Tim Gilbo flew above the NSW south coast in his beloved Maule seaplane and looked at the restaurants, hotels, parks and swimmers all preparing for peak tourism season in Eurobodalla Shire.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The managing director and chief pilot of South Coast Seaplanes, Mr Gilbo set up shop in Eurobodalla two and a half years ago and hopes to fly people across the coast to see the 'land of many waters'.
"The real competitive advantage [of the seaplane] is you can bring the plane to the people," Mr Gilbo said with plans to travel as far north as Wollongong to collect visitors.
He's one of many tourism operators ready for summer at Canberra's favourite holiday destination with the shire's population of 38,000 expected to hit 100,000 people a day.
Eurobodalla council's manager of tourism, Catherine Reilly said 30 per cent of visitors were from Canberra.
"It's okay, because it's short term it doesn't really impact our infrastructure and our facilities," Ms Reilly said.
"People say they love the business, the buzz on the beaches, the kids and the families. It's always fun."
Oyster farmer Ben Ralston said the buzz was the reason he loved this time of year too, not seeing any negatives to tourism season.
"They're all down to enjoy what we do, it's good to see everybody busy and a buzz around the place," he said.
Mr Ralston and his brother, John, are fifth-generation oyster farmers who recently opened their restaurant, the Farm Gate, at Batemans Bay marina and said it had been going great so far.
"The plan is to be iconic, to have something down here that's amazing, that its going to be a destination," he said.
A third of the shire's jobs rely on the tourism economy estimated to bring in over $400 million, with the council taking measures like abolishing paid parking in downtown Batemans Bay to help local businesses attract customers.
A quick canvas of accommodation in the region showed operators were fully booked.
"You'd expect to be fully booked this time of year in Bateman's Bay," one hotel manager, Bronwyn O'Brien, said but Ms Reilly said travellers could always expect to find something.
Acting general manager of Eurobodalla council Warren Sharpe said they had taken steps to improve traffic congestion and safety on the roads towards the coast.
"Obviously people are keen to get to this beautiful part of the world," Mr Sharpe said.
He said drivers need to allow more time to get to the coast over summer and should expect especially strong peaks Friday evening, Saturday noon and Sunday afternoon.
"The critical thing we want to see, and what we're asking the NSW government to fund, is progressive improvements to the Kings Highway."
