able to catch glimpses of the distant Kangaroo Valley as well as the Fitzroy and Wingecarribee Reservoirs out to the west.  To the north you will see the whole of the Illawarra laid out before you with Lake Illawarra at its centre. Strain your eyes some more and you might just be able to make out the distant jagged skyline of Sydney over a 100 km’s away.

The journey back to base is short but filled with beautiful landscape scenery; lush green hills rolling down to the waters edge; iconic architectural homes perched looking out to sea;  the famous Kiama Blowhole and its smaller sibling blowing frothing seawater high into the air;  Kiama lighthouse;  the sparkling new marina at Shell Cove; and finally the channel guarded by Windang Island which allows the spiritual waters of Lake Illawarra to flow in and out of the Pacific Ocean.