Glasshouse Rocks, NaroomaCredit: Destination NSW
Father and son heading out for a morning surf at Glasshouse Rocks, Narooma.
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Put this glorious stretch of the New South Wales coastline on your holiday radar and drive four hours south from Sydney to discover the charming Eurobodalla region. You’ll have plenty of easy adventures on this laidback coastal getaway stretching from South Durras down to Tilba Tilba on the NSW South Coast. Elevate your visit with these 10 memorable experiences.
Go snorkelling with seals
Experience the unforgettable thrill of snorkelling alongside playful fur seals on a day trip to Montague Island, a protected nature reserve just off the coast of Narooma. Local operators such as Montague Island Adventures can take you on this exhilarating adventure and if you book between November and May you might be lucky enough to share your trip with migrating whales. You can also tour the island’s historic lighthouse and significant Aboriginal sites or seize the rare chance to stay overnight in a lighthouse keeper’s cottage.
Get back to nature with your family
Connect with your loved ones in the inspiring surrounds of Murramarang National Park, which offers a family-friendly taster of the magnificent coastal wilderness in the Eurobodalla region. Children will love the tree stump stepping ‘stones’ at the start of the Durras Lake Discovery Trail, with possible kangaroo sightings adding to the fun. Find the trailhead for the 1.5km loop at the end of Lake Road.
Enter cheese heaven
Feasting on local cheese is a quintessential experience in this historic dairy region, which has been producing quality cheeses since the 1870s. Live out your farming fantasies at the 1950s-style Bodalla Dairy in Bodalla, where fresh milk is produced onsite every morning to make artisinal cheeses with native flavours, as well as traditional milkshakes, great coffees and ice-creams. Stay the night in one the property’s five farm-chic guest rooms.
Sample more delicious cheeses and perhaps join a cheesemaking course at the ABC Cheese Factory further south in the charming surrounds of National Heritage-listed Central Tilba, which offers a living snapshot of 19th-century regional Australia.
Montague Island, Narooma Credit: Destination NSW
Montague Island Discovery Tours
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Montague Island, Narooma Credit: Destination NSW
Montague Island Discovery Tours
VIP Private Tours, Bodella Dairy Shed, Narooma Credit: Destination NSW
VIP Private Tours design bespoke and exclusive experiences exploring the Eurobodalla region.
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VIP Private Tours, Bodella Dairy Shed, Narooma Credit: Destination NSW
VIP Private Tours design bespoke and exclusive experiences exploring the Eurobodalla region.
Be mesmerised by whales
Seeing a whale in the wild is magical, whether it’s your first time or your 50th. The huge marine mammals are at their most playful in the Eurobodalla region from September to November, making this the perfect time to marvel at their aerobatic feats. Bring your binoculars to spot whales from the shoreline at Toragy Point near Moruya (which has the region’s only airport) or on Broulee Island. Or join an action-packed whale watching tour with the likes of Narooma Charters. You might also be treated to a very special whale encounter on a half-day kayaking tour with Region X as you paddle out into open water in search of hidden beaches and azure rock pools.
Sign up for more aquatic adventures
The Eurobodalla Shire is known as the land of many waters, with rivers, lakes and, of course, the ocean to enjoy aquatic adventures such as surfing, diving, fishing, and more. Revel in the accomplishment of learning to surf with Surf the Bay, a mobile surf school based in Broulee; get a buzz catching your own seafood dinner on a fishing trip with Narooma Charters;, and feel anew after an invigorating beach dip at pretty Mystery Bay.
Explore Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden with all your senses
Stop and smell the native flowers in the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Garden, just south of Batemans Bay, where five walking trails weave around a collection of themed gardens. Learn something new on the Aboriginal Heritage Walk, a 1km walking path suitable for visitors with limited mobility that reveals the fascinating traditional uses of about 30 Eurobodalla plants. Feel your worries melt away as you wander the gardens, calmed by the trickle of water features and the buzz of the bees. Bring a picnic or grab a wholesome bite at the Mossy on Gardens Café, which overlooks the gardens.
Follow Eurobodalla’s oyster trail
Shuck and slurp to your heart’s content in the Eurobodalla region, which forms part of Australia’s famous Oyster Coast. Look out for these plump delicacies on menus across the region, as well as oyster specialists like the Oyster Shed on Wray Street in Batemans Bay, where you can sample oysters beside the Clyde River where they are farmed. The Oyster Farmers Daughter is an alfresco oyster bar nestled alongside the idyllic Wagonga Inlet in Narooma where you can pair fresh oysters with refreshing cocktails made with local gin.
