Shoalhaven, NSW
Discovery Burrill Lake
Booked as a camping weekend and finished in a cabin, because it rained hard enough that there was no argument about it. One night at Burrill Lake, January 2025 — and the only photographs are of a lighthouse we stopped at on the way home.
- Where
- Burrill Lake, Shoalhaven, NSW
- Stayed
- 18–19 January 2025
- In
- Cabin — four or five rooms
- Who
- Eight of us, no families
- Trips
- One so far
The record
18–19 January 2025
The trip where the tents never came out of the cars. Booked as a camping weekend and finished in a cabin, because it rained hard enough that there was no argument about it.
This one was not a family trip. Seven or eight of us, men from the group of families around Carlingford who see each other constantly at home, going away for a night without everybody else. The point of it was that several had never slept in a tent, and a site split that many ways comes out cheap, so we booked an open site at a private campground near Ulladulla and drove down in a few cars.
It rained the whole way. By the time we reached Ulladulla it was coming down hard enough that nobody needed to discuss it — an open site, tents going up in that, eight people with nowhere dry to stand. We rang the park’s administration team from the road. The staff member we spoke to was good about it, and offered a credit rather than a refund, to use whenever we wanted. We never went back and never used it, which is our fault rather than theirs.
Then we sat in the cars on our phones and looked for anywhere with a roof. That is how we ended up at Discovery Burrill Lake, in a cabin with four or five rooms — spacious, a good rate at short notice, and its maximum occupancy happened to match the size of the group.
Nobody had any plan beyond cooking and sitting up. One of the group is the acknowledged expert at egg bhurji and made it for everyone; it came out a violent red that looked genuinely alarming, and tasted fine. There was late-night drinking. There was dancing. I do not remember going to bed.
Some of the group were up and walking early. I was not. We asked the office whether we could check out a couple of hours late and they said yes without making anything of it. There were places to get breakfast nearby but we ate what was left — bread, butter, jam, tea — packed up slowly, and drove home in the sun. We stopped at the lighthouse on Warden Head on the way, which is why the only photographs from this trip are of a lighthouse we saw for twenty minutes on the last morning.
What we cannot tell you. We were there one night, indoors, and we did not use the lake, the beach or the pool — we could not tell you whether there is a pool. Everything above is what a group of men who came for a night inside can honestly report about a park that is mostly set up for camping. The rest goes in the written guide when we stay there properly.
Getting there
How far it is, and how to get there without a car
One map, and one question: how far south, north or inland is this actually? Then, if you are not driving, what runs — and what does not.
Coach, straight through
Premier Motor Service, Sydney Central to Ulladulla, every day, about five hours. Northbound it leaves Ulladulla at 11:05 and reaches Central at 16:15.
Train, then local bus
South Coast Line to Bomaderry, about three hours, then Nowra Coaches route 100, which runs Bomaderry to Burrill Lake via Nowra and Ulladulla. Four and a half to five hours all up.
The last leg. The easiest of our south coast parks to reach car-free.
The park is at 123 Princes Highway — on the road the buses actually use — and Burrill Lake is where route 100 terminates.
Ulladulla Buslines also serves Burrill Lake on its own published route list.
You can plausibly get from Sydney Central to the gate on scheduled services.
Milton Ulladulla Taxis are the backup.
Checked September 2026 Check before you book.
Every service above was checked against the operator’s own timetable rather than a travel site, but timetables change and some operators publish no frequency at all — where that is so, we have said so instead of guessing.
Confirm on transportnsw.info or with the operator before you rely on a connection.
If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
Worth the drive
What there is to do
Meroo National Park wraps around the lake and most of the coast south to Bawley Point, and it charges nothing — it is not a fee-collecting park, so the walks, picnic areas and beaches in it are free.
Murramarang, further south, is the only one nearby that charges.
The state’s estuary assessment rates Burrill Lake’s water quality an A and describes the entrance as untrained but usually open, kept clear by the rocky southern shore.
Council still cuts it mechanically when the water hits its trigger level, and those openings often close again as sand washes back.
Tannin staining after a closed period looks alarming and does not mean poor water.
The thing to know: there is no patrolled beach anywhere south of Ulladulla.
Mollymook South, about twenty minutes north, is the nearest flagged swim.
Surf Life Saving South Coast patrols it on weekends to Sunday 25 April 2027 — a day short of the state-wide season, because this is the branch’s own roster — and daily from 30 November to 26 February.
The lakes are the answer for small children.
Patrol seasons and hours change — Surf Life Saving Australia’s Beachsafe has the current position for every Australian beach.
