Merimbula

The Thaua people of the Yuin Nation have harvested oysters, fish and shellfish from Merimbula Lake for thousands of years, and the ancient middens still visible at the lake's edge are quiet testimony to that long occupation. European settlers arrived in the mid-1800s, initially as pastoralists running cattle across the lush coastal hinterland, but it was the oyster industry - commercialised from the 1920s onward - that shaped the modern town. Today Merimbula is widely regarded as the epicentre of NSW rock oyster production, with farms on the lake contributing to a regional aquaculture sector worth roughly $16 million a year.\n\nThe beaches are the town's other great calling card. Merimbula Main Beach stretches for five kilometres of golden sand backed by low dunes, with reliable surf on the southern end and calmer swimming near the boat ramp. Bar Beach, tucked inside the lake entrance, is a local favourite for families, stand-up paddleboarding and launching kayaks at sunrise. The Merimbula Boardwalk traces the foreshore and offers surprisingly good wildlife spotting - resident seals haul out on the rocks below, and little penguins nest in the breakwall at dusk.\n\nThe surrounding national parks push the destination firmly into adventure territory. Bournda National Park wraps around much of the coastline north of town, offering a network of walking tracks through coastal heath and banksia woodland to secluded beaches accessible only on foot. Beowa National Park to the south - formerly Ben Boyd - protects the striking Pinnacles formation, a cliff face of red and white clays that reads like a cross-section of geological time. The 27-kilometre Wharf to Wharf Walk linking Merimbula to Tathra is the standout multi-day option, hugging headlands and river mouths most of the way.\n\nFrom late August through November the offshore waters come alive with migrating humpback whales making their southern journey back towards Antarctica. Local operators run guaranteed-sighting cruises from Merimbula Marina, and on a clear spring morning the blow columns are visible even from the boardwalk. For a more immersive wildlife experience, day tours from Merimbula reach Montague Island - a nature reserve 9 kilometres off Narooma - where Australian fur seals lounge on the rocks and little penguins nest in burrows beneath the lighthouse.\n\nThe dining scene punches above the town's weight. A string of restaurants and casual eateries along the esplanade pour freshly shucked local oysters year-round, and Wheeler's Oyster Farm at nearby Pambula runs tasting tours for anyone who wants to understand the estuary-to-plate story properly. Merimbula also hosts a well-regarded annual jazz festival each June that draws performers and visitors from across eastern Australia, filling the foreshore with music and making the cooler months an unexpectedly festive time to visit.