Going Grand across the South Coast and Southern Highlands – everything we crammed into a long weekend
Posted on
It’s still mid-winter in Canberra and there seems to be no end in sight to the chill.
So how can one break free of subzero mornings and escape – not to another hemisphere but to somewhere just down the road and yet somehow considerably warmer?
We happily accept the challenge to visit 15 different places dotted across the South Coast and Southern Highlands between Friday and Sunday on a Go Grand tour. It offers a taste of what this diverse region has to offer and just enough time to defrost.
Within two hours we are relaxed and enjoying a breakfast cheese platter (personal goal unlocked), within three hours we are strolling on a sunlit beach feeling like we are on a proper holiday and by the time our heads hit our pillow that night (in the most stunning glamping set-up we have ever had the pleasure to enjoy) we have forgotten Canberra even exists…Come for an adventure with us.
STAY
Paperbark Camp in Jervis Bay
There are any number of gorgeous places to hang your hat for a night or two in either the Southern Highlands or on the South Coast, but for something wildly different, we spend two nights at Paperbark Camp, which hits both eco-tourism and luxe hotel high points.
When is a tent better than a tent? When it is this. Paperpark Camping gets my personal stamp of approval….
Conceived during a South African safari and opened in 1999 by Jeremy and Irena Hutchings, the camp is based in lush bushland near the pristine waters of Jervis Bay and just a few kilometres from the white sand beaches of Huskisson. A camping newbie (or should I just be honest and say I am better described as a camping-avoider), this is the sort of spot I am fully prepared to embrace my inner Girl Guide. Because while you are indeed staying in a tent, it is enormous, built on an expansive deck and possessing a fully plumbed toilet, free-standing bath and shower. The best bit is the heater, which pumps warm air through the space once you have zipped the doors shut and closed the window flaps. And the bed is as plush and fluffy as any hotel (indeed, it is part of the Mr & Mrs Smith group). Up with the birds each morning is a staff member who drops little thermoses of hot water outside your tent so you can enjoy a tea in bed while you come to grips with the new day.
And yes, while it is a chilly trip to the loo in the night, the upshot is a steaming hot open-air shower and brushing your teeth in the morning to a cacophony of bush bird song over your shoulder. There is plenty to do (other than enjoying a lounge chair on your deck) with a short trail walk bringing you to Currambene Creek where you can canoe, paddleboard or grab a bike and explore the waterways or bush tracks.
All this fresh air and immersion in nature (13 tents are spaced out around the camp so you truly feel you are off the beaten track and completely alone) ensures you work up a healthy appetite and that’s where the architecturally-designed Gunyah restaurant, a magical candlelit treetop dining room offering fine food, a roaring fire, lounge chairs and chess boards, comes into its own.
Renowned for its elevated bush tucker menu, which showcases the freshest South Coast seafood and produce, the Gunyah draws locals, interstate guests, and campers each mealtime. We delight in a dinner menu which an XO consume, with mushroom, daikon and yolk, a dish of haloumi, smoked trout, snake bean and pea sprout and mains which include an outstanding vegetarian option where chargrilled cabbage is the star and a chicken with buttermilk, burnt mandarin and leek option for the ominvore. Dessert is a spiced cake with fig, ember honey and burnt rose and not a single crumb is left behind of the entire meal. This restaurant is one well-worth putting on your bucket list for special occasions. Breakfasts are also legendary. By the time we check out we feel completely disengaged from the modern world and it is an absolute wrench to leave (save for the return to heated toilet floors at home…)
EAT
Pecora Dairy in Robertson
Within two hours of jumping in the car on a particularly frigid Friday morning in Canberra, we are enjoying the first of many delights – a breakfast cheese platter at the Pecora Dairy in Robertson. Of course, this should be a regular way to start the day we declare as we snack on a selection of artisan sheep milk cheeses produced by Michael and Cressida McNamara, who raise their pure East Fresian sheep flock on the adjacent rolling green hills.
Pecora Diary Cheese and Wine is a luxe cafe setting in which to get your award-winning cheese fix (even at breakfast!)
We could have gone for a more conventional brunch off the gourmet menu, but when in cheese country, we eat the cheese (which goes surprisingly well with coffee, it must be noted). While the lush green pastures and rolling mists of this picturesque slice of bucolic heaven are aesthetic, we give top marks to this luxe café interior design featuring marble and velvet.
