Smart spending

Five things to do

1. Road trip: Head south from Sydney down the Braidwood highway to National Trust-classified Braidwood in the NSW Southern Tablelands. This charming colonial town was the backdrop to the iconic ’70s Australian film Ned Kelly, starring Mick Jagger. Cruise its antique shops, pop into a cafe and pick up fresh organic produce at the farmers’ market in the old National Theatre building. Treat yourself to one of the world’s best pies – lamb and fenugreek or chilli lime and chicken – from the Dojo Bread shop.

2. Visit: Motor down the Kings Highway and the windy Clyde Mountain to the coast. You’ll pass kilometres of spectacular bushland, rejuvenating from the devastating December 2019 bushfires, past Batemans Bay and onto quaint Mogo and its wildlife park. You can hear the gibbons hooting mates as you pull up. Feed a lion or tiger, meet the meerkats or join the class photographing pandas, zebras, giraffes and hippos in their botanical haven.

3. Lunch: Tuck into a delicious lunch at the River restaurant in Moruya. It overlooks the Moruya River and the French-inspired menu boasts fresh organic vegetables and locally caught seafood.

4. Nature walk: Discover the Bingi Dreaming track or Aboriginal songlines, a 14km path through stunning coastal flora from Congo to Tuross Head in the Eurobodalla National Park. You can go birdwatching among the banksias, and kangaroos and wallabies abound. Take a dip and picnic on one of the gorgeous isolated beaches. In season it’s a prime spot for whale watching from vantage points along the way.

5. Takeaway: Nip into Narooma Bridge Seafoods and pick up the best fresh seafood straight off the trawler. There are scallops, lobsters, prawns plus a wide variety of whole and filleted fish for a bargain price.

Animal spirits ... clockwise, from above, Phoenix, the lion cub born at Mogo wildlife park during the 2019 bushfires; Bingi Bingi Point along the Dreaming track; entree of scallops at the River restaurant, Moruya; Dojo Bread shop at Braidwood.