Tathra - Bermagui - Wallaga Lake

Distance: 76km
Road: Road is fully sealed, easily accessible by the family car. Please note that most bridges are single lane. Be prepared to give way to south-bound traffic.

This tour passes through Mimosa Rocks National Park. to the north of Tathra, with its spectacular Spotted Gum forests, and Wallaga National Park near Bermagui, where views alternate from rolling green hills to rugged coastline, for connoisseurs of contemporary Australian Art, there are two premier galleries along the drive, Narek Galleries at Tanja and Ivy Hill Gallery at Wapengo
When travelling north along the coast road from Tathra through to Wallaga Lake, the unique Montreal Goldfield should not be missed. The old goldfield is still in excellent condition and the natural regeneration makes it a place of great beauty. Admission to the site is by guided tour only so contact the Bermagui Tourist Information Centre for bookings and details. (02) 6493 3054 or 1800 645 808. See you there.                                                
Distance: 51km. Tathra to Bermagui is 44kms and 7km further to Wallaga Lake
Road: Road is fully sealed, easily accessible by the family car. Please note that most bridges are single lane. Be prepared to give way to south-bound traffic.

1. Kianinny Bay, Tathra
Turn right into Davidson Street, two streets past the Tathra sports oval, and continue down Kianinny Street to Kianinny Bay.
The start/finish of the Kangarutha Walking Trail can be found in the picnic area. Kianinny Bay was the port for the Bega area prior to the construction of Tathra Wharf. Kianinny Bay is now the home of the Tathra Amateur Fishing Club which holds regular fishing competitions. Chamberlain Lookout on the northern side above the Bay offers views of the coast.

• Tathra Wildlife Reserve - The small parking area is on the western side of the road at the entrance to Tathra (Bega side). This 60 hectare wildlife corridor has prolific birdlife and an abundance of native flora. The Blueberry Ash Trail is particularly entrancing, leading through coastal forest then under a canopy of oaks where leaves and pine needles carpet the forest floor. Across a small bridge and up to a viewing platform which overlooks a timbered ravine where the only sound is the wind in the treetops and the crack of a Whip Bird. An easy walk (3/4 hour) on a well constructed trail. A map is located at the carpark.

• Tathra Wharf - A top fishing and scuba diving spot. Parking can be a problem and a popular alternative is to continue past the Wharf Road turnoff and park on the Tathra Headland with its spectacular views. To the north, views embrace the majority of the Mimosa Rocks National Park, and yes, that sign at the end of the road is correct! Heavy seas washed away the original road down to the Wharf during the 1950’s and two men were drowned. The road can be used as a walking track to the Wharf although it is rough. Stairs are located on the headland directly above the Wharf. The Tathra Wharf has a small maritime museum upstairs, in the original cargo sheds.

2. Tathra Beach  The Surf Club is on the south end of the beach, which is patrolled in season. Picnic tables are under the Norfolk pines near the Surf Club.

3. Mogareeka    Mogareeka is at the northern end of Tathra Beach at the Bega River mouth. Shallow water and the adjoining park offers a great venue for families to picnic.
People just had to take a punt!..
The Bega River mouth was a problem to early settlers living north of the river, who were unable to cross to the Tathra Wharf to despatch produce and collect supplies. A steep and dangerous track over Doctor George Mountain inland to Bega was the only option. A punt operated in later years and the ramps can still be seen near the bridge.

4. Mimosa Rocks National Park
Remember to take your own drinking water and $1 coins for the gas BBQ’s. Much of the area was originally State Forest as can be seen by the stand of beautiful Spotted Gums. The National Park was named after the ‘SS Mimosa’ which was wrecked on rocks which can be seen from Aragunnu, an Aboriginal sacred site inside the park.

Inside Mimosa Rocks National Park are some stunning beaches:
• Nelsons Beach - Have a BBQ or picnic amongst the Spotted Gums and Burrawong Palms. The lagoon offers excellent snorkelling.

• Middle Beach - Popular picnic spot with good shallow swimming. Remember, these beaches are not patrolled. There is a pleasant walk south along the sandspit which closes off Middle Lagoon from the sea.

