The Southern Highlands has its fair share of historic and picturesque villages, and Berrima is definitely one of the best. This small town retains its old colonial charm, but it has a lot more to offer than just its gorgeous old buildings.

With everything from the highlands’ oldest winery, to picturesque riverside walks and the chance to see wild platypus, there is more than enough to keep you busy for a weekend or longer!

It’s the perfect place to come if you’re looking for a relaxing break in a picturesque spot, surrounded by stunning countryside and it’s one of those places you keep coming back to time and time again.

Here are all the things you shouldn’t miss on your visit.

1: Spot a platypus
2: Explore the village on the historic walk
3: Visit the oldest vineyard in the Southern Highlands
4: Relax in a cosy nook at Berkelouw Book Barn
5: Learn about the beginnings of the village and criminal history at Berrima Courthouse
6: Take a stroll along the Riverside Walk
7: See the local kangaroos
8: Be in awe at Fitzroy Falls
9: Chill with a picnic at Goanna Falls
10: Grab a coffee & cake at the old General Store
11: See the sunset at Berrima Bridge

The best things to do in Berrima

These are the best things to do in Berrima:

1. Go platypus spotting

Yes that’s right, Berrima is the best place in the Southern Highlands to see a wild platypus!

We’d been visiting this region for years before we realised, and it turned out to be a real hidden gem. Platypus are known for being fairly elusive, but with a bit of patience you have a good chance of spotting one in Berrima.

Our top recommend for sightings is to park just outside the Holy Trinity Anglian Church and follow the sign for the Stone Quarry Walk. It takes just a few minutes to reach a rocky platform just above the river. Keep really quiet because platypus hate noise and will just dive down if disturbed.

The rocks offer a fantastic elevated view of the river, which is perfect for watching out for those tell-tale ripples. We found the platypus liked the area at the end of the river trail, just before the staircase down to the shore.

Once you spot the platypus from the rocks, you can then follow the trail down to the waterside to get a closer look.

We spent a long time watching it duck and dive and it really is a very special experience. Unless you are incredibly lucky, the only time you will see a platypus is around dawn and dusk - we usually head down around 45 minutes before sunset.

2. Explore the village on the easy historic walk

The best way to experience the town’s history is on foot, taking in all the sights at a leisurely pace.

It might be very different to where we normally go out walking, but we loved this short stroll around the village. It’s just over 1km long and takes you around all the gorgeous old buildings of Berrima town.

Walk the village for a historical walk - Best things to do in Berrima

We love that almost all the buildings you see are from the 1800's and beautifully preserved. It’s one of the most quaint villages we’ve visited in Australia, full of charming little shops and eateries.

It’s only tiny, but you might find that you spend longer than you think to explore all the little nooks and crannies.

You can see the route we took on the map below.

3. Indulge in some wine tasting at the oldest vineyard in the highlands

The Southern HIghlands are well known for their cool climate wines and there are many, many wineries in the area to choose from.

A great option near Berrima is the Joadja Estate, which is roughly a ten minute scenic drive from the village, along the same road as the Goanna Falls Reserve.

We visited on one of the wettest days of the year (sorry for the drab pics!) in winter, so we didn’t get to experience all the gorgeous flowers adorning the entrance that you’ll see in other seasons.

We sat inside by the fire for our tasting, but normally you could use the pretty courtyard as well.

Tastings are $5 per person and you’ll be taken through a selection of whites, reds and a rose and sparkling, as well as a dessert wine. Our tasting was with the owner, who was friendly and knowledgable about the local area as well as the wines.

We really enjoyed it and would love to head back in the summer when the wood fire pizza oven is cranking.

If you love wineries and are looking for another recommendation we also loved Tertini Wines, which you can find in our Bowral post.

4. Relax in a cosy nook at the Berkelouw Book Barn

If your idea of heaven is a good book, a cosy arm chair and a glass of wine then you’re going to love the Book Barn. The Berkelouw Book Barn is a restaurant, winery and book shop all in one and it does everything really well.

The estate is gorgeous and there are fantastic vineyard views from almost every window. We didn’t realise you had to book in advance, so we missed out on trying the restaurant. But to be honest, I was equally happy with the armchairs by the fire.

You can order a glass of wine from the winery and sit and enjoy your latest purchase from the bookshop - which even had a huge second hand selection which I’m a big fan of.

If you want to do a full wine tasting it is $10 per person, but you can just order a glass if you prefer.

We visited in winter when there were some lovely roaring fires going, but it would be great in any season. The views will be much more spectacular in other seasons but I even enjoyed the stark winter landscape.

5. Step back in time at the Courthouse Museum

A good place to start your trip to Berrima is at the Courthouse Museum. Your visit begins with a short video which tells you a lot about the area and how the town was created - at one point Berrima was truly in the wilds! The Courthouse was one of the major buildings in the town and has hundreds of stories to tell.

