Vincentia
4 km south of Huskisson and just east off Jervis Bay Road is the small resort town of Vincentia. It was originally South Huskisson but was renamed in 1952 after John Jervis, after whom Jervis Bay was named, who was also the Earl of St Vincent. Vincentia is a typical holiday town. There are the usual modern facilities, long beaches and the waters are good for fishing, windsurfing, sailing and diving.
The first left off Elizabeth Drive is Holden St which will take you out to the Bay and a concrete boat ramp. If you continue along Elizabeth Drive, Plantation Point Parade branches off to the left and leads to a natural ramp for catamarans and skiffs. At the western end of the small township, in Murray St, is a nine-hole golf course with excellent views over the Bay and south to Pigeon House Mountain.
Hyams Beach
Hyams Beach is a quiet village which claims to have the whitest sand in the world. The town was named after Michael Hyam who received a grant of 41 acres of waterfront land there in 1859. There is a concrete boat ramp off Cyrus St into the Bay. Hyams Beach is also a recommended diving spot, at least at high tide. From the boat ramp swim out due east for 100 metres. There are a number of shallow reefs in 8-10 metres of water and a variety of temperate marine life. The site is not suitable during easterly swells or north-easterly winds.
Booderee National Park
Booderee National Park Visitors Centre is open from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. every day in the off-season and from 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. from the commencement of the Christmas school holidays to the end of the Easter weekend. Bookings for camping can be made here and should be done so four months in advance, tel: (02) 4443 0977. The centre has pamphlets about the Park, its walking tracks and other information.The nature trails are signposted and, in the peak season, walks are conducted by rangers and illustrated with a slide show at Green Patch. They will also take prospective divers to the appropriate locations about the Bay.
No spears, spear guns, dogs or other domestic animals are permitted, fires can only be lit in specified barbecue areas and driving of all vehicles is only permitted on designated roads. The cost of entry is $5 per car per week.
The reserve boasts a diversity of fauna. There are great gliders high in the tree canopy, tiny feathertail gliders (featured on the old one-cent coin), sugar gliders with their distinctive yapping call, ringtail, brushtail and pygmy possums, eastern grey kangaroos, red-necked and swamp wallabies, echidnae, dunnarts, bandicoots, bush and swamp rats, bats (responsible for the clicks and squeaks often observed by visitors) tortoises, lizards, red-bellied black snakes, death adders, diamond pythons, and plenty of frogs.
Amongst the 170 species of birds are crimson rosellas, king parrots, kookaburras, satin bowerbirds, pied currawongs, magpies, wattlebirds, cockatoos, honeyeaters, spinebills, gulls, terns, the high-diving Australian gannet, curlews, dotterels, greenshanks, shearwaters, and the little penguins that burrow and breed on Bowen Island.
The reserve is also a haven for several endangered species - the white-bellied sea eagle, the ground parrot and the eastern bristlebird.
HMAS Creswell
Soon after leaving the information centre you will see, to your left, the naval college, HMAS Creswell. Access is restricted. Visits of 20 minutes are permitted on weekends and most public holidays. It is advisable to ring the gate to confirm the opening hours on the day of a prospective visit as there can be variations (02 4429 7985).
On the grounds is the Royal Australian Naval College Historical Collection, containing artefacts relating to the college and the Jervis Bay area and an extensive collection of model sailing ships. It can be seen on the last Sunday of each month; otherwise it is by appointment only (phone 02 4429 7845).
The main buildings around the quadrangle - the Clock Tower, the Dining Hall, the College Hospital (now the sailor's mess) and the marvellous two-storey timber Commandant's House - have all been listed for preservation by the National Trust. The predominant architectural values expressed in the highly geometrical layout and design of the college are, not surprisingly, formality, symmetry and simplicity. All of the original buildings are of weatherboard cladding with red tiled roofs. Incorporating touches of Georgian and classical design they are impressive examples of Australian colonial architecture.
Iluka
Iluka is located in a bush setting. It has picnic, barbeque and toilet facilities, with drinking water and access to a safe swimming and fishing beach.
