EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Lush green meadows, munching cows, wide valleys and mountains in the background - you could almost mistake this pastoral scenery for somewhere in the foothills of the Swiss Alps. Certainly the area around BEGA is prime dairy country: at the Bega Cheese Factory & Heritage Centre , Lagoon Street, North Bega (daily 9am-5pm; www.begacheese.com.au ), you can watch the famous local cheese being made, and try a few samples. Scenery and cheese apart, there's no great reason to come here, but it's a convenient stopover, handy for the junction of the Princes Highway with the Snowy Mountains Highway. In town, the Historical Museum , on the corner of Bega and Auckland streets (Mon-Fri 10.30am-4pm, holidays also Sat 10am-noon), has regional memorabilia and photos. For more on local attractions, including the Grevillea Winery, check out the Bega Tourist Information Centre , 91 Gipps St (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm; tel 02/6492 2045, begatic@acr.net.au ).

The small, pleasant and very friendly Bega YHA on Kirkland Crescent (tel 02/6492 3103; reception 4-8.30pm; rooms $20-35, dorms under $20) is built from mud bricks. Less earthy accommodation can be found at the Grand Hotel , 236 Carp St (tel 02/6492 1122; $35-50), which has motel-style pub rooms , as well as counter meals during the week. Even more salubrious is the Prickled Pear , a beautifully restored and comfortably furnished three-room 1870s guesthouse on the main street (tel 02/6492 1393, fax 6492 0030, www.ausac.com/ppear ; $90-115). Campers can head for Bega Caravan Park on the Princes Highway (tel 02/6492 2303; cabins and units $50-70, on-site vans $35-50).