Relish on Addison in Shellharbour
Here is an award-winning modern Australian restaurant in the heart of Shellharbour village. With a balcony showing glimpses of the ocean, the first-floor restaurant has exposed brick and a menu featuring modern Australian dishes with a focus on seafood. We order the Merimbula oysters and the (Shoalhaven) fish and chips and enjoy the buzz of ladies who lunch.
Relish on Addison. Have you even had a South Coast holiday if you haven’t ordered fish and chips?
Blak Cede Gunyah in Nowra
Here is a must-visit cafe showcasing Indigenous food and hospitality and putting a great energy out onto one of the main thoroughfares of Nowra. This First Nations women-led enterprise is everything a café should be – bustling, friendly and filled with the buzz of conversation competing over some unforgettable 80s tunes. Divided into seating down one side and a shop selling Indigenous merchandise, books and art on the other, we settle at one of the long wooden tables and admire the fit-out. Featuring produce from the Kareela Ngura community garden, the menu is extensive and interesting. The Deadly Medley yoghurt bowl features a fabulous nutty chocolate granola made by local women which we are able to purchase at the shop, there’s a Warrigal greens omelette, wattle seed banana bread, house-made strawberry gum scones with native jam and whipped cream, and for the truly adventurous, dishes such as pulled kangaroo burrito, and coconut lime crocodile pie.
Indigenous flavours and decor shown off at Blak Cede Gunyah.
The Blue Swimmer in Gerroa
A go-to beachside restaurant for locals and intrepid travellers, here is a gorgeous setting to enjoy delicious locally sourced produce and seafood prepared by chefs Fannie Rousseau and Lauren Brown. Looking like a set out of a romantic seachange series, this little blue cottage is packed for lunch and we try the fish tacos as well as a roast pumpkin salad with couscous. This place is clearly a Gerroa favourite and has the air of a fine diner due to impeccable service and dishes cooked with skill and panache.
Blue Swimmer Gerroa – the seaside cafe from central casting.
Donutjam in Shellharbour
It’s not like we could actually be hungry at any stage of our three-day odyssey, but somehow as we pull up to this neon-pink food van in a vacant lot, the smell of donut sugar hits us. OK, in the name of exploration and investigative journalism, we shall try these local treats and maybe get a shake to wash them down. Fried on the spot and pumped full of your choice of sweet gooey fillings (we chose a Biscoff and lemon cheesecake) we settle on two colourful chairs and watch the locals line up for their sugar fix. We didn’t need any of it (nor the strawberry shake) but honestly, isn’t this what being on holiday is all about?
Did we need donuts and shakes? No. Did we eat them? Yes. Yes we did.
Peppergreen Estate in Berrima
Just look for the old truck parked outside this gorgeous flagship restaurant and winery housed in a historic building and literally oozing old world charm. While it does a roaring trade as a restaurant, we are here for the curated picnic experience, grabbing a beautifully boxed charcuterie platter and dessert platter with a bottle of wine for a night’s entertainment at the Burning Man event (See the ‘Play’ section). Everything is thought of, from a picnic blanket to two carefully wrapped wine glasses (because why wreck the taste of wine by serving it in plastic). There’s even a small bottle of Peppergreen’s famed olive oil, which we take home with us long after the last bit of cheese and bread has been consumed.
Peppergreen Estate’s gourmet hamper.
Georgia Rose in Shellharbour
For a complete change of pace from the tiny cottage restaurants we have been enjoying over the weekend, Georgia Rose is a massive, modern, buzzing space built on the marina which seems to attract everyone from casual families with kids to dressed up cocktails-at-midday-type groups to dog-walkers who grab a table outside. Despite its warehouse-like capacity, we are thankful for our booking. In fact, the place is so packed that it is a 30-minute wait for coffee. We opt instead for some healthful smoothies to wash down our granola parfait and a delicious rendition of smashed avo, which includes a beetroot relish. This is the sort of establishment you could well arrive at for brunch and find yourself still eating, drinking and enjoying yourself by sunset. And those diamond-sparkled views of the water? Divine.
Fun decor and packed to the gills. Georgie Rose in Shellharbour is one to book.
