September September.. October 117 October 117Wool Road essentials
bush pub is the modern-day hub
of the Wool Road. The repurposed
165-year-old baltic pine that was
once floorboards is now the main
feature of a polished wooden bar.(^3) Tianjara Falls (83km): Just
metres from the roadside, this 60m
drop can turn from barely a dribble
to a cascading fury after a storm.
4 Jerrawangala Lookout (92km):
From this lofty vantage spot on the Great
Escarpment of eastern Australia, accessible
down a short dirt track that’s 2WD-accessible
except after heavy rain, you can see a
100km stretch of the NSW coast, from
Gerringong in the north to Ulladulla in the
south. According to local lore Aboriginal
people used this, as well as other vantage
spots, to send messages to people hiking in
the labyrinth of deeply channelled gorges
and swamps that spread below. A number
of ancient campsites have been recorded in
the area along with a tool-making site and a
scarred tree.
5 Jervis Bay Maritime Museum (125km):
In response to renewed interest in the Wool
Road, a new exhibit detailing the road’s
Aboriginal and European heritage is scheduled
to open in 2020.
Route The Wool Road was
built in 1841 to connect Nerriga
to what is now Vincentia on
Jervis Bay. Over time,
several feeder roads from the
Braidwood and Goulburn
regions joined the original road.
The route travelled in this
article is the 126km drive
from Tarago to Jervis Bay
via Nerriga, which is also the
shortest route from Canberra to the
Shoalhaven Coast.
Distances from Tarago
1 Nerriga Museum (57km): The go-to place
for historical accounts of the old Wool Road;
open second Saturday of the month.
2 Nerriga Hotel (58km): Perched on the
edge of the wilds of Morton National Park, this
This Wool Road footbridge led to
the old Nerriga school during fl oods.
Inside the Nerriga
Hotel, a cosy local
haven and popular
traveller pit stop.