Beautiful Bermagui

26 February 2020 / Words by Steve Wakeling. Photos by Rod Nicholas and Anda Clayton

7-10 February 2020

It was 7 February and a sunny Friday morning at the respectable hour of 11am when seven MX-5s set off from Bungendore for a four-day run down to and around Bermagui. I had nominated Bermagui as the destination in October, well before the bushfires. So it was pleasing to be able to travel to a bushfire affected area and be part of the ‘return of the tourists’ .

We were in for a treat going down the Clyde mountain as having rained the day before there were waterfalls! Having passed kilometre after kilometre of burnt out forests it was amazing to encounter waterfalls just a metre on your left. With the roof down it was magnificent.

We bypassed Batemans Bay and headed to Mogo for lunch where we met up with Brian & Anda from the South Coast club with two more MX-5s from their club. After a noisy lunch (compulsory with large numbers of MX-5 people) we proceeded to visit all the shops still functioning in Mogo. Although I had been to Mogo a few times since the bushfires it is still strikes me as a severely impacted town. The eastern side of the town is still reasonably intact, so we did our bit to help with their customer recovery.

Brian & Anda joined us for the rest of the weekend and we headed south to Bermagui arriving abut 4pm. Although there were large areas of burnt out forests along the way there had also been recent heavy rain, in some places flooding, so there were now large expanses of green fields. Amazing country.

After booking in at the Bermagui Motel, right in the middle of town, we all headed off to check the place out. Bermagui still has one trawler operating so it is possible to buy fresh fish at the trawler owner’s fish and chip shop adjacent to the wharf. We headed to the pub (the only one in town). It overlooks the bay and serves Reschs (it’s an acquired taste). Dinner that night was next door to the pub.

Saturday morning saw us head down the back way to Tathra for morning tea (coffee) at the wharf. This is a great drive for MX-5s. Don’t leave too early Rod, as the cow manure on the road will still be fresh (we were still too darn early [Editor]).

We headed to Bega and then onto Central Tilba for Lunch. The drive from Tathra to Central Tilba is magnificent. Lots of fast sweeping curves and distant views of mountains. Although Tilba Tilba and Central Tilba were not physically impacted by fires they were without power for days/weeks at a time. My trial run there on a prior Saturday saw the town without power and deserted. Even the pub was closed. Luckily this time around the town was open for business so we spread out for a long lunch and shopping.

Although it was free time after lunch several of us happened to depart together and we headed back to Bermagui via Wallaga Lake and stopped at the Camel Rock Brewery to again participate in the ‘return of the tourist’ . Well worth a visit.

Dinner that evening was at the wharf upstairs at the Sundeck Restaurant overlooking Bermagui Harbor. Walking distance from the motel. The restaurant is not usually open on a Saturday night but I had made a special booking, so we had the restaurant to ourselves and our own menu. (It was pretty darn good. [Editor])

Sunday was morning tea at the Bermagui Mudworks, just out of town. This is not a place where you can get a mud bath and spa; a couple of potters do their thing there. I did see several items of pottery being purchased. Although they sell coffee and tea, it’s best to let them know groups are coming and bring your own nibbles.

We had arranged something special for lunch. Mimosa Winery and Restaurant is in the middle of nowhere, on the back road from Bermagui to Tathra, about 20 minutes from Bermagui. One end of the restaurant is open to the views over the vineyards and to the mountains beyond. It made the internet a few years ago when a very large goanna entered the restaurant and was chased out by a young waitress. All part of the job when you work at a restaurant in the middle of the Australian bush. Lunch was long and excellent.

One the way back to Bermagui we stopped at ‘Blue Pools’ at the far eastern end of town. Worth a swim on a hot day. It looks like a large natural formation, but I’m told dynamite helped a bit. (It was not a ‘hot day’ when I visited it later, rather dreary and raining. But it is still a neat spot. [Editor])

Dinner that evening was local pizza and really fresh fish and chips in the motel’s covered BBQ area. Lots of laughs and a disorganized exit when the lights when out at 9:30pm. A sign did inform us of the usage time but who reads them?

Monday morning saw us depart and head back up the Clyde for lunch at Braidwood. I had planned to visit Cobargo over the weekend but on our drive through on Saturday it was packed with people and cars. Maybe another time. (I did a quick visit on Sunday arvo. The town—apart from the pub—was quiet. The burnt out buildings and scarred hillsides cast a sad pall over the place, but the recent rains had painted the fields bright green with fresh grass, and there is an air of hopefulness around. [Editor])

I had also planned to go back home via the Brown Mountain and Cooma, but two very large boulders had blocked the mountain road (google ‘Brown Mountain boulders’). Although they had been removed (blown up) by Monday morning, the authorities had asked tourists to take another route, so we did.

Although many parts of the South Coast have been ravaged by bushfires it is still a beautiful place and well worth a visit, just watch out for bushfires, floods and huge boulders. We managed to miss them all and still had lots of laughs, a great drive and a magnificent time.

You can see more photos by Rod Nicholas at https://photos.app.goo.gl/9Fbonebvbxu6jups6.
You can see photos by Anda Clayton (South Coast Chapter Convenor) on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mx5canberra/?ref=bookmarks.