Travel that challenges the mind: The Southern Highlands of NSW

Bill Richmond will be writing for us regularly about travel that takes you places a little different to challenge your mind and continue your education.  Bill is a former Economics Professor who travels and leads tours to diverse and different locations in pursuit of an active mind.  

High on our list of interesting and beautiful places to visit in Australia is the region just to the south-west of Sydney around the towns of Bowral, Mittagong, Moss Vale and Berrima. Here are some of the places we were impressed by and enjoyed on a recent visit

• the Berrima Museum – its contents give a good overview of the region’s settlement and there’s a fascinating special exhibition (‘Prisoners in Arcady’) documenting the local internment arrangements for Germans during World War One… it looked as though they had a much more pleasant war than their comrades in the trenches in France!;

• Harper’s Mansion, Berrima – a fine example of the private residence of a prominent person in the district in the early nineteenth century, furnished in period style and set in 2 acres of well-tended gardens;

• the International Cricket Hall of Fame and Bradman Museum at Bowral – a very impressive venue and repository of cricket heritage… cricket tragics could spend hours here;

• the Mt Gibraltar reserve and lookouts – between Bowral and Mittagong… several lookouts in all directions; good places to take in the country; from one lookout on a clear day you can actually see Sydney;

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  the Sturt Craft Centre at Mittagong – a centre for contemporary craft education (weaving, woodwork and pottery) with a number of designers and craftspeople-in-residence at any one time and an impressive exhibition of their finished work in the Centre’s Gallery;

• Chinoiserie – a private garden near Mittagong whose owner specialises in growing peonies… the garden brings together European and Chinese influences in a setting that is at once spectacular and peaceful

• Morton National Park – easily accessed from Bundanoon in the south-west part of the Highlands… the ‘Grand Canyon’ is a fine example of breathtaking Australian landscape;

• Hillview – an estate near Moss Vale that was the country retreat of NSW Governors until as late as the 1950s… a piece of history that affords sweeping vistas in all directions; and

• the gardens at the 5^th Chapter Winery near Moss Vale – very diverse and extensive (a Japanese garden, parterre gardens, flower beds, fountains and water features) and very, very impressive… who’d have thought it, a piece of Europe in the Australian bush.

The region is easily accessed from Sydney. There are plenty of places to stay, in all price brackets, ranging from B&Bs to luxury resorts. And there’s a big range of cafes and restaurants in all the towns too, many of which serve some very fine food.

If you’re planning a trip be aware of the limited opening hours and days of some venues and the need for special arrangements to be made in some cases.  And keep in mind that this a popular weekend retreat for Sydneysiders so accommodation prices during the week are generally a lot lower than on Friday and Saturday nights.