LOCAL NEWS
SEASIDE SPIRIT Beautiful Tathra has bounced back. WORDS: Candice Marshall, AAP.
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t was a late Sunday afternoon in the tiny beachside town of Tathra when a fast-moving bushfire closed in. Residents fled the flames to evacuation centres in nearby towns on the New South Wales south coast. The town was devastated. Fast forward four months, and a Sunday session is in full swing at the local pub. I’d just arrived in town and headed straight to Tathra Hotel to check in. It was a jolly welcome – the bar was packed full of people, spilling out onto the sun-drenched deck, all here to see a popular local band. The Tathra Hotel was not affected by the fires, nor was the school, any major infrastructure or the historic wharf, a drawcard for locals and tourists alike. Most importantly, not one life was lost. Almost everyone I spoke to in my time exploring Tathra was quick to point this out. “It could have been worse” is a phrase I heard repeatedly. I can only assume this positive attitude played a key role in how quickly the community bounced back after the fire. Even the 25 kilometres of mountain bike tracks affected by the fire had been restored, thanks to bike-riding communities rallying together for a series of working bees.
The best way to explore the network of trails is to grab a rental bike from Tathra Beach & Bike on the foreshore and hit the tracks. If you like your feet firmly on the ground there are many bushwalks and National Park hikes to choose from – some that hug the coastline, some winding around lagoons and lakes, others carved into rocks and peaks, all taking in amazing natural beauty, with a high chance of wildlife encounters. And if you don’t see any wildlife in the actual wild, just a short drive from Tathra is Potoroo Palace, a not-forprofit native animal sanctuary. One of the coolest things to do in Tathra is to watch stingrays feed down at Kianinny Bay boat ramp when the fishermen come in at the end of the day. Watch these clever, friendly stingrays congregate for fish scraps, or jump in the crystal clear water with a snorkel and get amongst the gathering. Back at Tathra Hotel a different species gathers – the town’s resilient and buoyant locals – to enjoy some downtime after getting the town back on its feet. Thanks to their hard work and community strength, Tathra is well and truly open for business. * The writer travelled as a guest of Destination NSW.
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