Tathra - town in New South Wales, Australia

Tathra is a town of 1,700 people (2016) on the Sapphire Coast of New South Wales. Nearby points of interest are the Old Tathra Wharf, Mimosa Rocks National Park and Bournda National Park.

Get in

Regional Express (Rex) fly into Merimbula Airport from both Sydney and Melbourne. Free Spirit Airlines has also started to fly into Merimbula from Melbourne. Distance from Merimbula airport to Tathra via road is 28 km. Hire cars are available from Avis, Hertz and Europcar at the airport.

Tathra Road connects the regional centre of Bega 18 km to the west. Until the early 21st century, Tathra Road was known as the Snowy Mountains Highway, which now runs between Bega and the Hume Highway via Cooma and Tumut.

The Sapphire Coast Drive connects Tathra with Merimbula 25 km to the south and Tathra-Bermagui Road connects to the fishing port of Bermagui 44 km to the north.

Tathra is served by the local bus company Sapphire Coast Bus Lines.

Get around

You can walk just about everywhere here. Parking is adequate at the beach, but a walk from most directions is a better experience than driving.

See

• Tathra Wharf and Museum, Wharf Rd, -36.72489°, 149.99053°. The wharf is the icon of the town, having been constructed in 1861. The last ship to depart from the wharf was in 1954. A museum commemorating the wharf's significance to Tathra and the South Coast has been established next to the wharf. 2017-06-18
• Mimosa Rocks National Park, -36.665°, 149.9511111°. An important habitat for swift parrots and other birds. Mimosa Rocks National Park starts at the northern end of Tathra Beach and runs north for about 16 km. It has five access roads from the Tathra-Bermagui main road. 2020-10-18
• Bournda National Park — Bournda National Park starts at Kianinny Bay, at the southern end of Tathra, and runs south for about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi). There is a walking track near the coast, along most of its length.

Do

• The Beach. 24/7. A pretty good beach. It is very long, but only has lifeguards at the southern end. That end of the beach can get a little crowded because of this, but not to any extreme level and it should be easy to find a spot some space away from anyone else. Good surf and adequate shops make this one of the better beaches to spend a day. . Free

Buy

Oysters at Tathra Oysters, Aviaries at On the Perch.

Eat

• Fat Tony's Bar & Grill, 15 Bega Street (Between the catholic church and the pub), +61 2 6494 4550. Tu-Sa lunch and dinner. An awesome restaurant with steaks that melt in your mouth. A real surprise for a restaurant in such a sleepy village, Fat Tony's Bar & Grill has a great menu selection. Two minuses to this place are the price, which while fantastic value probably rules out regular visits for a few people. The second minus is the beer. A good selection, but in true Australian fashion comes at just above freezing, is a low volume and tasteless. In defence of Fat tony's, this is Australia and so is to be expected.

Drink

• Tathra Beach Bowling Club (Tathra Bowlo), Dilkera Rd (cnr Dilkera Rd and Andy Poole Drive), +61 264941280, reception@tathrabowlo.com.au. 11AM-11PM. Sporting Bowling Club adjacent to beach that also sponsors AFL Football and Cricket. Club runs its own bistro with a Head Chef and Assistant Chef and Cook. Meals are reasonable priced Modern Australian. Selected Lunch menu starts at $10.00. Dinner menu from $18.00. Beer priced from $5.20 for 425 ml glass and wines $18.00 a bottle. New outside alfresco area being completed. 2015-10-31

Sleep

• Tathra Beach House Apartments. 2021-06-23
• Sapphire Court Holiday Units. 2021-06-23
• Tathra Hotel, 8-12 Bega St, -36.7275°, 149.9883°, +61 2 6494 1101. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. 2021-06-23

Connect

You will need to have a mobile phone connected to Telstra to have any chance of the patchy reception. Some establishments have WiFi.

Go next

If heading north visit Bermagui along the coast road (44 km). Bega is the Regional Centre (17 km inland to the west).