Mystery Bay

October 8, 2012 at 11:05 pm | Posted in Australia, Experiences, Nature, Tourism | 11 Comments
Tags: Bateman's Bay, beaches, camping, coastal scenery, forests, holidays, Mystery Bay, national park, scuba diving, South Coast NSW, spotted gums

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I drove south of where we live, past Sydney and Wollongong and Nowra, and enjoyed a few days on the South Coast of New South Wales. There is lots of bush country down there – huge national parks, beaches, lakes and rivers. The towns and villages haven’t grown too big, and you can see history all around.

One of the places we visited was Mystery Bay, which is part of the Batemans Bay Marine Park. Mystery Bay has a beautiful golden beach, that begins at the forest edge. The waters of the bay are clear and cool. On a sunny day, the seas are blue, and the foaming waves that sweep across the guardian rocks are sparkling white.

 We had only heard of the place when we camped at a ‘primitive camp ground’ a couple of days before. Then a Council worker cleaning public toilets at a park said it was a great place to visit. We turned off the main road and soon found ourselves in the camping ground, surrounded by tall spotted gums. The sandy beach began at the edge of the treeline.

There are magnificent rock formations reaching out into the sea, which crashes against them and protects the beach. Small rocky islets stand away from the shore.

We had our lunch in the camping grounds, where there are basic amenities only: toilets and cold showers. I walked through the forest and admired the tall and straight spotted gums. They were used for pier posts, electricity poles and bridge supports in the days before iron was generally used.

There is a tiny village, but no shops. Diving would be a great experience there. Cabin accommodation is available in the area. It’s a quiet and reasonably remote area that would be perfect for a camping holiday.

We loved Mystery Bay, and we will be heading back there again one day in our little camper van to relax and enjoy the bush, the beach and the rocks.

(c) Linda Visman

The  photos were taken by me and my husband.