Stretching to the Victorian Border, the most southern section of the
Lower South Coast is the least frequented and developed area of coastal
New South Wales. The larger towns are less focused on tourism,
concentrating more on local industries such as dairy farming and
fishing. The smaller historic villages nestled in the countryside
provide interesting diversions from cheese and snapper.
In the heart of dairy country, Bega is the first of the larger
centres with the rare claim to fame that it's possible to surf and
ski on the same day. Lying on the junction of the Princes and Snowy
Mountains Highways, Bega can make an excellent base for trips to the
coast, bushwalks in the nearby national parks, and even expeditions
to the Kosciuszko snowfields, under two hundred kilometres away.
Closer to town, the complimentary Bega Cheese Factory and Heritage
Centre is a faithful reconstruction of a pioneering cheese factory,
displaying new and old cheese making techniques as well as a modern
cow milking facility.
On the coast east of Bega, Tathra is a relaxed holiday town
with great fishing and a long surf beach. The historic wharf on Wharf
Street is an appropriate location for Tathra's maritime museum as well
as the perfect place to sample the local seafood. Also in town, Tathra Pub is famous
for it's good times and extensive views over the ocean. West of Bega, Candelo
is an unchanged nineteenth century village, brimming with old world
charm. Currently riding the craft craze, the markets held here on the
first Sunday of every month, are the largest on the south coast.
Further south Merimbula is a flourishing holiday resort, set on
the impressive Lake Merimbula and a series of gorgeous beaches. Seafood
lovers should be aware that oysters, fish, and prawns are the towns
specialities, and surfers will love the breaks along the coast. Not to
be pigeon holed as your average fishing town, Merimbula hosts a jazz
festival in June, and a country music festival in October.
Inland and only seven kilometres south-east of Merimbula, the pretty
buildings in the historic village of Pambula, now house an
array of craft shops and restaurants. A comprehensive exhibit of the
areas artistic talents is on show at the town's markets held every
second Sunday of the month. The beautiful setting at Pambula Beach is
well known for encouraging surfers and anglers, as well as a
population of kangaroos and wallabies which forage at dawn and dusk.
Proceeding down the coast, the paradise of Eden is an former
whaling town now attracting travellers rather than Greenpeace. Built
overlooking an outstanding natural harbour and the towns fishing fleet
on Twofolds Bay, this sensational section of the South Coast is ideal
for fishing, swimming and surfing. Whale watching cruises allow visitors
to interact with whales playing along the coast from October to
November, and on shore the intriguing Killer Whale Museum features the
skeleton of "Tom the killer whale" not to mention bizarre story of a
local man who was swallowed by a whale and regurgitated unharmed 15
hours later!
Close by, the Ben Boyd National Park is made up of two slender expanses
both north and south of Eden. Consisting of lush coastal wilderness
bordered by deserted beaches, the park has a number of prominent sites
to hike to including Boyd's Tower at Red Point and the red and white
earth formations known as the Pinnacles.
On the perimeter of the Ben Boyd National Park at Nullica Bay, the
historical village of Boydtown was once a rival settlement of
Eden which floundered along with its founder Benjamin Boyd in the
nineteenth century. Planned to be the capital of Australia by the
flamboyant Mr Boyd, some of his colonial buildings remain including the
convict-built and still licensed Sea Horse Inn.
