MAYBE THE WORLD'S HIGHEST BLOWHOLE
When the seas are heaving and the wind blows from the south-east, the Kiama blowhole can shoot water up to 60 meters (about 200 feet) into the air, making it one of the highest in the world. This may even be the world's highest blowhole. It is up there in respectable blowhole status along with: Spouting Horn, west of Poipu, Kauai; Halona Blow Hole, south end of Sandy Beach, Oahu; Nakalele Blow Hole, West Maui; La Bufadora, south of Ensanada, Baja MX, and; the Isabela Blowhole in north-west Puerto Rico. Maybe I'm a blowhole groupie. It's beginning to sound that way.
There is a lighthouse, a beach, a park and walk pathways all through here. There is a viewing platform with disabled access.
History
The local areas indigenous Aboriginals, people (the Wadi Wadi) called it Khanterintee, which means "mysterious noise".In 1797, the English explorer George Bass documented the area later named Kiama Harbour and "discovered" the blowhole as the Europeans view things. I wonder if they also discovered the native people who actually did discover the blowhole. Not sure why Mr. Bass and crew had to sail here because the train line comes through here and the train station is close by. Kiama is 120 km or 75 miles south of Sydney.
Performance
For this hole to blow, it needs south-east winds pushing ocean waves into the mouth of the subterranean cavity with a hole up top. This compresses the air inside. As the water inside the cavity tries to leave, the compressed air forces a water "spout" upward through top hole by, as the mouth is still blocked by the receding wave. The escaping air causes the loud "oomph" which accompanies the water spout.
Little Blowhole
If you go here, you might also want to check out the smaller Little Blowhole, located a few minutes south of the main Blowhole, I think off Tingira Crescent. The Little Blowhole performs best under northerly winds. read more