South Sailor Wollongong
Perched on a main street in Thirroul, which is dotted with old shopfronts, this well-known restaurant absolutely oozes charm. Known for its expert handling of fresh seafood, we arrive late on a Sunday to see tables packed with couples and groups enjoying cocktails and Japanese-inspired plates. We opt for the Seafood for Two. As the champagne flows around us, we see there is a commitment from patrons to settle in and relish this lunch experience and when our food arrives, we see why. Beautifully prepared sushi and seafood entrees are artistically arranged on a platter and they taste just as good as they look. We hoover it all up wondering how we have not come across this restaurant before. Then we realise it’s only the entrée, and a succession of dishes arrive including a maple-baked sweet potato dish that will live rent-free in my head for the rest of time. We have to roll ourselves out because it would be a crime not to eat every bite of the spiced Zatar calamari, snapper and prawn dumplings, and the signature fish tacos.
This is another gem that Canberrans with a deep respect for seafood should happily drive for. We will absolutely make the effort to go back.
An absolutely outstanding meal was had at South Sailor in Thirroul. Would drive there for the sushi (and the sweet potato).
PLAY
Tara Distillery in Nowra
Here is a location as remote as you could possibly imagine – along a winding road, down a dirt track and nestled in bushland next to the small homestead owned by Alarna Doherty and her husband Ben Stephenson. The couple once lived in Sydney and worked on the corporate treadmill until the call of a tree change with a distinctly Irish flavour sent them down this route.
Alarna Doherty beside her massive copper stills at Tara Distillery.
Alarna’s love of Irish culture saw her turn to drink – distilling it, that is. After an educational tour of Ireland and Scotland where she and Ben learned the ropes, they opened Tara Distillery four and a half years ago. They now specialise in producing gin, whiskey, vodka and the first legal poitin in Australia. Pronounced “potcheen” this is essentially an unaged whiskey which originated in the sixth century in Irish monasteries. It’s also a nod to the illegal “Berry moonshine” trade of the Cambewarra Ranges in the late 1800s. Sitting in a corrugated iron shed facing two enormous copper stills, which they had hand-made in Griffith, we begin sampling the spirits.
Alarna is adamant about using local ingredients to create their distinctive catalogue, from adding Jervis Bay sea lettuce to the classic dry gin, to homegrown rhubarbs, strawberries and blackberries to their sweet one, the couple also painstakingly peel hundreds of lemons from an 80-year-old lemon tree which mercifully survived the fires at Sussex Inlet to create limoncello.
Police may have raided the first poitin producers of the region, but Tara’s poitin (with its salted caramel undertones and hits of green apple finish) is now just as likely to be served in a fabulous espresso martini at a Sydney bar.
Soul Clay Studio Gerringong
Located behind a small metal door in an enormous metal shed in an industrial street, you could easily miss this gem. But once you’re inside the door, an enormous pottery emporium awaits. Zeynep and her husband Marcus, run this bustling artistic community with all the warmth and regional charm you could hope to experience. While Zeynep helps newbie students taking their first spin of the pottery wheel to centre their clay (sounds easy but trust us those lumps can hurt when they fly off the wheel and pelt you in the groin) Marcus preps steaming mugs of coffee and superior raspberry and white chocolate muffins (we learn they have twice won gold at the Kiama Show). Zeynep was an English teacher and deputy principal while Marcus worked in hospitality so it’s no wonder they have the prerequisite skills to turn a backyard hobby into such a buzzing local creative commons. It’s also no wonder the pottery class is listed as one of the Best South Coast Experiences in Lonely Traveller.
Couple goals: Zeynep and her husband Marcus run Soul Clay Studio.
Also, for those who have never enjoyed the experience of moulding clay or watching it form a vessel on the wheel, there is something so deliciously sensory, so calming and so primitive that it is worth testing the waters. I take delight in my coffee bowls (which Zeynep promises to glaze, fire, and post to me) that I make a solemn promise to myself to book more classes. Late-stage career change? Maybe…
Does my apron make me look artistic?
Stoic Brewery Gerringong
Just across the road from the pottery studio is another local business success story. Stoic Brewing was created in a rather haphazard manner. Andrew Prosser was a local sparky whose dad wanted to invest in a building in 2018. When asked whether he had any ideas on what to house in the building, Andrew suggested a brewery, despite having never had much to do with beer other than drinking it. Game on! It was then a trial-and-error journey to forging the beer brand which is now a local favourite as well as a nationally known and awarded brand. While beer is not my thing, I am intrigued by the long list of specialties, including American wheat beer, pickle sour, and oatmeal stout. The New Zealand Pilsener and XPA are Stoic’s biggest sellers and gold medal award winners at the Australian International Beer Awards held in March.
