Beaches, rainforest, waterfalls, rockpools, sheer cliffs – this remarkable backdrop is just an hour south of Sydney. Australia’s oldest national park delivers 15,000 hectares of nature at its finest.

One of the best ways to get a taste for this wilderness is on a paddle with Bundeena Kayaks. Hire a kayak or stand-up paddleboard and explore at your leisure, or join a guided adventure that reveals some of the Royal National Park’s most spectacular sandy beaches and bays along the Port Hacking waterway.

Enjoy perspective at Governor Game Lookout. Your ocean vista is framed by native forest, a magnet for crimson rosellas and yellow-tailed black cockatoos. Offshore you’ll spot migrating whales (May through November), with 25,000 traversing the country’s east coast annually.

Views from Bald Hill Lookout are just as wild, with the added pleasure of watching hang gliders drift across the horizon.

While you’ll likely have spotted native wildlife en route, you can guarantee a glimpse at Symbio Wildlife Park, home to kangaroos, koalas and dingoes, among others. Five kilometres south lies Darkes Glenbernie Orchard, a family-owned estate where you can revel in farm life, picking apples and stone fruit. This bounty is transformed into everything from cider to jam, for sale in the Appleshack store.

Re-join the coastal road and prepare for pinch-me moments along the 665m Sea Cliff Bridge, snaking over the Pacific Ocean awash over rocks below.

Arriving in Wollongong, it’s time to dive in to the water that has backdropped your drive. The city’s north is blessed with sandy beaches, none as popular as the 250m long Austinmer, with ocean pools to splash in if you’re adverse to waves. Stop by Headlands Austinmer Beach for fish and chips in the ocean-facing garden, or dumplings served from an Airstream Sovereign.

Twenty minutes away in Wollongong’s centre, most attractions are within walking distance of the sea. Cut from rock, Belmore Basin’s curve creates a calm patch of water for kayaking and paddle boarding. Stroll a few minutes to North Beach’s Diggies, a breezy restaurant celebrating its coastal setting in design and menu.

The road leaving town passes Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist shrine in the Southern Hemisphere. Tour the grounds, enjoy a vegetarian meal, attend a retreat or time your visit and celebrate festivals.

It’s 20km to Shellharbour; your coastal route hugging Lake Illawarra, a habitat for many species of birds. Follow its southern curve to the HARS Aviation Museum, an astounding collection of aircraft in various states of restoration and repair. Since you’re already at Shellharbour Airport, it can't hurt to jump in a Touchdown Helicopter for a scenic spin over coast and hinterland, with waterfalls and beaches along the way.

An equally lofty perspective can be enjoyed at Illawarra Fly Treetop Adventures, where the country’s highest ziplines pierce rainforest, and a suspension bridge brings you eye-to-leaf with the tree canopy. Nearby is Minnamurra Rainforest, an ancient tangle of tree ferns, orchids and figs in Budderoo National Park. Elevated walkways and paved paths chase waterfalls, with lyrebirds, wallabies and water dragons en route.

Set your GPS for Kiama Blowhole back on the coast. This geological wonder is the largest blowhole in the world, boasting 30m spouts. You’ll feel the spray from lookouts around Blowhole Point, or take a snap of the photogenic lighthouse.

Journeying south to Jervis Bay, linger over a chardonnay in Crooked River Wines’ cellar door, followed by South Coast oysters and seared scallops in the restaurant, overlooking vines. End your day at Bangalay Luxury Villas, a boutique bolthole at Shoalhaven Heads where nature surrounds you. Nestled between coastal national parkland and a golf course, each of the 16 villas is the epitome of coastal style. The on-site restaurant also celebrates your surrounds, incorporating native ingredients like lemon myrtle and saltbush into inspired dishes.

You don’t have to travel far to begin your day on a high at Mountain Ridge Wines, a family-owned estate where the catchphrase is ‘cultivated with conscience’. Sip sustainable wines – including a unique macadamia liqueur – while gazing over surrounding towns and ranges. Then enjoy a meal in the restaurant, celebrating Shoalhaven producers. Leave room for the creamy molluscs shucked fresh at Jim Wild's Oysters, best devoured overlooking the Crookhaven River.

Drive 30min south to the Jervis Bay Marine Park, its 215 square kilometres a haven for seals, dolphins and penguins, plus migrating whales (May through November). Take in the spectacle with Woebegone Freedive, which not only offers training courses in the sport but also leads snorkelling expeditions to explore sea caves and white-sand beaches while on the lookout for seals and dolphins. Or explore the marine park from on top of the water, on a paddling tour with Sea Kayak Jervis Bay, who offer guided tours, kayak hire and even sea kayaking courses. If you'd prefer to stay dry, Jervis Bay Wild and Dolphin Watch Cruises Jervis Bay also get you close to marine life on a boat cruise.

Booderee National Park covers the southern curve of the bay, its expanse uniting powdery beaches and jagged cliffs. Along trails, spot some of the 460 native plants that characterise the landscape, many of them important sources of food and medicine for the Koori people.