After the video, you can then walk around the courthouse. There isn’t too much to see, although there were a few gruesome artefacts like chains and gags! The visit ends with a sound and light show in the main courtroom where a real case from the 1800’s is played out.

The Berrima Courthouse - Best things to do in Berrima, NSW

It wouldn’t normally be my kind of thing, but I was just gripped by the language used, which was a genuine reenactment of what was actually said at the time.

The words 'you will be buried standing up so that your soul will never rest in peace’ are etched in my memory as particularly sadistic!

Unless you are truly fascinated by the small things, you only need around 40 minutes for a visit. Adult tickets are $10 per person which go towards supporting the preservation of the building, (the courthouse is a registered charity) which is always a good thing.

6. Learn some local WWI history on the gorgeous Riverside Walk

Even if you have no interest in history whatsoever, definitely do this 3km (return) walk because it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a predominantly flat and easy trail beside the river, and it has a constant backdrop of a whole array of birdlife.

The Riverside Walk - Best things to do in Berrima

It’s incredibly peaceful and relaxing. Absolutely everybody on this walk says hello to each other and it gives you those feel good vibes that you don’t always get walking in Sydney!

For those interested in history, Berrima was the site of an old WWI German internment camp. There are 17 information boards scattered throughout the walk, which give you lots of information about the site. The Berrima riverside was the area where German settlers in the South Pacific were rounded up and put into internment camps as they were seen as the “alien enemy”.

Old pictures help you visualise what it would have looked like between 1915 and 1919, and if you don’t want to complete the whole walk, even going a short way will give you some good insight.

The first few information boards are actually before the Riverside Walk sign post, so you’ll need to backtrack a few minutes if you want to read every one.

7. Say hello to the resident wild kangaroos

We’ve seen them hundreds and hundreds of times, but spotting kangaroos in the wild never loses its magic. There are probably lots of places you might spot them, but we would recommended to head to Australia Avenue (it’s south of the village, over the bridge).

It’s best to go early in the morning, or up to an hour or so before sunset when they’re most active.

We spotted two females, including one with a joey, who were quite content to carry on grazing while we watched them from the road.

The fields that they are usually in are all fenced, but you can still get a great view and keeping a bit of distance means they don’t spook and run off.

8. Go chasing waterfalls

If you don’t mind a half an hour drive we’d highly recommend going to check out one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Southern Highlands, Fitzroy Falls.

The 80m high falls cascade down the mountainside and it’s a majestic sight. They look great in any weather, in fact, we’ve often visited on gloomy days and it’s even more atmospheric. If you can visit after heavy rainfall they will be at their most powerful.

As well as the falls, there are also some incredible mountain views which you can enjoy from one of many lookouts.

You can reach a great view of the falls just 150m from the car park, or take one of the longer walking trails. If you only have time for one we’d recommend the 3.5km return, West Rim trail.

We have a full guide to all walking trails, plus the best viewpoints with distances here.

9. Have a picnic at Goanna Falls Reserve

If the weather is in your favour there are a number of good picnic spots around Berrima. We like the Goanna Falls Reserve best, which is a five minute drive from town.

It’s a lovely spot with a little creek (which can also turn into a thundering torrent after heavy rain) and pretty bushland.

There is one picnic table, but we prefer to bring our own blanket and choose a spot closer to the water. The only downside is that it does suffer from a bit of road noise from the nearby highway - you can’t see it - but there is a constant drone which sometimes drowns out the chirping of the resident frogs.

If that sounds like it will bother you, we’d recommend the lawns by the start of the River Walk instead. We still like this spot as it’s really pretty and there’s never anyone else around!

10. Have a coffee and cake at the quaint General Store

When we heard the General Store was one of the best places for coffee in town we weren’t convinced. Then we saw the outside of the building and realised this was no ordinary general store.

It’s a really picturesque old building and inside you’ll be greeted with lots of baked goodies. It’s definitely more cafe than store, though you can buy some lovely looking local produce.

We rated the coffee and food and liked it much more than another cafe we tried in the area.

11. Catch a sunset from Berrima Bridge

We try and watch the sunset every day if we can, and our favourite spot in Berrima is from the Berrima Bridge.

You can watch the sunset set over the Wingecarribee River and bushland and it’s just a short stroll from the village.

If you prefer bigger, sweeping views we’d recommend the Jellore Lookout at Mount Gibraltar Reserve which is a 15 minute drive away.

Getting to Berrima

Berrima is 125km and roughly an hour and a half drive from Sydney. Whilst technically you can get here by public transport, it takes an age, and you really do want a car to get around.

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