Shoalhaven

Crystal clear waters, beautiful scenary, emerging food and wine scene, lush green vineyards… Shoalhaven is the destination to be for any food and nature lover.

I recently spent a weekend in the South Coast of NSW and boy could I not get enough. From the beachside picnic amongst white sand in Jervis Bay to the most magical high tea in the middle of the vineyard at Cambewarra, here is a visual diary of everything I did, saw, and ate in my short but sweet visit there. Enjoy!

Booderee National Park

Booderee National Park is home to several beaches with some of the whitest and softest sand I have seen.

Picnic with Hyams Beach Hampers

We arrived at this quiet little beach to our beach hut and a picnic all set up waiting for us! The hardest part about any picnics is the preparation and packing up, and this is exactly what Hyams Beach Hampers does for you – hand deliver your choice of picnic, set up your beach hut ahead of time, and pack up after you leave! So that you can take all your time doing what you really came to Jervis Bay to do: to relax and enjoy the beautiful white and and ocean breeze.

High Tea at Cambewarra Estate

What’s better than high tea? High tea in the middle of the vineyards! Probably my favorite part of my whole weekend in Shoalhaven and arguably the most magical high tea experience I’ve had to date.

_DSC0779 — The table was filled with whimsical teaware like this “The Dirty Laundry” teapot

_DSC0783 — This was the owner’s cubby house when she was little!

Silos Estate

At the cellar door at Silos Estate, we tasted some of their award winning wines while chatting to the wine makers, enjoyed a picnic of local produce and watched the changing pastel colors dance in the sky as the sun sets. They also have an alpaca farm!

Milk Haus

As Michael Pollan says, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

That is the philosophy that Milk Haus goes by. This wholefoods cafe just outside of Milton serves up a menu of fresh, simple fare food with everything grown in house or sourced locally. No fancy gimmicks, just real food.

Their menu changes seasonally depending on what’s growing in their garden and locally. I particularly enjoyed the kimchi scramble on sour dough, and the ricotta pancakes with rhubarb & yogurt

5 Little Pigs

Now, if you’re after breakfast fare that is a bit more sinful, 5 Little Pigs in Huskisson is the place to go. Apart from an epic Korean fried chicken burger and fried chicken & waffle, I really liked the zucchini fritters and the Crunchy Strawberries & Cream as well.

Wharf Rd Restaurant

We enjoyed a nice and relaxing lunch in this expansive beautiful space with a cracking view overlooking the wharf. We opted for the 6 course tasting menu so we could sample a bit of everything.

Bannisters Rooftop Bar & Grill

Our accomodation for the weekend was the Bannisters Pavilion, so it made sense to dine and have a few drinks at their rooftop bar & grill: grilled miso salmon and braised beef cheek, washed down with a glass of local wine.

Bannisters Pavilion

I initially wanted to stay at Bannisters By the Sea, but alas it was fully booked. So we opted to stay at their sister hotel, Bannisters Pavilion instead. Although not my first choice, this new boutique hotel is definitely no inferior. Our room was spacious with a balcony overlooking greeneries. And that bed was just so comfortable that it made getting up for sunrise a mission the next morning!