Home Nature, culture & citizen science on the Sapphire Coast, New South Wales

Nature, culture & citizen science on the Sapphire Coast, New South Wales

AT A GLANCE

WHAT TO EXPECT

Experience wildlife, history, culture, coast and nature all in one spectacular destination – the Sapphire Coast of New South Wales (NSW). Travel with our experienced and professional guides, ranging from an ecologist, naturalist and wildlife specialist guide, Australian Geographic adventure person and National Parks ranger. Participate in exclusive tours with NSW National Park discovery rangers to historical sites and an immersive Indigenous cultural experience. Actively participate in citizen science projects to record the ecological biodiversity of the region for the scientific community.

View humpback whales during the migration season or enjoy an exclusive kayaking tour for bird viewing and nature watching. On this tour you will experience the most scenic coastal hikes in NSW with an abundance of wildlife and different ecological habitats. Indulge in locally produced and harvested gourmet meals along the way and visit an operational oyster farm for a tour and lesson in shucking your own oysters.

Stay in exclusively booked accommodation at the Luxury Tanja Lagoon Camp and the Historical Cape Green Lighthouse. On this small group tour you will experience travel with like-minded people and get educated and inspired for a true nature-based immersive travel experience.

Tour Highlights

• Experience a heartfelt welcome to country at Tanja Lagoon Camp and bush-tucker walk led by Aboriginal Discovery Ranger to search and learn about traditional ‘bush-tucker’ and medicine plants.
• Actively participate and contribute to citizen science, facilitated by Atlas of Life, iNaturalist, and be joined by an ecology expert to record the changing biodiversity of this region.
• Enjoy a majestic morning kayaking (March–May) on the Pambula River a highlight for any bird or nature lover or during whale-watching season (August–November) view the spectacular annual humpback whale migration from Twofold Bay, Eden.
• Join an oyster farmer tour and learn how to shuck oysters and enjoy a gourmet seafood and cheese platter on the scenic Pambula River.
• Explore stunning coastal scenery, heathlands and forests with plenty of opportunities for wildlife viewing from Bittangabee Bay to Green Cape Walking track (7km, medium) and the Penders Coastal Walk in Mimosa Rocks National Park (4km, medium).
• Stay comfortably at historic Green Cape Lighthouse perched on the edge of a peninsula, with spectacular views over Disaster Bay.

ITINERARY

DAY 1 – Welcome to country and bush-tucker walk

Pick ups available from Merimbula Airport on request from 1pm before transferring you to check-in to Tanja Lagoon Camp (2pm). The camp is located on the edge of a wild coastal lagoon and surrounded by the spoked gum forests of the Mimosa Rocks National Park on the Sapphire Coast of NSW. This will be our luxurious home for the next two nights, each spacious and self-contained luxury safari tent and eco-cabin comes complete with a private deck, ensuite bathroom and full kitchen.

This afternoon we’ll receive a heartfelt welcome to country on behalf of the Yuin Nation and a bush-tucker walk led by an Aboriginal Discovery Ranger, searching and learning about traditional bush tucker and medicine plants. In the evening we’ll enjoy dinner at ‘the meeting place’ by a prestigious catering company. After dinner we’ll congregate around the campfire for a hot drink and yarn under a star-filled sky, maybe we’ll be lucky enough to hear the powerful owl, yellow-bellied glider (both threatened species) or the chorus of frogs in the nearby dam. Either way, sit back, relax and enjoy the company of your like-minded travelling companions.

Accommodation: Tanja Lagoon Camp

Meals: Afternoon tea and dinner

DAY 2 – Forest meets the sea walk and Citizen Science

Awake to the sound of bird songs at Tanja Lagoon Camp, listen for the iconic kookaburra, while-bellied sea-eagles and bell birds. If you are an early riser we recommend a self-guided canoe experience on Middle Lagoon to view a plethora of birds including cormorants, swans, spoonbills, eagles and many more. Or simply help yourself to a cup of tea and soak up the serenity from your private lagoon-front deck. Help yourself to a light continental breakfast that is provided in your room consisting of muesli and sourdough bread with butter jam and honey (dietary needs catered for upon request) but don’t fill up too much as we’ll be indulging in a gourmet brunch in the bush shortly.

This morning we’ll be taken on a guided 4km coastal walk to learn about the historical, cultural and environmental features of Mimosa Rocks National Park. We will follow the coast as it traverses clifftops, headlands and timbered woodlands. This walk can be abundant with wildlife and birdlife, often spotting eastern grey kangaroos, swans and in the right season, whales! There will be plenty of rest stops to enjoy nature along the way and a wholesome brunch with tea, coffee, juice, croissants and savoury muffins (dietary needs catered for upon request).

Once we meander back to Tanja Lagoon Camp there will be time to rest and relax in your luxury accommodation or explore the magnificent surroundings, including a canoe on the lagoon or a short walk to one of the several on-site habitat dams. We’ll provide you with a gourmet picnic lunch to eat in your own time.

This afternoon we’ll be making an active contribution to citizen science to document the biodiversity of the local area. Our aim is to help scientists and natural resource managers by recording sightings and exploring what we have seen in the local area and ecosystems. This activity is facilitated by expert ecologists from Atlas of Life – a long-term community project dedicated to recording all the changing biodiversity of this special region. All of our recordings will be documented via the iNaturalist app.

This evening we’ll dine out at one of the beautiful nearby restaurants to enjoy local produce and soak up the atmosphere of the local villages. We won’t get you back too late as we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow!

Accommodation: Tanja Lagoon Camp

Meals: Breakfast, brunch, lunch & restaurant dinner

Day 3 – Kayaking (March–May) or Whale Watching (August–November) & Bittangabee Bay Hike

It’ll be an early start this morning so help yourself to an early continental breakfast. Depending on the season you are travelling, today’s activities will be kayaking or whale watching.

