The stretch of coastline south of Sydney between Nowra and Merimbula is a foodies paradise. Every town and village seems to have its own fishermen’s co-op selling fresh catches of day, the lush dairy farms in the hills produce some fantastic cheeses, and often serve great Devonshire teas, and the fertile fields yield an amazing array of fresh fruit and vegetables and some very good wines. So grab yourself a blanket, an empty picnic basket and head south.
Begin your drive in the village of Berry, halfway between Kiama and Nowra, 128km south of Sydney. This once sleepy dairy village, long famous for the local bakery’s fresh-baked bread rolls and late night snacks at the Donut Van, has reinvented itself and is now bursting with antique shops, quaint gift stores, cafés and restaurants. Base yourself here and explore some of the wineries in the area — Silos Estate Winery and Jasper Valley Wines in Jaspers Brush, Coolangatta Estate near Shoalhaven Heads and Cambewarra Estate Wines in Cambewarra.
As you head further south, take one of the sidetracks that meander through bushland and national parks and lead to sleepy beachside villages and long sandy stretches of beach.
Stop in Batemans Bay (126km from Nowra) and visit the Oyster Shed in Wray Street, where you can view the oyster beds and learn about oyster farming, as well as try a few. No matter where you are on the south coast the locals will tell you that their oysters are the simply the best on the coast... probably the best in the country, even the best in the world (and they may well all be right). You’ll hear the same story in Narooma (80km further south) at Brian Coxon’s Oyster Shed on Riverview Road (northern side of Wagonga Inlet, turn right just before the bridge).
Don’t hurry to Narooma. Mogo zoo, just a few minutes drive south, is dedicated to the conservation of exotic animals and this private zoo’s collection includes Nepalese red pandas, golden lion tamarins (one of the most endangered mammals on Earth), jaguars, lions, snow leopards, Syrian brown bears and both Sumatran and Bengal tigers. This is a great place to spend a couple of hours, particularly if you have children, who can follow the keepers around the zoo as they feed and talk about the animals under their care.
Stop for lunch at the Pickled Octopus Seafood Restaurant in Tuross Heads. The large deck overlooking the lake is a great place to soak up some sun as you feast on local oysters, prawns and fish. Another must visit on this stretch is the township of Bodalla, famous for its cheese, and not just the slightly kitsch giant one on the outskirts of town. The Big Cheese sells many of the local cheeses, or you can visit South Coast Cheese in Potato Point Road for some nice hand-made vintage and soft cheeses.
Narooma
While in Narooma, ask at the Visitors Centre for directions to Frost’s Honey, where you can watch honey being extracted from the hives every Tuesday and Wednesday.
If you need to walk off some of this food, book an evening penguin watching tour to Montague Island. Built in 1881, with a visible horizon of 36km, a granite lighthouse stands sentinel above the island, appearing to guard not only the treacherous passage between the island and the coast, but also the wealth of wildlife found on the island. Home to colonies of Australian and New Zealand fur seals and 10,000 pairs of little penguins, Montague Island was officially declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1953. You’ll also find crested terns, silver gulls and three different species of shearwaters here during the nesting season and it’s a great spot to watch whales between September and November.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) runs four-hour tours out to the island, where you’ll learn about the history of the island and the lighthouse, the Aboriginal heritage and wildlife. The lighthouse keepers’ cottages are being restored to their original splendour and the National Trust has plans to refurnish the stately buildings with period furniture. Night time tours include an hour or two of penguin watching, where, as you munch on a BYO dinner picnic, timid penguins clamber out of the sea and drip-dry themselves on the rocks before waddling past you on the way to their grassy burrows in the hillside.
Day tours depart Narooma Wharf every Wednesday at 9.30am; evening tours leave two hours before sunset on Tuesdays and Fridays. All tours are dependent on the weather, so check with Narooma Visitors Centre a few hours before you are scheduled to leave.
The section of the coast between Narooma and Bega is great for shopping. There are lots of out-of-the-way galleries, craft shops, antique and furniture stores, most of which offer great value prices. From Narooma, head south to the twin villages of Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba, around 20km south. Both these villages are heritage listed, and the vibrantly painted wooden weatherboard houses and shopfronts look much the same as they would have at the turn of last century. The main street of Central Tilba now houses a range of galleries, gift shops, leather and woodwork showrooms, but the bakery is the drawcard for many visitors (and locals) — these are the best vanilla slices in the state!
Tilba Tilba
If you’re a garden lover, you’ll enjoy the Foxglove Spire Gardens at Tilba Tilba, and make sure you drop in for a coffee or light meal of local produce at the Love at First Bite Café.
Quaama
At nearby Quaama, 30km south, drop into Fruit Ballad Country Wines to taste some unusual wines made from just about everything except grapes. The parsley and pumpkin wines might be an acquired taste, but some of the fruitier wines, such as the rose petal and honey desert wine, are quite nice. There are more wines to taste (make sure you have a designated driver) at Grevillea Estate in Bega. Cellar door tastings and sales are in an 1860 slab hut.