Narooma Charters Montague Island Tours Credit: Destination NSW
Aerial view of the Narooma Charters Montague Island Tour boat travelling from Narooma to Montague Island
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Narooma Charters Montague Island Tours Credit: Destination NSW
Aerial view of the Narooma Charters Montague Island Tour boat travelling from Narooma to Montague Island
Wray Street Oyster Shed, Batemans Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Farmer returning to Wray Street Oyster Shed, Batemans Bay with fresh oysters.
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Wray Street Oyster Shed, Batemans Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Farmer returning to Wray Street Oyster Shed, Batemans Bay with fresh oysters.
Immerse yourself in Aboriginal culture
Transform your understanding of the Eurobodalla region’s Aboriginal peoples and their fascinating stories with local Indigenous operator Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness. Its 40-hour Yuin Retreat, named for the region’s Traditional Custodians, begins on the first evening with a traditional welcome, followed by a sunrise ceremony and the option to hike Gulaga (formerly Mount Dromedary) or visit significant sites on the Djirringanj Dreaming Trail. Following a cultural program in the evening, the experience ends with an Aboriginal healing and connection workshop on the final morning, leaving you with a whole new outlook on Aboriginal culture and this storied corner of the country.
Embrace next-level camping and glamping
Deepen your connection to the region’s enriching natural landscapes on a local camping or glamping experience. Soak up the unrivalled seaside location along with the stellar wildlife-watching opportunities at Beachcomber Holiday Park at Potato Point, just south of Tuross Head, where you may be surprised to discover emus are among the menagerie of native animals known to frequent this campground backing onto Eurobodalla National Park.
If glamping is more your style, wake up to sweeping mountain views after a romantic night in a glamping tent at Mountain View Farm in Tilba Tilba. Also tucked in the lush rolling hills of the Tilba Valley is Tilba Lake House, which offers a luxe glamping option as well as four cosy self-contained tiny house stays with views of the lake, ocean and mountains.
Go market-hopping
Get to know the friendly Eurobodalla community at the region’s vibrant markets. Learn about their passion for developing a sustainable local food system as you fill your basket with local goodies spanning vegetables from Old Mill Road Biofarm to McAsh Oysters at the SAGE Farmers Market, held every Tuesday afternoon from 3pm at Riverside Park in Moruya. Find more produce and connect with the local artisans, craftspeople and designers, at the Moruya Country Market on Saturday mornings from 8am, held at the same spot.
Tilba Tilba Lake, Central Tilba Credit: Destination NSW
Scenic views across Central Tilba to Tilba Tilba Lake.
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Tilba Tilba Lake, Central Tilba Credit: Destination NSW
Scenic views across Central Tilba to Tilba Tilba Lake.
Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness, Narooma Credit: Destination NSW
Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness located at Narooma offers an immersive Indigenous experience on-country in Yuin Country.
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Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness, Narooma Credit: Destination NSW
Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness located at Narooma offers an immersive Indigenous experience on-country in Yuin Country.
More Inspirational Stories
Look At Me Now Headland, Emerald BeachCredit: Destination NSW
See wildlife in a whole new way in New South Wales.
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NSW’s animals are as welcoming as its locals. From kangaroos to snoozing koalas — and everything furry or finned in between — Australia’s wild animals are as unforgettable as the land they call home. Here’s where to find these incredible creatures in their natural habitat across New South Wales.
See kangaroos by the sea
Thrill to the sight of kangaroos, one of Australia’s most iconic native animals, in the wild all across Country NSW. Keep an eye out for eastern grey kangaroos at beautiful Diamond Head Beach in Crowdy Bay National Park on the Barrington Coast, a 3.5-hour drive north of Sydney. Let the unforgettable sight of a mob of ’roos backdropped by the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean put a spring in your step as you stroll along the 1.6km loop trail at the Look At Me Now Headland in the Moonee Beach Nature Reserve, at Coffs Harbour on the Mid North Coast. And refresh with a dip in the ocean as curious eastern greys look on from grassy clearings at Depot Beach and Pebbly Beach in Murramarang National Park, a four-hour drive from Sydney on the spectacular NSW South Coast.
Gaze up at koalas
Discover the eucalypt forests around eastern NSW and you may well spot a koala snoozing among the gum-trees. Marvel at these tree-dwelling marsupials from viewing platforms in the stunning bushland at Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary, less than an hour’s drive from Newcastle, or three hours north of Sydney. Then settle into your four-star glamping tent, studio room or deluxe suite at the sanctuary for a night among these iconic creatures. Head to Guula Ngurra National Park, an easy two-hour drive south of Sydney in the Southern Highlands, to hike through some of the 3,358 hectares of protected koala habitat in the recently created park (Guula Ngurra means “Koala Country” in the local Gundungurra Aboriginal language). Or hone your spotting skills at Narrandera Koala Reserve, around an hour’s drive from the regional town of Griffith in the Riverina region in the state’s southwest, where more than 200 koalas live among river red gums.
