Merimbula is a town on the Merimbula Lake, located on the Far South Coast or Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Merimbulais a town on the Merimbula Lake, located on the Far South Coast or Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, the population was 3,544.The population within 10 km of the Merimbula Post office is over 18,000 people. The satellite town of Tura Beach lies within the 10 km population radius.
History
Weather
Merimbula has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with mild, sometimes warm summers and cool, windy, drier winters. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 42.8 °C (109 °F) to -2.1 °C (28.2 °F) and the average annual rainfall is 830.6 millimetres (32.7 in). As with most areas on the coastal plain in southern New South Wales, the relatively low precipitation in late winter and early spring is attributed to the Great Dividing Range, which blocks the moist, westerly cold fronts that approach from the Southern Ocean, where they become Foehn winds on the mountain range's leeward side.
Things to do
Merimbula has six main beaches—Main Beach (or Merimbula Beach), Mitchies Jetty, Bar Beach, Spencer Park Beach, Middle Beach and Short Point. Main Beach and Short Point are considered to be the best beaches for surfing, whilst Bar Beach is used for snorkeling. Other activities include whale watching, fishing, kitesurfing and boating. Middle Beach is more suited to fishing, and whale watching in season. With a decent percentage of the population being retirees, golf and lawn bowls are popular as well. Merimbula has scuba diving, with the sponge gardens at Yellow Rock and the Empire Gladstone wreck off nearby Haycock Point's popular dives.
Merimbula is close to Bournda National Park, South East Forest National Park and the northern end of Ben Boyd National Parks. A coastal walk running through Bournda National Park from Tathra to Tura Beach just north of Merimbula takes in coastal scenery. Southern right whales (less frequent) and humpback whales are big feature in the areas.
It is also a short drive to other scenic places in the area such as Tathra. Eden and Bermagui.
Merimbula offers a range of activities from Standup paddleboarding and kayaking, to some of the best surfing on the Far South Coast. Magic Mountain, Merimbula's own theme park has a roller coaster and one of the best toboggan slopes in New South Wales.
The Merimbula Wharf offers its own aquarium full of some of the common sea creatures on the Sapphire Coast. It is also a popular restaurant for tourists as well as locals.
The Aquarium is a has a wide variety of marine life, 'from sharks to shrimp, octopus to tropical fish, it's all in the living theatre of the deep!’, according to TripAdvisor. It has 25 tanks of aquatic life.
There are many restaurants and eateries in Merimbula, including one small bar.
10 kilometres to the west of Merimbula along the Princes Highway towards Bega, Potoroo Palace Wildlife Sanctuary is located. This nature park has a collection of native species with some hands on opportunities for the children. It also cares for injured or orphaned animals.