Batemans Bay
Batemans Bay
A delightful small holiday/fishing town on the Clyde River it was named by Captain Cook in 1770 for the captain of one of his previous ships. Being the closest coastal town to Canberra it attracts many visitors and is renowned for its crayfish and oysters.
BATEMANS BAY, at the mouth of the Clyde River and the end of the highway from Canberra, is a favourite escape for the landlocked residents of the capital, just 152km away. Its not the most exciting place on the coast, but since its a fair-sized resort, theres plenty to do.
Batemans Bay Tourist Information is on Princes Highway, at the corner of Beach Road (daily 9am5pm). As youd expect of a resort, accommodation consists mainly of motels and a wide range of holiday units; most of the latter require a minimum weeks booking during peak summer times. Try Bay Surfside, 7km out of town at 662 Beach Rd, whose units sleep up to six and have all mod cons. Theres camping at eight caravan parks including the Coachhouse Marina Resort, by the beach on Beach Road 1km south of town, with a pool and tennis court; and Batemans Bay Tourist Park, close to town (but not the beach) and with a YHA hostel section attached. Mogendoura Farm, on Hawdons Road, 8km west of Moruya on the Moruya River, offers cottage farmstays with horse-riding, canoeing and bushwalking opportunities; minimum booking is two nights.
Theres a range of restaurants in Batemans Bay, mainly with fish and seafood-based menus.
Old Mogo Town Museum
Old Mogo Town Museum is a reconstruction of a mid-nineteenth-century goldrush town near an old gold mine. The best time to come, however, is Sunday morning when theres a bric-a-brac market held here. Twenty-five kilometres south of Batemans Bay, just before Moruya, a small, unsealed road turns off the highway to the west, heading through a pretty valley and then up over hills at the edge of the remote Deua National Park to the former goldrush town of Araluen where, between 1868 and 1872, about fifteen thousand prospectors congegrated in the hope of striking it lucky.
Murramarang National Park
One of the main features of this park are the kangaroos at Pebbly Beach. With wonderful beaches, stunning headlands, cliffs and rock platforms the park is popular for swimming and fishing. Located 10km north of Batemans Bay. Camping areas are available at Pebbly Beach, South Durras and Merry Beach.
Murramarang National Park
Murramarang National Park is a small coastal strip just north of town, there are campsites at Pretty Beach, Pebbly Beach and Durras Beach popular not only with campers but also with kangaroos, which come here at dawn or dusk to frolic on the beach. Rumour has it that they even enjoy body surfing.
