Broadwater, NSW: Things to do and Pambula Lake attractions

The best things to do in Broadwater, NSW, include Pambula River kayaking tours and visits to a Pambula Lake oyster farm.

Broadwater, NSW, is a small village on the Sapphire Coast. You’ll pass through on the drive from Merimbula to Eden, and it hugs the western shore of Pambula Lake.

That lake, however, is prime oyster-farming territory. And the best things to do in Broadwater, NSW, revolve around the oyster industry.

Things to do in Broadwater, NSW: Broadwater Oysters

Broadwater Oysters offers a picnic area and farm shop on the Pambula Lake foreshore. Here, you can take in sweeping views of the lake and admire the birdlife while tasting Sydney rock oysters at their absolute freshest. You can buy the oysters shucked or unshucked.

This Pambula Lake oyster farm also offers a series of tours. There’s a half hour oyster school on Wednesdays and Saturdays, where you learn about oysters and how to shuck them.

Alternatively, you can take the hour long Meet The Farmer tour. This tour offers a deeper dive into the world of oysters, with insights into aquaculture and how the oysters are farmed.

Make the very best of your time: 8 Sapphire Coast experiences to book

Dolphins, seals and seabirds cruise from Merimbula.
Pambula River kayaking tour.
Sapphire Coast private highlights tour.
Oyster-shucking experience plus kayaking in Pambula.
Eden and Beowa National Park photography tours.
Potoroo Palace wildlife park tickets.
Guided nature walking tour in Mimosa Rocks National Park.
Reef fishing charter from Merimbula.

Things to do in Broadwater, NSW: Pambula River kayaking tours

Another option is to combine the oyster-shucking and tasting with a kayaking tour up the Pambula River through the Ben Boyd National Park. Navigate Expeditions runs these three-and-a-half hour tours.

The other tour in Broadwater, NSW, is Captain Sponge’s Magical Oyster Tours. This two hour tour focuses as much on geology as oysters, but it also includes oyster-sampling and a crash course in oyster husbandry.

Captain Sponge's Magical Oyster Tours on Pambula Lake in Broadwater, NSW — Captain Sponge’s Magical Oyster Tours on Pambula Lake in Broadwater, NSW. Photo courtesy of Destination NSW.

With the shellfish out of the way, the tour becomes more of a cruise along the Pambula River, spotting Aboriginal middens on the banks and sea eagles circling overhead.

Accommodation near Broadwater, NSW

For accommodation in Broadwater, NSW, you’re better off staying in Merimbula, Pambula or Eden. Discovery Parks Pambula Beach has kangaroos bounding around the grounds.

Other Sapphire Coast attractions include Bar Beach, Potoroo Palace and Magic Mountain Merimbula in Merimbula. There’s also the Aslings Beach Rock Pool, Green Cape Lighthouse, Killer Whale Museum and Cat Balou Cruises in Eden.

This article came as a result of a Melbourne to Sydney coastal road trip in March/ April 2022. This trip was supported by Tourism Australia.

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