Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 4 . NEW SOUTH WALES
National Park office (& 02/4443 0977; www.ea.gov.au/parks/booderee),
located just beyond Huskisson; it’s open daily from 9am to 4pm. Hyams Beach
Store (& 02/4443 0242) has an accommodation guide listing 34 rental properties
from A$100 (US$65) a weekend.
SEEING THE AREA
If you want to see the best spots, you’ll need to pay the rather extortionate parkentrance
fee of A$10 (US$6.50) a day. Some of the places you could visit
include Hyams Beach , reputed to have the whitest sand in the world. Notice
how it squeaks when you walk on it. Wear sunscreen! The reflection off the
beach can burn your skin in minutes on a sunny day. Hole in the Wall Beach
has interesting rock formations and a lingering smell of natural sulfur. Summer
Cloud Bay is secluded and offers excellent fishing.
Dolphin Watch Cruises, 74 Owen St., Huskisson (& 1800/246 010 in Australia,
or 02/4441 6311; www.dolphinwatch.com.au), runs a hardy vessel out of
Huskisson on the lookout for the resident pod of bottle-nosed dolphins—you
have “more than a 95% chance of seeing them,” the company claims. A 2-hour
coffee cruise runs at 10am on Saturdays and Sundays, public holidays, and school
holidays, and costs A$20 (US$13) for adults and A$10 (US$6.50) for children.
A 2 1 ⁄2-hour dolphin watch and bay cruise leaves at 1pm and costs A$25 (US$16)
for adults and A$12 (US$7.80) for children. It’s possible to see humpback and
southern right whales June and July and mid-September to mid-November.
A 3-hour whale-watch cruise costs A$40 (US$26) for adults and A$30 (US$20)
for children.
WHERE TO STAY & DINE
If you have a tent and camping gear, all the better. Caves Beach is a quiet spot
(except when the birds chorus at dawn) located just a stroll away from a good
beach; it’s home to resident eastern gray kangaroos. A campsite here costs
A$8 (US$5.20) per tent in winter and A$10 (US$6.50) in summer and on
public holidays, though at the time of writing moves were afoot to increase
prices. It’s about a 250m (about 1 ⁄10 mile) walk from the parking lot to the
campground. Greenpatch is more dirt than grass, but you get your own area
and it’s suitable for campervans. It’s
Tips A Safety Warning
Jervis Bay is notorious for its car
break-ins, a situation the local
police force has been unable to
control. If you park your car anywhere
in the national park,
remove all valuables, including
things in the trunk.
infested with over-friendly possums
around dusk. A camp spot here costs
A$13 (US$8.45) in winter and A$16
(US$10) in summer.
For supplies, head to the area’s
main towns, Huskisson (pop. 930)
and Vincentia (pop. 2,350). The
Huskisson RSL Club, overlooking
the wharf area on Owen Street
(& 02/4441 5282), has a good bistro
and a bar. You’ll have to sign in inside
the main entrance. The Huskisson Hotel (also called the “Husskie Pub”) is just
down the road and has a nice beer garden and cheapish meals at lunchtime.
Huskisson Beach Tourist Resort This resort is the very pinnacle of cabin
accommodations on this part of the east coast. Cabins vary in price depending
on size, but even the smallest has room enough for a double bed, triple bunks,
and a small kitchen with microwave. Larger cabins have two separate bedrooms.
There’s a game room and barbecue facilities on the grounds.