Pambula River kayaking (March–May) We’ll drive to Pambula River for our kayaking tour (no experience necessary). This tour is exceptional for nature lovers – paddle at a leisurely pace on sit-on-top kayaks, stopping frequently for bird sightings such as the azure kingfisher, wedge-tailed eagle, white-bellied sea-eagle, pelicans, lyrebirds and more. We’ll make a stop for tea, coffee, fruit and muffins on one of the river’s many beaches before heading back.

Whale Watching (August–November) Coinciding with the annual humpback whale migration we board our exclusively chartered whale-watching boat out of Eden to help us spot humpback whales – many behaviours are commonly seen in the bay including breaching and tail slapping.

After a picnic lunch, you’ll be taken on a guided 8km medium hike along part of the famous Light to Light Walk from Bittangabee Bay to Green Cape Lighthouse. The walk follows a route that has been travelled by light keepers over many years. Originally, supplies for the lighthouse were off-loaded at Bittangabee Bay and transferred by horse-drawn tram to Green Cape Lighthouse. Rare ground parrots and striated field wrens are sometimes seen along the track and in the spring the area blooms with wildflowers.

Accommodation: Green Cape Lighthouse (shared bathroom facilities)

Meals: Breakfast, brunch, lunch & dinner

Day 4 – Oysters, Davidson Whaling Station & Cape Green Lighthouse

If you didn’t get the chance for a self-guided canoe of Middle Lagoon yesterday this morning will be your last opportunity and we highly recommend this experience at sunrise. We have a lot to fit in today so we’ll be departing the camp at 8am and heading south towards Green Cape Lighthouse making many stops on the way.

We’ll make a stop at the Tathra Headland and historic Tathra Wharf for a spectacular all-abilities walk with sweeping ocean vistas to spot dolphins, sea birds and possibly even whales before continuing on to the oyster farm in Pambula.

The team at Broadwater Oysters will take us on a farm tour where they’ll share the magic of oyster farming with us, we’ll learn about their award-winning farming practices and sustainable aquaculture in the region and at the end we’ll even have a hand in shucking our own oysters, with tips and tricks from the experts! We can’t leave this spectacular location with out a seafood and cheese platter to be enjoyed in the gardens overlooking the Pambula Lake. Simply spectacular!

From here we’ll venture south to the Davidson Whaling Station historic site inside Ben Boyd National Park. We’ll see where the Davidson family took to the seas, assisted by a pack of killer whales, and check out the historic try- works, where blubber was processed and learn about the whaling operation.

After a picnic lunch we’ll drive through Ben Boyd National Park, keeping an eye out for bandicoots, wombats, echidnas, lyrebirds and any other wildlife we are lucky enough to come across in our travels. We’ll take a stop at Disaster Bay Lookout, aptly named after the many shipping disasters that scatter that coast, before arriving at our accommodation for the next two nights, Green Cape Lighthouse cottages.

Perched on the edge of a peninsula are three beautifully restored cottages and the Green Cape Lighthouse. Each cottage offers a comfortable verandah, ideal for enjoying the sea air and whale watching (in the right season), large bedrooms and heated lounge rooms and shared bathroom facilities.

In the afternoon we’ll be taken on a NSW National Parks guided tour of the lighthouse where we’ll have the opportunity to walk up the 116 stairs (the tallest lighthouse in NSW) to the top with a 360-degree view of Disaster Bay, the cottages and Ben Boyd National Park. Green Cape Lighthouse is steeped in seafaring history and we’ll be taken on a journey to discover the heritage architecture, learn about the disasters and survival of numerous shipwrecks.

Tonight, relax in the lounge room with a hot drink in hand, watch the mesmerising ocean on the verandah or if you’re feeling active take a walk around the premises and look out for the resident wombats that frequent the area, the choice is yours. Your guide will prepare you a hearty gourmet (chef-cooked) meal for you to enjoy before you tuck in for the evening.

Accommodation: Cape Green Lighthouse (shared bathroom facilities)

Meals: Breakfast, brunch, lunch & dinner

Day 5 – Cape Green Lighthouse and departure from Merimbula

Okay guys, relax now, you have earned it! Soak up the last of this magnificent setting at Green Cape Lighthouse by getting up early and enjoying the sunrise over the ocean, take a short walk and look for wombats and lyre birds or simply help yourself to a cup of tea or coffee, relax on the verandah and watch the ocean.

We’ll depart from Cape Green Lighthouse and head towards Merimbula stopping for an early lunch en-route. We’ll have you back at Merimbula Airport by midday for any afternoon flights.

_{WHAT’S INCLUDED:}

• 2 nights accommodation at Tanja Lagoon Camp
• 2 nights accommodation at Green Cape Lighthouse (shared bathroom facilities)
• Professional naturalist guides throughout days 1–5 with private air-conditioned charter vehicle
• Meals included: Daily breakfast, 4 x lunch, 4 x dinners.
• Kayak tour (March–May) or whale watching cruise (August–November)
• Lighthouse tour by NSW National Parks Discovery Rangers
• Welcome to Country and bush-tucker walk by NSW National Parks Indigenous Discovery Ranger
• Oyster farm tour and shucking class
• Guided Mimosa Rocks National Park coastal walk (4km) and guided Bittangabee Bay to Green Cape Lighthouse hike (8km).

_{COSTS DO NOT INCLUDE:}

• Domestic or international airfares
• Pre-registration, late check-out or day use at hotels other than specified above
• Guide services other than specified
• Meals/ beverages other than specified
• Tips and gratuities
• Optional tours/services.

CONTACT US

Want to know more or register your interest?

Send us an email to [email protected] or call 1300 241 141.

We look forward to hearing from you!