Surrounded by the Murramarang National Park, North Durras is situated on the entrance to the sea of Lake Durras, widely regarded as the most pristine coastal waterway in NSW.
The village itself comprises mainly private holiday homes, some of which are available for rental while camping and caravan parks in the village offer campsite and cabin accommodation. There is also a newly established Bed & Breakfast and a small store for your convenience.
This is a unique environment. The entrance of the lake to the sea is made through a vast area of clear sandy pools which are a delight for children and all who enjoy swimming in still waters. Yet only a hundred metres or so away is the magnificent Durras Beach, one of the best on the coast.
North Durras provides an ideal swimming location for all tastes and ages.
Durras Lake is another of the unique attractions of the area. Access to the lake is made from a boatramp in the North Durras village and while high powered boats and jet skis are discouraged, smaller fishing boats and canoes can enjoy excellent fishing and secluded boating on this pristine lake.
The Murramarang National Park in which the village is located is renowned for its magnificent spotted gum forests, abundant wildlife and unique biodiversity. A local environmental group called Friends of Durras has been instrumental in protecting this delicate environment and submitted a comprehensive study on the region to the State Government to support their case for expanding the Murramarang National Park. You can read their report by taking this link. The report also provides a detailed study of the environmental values that make this area so valuable.
The case for expanding the park was successful, with the NSW State Government announcing in July 2000 that the Murramarang National Park was to be expanded from its previously narrow coastal strip all the way to the Princes Highway. The National Parks and Wildlife Service which is responsible for management of the park now levies an entry fee for visitors to the park.
The special feeling that North Durras conveys begins when you turn off the Princes Highway and strike the dirt road that you need to travel to reach the village. This is an important part of the journey. The dirt road represents the recapture of basic values; where you forget the pressures of the new world, where you begin to anticipate the simple but profound pleasures that await and where, in the forest, the overwhelming majesty of nature begins to assert itself.
Eight kilometers on, as you descend through Lovells Pass, your journey is over and the transformation is complete - you have arrived.
North Durras is only 25 mins from the booming coastal town of Batemans Bay and is the perfect spot for a day's outing and a picnic or a night's adventure prawning on Lake Durras.
An example of holiday accommodation in the area can be seen by clicking here or here while the local caravan park that still maintains the traditional values of the Aussie holiday on the coast can be reached by clicking here.
To read more about the region and the nearby towns, please take the following links:
Durras Discovery Trail
Batemans Bay
Ulladulla
South Coast NSW
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