VIP Private Tours, Bodella Dairy Shed, NaroomaCredit: Destination NSW
VIP Private Tours
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There’s no shortage of remarkable local produce in Eurobodalla and the Sapphire Coast, from Tathra’s highly acclaimed oysters to ice-cream made with native Australian ingredients at Bodalla’s micro dairy. Get to know this wild stretch of NSW’s coast through its markets, waterside restaurants and boutique producers.
Meet the producers
The small-batch milk at Bodalla Dairy is hand-bottled at low temperatures to keep the beneficial bacteria active. This old-fashioned “living milk” reflects the grassy pastures where the farm’s small herd is kept – the famous dairy town of Bodalla. The family-run company also produces cheese and ice-cream, often with a native twist. Stop by the refurbished Dairy Shed to try a scoop of the Kakadu plum and rum ice-cream, or partake in the daily cheese tasting and try varieties infused with smoked gum leaf, Tasmanian pepperberry and other local ingredients.
Just a 10-minute drive from Bega is North of Eden. When they say they make craft gin, they really mean it. Everything at this Stony Creek distillery, is made by hand – even Jill, the Portuguese copper still, is manually operated and heated with a live fire, and all the ingredients infused in the gin are either grown onsite or foraged. Join an afternoon of alchemy at North of Eden’s Gin School, a three-hour workshop where you can distill your own gin recipe, plus taste the range. If you’re craving a cold one, Longstocking Brewery in Pambula serves a diverse, rotating list of beers – look for the specials board for the freshest pours. Order a woodfired pizza or a plate of oysters to share, then sit back and watch local musicians fill the room with soft melodies (on Fridays and Sundays).
Oysters
Discover some of Australia’s best oysters in Tathra, a close-knit town with wide, clear beaches and the oldest deep-water timber wharf on the Australian east coast. With more than 180 awards (including the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW's highest accolade, the inaugural President's Medal), you know you are in for a treat at Tathra Oysters. These molluscs are grown in the pristine waters of Nelson Lake in the Mimosa Rocks National Park, and you can sample them at their store in town. Further south in Pambula, join a tour with Captain Sponge’s Magical Oyster Tours to cruise picturesque Pambula Lake aboard an oversized oyster punt, sampling oysters fresh from the water while receiving a crash course in oyster husbandry. If you stop by Merimbula, head to the Oyster Barn for a plate of oysters looking over the bay they were grown in.
Bodalla Dairy Shed Credit: Kerrie-Anne Benton; Eurobodalla Coast Tourism
Outdoor dining at Bodalla Dairy Shed, Eurobodalla, South Coast
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Bodalla Dairy Shed Credit: Kerrie-Anne Benton; Eurobodalla Coast Tourism
Outdoor dining at Bodalla Dairy Shed, Eurobodalla, South Coast
Longstocking Brewery, Pambula Credit: Destination NSW
Longstocking beers on display at Longstocking Brewery, Pambula.
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Longstocking Brewery, Pambula Credit: Destination NSW
Longstocking beers on display at Longstocking Brewery, Pambula.
Dining with water views
Keep it casual by grabbing takeaway fish and chips from Beach Break and claiming a spot at nearby Tathra Beach to savour this seaside staple with ocean views. Or step it up at Il Passaggio restaurant, which sits on Fisherman’s Wharf in Bermagui. Its modern Italian menu puts local produce front and centre, whether it’s the Araluen peaches with the vanilla panna cotta, crumbed local flathead or regionally grown zucchinis in the risotto. The iconic Quarterdeck restaurant offers a tiki-style experience, with fruity daiquiris and fresh oysters served by the water in Narooma. Just across the headland, boutique hotel The Whale Inn and its Cantonese restaurant Queen Chow offer dim sum platters and rock lobster with XO sauce, plus refreshing cocktails with a view at Ocean Lounge next door. In Merimbula, eat at the uber cool Dulcie’s Cottage, serving burgers and oysters in a 1920s cottage with an eclectic fit-out, or its big sister venue, Valentina, which is all sunlight-soaked timber floors, whipped cod roe and pet nat and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over Merimbula Lake.
Produce markets
Fragrant heads of garlic just picked from the earth, bread that smells like the morning’s bake, lamb shanks from farms up the road and fruit from the trees of nearby orchards. If you needed any more proof of how embedded farming culture is on the Sapphire Coast, check out the quality and sheer number of produce markets. Bega Produce Market, a weekly market on Fridays, sells only produce from small producers within a 250km radius. On Thursdays, the Bermagui Growers and Makers Market shows off the area’s produce, often alongside freshly baked pies, local spirits, pantry goods and flowers. On top of the two big weekly markets there are monthly or season-based markets all over the coast, all of them full of locals. Check out the market schedules here.
Captain Sponge's Magical Oyster Tour, Pambula River Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a tour with Captain Sponge's Magical Oyster Tours on Pambula River, Pambula.
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Captain Sponge's Magical Oyster Tour, Pambula River Credit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a tour with Captain Sponge's Magical Oyster Tours on Pambula River, Pambula.
