Holiday houses in Vincentia

A favorite among Sydneysiders, this laid-back beach town faces sheltered Jervis Bay on the New South Wales South Coast. The opening of the bay to the ocean is fairly narrow, and a protruding headland at the southern end of Vincentia further protects the town’s long white-sand beach, resulting in waves that are pleasantly placid. Almost all of the bay is within the extensive Jervis Bay Marine Park, a sanctuary for sea life that’s home to 210 species of reef fish, as well as bottlenose dolphins, stingrays, and slow-moving grey nurse sharks.

The snorkelling in Vicentia is excellent, as is scuba-diving. Besides spotting reef fish, you can check out some of the nine identified shipwrecks in the marine park (there are another 23 ships suspected of having been lost in the area). To the south of Vincentia you’ll find a string of sandy beaches along what’s known as the White Sands Walk, including the impossibly pretty Hyams Beach, a long stretch of pristine white sand bordered by thick bushland. Beyond Hyams is Booderee National Park, where you’ll find yet more beautiful beaches and rugged bush.

Vincentia can be extremely busy during the summer break and other school holidays. Summers in Vincentia are generally comfortable, with the heat of the day often tempered by cooling sea breezes. Hot, humid days can give way to cool, breezy nights when the wind sweeps away the day’s heat in a matter of minutes. February is one of the wettest months in the bay, even as the humidity starts to drop. The town is quiet in late autumn and winter, although the cooler weather is ideal for hiking in Booderee National Park. This is also when humpback whales migrate north past the bay’s headlands, from June to July, before making the return journey south from September to November.

Huskisson

A 10-minute drive north of Vincentia, the town of Huskisson celebrates its former shipbuilding heritage, as well as the 5,000-year history of the local Indigenous peoples, at Jervis Bay Maritime Museum and Gallery. A meandering boardwalk leads from the museum through mangroves to nearby Currambene Creek.

Booderee National Park

This unique Indigenous-owned national park occupies the southern headland of Jervis Bay. Check out Cape St George Lighthouse and Booderee Botanic Gardens, the only Indigenous-owned botanic gardens in the country, which highlights how the area’s original inhabitants used local plants for food (bush tucker) and medicine.

Fishing Jervis Bay

Looking to catch your supper? You can cast a line and fish for snapper, flathead, and bream in the southernmost section of Jervis Bay, from Captain’s Beach at Jervis Bay Village, inside Booderee National Park, to Murrays Beach at Bowen Island. The rest of the bay is a mix of fishing zones and no-fishing sanctuaries. Download the official FishSmart NSW app to check where you can legally fish in the bay.