- Giriwa walking track, Meroo National ParkThe turnoff is about 1.5 km south of the Burrill Lake bridge — under five minutes.Three kilometres one way along the lake shore between the East and Western Arm picnic areas, grade 3, one to two hours, past an Aboriginal rock shelter.Parking is limited gravel, the Western Arm access is unpaved, and there is no water and no toilets at either picnic area.The nearest are at the Lions Park in the village.Free
- McDonald Parade Reserve playgroundNew in 2026, on the lake foreshore in the village — a few minutes from the park and walkable for many.Play tower with a climbing wall, rope ladder and spiral tube slide, sensory and music panels, and strap, infant and basket swings.Public toilets and plenty of parking.Council’s announcement does not mention shade, so it will be hot in the middle of the day.Free
- Dolphin Point beach and the lake entranceThe surf beach immediately south of the bridge, about five minutes, and within sight of the park.Dolphin Point village has a supermarket, post office and newsagency, so it doubles as the errands run.Not patrolled, and no primary source describes where the rips sit — treat it as a beach to walk rather than one to swim with small children.Free
- Tabourie LakeAbout ten minutes south.Sealed access through the Lake Tabourie Tourist Park entrance to a council car park and boat ramp.This is the shallow, protected paddle when the ocean is too rough.Mostly flat but there are no paths — hard-packed ground and sand, so prams struggle.Bring water, there is none, and reception is limited.Free
- Ulladulla Harbour and the fossil rock platformsAbout ten minutes north, at 44 Wason Street.A sheltered harbour beach with a car park, accessible toilets, picnic areas and a shared path to the breakwater, beside the fishermen’s co-op.The rock platforms hold visible marine fossils, which is the real reason to bring children — go on a low tide.The sea pool beside it reopened on 1 September 2026 after swell damage closed it in April 2025, and is now officially the Margie Sheedy Sea Pool.It runs 6 to 6 most days, closed Tuesdays, and shuts for winter through June, July and August — so it is not a year-round swim.Free
- Gondwana Coast Fossil WalkA two-hour guided walk over those same flat rock platforms, run by volunteers from the picnic area near Marine Rescue.Hands-on briefing, then an easy 500 m walk; suits children from about five.Two real catches: it runs only in NSW school holidays, and the times follow the tides, so you cannot just turn up.Book on 0412 480 371 — we could not retrieve a current timetable.Adult $10 · school-age child $5 · family $25
- Murramarang Aboriginal AreaAbout twenty-five minutes south, off the highway at Termeil and out to the Sand Mines car park.A 2.2 km loop, grade 3, an hour to an hour and a half, with some steps and coastal views.This protects one of the largest middens on the NSW coast, with occupation evidence going back around twelve thousand years.It is a cultural site rather than a scenic walk, and worth explaining to children beforehand.Free
- Bay Pavilions, Batemans BayAbout forty minutes south, and the answer to a cold or wet day.Indoor 25 m pool with ramp access, an indoor warm-water pool at 34 degrees, a leisure pool with a learn-to-swim area and toddler play, and four waterslides.The slides have a hard limit — six years and 120 cm — so a younger child stays in the leisure pool.Slide passes cost extra on top of entry.Adult $8.50 · child or concession $6.10 · family $28, slides extra
- Mogo Wildlife ParkAbout forty-five minutes south at 222 Tomakin Road — the far edge of a reasonable day trip and the one genuinely expensive thing on this list.Daily 9 to 4, last tickets at 3.The park suggests about two hours and recommends mornings, when the animals are active.Adult $49 · child 3–15 $29 · under 2 free
Checked September 2026 Check before you go.
Fees, opening hours and seasonal closures change, and we have not been to all of these.
Distances are approximate — put the name in your maps app rather than trusting our figure.
If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
Local, for us
Groceries, mandirs and where to eat
Mostly the same picture as the rest of this coast — decent Indian restaurants, and no Indian grocery worth relying on — with one possible exception right at the park gate, below.
Milton, about fifteen minutes north, has both the nearest Indian restaurant and the only fully vegetarian kitchen in the district.
Bring atta, dal and spices from home — there is one small Indian shop at Nowra and the nearest dedicated grocer is in Wollongong, two hours back up the highway.
There is a gurudwara at Nowra, about fifty-five minutes, and no mandir anywhere on the South Coast.
Indian grocery
- Burrill Lake Xpress — open, but check the shelves yourselfThe general store on the highway right by the park, at 117 Princes Highway.When we stayed in January 2025 it was run by a young Gujarati couple and carried a real range of Indian food and snacks alongside the daily basics.The shop is definitely still trading — it left the IGA banner and now trades as Burrill Lake Xpress, which is why IGA’s own store list shows this address as closed. That listing is wrong; the shop is not.What we cannot tell you is whether the Indian range is still there, because its social media now reads like an ordinary supermarket.Walk over and look before you plan a meal around it. (02) 4455 5829.
