Guide to Shoalhaven

Bundanon has become a centre point for the Shoalhaven, reimagined into one of Australia’s most significant cultural institutions with a striking art museum, a paddock-to-plate café and a 1,000-hectare (2,471-acre) wildlife sanctuary.

Sustainable dining and designer accommodation come together at Cupitt’s Winery. Indulge in a farm-to-table menu featuring ingredients grown on-site before settling into pod-style accommodation with sweeping views from your outdoor bathtub.

If you think the accommodation at Bangalay Luxury Villas is memorable, wait until you taste the flavours of Bangalay Dining. The coastal surrounds make their presence known in a menu full of native ingredients like fresh oysters and pickled muntries.

Join a Djiriba Waagura tour that traces an ancient song line (path) along the serpentine Shoalhaven River near Nowra. Or for a multi-day experience, book with Ngaran Ngaran to visit sacred sites and see the ancient landscape anew.

Globe Trotting horse-riding tours are designed to showcase the Shoalhaven, which is a dream destination for both equine and epicurean activities. Saddle up for a multi-day tour around lush farmland, rugged mountains, beaches, restaurants and wineries.

Enjoy a fully guided Canoes, Cool Climate Wines & Canapes tour led by Experience Nature. Pause your paddling (glass of wine in hand) to spot kangaroos, echidnas and wombats on a canoe trek to the Sunken Forest of Lake Yarrunga (Kangaroo Valley).  

Bask in the coastal sunshine and indulge in an extensive fresh seafood menu at the world-renowned Rick Stein restaurant, located at Banisters By the Sea, an oasis in Mollymook.

There are 100 beaches in the Shoalhaven, including the alluring white-sand beaches of Jervis Bay. Surf, SUP, kayak or hike around Jervis Bay Marine Park and you may spot the region’s resident bottlenose dolphins, seals, fairy penguins and whales.

The Whales & Wine experience curated by Wine Knot Tours includes a two-hour whale watching cruise followed by lunch and a tutored tasting back on land with two local vignerons. The seasonal tours are held between May and November. 

Seventy per cent of the Shoalhaven is made up of national parks and forests. Immerse yourself in nature on walking tracks including the White Sands Walk and Scribbly Gum Track in Vincentia and the Pigeon House Mountain Didthul Walking Track near Milton.

Berry is a charming country town. Stay in the retro Berry View Hotel, chow down on burgers at The Hungry Monkey and line up for the Berry Donut Van. Enjoy a cold drink at The Berry Hotel (built in 1863) and stroll the monthly Berry Markets. 

Leave the highway and plan a side trip to Nowra to experience all that is new and noteworthy. Your itinerary should include the street murals, Fleet Air Arm Museum and lunch at Ponte Bar & Dining, located on the banks of the Shoalhaven River.

Meet winemakers at their cellar door while visiting the wine growing region of the Shoalhaven, which snakes from Kiama in the north to Milton in the south and west to Kangaroo Valley. There are also breweries and distilleries dotted along the way.

Order a couple of dozen just-shucked Sydney rock or Pacific (when available) oysters and enjoy slurping them down around a rustic table at Jim Wild’s Oyster Shack on the banks of the Crookhaven River. Seafood doesn’t come any fresher.

The emphasis at Paperbark Camp – Australia’s first glamping retreat – is on engaging meaningfully with nature. All 13 tents have bush view tubs and day beds and are nestled amid the trees. The Gunyah serves up gourmet bush tucker onsite.