Dive in with wild dolphins
Come fin to fin with wild dolphins with Dolphin Swim Australia in Port Stephens, just an hour’s drive north of Newcastle or three hours from Sydney. Feel a surge of adrenaline as a catamaran tows you through the ocean among these playful creatures. Prefer to stay dry? See Port Stephens’s resident pod of bottlenose dolphins, many of them so friendly that the locals know them by name, on an outing with Imagine Cruises. Or head south for close encounters with dolphins in sheltered Jervis Bay, on the NSW South Coast, with Dolphin Watch Cruises Jervis Bay and Jervis Bay Wild.
Shoal Bay, Port Stephens Credit: Destination NSW
Dolphins swimming in Shoal Bay, Port Stephens.
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Shoal Bay, Port Stephens Credit: Destination NSW
Dolphins swimming in Shoal Bay, Port Stephens.
Whale watching, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
A whale breaches out of the water off Sydney waters.
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Whale watching, Sydney Credit: Destination NSW
A whale breaches out of the water off Sydney waters.
Let whales stir your spirit
Marvel at the majesty of humpback whales as they travel along the New South Wales coastline from May to November each year. Embrace the sublime as you witness some of the 40,000 humpback and southern right whales that make their way along on the ‘Humpback Highway’ from Antarctica to the warm waters of their breeding grounds in the north. Clamber aboard a boat for an unforgettable day of whale watching in Sydney, join a cruise from seaside towns or find the perfect vantage point on land to see these magnificent creatures leap from the water all along the NSW coastline.
Meet a Tasmanian devil
Get up close with free-roaming Tasmanian devils without leaving mainland Australia at Aussie Ark’s wildlife sanctuary in the rugged Barrington Tops, a five-hour drive northeast of Sydney. Feel yourself moved by the stories you’ll hear on Aussie Ark’s 2.5-hour guided Devils in the Wild tour — the team behind this conservation initiative is breeding a wild population of the endangered carnivores to ensure their survival. And be astonished as you see Tasmanian devils thriving in the wild and, if you visit in breeding season, dote on super-cute devil joeys exploring their surroundings.
Play with seals
Come alive with a sense of joy at Montague Island Nature Reserve, a revered wildlife destination that’s home to little penguins, a huge colony of Australian fur seals and 90 types of birds just 9km off the town of Narooma, in the South Coast’s Eurobodalla region. Be delighted by their playfulness as you discover why friendly fur seals are called the puppies of the sea on a seal snorkel with Narooma Charters. Or delight to the sight of penguins waddling back to their nests after a day of fishing on a sunset tour with Montague Island Discovery Tours.
Montague Island Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Be immersed in wildlife experiences off Montague Island.
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Montague Island Highlight Selects Credit: Destination NSW
Be immersed in wildlife experiences off Montague Island.
Be captivated by a platypus
Be rewarded for your patience when you spot a platypus in the wild: while platypus inhabit a number of regions in NSW, these shy little icons can be very tricky to find. Increase your chances by visiting Bombala, about an hour’s drive from Cooma in the Snowy Mountains — it’s known as ‘Platypus Country’ because a large number of these mysterious monotremes (egg-laying mammals) live there. Practise mindfulness at the Bombala Platypus Reserve, 4.5km outside of town, where a viewing platform over the river makes spotting them easier. Or try a guided Platypus Walk with Vision Walks Eco-Tours near Byron Bay, on the far North Coast.
Bliss out with turtles
Discover the underwater wonderlands of the North Coast at Cook Island, less than 1km offshore from Fingal Head, just south of Tweed Heads on the far North Coast of New South Wales, to encounter astonishing numbers of green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles. Deepen your respect for the incredible beauty of the underwater world on a memorable snorkelling tour with local operators such as Watersports Guru or Cooly Eco Adventures.
Take off to an island of seabirds
Look at the skies with awe as hundreds of thousands of seabirds wheel above you on Lord Howe Island, 700km northeast of Sydney in the Pacific Ocean. Fill your diary with sightings of the 130-odd permanent and migratory bird species found on the country’s premier bird-watching destination. Come in winter to see providence petrels circle in spectacular courtship rituals during their breeding season, while shearwaters return in awe-inspiring flocks at dusk each day from spring to late autumn (September to May).