Tathra Beach, Tathra Credit: Destination NSW
Sun setting over the Bega River and Tathra Beach, Tathra
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Tathra Beach, Tathra Credit: Destination NSW
Sun setting over the Bega River and Tathra Beach, Tathra
More Inspirational Stories
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, CorowaCredit: Destination NSW
Couple enjoying a visit to Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa.
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Feast on the riches of one of Australia’s most important food bowls on a road trip through the Murray, named after the mighty river that flows through this southwest area of New South Wales. Float down the river on a historic paddlesteamer wine cruise, stop by farm gates to sample incredible fresh produce, and dine at chic restaurants and bars in this unique culinary playground.
Take the back roads for gourmet treats
Head off the beaten path along The Backroads Trail, a 250km driving route that passes through the small pastoral towns of Barham, Moama, Mathoura and Deniliquin on the upper reaches of the Murray River. Sink your teeth into fresh olives, avocados, free-range pork, honey and citrus fruit from farm gates along its loops and trails, and taste the region’s wines at vineyards such as Restdown Wines. While you’re at this winery, venture out along the Restdown Wetland Walk to encounter Aboriginal cooking hearths and an old sheep camp.
Cruise along to The Old School Winery & Meadery in Womboota to pick up wine, pottery and honey mead. Or seek out Ivy Joyce in Barham to indulge in a warm space, offering local produce from farms for a truly paddock to plate experience in the heart of Murray River country. For more snacks and meaty fare such as British-style pork pies and sausages, head to Pacdon Park’s factory shop in Moama.
You can work up an appetite as you build your own itinerary on the theme of food, paddocks and produce, and find suggested routes and maps to Murray River farm gates, at the Echuca Moama Visitor Centre.
Wine and dine along the river
Embark on a wine tour by water in Moama, where the first steamboats made their way up the Murray in 1853. Take a Murray River Paddlesteamers Wharf to Winery Cruise from the town to Morrisons Riverview Winery for a leisurely lunch. Or drive along the river, stopping in at Three Black Sheep for risotto and woodfired pizzas, and tasting crisp dry whites and full-flavoured reds at St Anne’s Vineyards, where you can nibble on a cheese platter overlooking a scenic lake.
Head east along the riverside roads to rest and recharge in the town of Tocumwal, known for its riverside beaches, golf courses, glider flying and iconic Big Murray Cod statue. Start the following day with a solid foundation of breakfast pizza (topped with bacon, eggs and a hash brown) at The Old Bank and indulge in a scoop of ice-cream or sorbet from Tocumwal Ice Creamery – flavours include rocky road, green apple or macadamia. If you’re in town on a Saturday, pick up honey, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, dressings and other condiments made by local producers at the Tocumwal Foreshore Markets.
Continue your odyssey along the river to Corowa, the birthplace of Australian Federation. Immerse in the town’s rich turn-of-the-20th-century colonial heritage as you make your way to the former 1920s flour mill housing Corowa Distilling Co. Here you can book a whisky tasting and behind-the-scenes tour and buy locally made chocolates and sweets from sister shop Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory. Work off an indulgent afternoon with a walk along the river before settling into the stylish Circa 1936 hotel, which is housed in an Art Deco former bank on the main street of Corowa.
Celebrate regional ingredients in Albury
From Corowa, follow the Riverina Highway eastward to the city of Albury, a food, wine and culture hub. Taste how seasonality and locality are expressed at The Proprietor, a former butcher shop turned cafe offering brunch treats such as fruit toast with Beechworth honey and whipped ricotta, and banana waffles with Gundowring vanilla ice-cream. Or try the all-day breakfast offering at Mr Benedict, from cheesy bacon waffle with popcorn chicken to one of its signature eggs benedicts, including one with cider-braised ham hock.
At The River Deck restaurant, local ingredients are celebrated alongside stunning river views, and dishes may include chicken Caesar salad with Milawa eggs or beef brisket braised in coffee by Albury roaster The Brothers Cup. At tiny and elegant Bistro Selle, complement warm Gooramadda olives with a buttery Australian chardonnay and fresh market fish. Yardbird offers a bold-flavoured menu featuring dishes like scorched Albacore tuna, along with meats grilled in a Spanish woodfired oven.
In between meals, stroll along the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk and take in the contemporary artworks by Aboriginal artists that line the Wagirra Trail. Meander through the Murray Art Museum Albury’s contemporary photographic collection, Aboriginal art and works by renowned Australian artist Sir Russell Drysdale. Afterwards, order lunch or dinner at the museum’s excellent Canvas Eatery – try the saltbush lamb rump or one of their Neapolitan-style pizzas.
The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
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The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota Credit: Destination NSW
Couple taste tasting mead at The Old School Winery & Meadery, Womboota
Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
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Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available from Morrison's Riverview Winery and Restaurant, Moama.
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
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Corowa Whisky & Chocolate, Corowa Credit: Destination NSW
Corowa Whisky & Chocolate located in a 1920âs old flour mill in Corowa.
Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.
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Canvas Eatery, Albury Credit: Destination NSW
Food and wine available at Canvas Eatery in Albury.