HUSKISSON

Many people think that Jervis Bay the name of a town or village, but it’s actually the name of the bay. There are several villages on its shores, but Huskisson is the hub of the area – its main street filled with great cafes, boutique fashion, gift and homeware shops, cafes, delis and restaurants.

Both the dolphin and whale-watching cruises depart from Husky’s wharf (as the locals call it) and it’s where you’ll find the Jervis Bay dive shop, kayaking centre, camping store, fishing and bait store, bakery, banks, cinema, pub, bottle shop, post-office and real estate agents.

The open air sea-pool is open from October long weekend to Easter.  The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum, art gallery and markets are across the road.

JERVIS BAY’S FLORA & FAUNA

Apart from the many dolphins that live in the bay and whales that visit, you’ll find seals, little penguins and weedy sea dragons (if you dive).  You can see kangaroos and wallabies on the beach or in the bush, from the national parks to outside our front door occasionally.

An incredible variety of native brightly coloured birds – parrots, lorikeets, rosellas, cockatoos and galas are everywhere. Rare black glossy cockatoos and white-bellied sea eagles are also seen quite often – especially in the national parks.

The coastal bush has an incredible variety of unique plants and the ‘scribbly gum walk’ in Jervis Bay National Park and the National Botanic Gardens in Booderee National Park are favourites.

DOLPHIN & WHALE WATCHING

All Jervis Bay’s dolphin and whale watching boats leave from the public wharf in Huskisson. They claim a 95% chance of seeing dolphins and a voucher for a free trip if you are unlucky enough not to see any.  The dolphins usually come right up to the boasts and play in the bow waves.

In May, June, July and August, humpback whales are their way up the coast to breed and in September, October and November they come back down the coast with their calves – often coming into the bay for a rest and to train their young. It can be quite a show!

If you are not a boat person, the cliffs in Jervis Bay are some of the best vantage spots for whale-watching on the East Coast. You often see dolphins from the beach and sometimes the whales come into the bay – especially with their young.  dolphinwatch.com.au

DIVING & SNORKELING IN JERVIS BAY

Jervis Bay is the most popular diving site in Australia after the Great Barrier Reef, thanks to its incredible visibility and variety of marine life. The water stays crystal clear because of the lack of development on the shores, the ancient untouched seagrasses and the fact that there are no rivers (only small creeks) flowing into the bay.

You’ll see weedy seadragons, giant cuttle-fish, seals and little penguins. Dive Jervis Bay

BOODEREE NATIONAL PARK

Booderee National Park is one of the best National Parks in NSW, with its stunning coastal bushwalks, cliff-top lookouts (some of the best whale spotting in the East Coast), the ruined lighthouse and sheltered white-sand bay beaches or ocean surf. It is 10 minutes away.

Booderee National Park is owned and run by the local aboriginal community in conjunction with Environment Australia – like Uluru and Kakadu. The National Botanical Gardens (in Canberra) has its coastal section here in Jervis Bay – a truly wonderful place.

During school holidays Booderee Park runs activities such as koori (aboriginal) camp-fire yarns, night-time nature spotting and rock-pool walks.

Galamban, from the indigenous community of Wreck Bay run great bush-tucker walks, medicine tours as well as storytelling events. (galamban@gmail.com or 02 4442 1117). Booderree National Park

MUSEUM & ART GALLERY

The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum and art gallery houses the fully restored, wooden Sydney Harbour ferry, The Lady Denman, built in 1911 – just one of many boats built in Huskisson over the last century.

They also have a great exhibitions ranging from the maritime history of Jervis Bay to an aboriginal culture area, an exhibition about all the things Jervis Bay nearly became (like Canberra, a nuclear power station, a steel works…) to travelling art shows. There is a fish feeding pond and mangrove boardwalk out to the edge of Currabene Creek, a very special spot. Jervis Bay Museum

LOCAL ARTISTS

Jervis Bay has many artists living in the area and a thriving creative community. Local and nationally known artists exhibit their work in cafes and galleries around the area. Biannually in June, the Jervis Bay region hosts its own arts festival called Seechange. Visit website

HUSKISSON PICTURES

Originally the local School of Arts, Huskisson Pictures is a quaint heritage cinema with a recent release program. It is just around the corner from us only 3 minutes’ walk. Visit website

WHITE SANDS WALK & HYAMS BEACH

The Jervis Bay ‘White sands walk’ officially starts at Vincentia’s Plantation Point. You can follow a coastal path all the way to Hyams Beach, past Nelson Beach, Blenhiem Beach and Greenpatch then through the Jervis Bay National Park to Chinamans beach and Hyams Beach village.

Hyams  is supposed to have the whitest sand in the world. It actually the third whitest, according to Geoscience, but it is breathtaking non-the-less. Hyams is a 10 minute drive from us.