Eat your heart out in glorious Kangaroo Valley
A pristine nook of NSW
Kangaroo Valley
June 2019 (2 min read)
We’re in the town of Kangaroo Valley (population 879 at the last census) on a sunny Sunday market day. In the large backyard of the Friendly Inn, 2 stocky, middle-aged gents under an awning knock out songs from the 1980s. Children run ragged. Grown-ups congregate at the coffee cart. The cockles of our city-jaded hearts are gradually thawing. Our 2 teenagers chill out while their younger brothers dive in to the sandpit.
Our Stayz rental in Kangaroo Valley
At the potato stall, we choose the Kipflers over the Sebagos, Dutch Creams and Pontiacs, and are given a huge bag for $2. We buy cakes, soap, spanakopita, wine and unfiltered olive oil. Smoke wafts over our heads from the still-burning stumps of last night’s mega bonfire.
The bonfire raged while we adults ate big on blackfish fillets, lamb rump and panko-crumbed pork at cosy Bistro 146 on the Saturday night. During dessert we have to shout over the firecrackers fizzpopping for twenty minutes in honour of her Majesty the Queen’s birthday. The Bistro veers to sticky and traditional desserts, all delish, but, as usual, I wish I’d had hubby’s affogato with Grand Marnier and a double scoop of ice-cream.
Food, glorious food. I’ve never thought of Kangaroo Valley as a foodie destination but over the long weekend we eat royally. Stuffed full of pie and brownies, and with several boxes of fudge, we leave the market and wind up over the Cambewarra Pass to the Robertson Cheese Factory. It’s fabulous, but it’s not a factory. Go here to eat lunch in the airy café overlooking the paddock where Babe was filmed. Or just browse the local ceramics in the adjacent emporium. We add lemon-myrtle cheddar and black garlic brie to our supper supplies.
View from the edge of the Belmore Falls
From Robertson, it’s a short hop to the Belmore Falls in Morton National Park, named after the Irish aristocrat who was the temperate Governor of NSW from 1868 to 72. By then, the cedar trees of the Valley had been cut down and exported and the dairy industry had taken over. But the escarpments and surrounding bush survived and Morton Park was established in 1967. The views are spectacular. Mighty nature puts the rest of our city pressures in to perspective. We spy walkers at the base of the falls: one of them strips off, puts his knees in the pool and clambers out again. We pity their long, arduous climb out.
On the way back to the Valley we stop at the Cambewarra Mountain Lookout. The vista over Berry Bay and the estuary is jaw dropping. The cafe serves up gigantic scones with lashings of jam and cream, irresistible.
Cambewarra Lookout
Our rental house is a joy to return to after a hard day’s eating and squinting over escarpments. The panorama from here is picture perfect too. During tea and cake on the terrace, a crackle of yellow-tailed black cockatoos come to nibble on their favourite beak-sharpening trees.
We trip down to the lower paddocks and, for the second day in a row, tread cautiously between the copper coloured bull and the black milkers all the way to the creek hidden behind a fringe of casuarinas. A wombat peers at us, on his way to dinner. “Weird”, pronounces Selena, looking at its enormous bottom, built to plug up a barrow when danger calls.
The makings of a fire have been pre-laid for us in the brick pit. We huddle round on the benches to quaff the wine with the lemon-myrtle cheese. The kids and grandpa toast jumbo marshmallows. Stars burst in to a gazillion pinpricks of light. Banjo rolls in the damp grass. In the Valley, the thick, velvety bush is a constant comforting presence.
We revisit the Fitzroy Falls on our way home and find that on a bank holiday Monday, the Park is heaving. But by taking the East Rim Track, we ditch the crowds and amble along with time to sniff the leaves of the peppermint gums. Courtesy of sponsors, the Vincent Fairfax Family, there are name tags on the coral ferns, coachwood, blackwood, hakeas and banksia. Australia’s National Parks are to be treasured. From the view-points jutting out over the sheer vertical cliff face, I look down and feel my stomach drop away.
Lucky then that we find Berrima’s General Store open for business on the rainy drive home. Pulled pork sarnies and hamburgers with handcut chips sustain us on the long traffic-jammed ride back to the Big Sydney Smoke.
EXTRA
We booked the excellent 5-bedroom “Yerrunga” through StayZ; www.homeaway.com.au
Bistro 146 is open Friday through Tuesday for dinner from 5pm; www.bistro146.com.au
Next visit to the Valley, I’ll be enrolling at one of the Hampden Deli & Dining cooking classes and booking one of their dinner sessions. They have a black truffle 6-course degustation on July 26/7. The Deli is open from 7am to 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday. See http://hampdendeli.com.au
We tried the Southern Pie shop. The Friendly Inn has classic pub grub and a lovely outdoor seating area.
Try Cambewarra Lookout on a clear day for lunch or arvo tea. Open 10 to 4. Check their facebook page.
Go kayaking on the Kangaroo River; see www.kangaroovalleykayaks.com.au
Walk, picnic, frolic in Morton National Park; see www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
The Pioneer Village Museum could be fun. It has picnic areas and bushwalks as well as an old dairy and artefacts. Open 10-4 daily except Tuesday and Thursday. Under the Research tab of their website, you can read many documents on the history of the Valley.
https://kangaroovalleymuseum.com
Walk across the sandstone Hampden Bridge, built in 1898. It is the second most photographed bridge in NSW.
Nowra, a 30-minute drive, is a good place to stock up on supplies and the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery is worth seeing. Art lovers might like to visit Bundanon Trust, the old home of painter Arthur Boyd. The house, grounds and studio can take up a day. www.bundanon.com.au
Berry, half an hour away, has loads of boutique shopping and restaurants, though it can be crowded on long weekends.