Sparkling Sapphire Coast

When travel and social restrictions are lifted, we’ll all be wanting to get out and about. Robin Hill has the perfect suggestion.

- Robin Hill

There is something wonderfully meditative about hiking in the Ben Boyd National Park on the far south coast of NSW. The ultra-pretty scenery on the 30 kilometre-plus Light to Light walk can change so quickly as you stride past tuckedaway beaches to traverse areas of woodlands banksia, or gingerly step across a small stream surrounded by lush greenery. There’s barely another soul in sight, and the unspoilt surroundings are a reminder of how lucky we are to live in a part of the world where abundant natural beauty is so accessible to all.

Thirty kilometres may sound challenging to some city slickers, myself included, but rest assured: the walk is spread over three days, and the overall experience is so rewarding it will stay with you long after you have returned home to your creature comforts, and you’ll dream of returning here as soon as practicable.

The Sapphire Coast, which includes the scenic seaside towns of Bermagui, Eden and Merimbula, is roughly equidistant from Sydney and Melbourne. Once famous for its flourishing whaling and fishing industries, these days logging and tourism are the key industries. Eden’s new wharf, built last August, had made it a rising star of Australian cruising – 23 ship visits had been planned this year – but first the bushfires and then coronavirus have left it in the lurch.