Bermagui, birds, swamp wallabies, and deep sea fishing.

Bermagui Hotel photo: Sapphire Coast

Bermagui is a pretty town on the south coast of New South Wales.  It is not far from Canberra, and, needless to say, it is a holiday destination, and second home to many city dwellers.

We occasionally stay with friends in nearby Mystery Bay, and this often includes a visit to Bermagui. Along the way, we enjoy the magnificent scenery, a coastal bush walk, and, at end the day,  wonderful fresh fish to eat.

In 2012 Bermagui Dune Care began introducing native plants to Cuttagee Point. A year of so later, I took the above photo of early planting of the native plants. A sign nearby says,

Weed removal (such as Kikuyu and blackberries) and native re-generation and re-planting of addition local species is helping to restore the landscape and biodiversity value of the headland.”

The photo below was taken a few years later, just after much needed rain…ongoing planting but progress.

On our coastal walks we often see the hardy coastal Banksia.

Occasionally we see or hear a Kookaburra, also very  common in this area. Isn’t he perfectly camouflaged in his natural environment?  Along with the smaller bird, perhaps a Wattle bird.

If we are lucky we sometimes catch a glimpse of one of these little swamp wallabies…so very cute!

Prior to European settlement, this area was inhabited by the Yuin people, who lived, hunted and fished in the area.

The first Europeans to pass along  the coast were Captain Cook and his crew in 1770.

Camel Rock: Visit NSW

In 1798 the explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders sailed down the coast and named this rocky piece of coastline, Camel Rock.

All along this coastline the sea is a turquoise colour, and thus the area is known as the Sapphire coast.

This coastline is the closest land in Australia to the Continental shelf. As a result, Bermagui has long been famous for deep sea and game fishing, including yellow fin tuna and marlin..

In 1937 the American western writer, Zane Grey was responsible for the town becoming more popular, when he wrote about his experience in a book called ”An American Angler in Australia.”

Zane Grey: Famous Biographies

Despite its occasional brush with fame, Bermagui remains a quiet pleasant town, with just enough music festivals, craft shops and eateries to make life interesting.

On this visit we stopped off at the fish shop for lunch, Paul and I had John Dory, and our friends had Blue Grenadier…I wonder if these fish are called different names in different countries?

We sat  in the shade of the enormous Norfolk Pine trees, looking up at the young cones above.

We enjoyed the view while we sat eating our fish and chips, and chatting about local and world events. By the time we left, there were very few world problems left to solve.

I hope you are having some sunshine where ever you are in the world today, or at least, may the snow be melting!

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved

 

20 Replies to “Bermagui, birds, swamp wallabies, and deep sea fishing.”

  1. Gorgeous part of the world. I always love a glimpse of your native animals and plants and, in this post, the blue of the water is gorgeous. Thank you for solving the world problems because we sure have lots of them. 🙂 The only snow left at my house is a small pile from where the blower piled it up so that is a really good thing.

    1. Well, the problems all seem to come back again by the time we got home! Good to know you have been busy with the blower, and only have a small amount of snow left.

    1. Yes! Bermagui deserves about five blog posts, so much to photograph, and autumn has such beautiful light in that part of the world.

  2. Beautiful photos, Gerrie. This looks like a very pleasant place to spend some time. The sky and ocean are a wonderful shade of blue. We had a chain of fish restaurants in South Africa called ‘John Dory’. I didn’t realize it was a type of fish but thought it was the name of the owner. Hope you have a great week.

      1. Yes, I’m sure you did. We’ll be back in Umhlanga for a month in May/June. I’m so looking forward to it as I’ll see my sister and her family who live close by. 🙂

        1. It will be lovely for you to spend time in Umhlanga, and also so much time with your sister….that is precious time.

    1. Norfolk Pines look good in coastal places in southern parts of Australia, and they look very beautiful on Norfolk Island itself, not too far away.

  3. What a beautiful coastline! That gorgeous turquoise sea with dunes and sand, Camel Rock to admire and walks in the bush and along the coast – it sounds like my ideal holiday place!

    1. Actually when I first visited the South coast it reminded me of parts of England. The turquoise sea is very striking.

  4. What a paradise! I loved the colour of the sea and sky, magical. How I wish we had kookaburras and swamp wallabies. Beautiful scenery and sunshine sure help with problem solving. xxx

  5. What a beautiful place! And so glad that it seems to be a conservation success story. But what is the difference between a kangaroo and a wallaby? As for deep sea fishing, I’ll just eat the fish on shore – I get terribly sea sick!

    1. I agree, I don’t mind eating the fish, but not the sitting on a boat. I should do a post on the difference between swamp wallabies and kangaroos…thanks for the idea.

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