High on the escarpment plateau above Kiama and Kangaroo Valley, Barren Grounds is a windswept upland of heath and hanging swamp, one of the finest birdwatching reserves in the state. It shelters two rare and elusive ground-dwelling birds - the eastern bristlebird and the ground parrot - along with a wealth of honeyeaters drawn to the flowering heath. Walking tracks lead across the plateau to clifftop lookouts over the Illawarra and the coast far below. Cool and often misty, high above the warm coast, it is a quiet, birdy world well worth the climb up from the sea.