Escape to the Country: Bermagui, the coastal jewel with sun, surf and a top cafe culture

Want to swim in the ocean and still enjoy a top cafe scene but get out of the capital city?

Bermagui, a jewel on the Sapphire Coast five and a half hours’ drive south of Sydney, has developed a bit of a buzz about it.

With a flourishing food scene, excellent coffee, famously pleasant weather, and a surge of new arrivals, the town has plenty to offer those tempted by the idea of a sea change.

Population: 1536, as of the 2016 census.

Who lives there:

Traditionally somewhat of a retirement destination, Bermagui has been attracting a steady stream of younger families to the area, something that is reflected in the new businesses dotted about town.

There’s a strong creative and musical community, with talented artists and writers calling the area home.

The Bermagui Beach Hotel was taken over by Yannis Gantner and Luke Redmond two and a half years ago, and it too has been reinvigorated, with major renovations.

Mr Redmond said the town had changed dramatically since he’d grown up in the area back when there was a single bakery and a fish and chips shop.

“It’s become a really liveable town, with a real cafe culture,” Mr Redmond said, adding that he’d expected himself and his wife to be one of the younger residents when they arrived but that was not the case.

“We were really shocked by the number of young families in the area,” he said.

“I’ve noticed a lot of people who have bought holiday houses are making the move to stay there permanently, in the older demographic.

“They are selling up their city properties and staying for good. And we’d like to think that the pub has something to do that shift.”

Kelly Eastwood, from Eastwood’s Deli and Cooking School, has been in town for around five years, and she said the town has blossomed in that time.

“There’s more and more really interesting businesses popping up,” she said, agreeing a lot of young families were arriving, drawn by the more relaxed lifestyle.

Julie Rutherford, from Julie Rutherford Real Estate, will have been in Bermagui for 24 years in January.

“Over the time, things have come and gone,” she said. “But over the past 10 years, it’s become so much more sophisticated.”

She identified the establishment of the Fishermans Wharf – built by the local Fishermans Co-op – about 10 years ago as a key event.

“Bermagui has always been this beautiful place,” she said. “But it has more of a tourist focus. It’s the sort of place that people love to be in.”

What happens there:

While summer is traditionally the busiest time for visitors, the town has has seen the shoulder season gain popularity with a range of major events.

The Bermagui Seaside Fair and Sculpture Bermagui both take place in March, with the former returning in 2020 and the latter celebrating outdoor and indoor artworks over a 10-day period, with live music and workshops.

They are both followed in April by the Four Winds Festival, featuring choral performances, classical, chamber and folk music, as well as modern compositions, beatboxing and a Scottish country dance.

And fast forward to the October long weekend, when outdoor types have their time to shake off the mild winter chill at ReBoot in Bermagui with a range of outdoor and water activities, including ocean swims and fun runs. The popular Tilba Festival also brings people into town.

Bermagui supports a strong local sport scene, with football very popular and an 18-hole championship golf course. There are also active community groups including Men’s Shed, The Country Women’s Association and the U3A.

And – appropriately enough for a beachside town – a “fantastic surf club”, which was awarded as the best in NSW in 2017.

What’s life like:

Locals describe a town with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, with a a culinary scene that punches well above its weight.

It’s also relatively free of traffic and pollution, with no traffic lights or roundabouts in town.

“I would say it’s a vibrant, caring, nurturing, pretty tight community,” Ms Eastwood said. “And supportive, very supportive.”

She described it as a place where the local businesses worked together, “sharing the love” and having coffee at each others’ cafes.

And, she added, it still had a country pace of life. “Bermagui time is a thing. It’s a really relaxed pace.”

Ms Rutherford called it a “very dynamic community” and a “pretty down to earth place”.

“All walks of life, and all parts of the world,” she said.

Mr Redmond agreed with that sentiment, describing the town as having “a really easygoing community,” and being very friendly and supportive, full of “like-minded people, who are trying to achieve the same goals”.

What jobs are there:

The main economic drivers of the town are tourism and recreational fishing, and a lot of the work available locally is tourism-related.

Residents also commute to the larger local centres of Bega to the south – where the major retail outlets are – and Batemans Bay to the north. Many have their own businesses, and telecommuting is popular.

“It’s a seasonal town – we still go ballistic over summer,” said Ms Eastwood. “But I have noticed over the past few years, the winters are getting shorter, and the quieter periods getting shorter.”

Mr Redmond also described town as getting a steady stream of visitors through the winter months.

“We are getting a lot of winter travellers, because the area is quite temperate,” he said. “People are coming not just for the beach.

“This year it didn’t really slow down that much.”

“Technology has allowed people to work from home,” said Ms Rutherford, noting that there were engineers, computers programmers, writers, photographers and accountants living in or around the town, and largely telecommuting.

Why should you move there?

Locals talk about the great coffee and the untouched beaches, describing it as like being on holiday all year round.

There are also good local services, with a doctors’ surgery, farmers’ markets, a local butcher, a fruit and vegetable shop and wine shop, and even a Woolies.

“You can be as busy or as relaxed as you want to be,” said Ms Rutherford. “You can be on a beach in the middle of February and be the only person there.”

She added, too, that the town was known for having very good weather.

“One of the greatest things about Bermagui is the climate – it’s very temperate. It’s a beautiful place in that regard.”

“I think it would suit anyone that is after a coastal change and a sense of community,” Mr Redmond said. “But it still has enough of an metropolitan feel to it, in a small area.”

It was a great place, he thought, for someone who “doesn’t want to be a just another a number. That’s the lovely thing about it.”

“I fell in love with the place straight away,” said Ms Eastwood. “I travelled the world and saw a lot of places. This is the first place where I thought, this feels like a place to live.”

“There’s something for everyone here,” she added. “The kids have a great upbringing, the schools are fantastic.

“The life for kids here is pretty awesome.”