Holiday houses in Braidwood

Surrounded by vast plains and fertile pastures, the pretty village of Braidwood in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales attracts foodies and history buffs in equal measure. Culinary enthusiasts come for the rare black truffles grown here, while those with a penchant for colonial history descend to learn more about the region’s Gold Rush heyday and the parade of 19th-century bushrangers lured by the prospect of instant wealth.

The town of Braidwood may be small in population, but it’s big on charm, from its gloriously preserved buildings (it’s the first town to be listed on the New South Wales Heritage Register) to its antiques stores and twee cafes. It’s a setting worthy of postcards or film sets; small wonder movie directors have chosen it as a backdrop for decades.

There’s no bad time to visit the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, where each season brings its own appeal. The winter months usher in the harvest of the region’s prized black Périgord truffles (which are considered some of the best in the world), and festivals celebrate the annual bounty in and around nearby Canberra. Participate in foraging excursions, or simply cosy up beside a restaurant fire with a bowl of truffle-laden pasta. Spring and autumn are ideal for hiking through the expansive national parks that surround Braidwood, while summer brings pleasantly mild temperatures thanks to the Tablelands’ high altitude.

Monga National Park

Braidwood is the gateway to Monga National Park, its union of high-altitude eucalyptus forest and ancient cool-temperate rainforest hosting tree ferns, flowering waratah, and plumwood trees. Stroll beside rivers to picnic areas, or hike tracks used by Aboriginal communities for tens of thousands of years.

Batemans Bay

It’s an easy drive southeast through Monga National Park and over the Clyde River to Batemans Bay on the South Coast. This is part of the state’s Oyster Coast, so named for the sheer number of regional growers producing top-quality molluscs. The extensive waterways also make the area popular among adventure-seekers, as you’ll find kayakers throughout Batemans Marine Park on the lookout for dolphins, penguins, seals, and whales, plus all manner of seabirds.

Deua National Park

This enormous national park is popular for many reasons, including its outstanding hiking, swimming, picnicking, and canoeing. Another reason people flock here is for the first-rate bird watching, with more than 100 species such as owls and peregrine falcons claiming the forests, mountains, deep gorges and high plateaus as home. Don’t miss the aptly named Big Hole: a 100-metre-deep limestone pit thought to be formed millions of years ago when the ceiling collapsed on an underground cave.