The unknown shipwreck
A mysterious wrecked sailing ship can still be seen occasionally after heavy seas on Nelsons Beach. The schooner of about 70 tons was discovered in 1859 by the captain of the SS Mimosa bottom up and loaded with cedar logs. No survivors or owners were ever discovered.

Big George Nelson, the pistol-carrying drover…  The area from the Bega River to Wapengo and inland to near Bega was originally known as Nelsons. George Nelson was a drover who came to the area in 1846. He was a big man who wore a brace of pistols at all times and was much feared by the Aboriginals. He disappeared and it was local belief that he was murdered.

• Gillards Beach - Popular as a camping and picnic spot, Gillards also offers excellent fishing.

• Bithry Inlet - The beach and foreshore walk between Bithry Inlet and Middle Beach includes striking blades and shafts of secondary ironstone which have been exposed by erosion, leaving bizarre vertical rock sculptures.

• Aragunnu - Camping and picnic area. Park under the shady trees and walk along the boardwalk to the sea to view the massive rounded stones of volcanic rock.

• Moon Bay - A small, secluded beach only a short walk from the carpark.

How Moon Bay got its name… The first white child born in the Bega Valley, Caroline Moon, was born here when her parents landed with a flock of sheep en route from Camden near Sydney, to Kameruka Estate inland at Candelo.

5. Cuttagee Beach
Just south of Bermagui is Cuttagee Beach. At the northern end of the beach Cuttagee Lake, adjacent to the bridge, provides shallow water for swimming.

Pick handles for the troops...
Although the river mouth is now silted up, in the 1800’s sailing vessels of up to 90ft sailed up the river for loading. The southern end of Cuttagee Beach was the site of a steam powered sawmill which, during World War I, produced pick handles from Spotted Gum. The troops at Gallipoli used these for digging their trenches.

6. Michael Lerner Lookout
A BBQ area with picnic tables and small viewing platform with great coastal views. Photographers will particularly enjoy this spot.

A record holder...
Michael Lerner was a friend of Zane Grey, and is renowned as the only person to have hooked and landed two Blue Marlin simultaneously.

7. Blue Pool, Bermagui   A favourite with locals for many years, the swimming pool is tidal, was once called the Blue Hole and only half its present size. In the 1940’s locals enlarged and improved the pool to its present standard. Rock was blasted and then removed by wheelbarrow to be dumped in the sea. The small pool was constructed and dressing sheds built at the top of the stairs.

Famous visitors and people of the past…  Zane Grey (the American author) put Bermagui on the map with his book “An American Angler in Australia”, as well as his magazine articles and radio talks. He first visited in 1935, and camped on the headland which became known as Zane Grey Park. The name was later changed to Dickinson Park.
Sam Sinclair - Bermagui’s blacksmith, undertaker (he not only drove the hearse, but also built the coffins), dentist, mid wife, weighmaster for the Beg Game Anglers Club, boatbuilder and wheelwright. Sam carried the rocks and built a retaining wall at Horseshoe Bay when he was eighty years old. You may know him as the blacksmith in the old Tooheys Beer advertisement. “Here’s To’ee”.
Don Althaldo - the world’s strongest man. Born in Bermagui in 1898 he was a sickly child who had difficulty even in walking. His father worked for Sam Sinclair who encouraged him to learn the art of self defence to combat school bullying. He later commenced a course in body building under Sam’s guidance. During World War II he taught unarmed combat to military personel. Don Althaldo could drive a nail through a 75mm wood block and twist 11mm steel bars into knots.

Beares Beach - Unpatrolled, but an excellent alternative if the wind is blowing at Horseshoe Bay.

Bermagui Wharf - Once the reason for Bermagui’s existence the wharf was located below the current RSL Memorial. It was demolished in 1971 as it was considered unsafe. The area is now a popular scuba diving and fishing spot.

Boatbuilding at Bermagui…  During World War II wooden barges and tugs were needed for transporting troops and supplies in the Pacific campaign, magnetic mines being a hazard to metal ships. These tugs and barges were built using local Spotted Gum at the Bermagui boat yeard which was located on the southern end of the present bridge.