10 things to do in Port Stephens
If you’re a Sydneysider who typically heads north for beach holidays, chances are you’ve spent a few days in the mid-north coast region of Port Stephens.
It encompasses the scenic Tomaree Peninsula, which is now home to a chain of seaside towns that bustles with tourists in the warmer months.
The largest of the towns, Nelson Bay, is the hub, boasting a marina, a golf club, and an ever-growing array of cafés, restaurants and pubs – yet it has managed to retain much of its small-town flavour and heritage.
If you’re seeking a summer holiday with more than sand and surf, Port Stephens is the perfect destination. Here are 10 must-dos when you visit.
10. 4WD tour of Stockton Beach
Stockton Beach stretches all the way from the NRMA holiday park at its southern end right up to Anna Bay in the north – some 32km. As well as abundant space for swimming and surfing, it offers a number fun and quirky things to experience.
There’s the Tin City, a camp founded by a group of homeless men during the Great Depression. This squatters’ settlement remains occupied today, with the tin shacks passed down from generation to generation. It’s almost as if the shifting sands are trying to swallow up the dwellings.
Shifting sands also created Stockton Beach’s enormously steep dunes, which are ideal for the esoteric pastime of sandboarding. Sliding down is tremendous fun, but there’s no chairlift, so you’ll get fit walking back up for another go.
The best way to see everything Stockton Beach has to offer is on a 4WD tour. Several operators depart from Anna Bay and prices vary, but you can expect to pay upwards of $100 for a couple.
9. Ride a camel at Birubi Beach
Think ‘beach’ and it’s usually swimming, surfing and sunbathing that come to mind. But given how much sand there is, a camel sort of makes sense, too. If you’ve never ridden a camel before the prospect can be quite intimidating (and the first ‘upsie’ as the camel goes from sitting to standing with you aboard is somewhat alarming) but once you’re underway it’s a lot smoother and more comfortable than riding a horse.
Oakfield Ranch conducts camel rides out of Birubi Beach at Anna Bay. You can just rock up for a 20-minute ride anytime between 10am and 3:30pm ($50 per adult) or alternatively book a one-hour sunset ride on Fridays and Saturdays ($140 per adult).
Kids and adults alike love the experience and there’s the added bonus of learning about the region’s wartime history – tank traps and unspent ammo from World War II are dotted along the beach. When you return, grab a bite to eat at Crest Birubi Beach, which has some of the best views on the eastern seaboard and coffee to die for.
8. Paddle with stingrays
When the business that would become Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters first opened at Bobs Farm in 2010, it was housed in what amounted to a very large shed. These days it exists on considerable acreage at Anna Bay, and its marine population lives in multiple purpose-built sandy-bottomed tanks.
General entry allows visitors to go shin or elbow-deep in the enclosures and, using special peg-like tongs, feed stingrays and sharks. The world became terrified of stingrays after Steve Irwin’s untimely end but the rays at Irukandji are as tame and friendly as any golden retriever and like to be patted on their slippery backs.
Believe it or not, some of the larger rays will come when called and can learn in excess of 50 words. Studies even suggest manta rays are sentient and will recognise themselves in a mirror.
For an additional fee, visitors can pull on a wetsuit or a snorkel and get an up-close encounter with the reef sharks or turtles.
7. Get a bird’s eye view at Gan Gan Lookout
Located at the southern edge of Nelson Bay and rising 160 metres above sea level, Gan Gan Lookout provides a 360-degree view of the peninsula and on a clear day you can see all the way out to the islands beyond the heads of the Karuah River.
Unlike many lookouts, you can drive right up to its main viewing platform and these days the road in is paved all the way. Sunsets are spectacular from Gan Gan’s eyrie, but in the warmer months especially you’ll be sharing that sunset with hordes of other tourists – so either visit earlier in the day or save the sunset viewing for a winter visit.
6. Wrap your lips around an ice cream
No summer beach holiday is complete without a visit to an ice cream parlour and Port Stephens offers a number of options.
