How Kiama drives
A four-lane run to Sydney
The Oak Flats to Dunmore upgrade, opened in October 2009, completed a four-lane route from Sydney to south of Kiama. From Oak Flats the highway is mostly dual carriageway built to freeway standard, the exception being the Kiama bends at Kiama Heights. By car, Kiama is about 55 minutes from Sydney's southern edge.
South to Gerringong
The North Kiama Bypass opened in November 2005, and the Gerringong upgrade below the town, 7.5 km of it, was done by August 2015. Long, steady highway kilometres are gentle on a car, but they bring a service due on distance before the date in the book.
Train or car
Kiama was the last station on the Illawarra line to be electrified, and the train to Sydney takes about 2 hours 15 minutes. If you drive the trip instead, that's a lot of highway, and tyres and wheel alignment are worth a look at each service.
Hills behind, harbour in front
The land rises behind town to Saddleback Mountain, 600 metres high and seven kilometres south-west. Kiama Harbour, just north-west of the Blowhole, is home to fishing boats. A car that lives near either end of that has its own wear: brakes on the hills, salt on the coast.
Car service in Kiama
A car service here follows the maker's book for your car, the same as anywhere. The useful thing is to tell the mechanic how the car is really used. RACV says towing caravans, trailers or boats is one reason a car may need servicing around every six months instead of once a year.
The caravan has rules of its own. NSW counts trailers and caravans of 4.5 tonnes ATM or less as light vehicles for its safety checks, so once one is more than 5 years old, check its rego notice for a pink slip as well as the car's. Car service in Wollongong has more on choosing the right schedule.
Where we'd start
A few weeks before summer, we'd have the car serviced with the towbar, tyres and brakes on the list, and check whether the van needs its own pink slip. Sorting both in spring beats finding a problem at the Kiama bends with a caravan behind you.