Summer in Australia means a hot melanoma sun, long sandy beaches and icy cold beer.  Throw in some cricket on the radio, backyard barbies and sand in your tent and you’ve got it covered.  Thirty years ago Julie and I would stow the tent on the sedan’s roof rack, buckle in the kids and head down the south coast where we could enjoy as many of these experiences as possible.  Our favourite camping spot was a place called Green Patch in Jervis Bay National Park.  So it was only fitting that even though the kids have moved on we returned to this idyllic camping spot as the first stop of our south coast adventure.

The south coast of New South Wales is just about as good as it gets.  Speckled with national parks, stunning beaches and lovely little communities along the way, the south coast offers a lot of everything to anyone seeking sun, sand and fun.  In 2020 Julie and I had done three trips exploring northern NSW and its vast western reaches of red dirt outback but on this trip we pointed Wanda, our trusty truck/camper, south to revisit old favourite spots and discover new favourite spots. 

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We pulled Wanda up for her first rest stop at the sleepy little retirement and weekend community of Coorarong on the Beecroft Peninsula.  This thumb-shaped peninsula forms the northern barrier to the large carved-out section of the coast called Jervis Bay.  This is truly one of the jewels of the south coast, great little communities evenly spaced on its shores, long white satin-soft sandy beaches, surrounded by two pristine national parks. 

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From Coorarong we did a seven kilometre loop walk along the jagged coastline of the peninsula, soaking in the beautiful Aussie bush, the beaches and our return to nature.  The highlight of the walk was a natural feature called Gossangs Tunnel which was a small naturally-formed tunnel less than a metre high that started from the inland trail and finished on a dramatic rock ledge 30 metres above the surf.  We crawled through the dank tunnel, not easy on our old knees and backs, but were rewarded with spectacular views from a mid-point ledge of this tall cliff line.  What a way to start our trip.

We finished the day camping at Green Patch in Booderee National Park, memories of our young family playing in the little creek that flowed by and in the mellow waves of the quiet bay.  We sat on the beach in the late afternoon, the place almost to ourselves, dolphins lazily bobbing up and down just off shore, fondly remembering the family times here more than 20 years ago.   We’re in another world from the sand dunes and wide open spaces of NSW’s remote interior and we’re loving it.

We had hoped to spend most of the next day with sand between our toes but grey clouds and the occasional rain squall put paid to that plan.  Instead we squeezed in two great little walks, the two kilometre Temptation Creek nature trail and a fun stroll exploring the rock shelf at low tide around Bristol Point. 

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Booderee National Park is lined with just gorgeous beaches and the next morning we walked along stunning Murray Beach, perhaps our favourite, as well as a few others.  We walked out to Governor’s Point and had fab views of Bowen Island which is the home to 5,000 pairs of Little Penguins – also called Fairy Penguins – who nest there and raise their young. 

Following some long dirt roads we came to historic St George Cape Lighthouse where in the late 19^th century hearty lighthouse keepers and their families tried to keep all the passing sailing ships off the treacherous rocks of the coastline.  Alas, to no avail as almost 200 ships floundered along this coast in only a ten year period.  Sheesh.

We briefly visited the attractive little bayside communities of Hyams Beach – very popular these days, Vincentia and Huskisson before heading out to nearby Currambene State Forest for a beaut night around the fire under the stars.  Beaches are great, we love beaches, but a night surrounded by tall gums while sitting around a crackling fire is tough to beat.

The next day we headed further south, ducking in and out of almost every little seaside community, exploring their nooks and crannies, checking out their beaches, reminiscing about past visits all those years ago.  The weather was threateningly grey but we didn’t care, it was all good. 

After giving high ratings to all the beaches at Bendalong and Mayana we went out to a small sleepy group of weekenders and holiday homes at Cunjurong Point.  We were intrigued by this little island off the coast, which at first glance seemed to be connected by a sand bar at low tide, and a steady stream of surfers who made their way out to the surf breaking just off the island.  As it happened, the tide was low enough so we hit the beach and walked across the isthmus, water only up to our ankles, and explored the little island.  It was a surfer’s paradise, that’s for sure, but for us landlubbers it was still pretty cool to venture out there.

The day ended in Lake Conjola, a large octopus-shaped lake that is actually connected to the sea via a large channel that allows sea water to flow in and out of the lake as the tide moves up and down.  We enjoyed a swim in the surf and a walk along this tidal channel with its fast-flowing water heading out to the Pacific before spending a wet and rainy night in the local caravan park.  The weather aside, we quickly came to understand why Lake Conjola is a favourite holiday spot for stressed-out Sydneysiders.

Unfortunately the weather was not supporting our beach holiday on the south coast so after consulting the appropriate weather apps we changed tactic and decided to move inland where the weather might be finer.  But first we visited a few popular spots on the coast, including slightly upscale Mollymook, bustling Ulladulla and sleepy Lake Tabourie.  All of these spots would be ideal bases for a few days or a week if you want to take in the sand and chill out in attractive coastal communities. 

From there we took the King’s Highway up and over the mountains on a winding and scenic road, unfortunately made much less scenic by last year’s bush fires which ripped through these forests with a vengeance, and ended up in the smart and popular regional town of Braidwood. We found a place to camp amongst the burnt-out gums near the headwaters of the Shoalhaven River and enjoyed a starless night surrounded by these heroic skeleton trees. 

And so it came to pass that our beach holiday had turned into a quickly improvised mountain and national park holiday.  Never mind, we have no fixed schedule and if there’s beautiful places to go and good weather to enjoy, that’s for us.