Down at the Nelson Bay marina there are two ice cream shops within walking distance of one another. The Marina Ice Creamery is your traditional Aussie beach town ice cream parlour, while a few streets away Neros Gelato Café serves up the homemade Italian alternative.
Over in Shoal Bay you’ll find The Lolly Bug (an offshoot of the famous shop at the foot of the Blue Mountains), which in addition to its vast chocolate and lolly selection offers gelato, ice cream and sorbet.
5. Catch a fish at Taylors Beach
It’s not hard to spot a fishing novice. Standing on a dock alongside ten other clueless fair-weather fisherman, midday sun beating down, boats roaring past, hook baited with a prawn that no self-respecting bream would even sniff at.
But if you’re the kind of fisherman who understands times, tides, and the importance of the right bait and rig, Port Stephens won’t disappoint. One of our favourite spots is on Taylors Beach, which sits at the confluence of Tilligerry Creek and the Karuah River. It’s nice and peaceful most of the time and you can haul in decent-sized bream, sweep, flathead, whiting and leatherjacket.
Fifteen years ago, Taylors Beach had a decrepit jetty that was beginning to crumble into the creek, but these days there’s a proper concrete access walkway to the pier, brand new public toilets, and kids’ play equipment nearby.
4. Catch a wave at Fingal Bay
Nelson Bay and Shoal Bay are on the shores of the Karuah River, have flat water and are largely protected from the elements. Fingal Bay, by contrast, sits right out on the tip of the peninsula and often has good swells for surfing.
That said, it has something to offer surfers and families alike, as the shape of the bay means the water is typically calmer than a beach completely open to the ocean. There’s also the novelty of arriving at low tide and walking across the spit to Fingal Island at the northern end (just make sure you return before the tide turns!).
If the swell isn’t happening at Fingal Bay on any given day, nearby Birubi Beach and One Mile Beach offer surfing alternatives. The picturesque Zenith Beach is another family-friendly option – you can even climb the small mountain at its northern end.
3. Hike Tomaree Track
If you like to get active on holidays, don’t miss the opportunity to hike the Tomaree Track. Starting at the end of Shoal Bay Road, it’s a steep but well-established path with two branches.
One branch leads up to Gun Emplacement Road, which has historic ruins from World War II including an observation post, the Mount Tomaree Battery Plotting Room and the eponymous gun placements.
The second branch takes you to the top of Tomaree Mountain, which delivers spectacular views out across Shoal Bay and Zenith Beach.
2. Eat out in style
If you prefer peace and seclusion on holidays there are probably better places to go than Port Stephens. But if you want options at dinner time, it’s the place to be. No matter which town you stop in, chances are you’ll find a high-quality restaurant serving the best local produce.
Soldiers Point has Sea Salt, Restaurant 2317 and The Deck Café Restaurant & Bar all within a stone’s throw of one another, while the famous Rick Stein at Bannisters is just a couple of minutes down the road.
The Nelson Bay foreshore and surrounding streets are a procession of eateries (everything from a dumpling bar and gourmet pies to good old fish and chips) and even quiet little Lemon Tree Passage has sumptuous seafood on the menu thanks to The Poyers.
Wineries are a feature of Port Stephens these days, too. Wonganella Estate is set on picturesque grounds near Bobs Farm, while Tynan Wines operates a cellar door out of Salamander Bay.
1. Take a ferry to Tea Gardens
Seasons and weather permitting, the Original Tea Gardens Ferry Service runs between Nelson Bay Public Wharf and Tea Gardens Ferry Wharf six times a day (three services in each direction).
The crew provides fascinating commentary and the ferry passes Corrie Island Nature Reserve along the way, ensuring gorgeous river views and plenty of wildlife sightings, including turtles, sea birds and dolphins.
Tea Gardens itself is a cute little town with cafés, an ice creamery, a historic police station, and the famous Singing Bridge that spans the Myall River’s mirror-finish surface.
