Candelo

The principal town in the district until a realignment of the Princes Highway favoured Bega, Candelo and neighbouring Kameruka have become a delightful backwater where time has largely stood still. The timber buildings and shops which retain a distinctly 19th century character have earned the town an urban conservation zoning.

A regular Sunday market is the largest in the state's south-east and invariably draws large crowds into the town that stands at the junction of the Myrtle Mountain and Tantawangalo Mountain roads.

Ten kilometres south, the Myrtle Mountain Lookout commands breathtaking views of the Bega Valley or, as it is more generally known these days, the Sapphire Coast. The tourist region stretches from Wallaga Lake in the north, where you can join local Aborigines on a cultural and heritage tour, to Wonboyn Lake - a popular fishing spot just north of the Victorian border.

Bega and Candelo lie at the geographical centre of the region and are convenient bases for forays to such scenic gems and historic towns as Bermagui, Merimbula, Pambula Beach and Eden where the whale museum takes visitors back to the days when the town was a pivotal port in the Australian whaling industry.