Kalaru Holiday Park

Look, I’ll be honest – when I first pulled up to Kalaru Holiday Park on Old Wallagoot Road, I wasn’t expecting much from a 3-star place. But you know what? Sometimes the best discoveries are the ones that sneak up on you. This spot sits just outside Tathra proper, and honestly, that turned out to be one of its biggest advantages. You’re close enough to walk into town for fish and chips at the wharf (and trust me, you’ll want to), but far enough out that you actually get some peace and quiet at night.

The thing about Kalaru is that it gets families – I mean really gets them. During school holidays it can get pretty lively with kids running around, but the layout is smart enough that you can find quieter pockets if that’s not your scene. The cabins themselves are nothing fancy, but they’re clean and practical with everything you actually need rather than stuff that just looks good in photos. What really impressed me was how well-maintained everything felt – you can tell someone actually cares about this place rather than just collecting booking fees. The powered sites are generous too, and I watched a guy with a massive RV set up without any drama, which says something about the spacing.

Here’s what I didn’t expect: the local knowledge from the staff. When I mentioned wanting to check out some beaches beyond the obvious Tathra Beach, they pointed me toward Bournda Beach and gave me the heads up about the walking track – saved me from wearing the wrong shoes, actually. And speaking of beaches, being on Old Wallagoot Road means you’re literally five minutes from some of the most underrated coastline on the South Coast. Sure, everyone knows about Merimbula and Eden, but this stretch between Tathra and Bega has this raw, unspoiled feel that’s getting harder to find. The mornings here are something else – you wake up to kookaburras rather than traffic, and if you’re up early enough, the light hitting the escarpment behind the park is pretty spectacular. It’s the kind of place where you end up staying an extra night without really planning to, especially if you’re doing the Melbourne to Sydney coastal drive and need somewhere to properly decompress rather than just crash for the night.