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Pete Seaward

South Coast NSW

The South Coast is paradise without pretension, a place to wriggle your toes into brilliant white sand while guzzling down a meat pie. The stretch unfurls south from Sydney to Eden along coves, saw-toothed sea cliffs and bays where emerald waves lavish foam onto soft, squeaky sand. It's not as popular as NSW's North Coast and, frankly, locals couldn't be happier about that.

The Indigenous Yuin and Dharawal peoples have long enjoyed the region's bounty, for millennia gathering oysters that now grace restaurant tables up and down the coast. The land has deep significance for Aboriginal communities: Montague Island (Barranguba), with its multitude of seals and bird life; pert Pigeon House Mountain (Didthul); and ancient sites across Murramarang and Booderee National Parks.

Mass tourism has unquestionably altered destinations like Jervis Bay. But thrilling isolation isn't hard to find, especially amid the Sapphire Coast's untamed national parks and whale-rich shores.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout South Coast NSW.

  • See

    Silos Estate

    Beautifully set on a verdant former dairy farm between Berry and Nowra, this crowd-pleasing winery makes a range of tasty drops. Swirl a glass of bright sauvignon blanc or robust shiraz in the tasting room or linger over a meal in the excellent restaurant. The estate is carbon neutral and features lots of forward-thinking environmental initiatives (including water recycling and a charging station for electric cars). If you can't tear yourself away, there are four utterly relaxing, and ecofriendly, boutique rooms ($205 to $275).

  • See

    Booderee Botanic Gardens

    Lichen-splashed rocks, big ferns and mossy paths make for an enriching ramble at these 80-hectare gardens off the road to Cave Beach. The gardens are owned by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community; with advance notice, family-operated, Indigenous-owned Galamban can offer guided tours explaining the uses of various plants for food and medicine. The gardens' closing time is between 5pm and 7pm from October to April; exact hours are posted on the gate.

  • See

    Coolangatta Estate

    Founded on a 19th-century wine-growing estate, Coolangatta has been bottling its signature creamy semillons and stone-fruit scented savagnins since 1990. The wine's fantastic, and the cellar-door experience is informal and friendly. It's on the north side of the estuary, 13km east of Bomaderry and just before Shoalhaven Heads. You can also sleep here. Stick around for a lunch plate, with nibbles of cheese, oysters and ceviche, each matched to Coolangatta wine. The estate also offers excellent accommodation in convict-built buildings. At weekends, this is the departure point for 4WD tours up to Mt Coolangatta.

  • See

    Bega Cheese Heritage Centre

    A supermarket mainstay in Australia, Bega cheese isn't the stuff of a gourmet detour, but the heritage centre devoted to the brand (established 1899) is nicely presented, with a decent cafe. The upper floor has displays of old-timey butter churns and other dairy equipment, along with a very good souvenir shop brimming with locally made handicrafts. The ground-floor cafe serves an array of light lunches, including (of course) tasting plates of various Bega cheeses and some seriously good cheesecake. The centre is close to the cheese factory (which doesn't offer tours) at the northern edge of town. There's also a good selection of tourist-information brochures on the whole of the NSW South Coast, and transport information and accommodation listings on a noticeboard outside.

  • See

    Boyd's Tower

    At the end of Edrom Rd is the turn-off for Boyd’s Tower, built in the late 1840s from Sydney sandstone. It was built as a lighthouse, but the government wouldn’t give Boyd, a once wealthy landowner, permission to operate it (he later fled to California in massive debt). Instead it served as a whaling lookout and still stands, an enigmatic structure surrounded by eucalypts. Step inside (it's empty) before taking in the views of Red Point's claret-coloured shoreline. It's reached via an easy 500m walk from the car park. Boyd's Tower is also one of the trailheads for the Light to Light Walk.

  • See

    Green Cape Lightstation

    At the southern tip of Ben Boyd's southern section, elegant 1883 Green Cape Lightstation offers awesome views. There are tours (by appointment only) and three elegantly restored keepers’ cottages. This is a great spot to see whales in season (May to August) and multitudes of muttonbirds during their migration (October). The heritage lightstation keepers' cottages, with gas-heated lounge and dining room and high-ceilinged bedrooms accented in nautical blue, are available for overnight stays ($295 to $350). It's a place for travellers who want to enjoy the silence: no wi-fi or TV.

  • See

    Gold Rush Colony

    Mogo was established as a gold-rush town, and this sizeable recreation of a pioneer village aims to capture the atmosphere of that time. Some displays offer an authentic glimpse of the past (rusty farming implements, an antique printing press, an old mining tunnel). The rest is pure fun, from dubious anecdotes pasted on walls to a punning mock graveyard. There's a mini steam train and free gold panning. Free hour-long tours run at 10.30am, noon, 1.30pm and 3pm. Modern miners’ cabins are a basic accommodation option on-site.

  • See

    Tilba Valley Wines

    Gorgeously rough-hewn Tilba Valley Wines sits in an idyllic setting by Corunna Lake, 5km north of Central Tilba. This is an unpretentious spot to sip chardonnay, riesling and cab sauv, produced in the 12-hectare property for the last four decades. There's often live music on a Sunday afternoon. There are decent pub meals, but the ploughman's lunch or a cheese plate will pair nicely with a glass of wine (or an ale – microbrews from Pambula, Canberra and beyond are available by the bottle).

  • See

    Meroogal

    Guided tours reveal the history behind this attractive mint-green mansion that's pretty as a picture with its gabled roof and lace-like balconies. Built in the 1880s, the house contains the artefacts accumulated by four generations of women, from diaries to photographs, painting an intimate picture of their lives. Tours leave on the hour (from 11am to 3pm). It's on a tranquil residential street near the oval some three blocks west of central Nowra.

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