kronk

Hi

Thinking about taking a drive down to Jervis Bay early December. We live in Sydney so know this is easy trip to make but thought we might stop at Wollongong on way and look in on Shoalhaven/Kiama etc. Planning on staying in Jervis Bay for 4 or 5 nights but just wanted to see if anyone could recommend places to stay there eg. Huskisson or Vincentia/beaches to visit etc. I've heard about Hyams Beach to visit but in terms of accommodation need to keep budget down as much as I can for Dec visit!! I have 3 kids 5 and under so sheltered calm waters would be great

Cheers for your help.

paddyo

Its a longer way to drive but the route via the Scenic Drive, signposted by brown signs from the highway through the National Park and down through all the beach towns, is fabulous. Plenty of places to stop for a coffee/beer/snack on the way.
I often work down in the Nowra area and stay in Huskisson, nice town close to beaches and good facilities. The local pub can get a bit 'good ole country boys' later in the evenings but its a decent place otherwise.

kronk

Thats great, cheers for posting. We certainly intend to go via the Scenic Drive, so its good to hear that its worth doing.

Red_V_Roger

Camping at Green Patch...in Booderee http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/booderee/index.html

Its the ACT you know, not NSW.

stevenglish

You're in for a treat, come down through the national park and you'll love it, the sea cliff bridge, coal cliff, Austinmere, but stop to take in the view at Bald hill it''s breath taking. Kiama's lovely, the old miners cottages are a bit of a draw, some nice shops & cafes.

Berry is well worth a visit, Nowra has a great wildlife park, Huskisson is a great place and Jervis Bay has some great beaches, and a couple of top whale/Dolphin watching boats.

If you've got afew hours to spare, Pebbly beach is well worth a visit, about 100km south of Huskisson, wild Kangaroos and a multitude of wild birds that'll eat out of your hand (not supposed to but do it anyway). There is sooooo much to see, and the journey is part of it. You could even drive up the McQuarie pass and do the Illawara fly

Good luck, you'll love it

steen1976

Drove down the scenic route just as a trip on last Sunday. Amazing, really beautiful. Called into Shellharbour village and got some nice fish and chips but the local hotel was minging. Drove down then through Kiama which looks great and on to seven mile beach before heading home.

You'll love the trip.

JustBecause

Go for a self-catering place in Huskisson in walking distance of the main street/sea front - most places will be. There are two parks on the sea front, reasonable beaches & the bakery has an enclosed play area in the garden. This makes a great base for day trips. The main street has other good cafes & ice cream places so is good for a low key outing with the little ones.

LittleKittyCat

It is a beautiful area. We are off there on holiday in three weeks! There are some beautiful beaches on the Beecroft Peninsula, one in particular called Cabbage Tree is beautiful. The unfortunate thing about the beach is that it is at the other side of a navy firing range, so you have to go on days when they are not using the range. The upside is that it is very, very quiet, sheltered, has some rockpools which our kiddies loved, the beach is a level 2 on the beachsafe.org hazard rating (1 is safest, 10 is most hazardous). You get at it through the security gate at Currarong.

I would definitely recommend the road through the National Park, Kiama blowhole is interesting. There is a wildlife park in Nowra which our girls enjoyed. The Illawara Fly is great, we went on a dolphin sightseeing tour and we went to Fitzroy falls too. I think this time we will go to Pebbly beach.

The photos are Cabbage Tree Beach, Australia Day 2010.

stevenglish

Fitzroy falls is fantastic, what a view This thread is making me want to do it all again.

kronk

Thanks for everyone posting, definitely given me some ideas for our trip. Hadn't realised Jervis Bay was in ACT either, Jervis Bay is featured on the visitnsw website hence why I thought it was in NSW!

Very much looking forward to our trip now

shussel

Hi,
We've stayed at White Sands Tourist Park on Huskisson Beach and would recommend it, also the tourist park next door looked nice. I think that's called Huskisson Beach Tourist Resort. We stayed in a two bedroom villa at White Sands which was perfect for our family.

We hired bikes from Huskisson to get about for a few days and Collingwood Beach was our favourite.

It's a beautiful spot (in NSW).

Nowra Wildlife Park was excellent!

Enjoy!

Red_V_Roger

Why we live in The Shire....less than 5 minutes from the start of this wonderful drive and area that you are all talking about. You can keep your northern beaches!

LittleKittyCat

Us too, and that is exactly why we chose the area! It is beautiful

stevenglish

We're in Figtree, and feel the same about it as you guys do the shire, it's all pretty special aint it

paddyo

I haved lived on both sets of beaches, Manly in the north and Bulli in the south. Both very different, in demographics and housing costs! If my numbers came up and I could afford it I would go back to Manly...has it all...not so serene but still great for working in the CBD and so much to do. But...she who must be obeyed is so happy here in Bulli and that is because life here is so simple, people are friendly and its a 'no worries' area.