Green Patch
Green Patch has a popular and beautiful camping ground that accomodates caravans as well as tents. There are picnic tables, good barbecue facilities, toilets, hot showers but no power, an excellent sheltered beach and, best of all, hundreds of tame rosellas. The birdlife here is prolific, the flora is diverse, there are dolphins and penguins to be seen in the Bay and kangaroos about the campsite. The maximum permissable stay is three weeks.
Bristol Point
Bristol Point campground is a little further along Jervis Bay Road. It has large campsites, hot water and barbecues but no power nor caravan sites. There are several walking trails around the Green Patch and Bristol campgrounds, such as that which follows fern-lined Telegraph Creek south through woodland and low heathland rich in wildflowers and birdlife. The Rock Platform nature trail takes you out to Bristol Point for a wander along the rocky shore.
Murrays Beach
Beyond Green Patch, along Jervis Bay Road, several short walking trails lead to Scottish Rocks and the Hole in the Wall. At its end is Murrays Beach, recognised as a highlight of the reserve. From the large carpark you walk to the shore, only to find a boat ramp and a small beach with rocky outcrops. If you are disappointed don't worry. This is not Murrays Beach. That lies a short 1.4 kilometre walk away around a rocky point and it is as beautiful as everyone suggests. A walking trail will take you on to Governor Head with its sandstone cliffs towering 90-120 metres above the waves. The trail continues south, as coastal scrub gives way to heathland, down to the end of Stony Creek Road then back north again to Murrays Beach. The cliffs here, with their coloured sandstone layers, extend all the way down the eastern coast of the peninsula and around to St George Head on the southern side of the promontory.
Both Green Patch and Murrays Beach boat ramp are recommended locations for diving. Snorkelling spots are abundant. There are shallow and deep-water rock reefs, sand zones, seagrass meadows, silty sand-flats, platforms and caves to explore.
Bowen Island
Bowen Island, opposite Governors Head, is 51 hectares of heath, woodland and tussock shrubland. The gnarled nature of the Island's banksia are of particular interest. The area is populated with shearwaters, little penguins and their burrows. There are sites of archaeological importance including shell and bone middens and rock shelters. On the north of the island are World War II gun emplacement sites facing out to sea, mountings for heavy guns, lookout posts and underground complexes for barracks and magazine stores.
Australian National Botanic Gardens Annexe
If you turn to the right into Cave Beach Road just over a kilometre past the visitor's centre, it will take you past Lake Windermere to the Australian National Botanic Gardens Annexe, an area of approximately 80 hectares characterized by sandstone outcrops, swamplands and wet gullies.
The Annexe was established in 1951 to 'cultivate a local, regional and national collection of frost tender species which will not grow in the main Gardens in Canberra.' The result is an extensive collection of native plants spread over 80 hectares. The site is open from 8-4 on weekdays, 10-5 on Sundays, public holidays and every Saturday between Christmas and Easter. There are nature walks, toilets and picnic areas.
Cave Beach and Bherwerre Beach
Continue down to the end of Cave Beach Road (it is unsealed beyond the gardens) to the carpark. A trail will take you the 300 m through coastal scrub to the beautifully-situated Cave Beach campsite where swamphens can often be seen scavenging for food. It offers toilets, picnic facilities, barbecues and cold showers. From here you can either continue south to the beach, ideal for fishing and swimming, or head west through some rainforest to Bherwerre Beach where there are views to the south, and west to the mangroves and swamps on the shoreline of St Georges Basin. The dune vegetation at Bherwerre Beach is threatened by an introduced species, the Bitou-bush, which was intended as a stabiliser after grazing damage threatened the spread of the dunes inland. Both Cave and Bherwerre are recommended surfing locations.
If you want a longer walk there is a fire trail which heads south-west from the road through tall blackbutt forest, coastal tea-tree and revegetated dunes down to Bherwerre Beach (1.9 km). There is a 200-m detour that heads east from the fire trail to Ryans Swamp, full of egrets, ibises, swamphens and herons when flooded.
