Sapphire Coast, New South Wales
THIS ADVENTURE WONDERLAND, on the NSW far south coast, is about a five-hour drive (or one-hour flight, via Rex Airlines) from Sydney and around a five-and-a-half hour drive from Melbourne (and again, around an hour flight via Rex Airlines).
The towns dotted along this coastline are sandwiched between wild, heavily forested and often mountainous national parks on one side, and some of the country’s most pristine beaches on the other.
Load your car up with your watercraft, hiking boots and mountain bikes for your weekend adventure, as you’ll use them all here. The Light to Light Walk, from Ben Boyd Lighthouse on the southern end of Twofold Bay (near Eden) through to Green Cape Lighthouse, is a brilliant overnight trek, with fantastic campsites overlooking the ocean.
Tathra, a 15-minute drive from Bega, is a mountain biking mecca, with an extensive. well signposted, 53km trail network, of which 43km is sweet singletrack. It can provide a weekend of riding, or a short two-hour blast.
Sea kayaking is fantastic along this stretch of coast, with easy paddles (guided or independent) around Twofold Bay balanced with some fantastic two-day routes that will take you from Eden along the Wilderness Coast to the Victorian resort town of Mallacoota. You can also canoe the Towamba and Bega Rivers, as well as the area’s many lakes.
For the younger family members, there are the excellent Marine Discovery Centre (featuring cool school holiday programs) and the Killer Whale Museum, both found in Eden. Southern comfort, indeed…
