A favoured retreat for Sydneysiders, just 90 minutes south, and becoming more favoured as a permanent residence, the Southern Highlands is a desirable destination for its heritage villages, old-world charm and mild climate.
Popular all year round with English flower gardens and ivy-covered country manors set amongst the backdrop of rolling hills and unspoilt bushland, the highlands really come to life in Autumn when yellow, orange and red leaves cover the landscape. In Spring, the Highlands lights up with Bowral’s Tulip Time Festival, first staged in 1958. Since then, the momentous tulip display of 75,000 flowers held annually in September and October is an Instagrammer's delight. Visit Search and Stay to find your Bowral holiday accommodation to come and absorb this floral festival.
Antique shopping
The Southern Highlands is renowned for its antique shopping. Stroll through the streets of Bowral to admire the gorgeous stores and boutiques. Dirty Janes is an emporium of more than 60 shops with everything from cane furniture to old signage and taxidermy. Uncover a treasure trove at Sticky Beaks Vintage Emporium and Village Antiques in the beautiful Berrima. Both are located on Jellore Street close to town. Alternatively, try Sutton Forest’s The Everything Store. Operating since 1830, it has become an institution for those who enjoy seeking out unique pieces.
Stay in quaint villages
This region has a long list of beautiful places to stay in lovely locations and quaint villages. The perfect holiday cottage, historic building with a modern makeover or go for an enormous manner that harks back to ancient times in the motherland, are all easy to find on Search and Stay. Try a holiday house in Burrawang, a farm stay in Sutton forest or a short-term rental in Bowral, Mittagong or Moss Vale.
Immerse yourself in nature
The Southern Highlands is brimming with natural beauty, from spectacular waterfalls to sprawling national parks and picturesque vineyards dotted over the landscape. For bushwalkers (or bush strollers) there’s a choice of great bush tracks.
Well known Fitzroy Falls in the Morton National Park offers breathtaking views or head to Bowral Lookout on Mt Gibraltar to overlook Bowral, the Wingecarribee River Valley and Moss Vale.
For a glimpse of Australian wildlife in their natural habitat head to Gibbergunyah Reserve near Bowral where natives such as kangaroos, wombats and echidnas are often seen on the Gibbergunyah Walking Track.
What and where to drink - wine tasting in the Southern Highlands
Family owned and operated since 1983, Joadja Estate is the oldest vineyard and winery in the Southern Highlands. It’s situated in the picturesque hills north of Berrima and produces distinctive cool-climate wines. Enjoy the rustic atmosphere at this beautiful boutique estate as you taste beautiful hand-crafted wines and fortifieds. Tractorless Vineyard and Bowral Brewing Company has a winemaking philosophy to create sustainable and diverse food and wine experiences from locally sourced, grown and produced foods guided by biodynamic principles. Their cellar door offers an opportunity to try their selection of award-winning wines, ciders and beers. Artemis wines – a family-run winery – boast more award-winning wines. Winemaker brothers, Anton and Mark Balog began making wine in the Southern Highlands in 1996.
Where to eat in the Southern Highlands
Dining out in the Southern Highlands can be as simple or indulgent as you desire. Fresh produce, great eateries, markets and produce stores are scattered throughout the Southern Highlands, giving diners plenty of options to choose from.
Long-time favourite Eschalot, set in an old sandstone cottage at Berrima, is a hatted restaurant offering contemporary French-accented cuisine, fine local wines and an elegant ambience. I
Mittagong has been chose as the Australian stage for Thailand’s famous, Michelin-starred culinary institution, Paste Bangkok, where renowned chefs Bee Satongun and husband, Jason Bailey, will take diners on a palate-tantalizing adventure that showcases their bold and masterful approach to Thai cuisine.
The beautiful chic café Highlands Merchant on Moss Vale’s main drag is the perfect spot to recover after a buying up big on the antiques trail. Take a little of this Southern Highlands restaurant home with you with something from their handsome range of pantry-fillers and gourmet gifts. The Merchant also provides a sought-after catering service, for those interested in an in-home dining experience.
Set on a secluded private estate in the picturesque Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Hordern’s Restaurant nestles in the Milton Park Country House Hotel, a grand mansion built at the turn of the 19th Century. Rich fabrics, high back chairs and soft lighting give a distinctive feel of great French restaurants, enchanting diners with an elegant vibe while parted drapes lookout to manicured gardens and textured walls provide a warm depth to ambient dining.
A foodie destination that has put Moss Vale on the map, Birch is produce and technique-driven, meaning wherever possible the ingredients are sourced and made locally, and each dish is expertly crafted, which will have your insta-feed in a frenzy. All about the innovation of a contemporary modern Australian menu and warm hospitality, Birch at its finest with their degustation menu.
An all-users magical experience, visit the Berkelouw Book Barn on the beautiful Bendooley Estate. It’s a multi-functional space, operating as a bookshop by day, as well as housing the Bendooley Estate Restaurant and Cellar Door where you can enjoy coffee, lunch or a glass of wine.
Just like its interiors, there is a touch of grandness to Grand Bistro, living up to the Southern Highlands reputation as a culinary destination. The restaurant is a wedding caterer to the stars and they also have a dining room along Bong Bong Street that dishes up rustic modern cuisine. Breakfast through to dinner, the Grand Bistro menu offers plenty of reasons to keep coming back for more.
For an Aussie foodie event, Southern Highlands (or Southern Pielands!) is Australia's Home of Pies. With 30 days and 100's of ways to enjoy pies throughout June each year. Take on the Southern Highlands pie trail with sweet, savoury, traditional, gourmet, pot pies, flaky pastry, sauce or no sauce.
Hunt for truffles
As winter descends upon the Southern Highlands so does the opportunity to enjoy fresh truffles. There are a number of truffle hunting tours available. Wild Food Adventures offers a truffle hunt, paired with a delicious truffle-inspired lunch and wine tasting, while L’Air du Wombat Truffle farm runs truffle hunts at 10 am every weekend of winter.
Search and Stay is the place to go to for all your Southern Highlands holiday rentals. The perfect Bowral holiday cottage, Moss Vale historic home, Burrawang farm stay or Fitzroy Falls family holiday accommodation are all easy to find on Search and Stay.
For more information and things to do in the Southern Highlands, visit www.visitsouthernhighlands.com.au/trip-ideas/