Travel: Bay of Plenty Lodges - Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay, NSW

I have not updated this blog for a while o_0. Got hit with the busy bug at work and the lazy bug at home. I did go to Indonesia in February, but did not document the trip as it was only to visit my parents to spend chinese new year together. And there was really nothing interesting apart from fattening up ourselves.

Anyway, since I'm back from a short trip during the Easter holiday, might as well document this now :). We went to Jervis Bay, and stayed at Bay of Plenty Lodges, which is located inside Booderee National Park. It's around 2.5 hours (in a perfect traffic condition and without detours) south of Sydney CBD, or around 4 hours if opting to pass the scenic drive route. It's basically the same direction to when we went to Kangaroo Valley on Christmas time, just add more distance.





To enter Booderee National Park, there is a fee of $11 for a 48 hours stay. Bay of Plenty Lodges is very well hidden , even inside the park. It takes around 20 minutes of driving through gravel road before we reached it.

As with plenty of other accommodations during the long weekend holiday (peak season), the price was higher than usual. During our stay, we paid A$270 per night (for Lumeah Cabin, that could sleep 5 people), with a minimum requirement of 3 nights stay (only applicable during the long easter weekend).
The cabin is pretty basic, but it's clean, well equipped and self-contained.






The BBQ area is communal, but as there are not many cabins in the complex, you wouldn't have to worry that you don't get a turn using it. Visiting this place with a bunch of friends or family members (the more the merrier :)) is great as you can just stay within the complex (as long as you bring enough food provision for during the stay).






Kayaks are provided for guests use, and it is highly recommended to kayak through the clear waters of the inlet (just behind the complex). The inlet is practically for exclusive use for the guests.



The inlet's water is calm and very safe for swimming. Lots of small fish in the shallower waters, and quite bigger ones in the deeper end. Even when we were on kayak, I could see some fish swimming underneath.





And no less beautiful at dusk... .



Possums are spotted very often (in fact every night during our stay) around the cabins, but mainly at the BBQ area. I guess they look for food scraps they could find from the closed rubbish bins... .



And kangaroos & wallabies are everywhere!





The inlet, the sea, and at any other beaches in the national park are apparently very good for fishing. We did not catch any fish (because we sucked at it), but a few other guests merrilly shared their fishing stories and showed off their catch :( from flatheads to salmons... .



There is a walking trail just outside the complex, that leads to Bherwerre Beach. It is a large beach and quite secluded, unlike the more famous Murray's beach. The waves at Bherwerre are stronger though.
It is a great spot of catching sunrise :)





If you get bored watching the wallabies, kangaroos, and possums in the complex, tired of swimming or kayaking in the inlet, you can visit a few of other beaches inside the national park.
One of the most famous beaches in Jervis Bay is Murray's beach, boasting clear water and lots of fish for snorkelling enthusiasts.





One of our favourite places is Green Patch - a small park with another small beach :), and with plenty of resident birds.











It is very easy to spend a week there just unwinding, or days not leaving the lodge's vicinity. However, within some short drives outside the national park, you can visit more beaches (Hyams Beach is one of the more well-known ones), and lots of sea-side towns.



Truly some of NSW's beauties... .