The Myall Lakes has long been one of the state's most attractive coastal getaways.
Its meandering, tea-coloured river weaves past idyllic campgrounds, through Ramsar-protected coastal wetlands and into the upper lakes.
While there is no shortage of visitors to the Myall, the area is likely to be even more sought out once the M1 to Raymond Terrace extension opens this year.
"It's actually quicker to get to Tea Gardens than it is to Nelson Bay," Myall Coast Chamber of Commerce and Tourism committee member Rick Wraight said.
"Over the years we have seen more tourists come up following the completion of every new part of the highway. When the M1 to Raymond Terrace section opens it will put us within an hour and 45 minutes from Wahroonga."
What is not so attractive is the challenge of navigating a boat along the heavily sedimented section of the river between Tea Gardens and Myall Camp.
The area is virtually impassable at low tide to all but the smallest boats.
Locals routinely report near-misses involving boats hitting the river bed.
Frustrated tourist operators, fishers and locals have banded together to campaign to have the five-kilometre stretch of the river dredged.
A similar effort resulted in the lower section of the river between the Singing Bridge and the river mouth dredged last year.
The results of the $5 million project - a joint venture between Transport for NSW and MidCoast Council, - have been a marked improvement in water quality and amenity.
"There's no doubt it would be great for tourism but also for commercial fishing," Myall River Action Group spokesman Gordan Grainger said.
"We would love to see the whole river rehabilitated for the benefit of the community, tourism operators and the environment."
The Original Tea Gardens Ferry operator, Kerrie Jeffreys, said demand for river cruises was strong.
The business's most recent acquisition, The Tamboi Queen, once travelled up the river every day after it was launched in 1970.
But the vessel, which has a 1.2-metre draft, would have no chance of making the journey now.
Ms Jeffreys said she and a couple of crew members recently took the MV Wallamba, which has a 0.6-metre draft, up to Legges Camp.
"There were a few dodgy spots. If we had a ferry load of people we wouldn't have made it," she said.
"I have tried to get up there a couple of times since but we have had to turn around and come back."
Ms Jeffreys said she regularly fielded inquiries from bird watching groups that were keen to travel up into the Ramsar-listed wetlands.
"They are interested in a nice slow trip up the river so they can get a good view of the shoreline. Our vessels are well suited to that," she said.
"I have also had conversations with coach companies about the possibility of them bringing a busload of people to Legges Camp. The idea is I would pick them up and bring them back down the river to Tea Gardens."
Commercial fisher Ross Fidden said he supported dredging the river from a safety point of view.
"There's no doubt the bottom end of the river needs to be dredged. It's very shallow as far as navigation is concerned," he said.
"It can be tricky even for those of us who know where we are going. There is no way you can get a big boat like a ferry through there.
"Even the NSW Maritime and the Water Police can't get up there at low tide. From a safety point of view it needs to be done."
A Transport for NSW Maritime spokesman said there were no immediate plans to dredge the area.
The Myall River forms part of the 2025-26 navigation channel monitoring program with the next survey planned to be conducted by the end of the year.
Results from the survey will be used to inform the statewide, risk-based navigation channel assessment and to guide the management of Aids to Navigation to assist boating safety.
"Factors considered when assessing and prioritising the need to dredge navigation channels across NSW include commercial and recreational waterway user requirements such as safe width and depth, the number of vessels that use the waterway, suitability of Aids to Navigation to improve boating safety, and access to state-owned infrastructure such as harbours and boating facilities," the spokesman said.
A total of $16 million has been allocated to dredging works across NSW waterways between the 2024-25 and 2026-27 financial years as part of Boating Infrastructure and Dredging Scheme.
