'Secret's out': people rediscover Sapphire Coast over Easter long weekend

The Easter four-day long weekend was a very successful one with gorgeous weather and had only been getting busier yearly, said Rhys Treloar, tourism manager for Sapphire Coast Destination Marketing.

"The secret's out, people know that at Easter time we've got good weather and obviously the beaches, that's a big drawcard, but I think [people] have discovered or rediscovered the Sapphire Coast," he said.

"Water's warm, the days are warm, but you're starting to get some nice cool mornings which is really nice, [so] it's a great time of year and we've got plenty of good hospitality and activity offerings up and down the coast now.

"Plenty to do, plenty to see, Easter is the perfect weekend to get amongst it, and I think it will start to look and feel like that peak summer period.

Mr Treloar said while loyal, returning families who make the annual caravan and camping trips to the Sapphire Coast were still in abundance, he said more families without kids, older "not so grey nomads", travelling couples and early retirees were rising in numbers.

Hanna Marshall, the manager of Merimbula Tourism, said it was the beautiful weather and a desire for a short holiday that helped high visitation numbers.

"I also think a lot of people were looking to get away for a short amount of time, so we did see a lot of people coming down from Canberra, even from Sydney and up from Victoria. The roads were packed, this was evidenced by the huge traffic jam on Brown Mountain," she said.

Merimbula held an Easter Bunny search where children were to count bunnies adorning windows, captured by Art by Netty in swirls in purple and white, with each white hand painted rabbit wearing a purple jumper as it posed or hopped across the glass panes.

Returning from her family camping trip on Sunday afternoon, Ms Marshall said a lot of takeaway stores had sold out of food, "especially the seafood, fish and chip places."

"It was really good to see that these guys were also out and about spending money and supporting businesses."

She hoped the increase in visitors would translate and crossover into the cooler winter months, with opportunities available for holiday goers to enjoy mountain biking trail adventures and National Park hiking trails.

"Spring and autumn I think are the best down here," she said.