What are the best things to do in Central Tilba, New South Wales?

The best things to do in Central Tilba include wine-tasting at the Tilba Valley Winery. There’s also buying cheese at the Tilba Real Dairy and mooching around the arty shops.

Under the shadow of Mt Dromedary/ Gulaga lies one of the most unashamedly touristy towns in New South Wales. Central Tilba is a gold rush town that managed to survive when the gold dried up. It turned to dairy, and as a result it is now an excellent place to get really fat.

Things to do in Central Tilba, NSW: Tilba Real Dairy

The first stop is the Tilba Real Dairy, and it has samples galore. It’s possible to test precisely how long you can lick jams, honeys and relishes off lolly sticks before being given the evil eye by the staff, but it requires a stronger nerve with the cheese.

You have to sample that in front of the counter, and it takes a steely resolve to wolf down a bit of each one without buying a hunk. No great disaster – the cracked pepper, sundried tomato and savoury herb varieties are rather more-ish anyway.

Things to do in Central Tilba, NSW: Shopping and wine

Like Montville on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Central Tilba also does a nice line in mooching. Tea rooms such the Tilba Teapot Café and sweet shops such as the Tilba Sweet Spot mix with specialists like Arcadia Crafted Jewellery and Tilba Leather.

Central Tilba shops, NSW — Shopping is the main thing to do in Central Tilba, one of the most blatantly touristy towns in New South Wales. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

Central Tilba is something of an arty enclave, too. It’s perfectly feasible to spend a morning ambling around photography studios and woodwork shops, but there are wines to taste. Just, ahem, after a quick detour to the fudge shop…

What to do in Central Tilba, NSW: Tilba Valley Winery

The region is not quite yet on the Australian wine map, but it could well be the next addition to it. In recent years, a few operations have sprung up, and the Tilba Valley Winery is easily the most picturesque of the lot.

Perched on a hill, overlooking the water, it’s designed for a lazy afternoon outside with a good bottle and a fulsome cheeseboard. There’s also a microbrewery on-site.

No-one goes to Central Tilba expecting grit and authenticity. But it’s an undeniably an amiable place to spend half a day off the New South Wales south coast.

Central Tilba is 364km south of Sydney. The Sydney to Central Tilba driving time is around four hours and 45 minutes.