When people plan a trip from Canberra, Kiama and Gerringong often come first. Yet less than thirty minutes away is Gundaroo, a nineteenth-century village included in Lonely Planet's Australian Top 500.
Founded in 1847 and still home to only a little over a thousand people, its main street preserves old cottages, pubs, shops and churches. Walking there can feel like stepping into the gold-rush era.
A childhood flavour in the southern hemisphere
Cork Street Gallery Cafe is hidden down a garden path in a converted home. A tiny gallery shares the courtyard, while the kitchen is known for wood-fired pizza. It opens only from Thursday to Sunday.
The Mediterranean pizza carries prawns, mussels and baby octopus. The cucumbers, capsicum and celery in the Greek salad tasted as though they had just come from my grandmother's vegetable patch.
Fine dining in an old hotel
Grazing Restaurant occupies the 1865 Royal Hotel. Its chef previously led Courgette in Canberra, and locals recommend the lamb rump and ribs.
A street of century-old stories
Twenty-five buildings on Cork Street form a local heritage walk. The 1873 Gundaroo Colonial Inn, Sally Paskins' Store and the former Royal Hotel each carry a different family and business history.
Spring is an ideal time to combine Gundaroo, Lake George, Tulip Top Gardens and Canberra in one slow afternoon.
“In one slow afternoon, a small Australian town returned me to my grandmother's garden.