Andrew swapped his career as an electrician to brew some of the regions favourite beer at Stoic
“Yeah, we go alright” says Andrew of his rise in the brewing industry. We get a personal tour of the funky space before taking a tasting paddle to sit in the courtyard. Husband is smiling broadly at the experience and had we not already eaten, the kitchen pumps out a menu of food appropriately matched to beer – think loaded fries, Nashville chicken, burgers and brisket. Apparently, the colder months are better for long and lingering visits such as ours as you can’t find a bar stool for love or money in the summer. It’s packed.
Midwinter Festival Ngununggula in Bowral
Book this for next year because we had an absolute ball at this mini, family-friendly, very-rugged-up version of Burning Man. Located on the grounds of the Ngununggula Art Gallery, we were embraced by this local community as excited kids and happy parents turned up en masse to this annual festival as the sun set. In one paddock, a giant wood and paper edifice lay waiting for ritual sacrifice in a bonfire while the other side was crowded with food trucks, a long bar, and scattered chairs, tables and fire pits.
Bowral’s family-friendly Burning Man
Having not the slightest clue of what the festival was all about, I turned up with absolutely no expectations, only to find myself sitting at a table with some of the original members of iconic Aussie bands about to take the stage – GANGgajang, the Machinations, and the Reels. As a conflagration of the bonfire evokes excited screeches from the kids, a whole stack of adults leap to their feet to dance to the classic 80s music that echoed across the field (OK, yes I too was screeching with excitement). Honestly, I may have even shed a tear of joy to relive the soundtrack of some of my earliest musical idols – the sounds of then. Indeed, This is Australia.
How to stay warm!
Lake Illawarra Art Trail in Shellharbour
Do all Canberrans have a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) about now? Because here is a cure – a walk along the immaculate shoreline of Lake Illawarra, stopping to admire both the natural beauty and birdlife as well as the majestically placed artistic works which make up the art trail. The sunshine rarely fails in the Reddall Reserve and within a few steps, I have to remove my regulation black Canberra puffer jacket – it is positively balmy. The artworks are massive and bound to appeal to all ages. You can walk or cycle the trail to discover 17 sculptures created by local artists in collaboration with the community in response to the lake and based largely on Aboriginal heritage, flora and fauna. There could be few more pleasant ways of replenishing a Vitamin D deficit!
Burri Burri by Jodi Edwards, Theresa Ardler, Julie Squires and Nicole Talbott, part of the art trail.
Glenbernie Orchard in Darkes Forest
Can you imagine any more wholesome activities than picking your own apples from the tree, or partaking of an apple pie tasting? Founded in 1939 by Ted and Ellen Fahey, this sixth-generation working farm and massive apple and stone fruit orchard does a side business of running a farm shop, café, cider hall and farm experience tours. We are warmly welcomed by Aaron and farm dogs Misha and Chloe for a meander through the raised beds, which hold more than 20,000 fruit trees. During apple season you can grab a bucket and go, but in winter we admire the tiny blossom buds emerging on the branches and get our apple fix in other ways – namely in cider tasting and through two of the most delightful apple pies (served with custard AND cream) I can ever recall.
Frankly, I will never forget this apple pie.
Avid HerCanberra readers may have read that I gave up alcohol some years ago, so I am intrigued to be offered a non-alcoholic cider tasting which unearths an absolute gem – the Little Blue Apple Cider, which has zero alcohol. It is smooth and warm with a fine bead and honey notes but not too much overt sweetness. It pairs brilliantly with raspberries and mint of all things! We purchase some from the shop immediately. Husband meanwhile takes delight in the full range of alcoholic ciders on offer on his tasting paddle, while two enormous charcuterie platters appear before us. There are harder ways to spend a Sunday, it must be acknowledged. With the orchards in front of us and a giant canopied row of tables in the grass, this would be the most worthwhile experience for those with younger kids. And fruit addicts can pick from shelves of produce including fresh seasonal fruit, all of the cider ranges, raw honey, vinegars, jams, relishes and pickles. My big regret was not buying a tray of those apple pies to take home and freeze. I guess there is always next time.
Darkes Cider tasting at Glenburnie Orchard. The non alcoholic cider (Little Blue Apple Cider) is delicious.
Emma Macdonald was a guest of Go Grand South Coast and Southern Highlands Winter 2025, and its partners: Destination Wollongong, Shellharbour City Council, Destination Kiama, Shoalhaven Tourism, Wingecarribee Shire Council and Destination Sydney Surrounds South. She loved every minute and every mouthful.
Main image of Killalea State Park by Kramer Photography.