- EK Stores, Nowra84A Kinghorne Street, Nowra — about fifty-five minutes north, and as far as we can find the only Indian shop between Wollongong and the Victorian border.Small, and genuinely trading: its own social media was posting this week, with pooja items, deity dresses, peacock feathers and Indian snacks on the shelves.What we have not confirmed is whether it carries atta, dal and whole spices in useful quantities.Hours vary and the directory listings for them are unreliable, so ring 0470 394 226 first.
- Otherwise nothing between Wollongong and the Victorian borderNot in Ulladulla, Milton, Mollymook or Lake Tabourie. We checked the trade directories for Ulladulla and Nowra and searched by name across the corridor. Buy your staples before you leave home and treat anything you find down here as a bonus.
- Wan Long Oriental SupermarketShop 1, 86 Worrigee Street, Nowra — about fifty-five minutes north. Pan-Asian rather than Indian, though its own site names Indian food in the range. Expect basmati, some dals and spice packets; do not expect atta or pooja items. Ring (02) 4423 6779 first.
- Fairy Meadow Spice Corner27 Elliotts Road, Fairy Meadow, Wollongong — the nearest dedicated Indian and Sri Lankan grocer, about two hours up the highway, which makes it a stop on the drive down.It has no website; we confirmed it through a local food directory rather than its own words, so ring (02) 4244 5619 to check it is still there.
Mandirs and gurudwaras
- Guru Nanak Darbar South Coast13 Westbrook Road, Nowra — about fifty-five minutes.Darbar Sahib open daily 5 am to 7 pm.Sundays: Sukhmani Sahib Paath from 10, kirtan 11:30 to 1, langar 1 to 3.Their site carries a “new location” page without a date, so send a WhatsApp to +61 424 204 562 if you are travelling for it specifically.
- No mandir on the South CoastNothing between Wollongong and the Victorian border. We checked by town, by shire, and against the Australian Council of Hindu Clergy list. The nearest are Helensburgh, about two and three-quarter hours north, and Mawson in Canberra, about the same inland via Braidwood.
Pure vegetarian — any cuisine
- Pilgrims Wholefoods, MiltonThe Settlement, shops 8–10, 97 Princes Highway — about fifteen minutes, and the only kitchen in the district serving no meat, poultry or fish at all.Vegetarian since 1980; much of the menu can be made vegan.Seven days, 9 to 3, so it is lunch and not dinner.It rebranded from Pilgrims Milton, so older listings show the wrong name. (02) 4455 3421.
- A warning about the Treehouse Cafe4 Boree Street, Ulladulla.Listed on the regional tourism board’s own vegetarian and vegan trail, and it markets raw vegan desserts — but the menu runs to salmon hash, a poke bowl with grilled salmon and a pork bowl.A good cafe, not a vegetarian one.Native and Craft Surf at Ulladulla are the same: veg-friendly, not meat-free.
Indian restaurants — vegetarian and non-vegetarian
- The Bay Leaf16 Wason Street, Ulladulla — about seven minutes, and the closest Indian restaurant to the park.Licensed and bring your own (BYO), around thirty-six seats, takeaway available.Dinner runs 4 to 8:30 seven days; lunch is 11 to 2:30 on weekdays.Its own site is ambiguous about Tuesdays and about whether lunch runs at weekends, so ring (02) 4454 5208 if you are counting on a midday meal.
- Baar Baar MiltonShop 3, 65 Princes Highway, Milton — about fifteen minutes. The stronger vegetarian menu of the two: paneer butter masala, navratan korma, lentil curries, tandoor breads. Also serves beef. Tuesday to Sunday, 5 to 9, dinner only, closed Mondays. 04 6088 0188.
- Kohli’s Waterfront, Batemans Bay4/3 Orient Street, Riverside Plaza — about forty minutes south. Lunch Thursday to Sunday, dinner seven days from 5. The centre was St George Mall and plenty of listings still say so, and an old Beach Road address is still circulating. (02) 4472 2002.
- Foodmandu, Batehaven5/268 Beach Road, Batehaven — about forty-five minutes. Mostly Nepalese, with Indian and Italian dishes: momos, curries, street food. Seven days, 11 to 2:30 and 5 to 9. Two phone numbers circulate; use (02) 7209 7281, the other appears to belong to the ordering platform.
- Out of season, ring firstSmall-town kitchens. Baar Baar already closes Mondays, and midweek trading in Milton and Ulladulla thins in winter — a place open seven days in January may be Thursday to Sunday in June.
Checked September 2026 Please check before you drive.
These were verified online, not by us in person, and small businesses close, move and change names without updating their listings.
Distances and times are rough — put the address in your maps app rather than trusting our figure.
If something here is wrong or has closed, tell us and we will fix it.
Where next
Other places in the record
Distances are straight-line from this park to that one, which is enough to tell you whether two trips could be one.
Something on this page wrong, or out of date? We would rather be told than be wrong — tell us about this page. And if there is something you wish this site covered and it does not, tell us that too.