Mittagong to Moss Vale via Berrima
Length approximately 24km
Tourist Drive 17 commences in Mittagong. The Southern Highlands Visitor Information Centre is located here and offers a wide range of souvenirs, maps and local produce. Just down the road is Winifred West Park which offers picnic facilities, toilets and a playground for children.
A detour on your right will lead to Lake Alexandra at the end of Queen Street. Relax a while and feed the ducks whilst enjoying a picnic basket or a short stroll around the lake. In the township browse through antique, craft and needlework shops or enjoy the cafes, restaurants or visit the Mittagong RSL Club.
Follow the Tourist Drive along the Old Hume Highway crossing over the Freeway. Near the Freeway exit you’ll find the Box Vale Walking Track. The 4.4km track has easy grades and the return walk takes about 3 hours. Continuing on to Berrima you will find Berkelouw Book Barn on your right. For the bookworm you will find over 200,000 secondhand books. At Greenhills Road turn right, travel for approximately 7kms to taste cool climate wines from local vineyards.
Back on the road it is only a short journey to the historic village of Berrima. Considered one of the best remaining examples of a small Australian town built in the 1830’s. Many of the original buildings have been sensitively resorted and now trade as craft shops, galleries and restaurants. One of the original coaching inns, the Surveyor General is still operating. A convict built gaol is still in use and Berrima Court House (open daily) is classified by the National Trust.
Leave Berrima by crossing the Wingecarribee River, run left at Francis Xavier Church. You will pass through rural countryside on your way to Moss Vale.
Moss Vale was founded on the ground which was originally granted by Governor Macquarie to Charles Throsby in 1819.
