Sydney to Gerringong in a Ferrari Roma
Best known for its beaches, the NSW southern coast is also home to exquisite produce, great roads and a supremely luxurious hide-out.
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Orange, Mudgee, Yamba – regional New South Wales has a number of townships synonymous with wine, seafood or pristine produce. Less renowned as a culinary destination is Kiama. Yet a recent visit to its farmers’ market, which takes place every Wednesday at Coronation Park, confirmed the seaside spot has far more to offer than beaches and blowholes. I was impressed by the rich cornucopia of produce and producers from the Illawarra region. These included micro dairies, such as The Pines, which also has a store in town, and Buena Vista Farm. And the cash-only Kiama Fish Market for fresh-off-the-boat seafood. Plus numerous purveyors of fruits and vegetables.
“The area is becoming increasingly recognised as a food destination,” Maria Baden of Schottländers Wagyu told me. Baden’s award-winning farm is located in the picturesque Rose Valley, between Kiama and Gerringong. “Because of the soil, because we get good rainfall, and because our lovely green hills haven’t been overdeveloped, we have some of the most fertile land in the country.”
Kiama is less than a two-hour drive from Sydney, but the scenic route through the sinuous roads of the Royal National Park, over the Scarborough headlands and across the stunning Sea Cliff Bridge called me. Why? Because my journey began in a Ferrari. The car in question is arguably the most beautiful, technologically advanced and comfortable model from the Prancing Horse: the Roma. Designed as an homage to the stylish GT Ferraris of the mid-century era, the Roma is, according to Flavio Manzoni, head of design at Ferrari, a love letter to Italian glamour. It has jewel-like rear lights, a front grille that is both nostalgic and futuristic, and a rear wing that can only be seen at ample speeds.
Under its curvaceous body, the Roma is hiding a burly 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8, 456kW of power, 760Nm of torque and an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission (borrowed from its more powerful SF90 Stradale Stradale sister car) that is as close to perfection as physics allows. Supercars may get a hard rap for being thrill toys, but the beauty of this grand tourer is that it also has ample space for two small suitcases, an overnight bag and a small rear seat with room for parcels. Plus, supple, intelligent adaptive dampers that soak up bumps, and advanced driver assistance tech to help along the way. In short, it’s as if this car were designed for the Australian coastal jaunt.
Only one place in this region is almost as famous for its looks as this car: Dovecote. It’s a modernist property set on 60 hectares of green that overlooks a cliffside on the S-bends between Gerringong and Kiama. Some may know it as the house in The Invisible Man, or via its multiple architectural gongs, but it’s mostly referred to as “that house” by holiday-makers who drive past the low-lying angular structure as seen from the road. The property actually features two separate stays: The Headland house (from $2,750 per night), which sleeps eight and has sweeping 360-degree views, and the more intimate The Range (from $1,150 per night), which sleeps four. Both have fireplaces, pools, private tracks down to the secluded Werri Beach and baths that look out to star-filled skies by night and rolling hills by day. If you missed the chance to stop by the local farms and regional wineries, Dovecote offers an in-house chef who can do the catering and arrive with everything in tow, including local wine and cheese tastings. The property can also organise a masseuse to drop by for added indulgence.
With paddock-to-plate produce to snack on, a Ferrari Roma GT to run around in and stellar lodgings like Dovecote, rarely have I felt so utterly pampered. The Roma was developed for this exact purpose. It possesses an incredible lightness and has many tech accoutrements to make you want to drive it to the horizon. But with the rainforest and hills to one side and the song of the ocean and birdlife on the other, the Illawarra coast lures you back with its ability to make you reconsider heading back to the city again. Thankfully, the food here is so tempting, you’ll want to venture out of the gate to discover more things to taste.