Fast facts
- Popular, fun holiday town known for its oysters
- Set on forested hills between Merimbula Lake and the sea
- 471 km south of Sydney, population 4,900
Why go there
The town's main assets are water sports of all types, including fishing, swimming, boating, lake cruises, scuba diving, sailboarding and canoeing. The 6-km Main Beach is ideal for surfing, while Short Point and Tura Beach are backed by tea-trees and banksia trees set among coastal heaths.
The surrounding hinterland has superb bushwalks with marked trails. The natural forests burst into bloom in spring with abundant native flora. Bournda National Park, which brackets Merimbula Lake, is a haven for birds and for the kangaroos and wallabies that graze on its shores.
History
Merimbula began in the 1850s as a private village and developed as a port and service centre for the surrounding rural area. Since the 1950s it has been a popular holiday resort.
Things to do
- Visit the Merimbula-Imlay Historical Museum and learn about the region's fascinating history.
- Take a scenic flight along the sparkling Sapphire Coast.
- Discover freshwater lakes and magnificent beaches on the walking trails in Bournda National Park.
- Hire a canoe and launch yourself on Merimbula Lake.
Events
- Merimbula Jazz Festival, held every June long weekend, attracts some of the cream of the current crop of jazz musicians from interstate and overseas.
- Mambo Merimbula Wave Classic, in November, is Australia’s longest running kite-boarding and windsurfing event.
Don’t miss
- Divers hand-feeding fish at the Steamer Wharf.
- A picnic by Nethercote Falls, south of Merimbula.
- The Aboriginal middens around Merimbula Lake.
- Fossil sites in Bournda National Park.
- The local oysters – you won’t taste finer.
