Wednesday & Thursday 7-8 March: Oysters galore in Merimbula

Author: Mrs A

Location: Merimbula and Pembula, NSW

Wednesday morning saw us packing up and heading north, just a half hour drive this time to the lake and ocean side town of Merimbula. As usual we checked into the caravan site and unloaded our bikes, ready for a cycle to the oyster farm that the receptionist said ‘is right next door’. Turns out that wasn’t quite true, and the route to the farm was via the extremely busy and narrow Pacific Highway, huge road trains thundering past just metres from us – not ideal. Somehow, Google maps found an alternative route via an old disused track which wound alongside aforementioned road and we bush-bashed our way up the hill. Upon reaching the top, we saw the sign ‘Oyster shack – closed’. And so ended our cycling oyster experience.

Frustrated, we returned to get the car and headed off to find oysters elsewhere. Merimbula is full of oyster farms, the lakes’ mixture of tidal fresh and salty water ideal for their growth. We ordered a dozen oysters from a seafood store and sat down to enjoy them. Just delicious. We took another dozen to eat back at the mobile apartment.

We had a few tasks to undertake in town so wandered around the shops. Merimbula seems to be a mix of quite nice boutiques alongside two dollar shops. It doesn’t seem to be one thing or another. Mr A treated himself to an ice cream, then around the corner I found a shop selling hand made chocolates and ice cream – including my favourite, dairy-free dark chocolate sorbet! What a treat!

We awoke Thursday morning to absolutely no wind, perfect paddling weather. Needing to burn off the decadence of yesterday we decided to head off in the kayak. We launched into the Pambula River from a beach beside another oyster farm and shop, and took off for an explore. It was a stunning morning, remaining still and mirror-like for most of our paddle. We toured down the river, stopping just before it went into Merimbula Bay, close to where we had been hiking last Sunday.

Just over twelve kilometres later we were back at our start point munching on a dozen oysters each. Well deserved this time!

We returned to camp via Pambula’s bakery, a loaf of sourdough, a slice of dairy free cake for me and a piece of cheesecake for Mr A. Highly recommended if you are passing this way.

Upon reaching the caravan we discovered there had been some heavy digging going on in the park, which had caused huge dust clouds of mud to coat absolutely everything! What a nightmare – we had left the windows open for Tassie, and every surface was covered in a layer of brown dust, and poor Tassie’s eyes were streaming. I had some work to catch up on the laptop and Mr A relaxed with a book in the sunshine before we tackled the seemingly endless task of cleaning the caravan. I suspect we will be finding mud dust for days to come. Mr A complained to the park management who refunded our night’s fee by way of an apology. It’s nice to have park owners who care about their reputation, but a shame they didn’t have the foresight to warn their guests to close windows and use air conditioning today.