Bega
If you’re travelling with children time your visit to coincide with the daily 3 o’clock milking session at the dairy behind the wine tasting and restaurant area. There is also a pleasant wetlands walk behind the vineyard.
On the other side of the highway you’ll find Bega Cheese. There is a viewing area inside the factory where you can watch the cheese making process and a museum in the heritage centre. The café has a shady verandah — great for a ploughman’s lunch of Bega cheese, pickles and a bottle of local wine.
Tathra
From Bega, head south to Tathra, a sleepy seaside village where most of the action seems to be on the historic wharf, where dozens of hopeful anglers line the edge of the high platform. There is a café here that also hires fishing rods and sells bait. Also in Tathra is the Tathra Beach Pickle Factory, which sells a huge range of hand-made vinaigrettes, relishes, sauces, flavoured oils, and of course, pickles. Try some at the coffee shop. Better still, take that now bursting picnic basket, drop into the local co-op for some fresh prawns, the bakery for some fresh rolls and find yourself a lonely stretch of beach… the rest is up to you.
A scenic alternative between Tilba and Tathra is tourist road 9, (now fully sealed) which follows the coast and travels through lush dairy farming country, the fishing village of Bermagui, and the forests of Mimosa National Park. Keep your windows open and you’ll be serenaded by bellbirds almost the entire way.
Eden, on the shores of Twofold Bay, is one on the best places to watch whales in the annual migration from Antarctica to warmer northern waters between September and November, but 100 years ago, Eden was one of the most important whaling centres in the country. The Eden Killer Whale Museum details the history of Eden and the role whales have played in the town’s fortunes. One of the most interesting stories is that of Old Tom, leader of a pack of killer whales (orcas) who, in a strange example of human and animal symbiosis, would help the whalers hunt and kill the huge baleen whales in the harbour by rounding them up and directing them towards the whalers waiting with harpoons, in exchange for unwanted whale scraps. There are also displays on shipping, fishing and associated maritime industries as well as local history.
Another legacy of the whaling era is Davidson Whaling Station historic site, in Ben Boyd National Park, just south of the town. Just around the bay is Boyd’s Tower, a huge square tower built by Ben Boyd in 1846. It was originally intended to be a lighthouse, but the Government would not give permission to use the privately owned structure as a lighthouse so it was used as a lookout for whales.
Ben Boyd, after whom the National Park is named, is one of the area’s more flamboyant historical figures. A London stockbroker who arrived in Australia in 1842, Boyd had a vision of building a port on the shores of Twofold Bay that would rival Sydney and Port Phillip Bay, based around his whaling, shipping, trade and farming empire. Boyd’s Tower was part of this vision, but by 1849 his financial empire had collapsed and he left the colony, his debts unpaid. Rumours abound about his final end, with some saying he chased gold in the Californian goldfields, others that he was eaten by cannibals somewhere in the South Pacific. His name lives on in nearby Boydtown.
From Edrom Road, the main road in the National Park to Davidson Whaling Station and Boyd’s Tower, turn off to Green Cape Lightstation. The road is unsealed and can be slippery after rain, but is in otherwise good condition. Green Cape Lightstation was built in 1883. This was once one of the most treacherous and dangerous sections of the coast, ruled by the strong East Australian Current. The lighthouse stands on headland that juts out unexpectedly from the coastline, which many ships would hug in order to avoid the current. The nearby bay, aptly named Disaster Bay, is littered with wrecks — there is a good lookout on the road in to the lighthouse. Just below the lightstation carpark is a cemetery with the graves of some of the 71 people drowned when the Ly-ee-Moon was wrecked here in 1886 (inexplicably, the lighthouse was operating at the time).
The lighthouse keepers’ cottages, built in 1880, have been restored and are available for accommodation. The two cottages sleep six and have a fully equipped kitchen. Bring your own food and linen. For bookings, write to NPWS, PO Box 656, Merimbula, NSW, 2548.
The view from the front rooms and verandah overlooking the cliffs is spectacular. Seals frolic in the white water of the waves below, the odd dolphin, or whales in season, swim by. Sea eagles, shearwaters, cormorants and even albatross soar above the waves. At night, remote and isolated on the cape, watching the light cut into the inky black sky, it’s easy to relate to those sea captains and mariners who once took so much comfort from these lonely lighthouses.
Take a tour to Gabo Island to see more than 40,000 nesting penguins that live in burrows around the island — the largest known colony of little penguins in the world. Gabo Island Tours depart from Merimbula airport and include two scenic flights, lighthouse and island tour and gourmet lunch. Call (02) 6495 2958 for bookings.
There are some great 4WD tracks around Batemans Bay, but you won’t find them on most tourist maps. You will need a specialist map such as those published by State Forests of NSW (call (02) 4472 6211 for the Batemans Bay office). On these will you find the positions of logging tracks and firetrails.
4WD