Wreck Bay
To the east is Wreck Bay where there are a series of sandy bays with sheltered beaches. The area is accessible via Wreck Bay Road which heads south from Jervis Bay Road 2 km east of the Cave Beach Road turnoff. There is a path which turns off to the left before the 87-hectare Aboriginal settlement and then heads south again towards secluded Summercloud Bay, a pretty little cove with a ramp, toilets, picnic tables, barbecues, drinking water and beautiful beaches set against a backdrop of Blackbutt forest.
The rock platform is popular with snorkellers. Both Summercloud and Shelleys Point to the east are popular surfing spots.
The cliffline around to Governer Head commences here. The peninsula features a number of secluded sandy coves nestled in rock platforms, surrounded by dense eucalypt forest. The track south to St George Head passes through forest, woodland, coastal scrub and patches of rainforest with detours heading out to Shelleys Point, Whiting Beach, Blacks Harbour, Kittys Beach, Kittys Point and Corangamite on the coast.
If you follow the trail to its southernmost point there are spectacular ocean cliff views at the Head (4.1 km or 1.5 hours walk from the carpark). From there you can return north the way you came or head north-east to Brooks Lookout where there are great views of Steamers Head. Its 135-metre cliffs are thought to be the tallest on the NSW coast.
Alternatively, if you turn left off Wreck Bay Road into Stony Creek Road (unsealed) about 2.5 km south of Jervis Bay Road you will come to a branch road after about 1.3 km which will take you south to the Steamers Beach carpark. From here you can walk through the forest (2.3 km) down to what is a magnificent, isolated beach flanked by high cliffs and backed by steep sand dunes covered with tea-tree. Around Steamers Head is a heathland populated with a profusion of wildflowers in spring and summer.
If you return to Stony Creek Road it will take you out to the eastern coastline of the peninsula and on south to Stony Creek itself. A branch road leads to Cape St George Lighthouse on a cliff-top amidst heathland. About 700 m east of the branch road is the start of a walking track which passes through heath and flowers north to Governor Head.
Barry's Bush Tucker Tours
Barry's Bush Tucker Tours offers a view of the natural landscape and its fruits through Aboriginal eyes. There are bushtucker and bush medicine walks, spotlight walks and campfire talks about aboriginal lore and history (02 4442 1168 or 015-898171).
Callala Bay and Myola
Callala Bay, Callala Beach and Myola are small townships which lie to the north of Currambene Creek. The word 'Callala' is thought to derive either from 'kallala' (meaning 'fish') or from one of Alexander Berry's convicts, Patrick Smith, who lived in the area and was born at Calala in Ireland. This area features beaches perfect for swimming, sailing, snorkelling or just lazing about. There are concrete boat ramps at both Myola (Beach St, facing into the Creek) and Callala Bay. Elders Real Estate at Shop 6, Emmett St, Callala Bay doubles as a supplementary tourist centre (02 4446 5799). Callala Cat Charters at 67 Watts Rd, Callala Beach, offer catamaran cruises on Jervis Bay (018-671461).
Currarong
Currarong, in Crookhaven Bight at the northernmost point of the Beecroft Peninsula, has a beautiful beach. There is also safe swimming for children at Currarong Creek. The fishing is reputedly excellent and there are two boat ramps: a concrete one on Warrain Crescent and a natural ramp across the sand into the ocean on Yalwal St. The general store is another supplementary tourist centre (02 4448 3192).
The Beecroft Peninsula is a beautiful and historic area with a diverse array of native flowers and wildlife. Bushwalking, fishing and camping are available at Honeymoon Bay on the western perimeter of the promontory, though on weekends and school holidays only. Unfortunately the peninsula is also used as a weapons range and so is subject to closure at short notice, making visits more problematic. However, it is well worth the effort. Telephone the Rangers Office about public access and camping (02 4448 3411 or 02 4448 3177).
There is a popular lookout with spectacular views at the Point Perpendicular lighthouse where there are steep, sheer, 90-metre cliffs. There are also two walking tracks on the headland. The Wreck Walk (1 hour) takes you to the remains of the SS Merimbula , wrecked at Beecroft Head in March, 1927. The peninsula contains 125
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