From swimming with wild dolphins and seeing whales up close or hiking to the top of Mt Tomaree through bushland brimming with wildlife, here are the top things to do in Port Stephens.
If Byron Bay and Narooma had a love child it would be Port Stephens. In addition to wildlife encounters, you’ll find this extraordinary coastal town two and a half hours’ north of Sydney is blessed with natural beauty and has a laid-back coastal vibe. At the heart of it is great accommodation – from fairy-tale treehouses to beach shacks – bolstered by all the best elements of nature. Get ready to dive into the best ways to spend your time in Port Stephens.
1. Swim with wild dolphins
Tumble into crystalline waters off the coast of Port Stephens on a wild dolphin swim tour that, for city dwellers, is a profoundly moving experience. Dolphin Swim Australia runs responsible wildlife adventures that are all about respecting the local marine life and their habitat. The company emphasises eco-friendly practises, with each swim dependant on the dolphins’ decision to be near to the guests in the water.
Going on a wild dolphin swim tour can be a profoundly moving experience.
2. Go quadbiking in the Stockton Sand Dunes
Book a tour with Sand Dune Adventures to see the highest sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. As you’re burning around the area on quadbikes, your Indigenous guide will scout out middens, where some 18 clans of the Worimi Nation feasted on fish and shellfish. Part of your payment for The Aboriginal Culture Sandboarding and Quad Bike Tour is invested back into the local Indigenous community and protection of the dunes.
See the highest sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere.
3. Experience some of the best shore diving in NSW
Whether you’re an experienced scuba diver or have never donned a snorkel, you will find a dive to suit within the Great Lakes Marine Park in Port Stephens. There’s Fly Point in Nelson Bay, famous for its nudibranches, and the Pipeline, a must for macro divers. The Looking Glass off Broughton Island is another dive deemed noteworthy as it takes divers through an arch in the rock that you will share with a grey nurse shark. You can also learn to freedive with Salty Pilgrims in Nelson Bay.
The scenic Broughton Islands gives guests another dive deemed noteworthy.
4. Ride a camel around Anna Bay
Riding camels along Anna Bay is not an under-the-radar experience near Port Stephens. In fact, it’s one of the most popular things to do in the area as visitors can enjoy the hypnotic blue of the Pacific while plodding along a huge slab of empty sand. The best time to visit Anna Bay is at the first pink glimmering of daylight when you can climb onboard a camel to enjoy the landscape in a relaxed and meditative way. Sahara Trails also runs horseback tours.
Climb onboard a camel to enjoy the landscape in a relaxed and meditative way.
5. Hike to the top of Mt Tomaree
You will find another world at the outskirts of Port Stephens when you turn your back to the beach and fixate on getting to the summit of Mt Tomaree. The Tomaree Head Summit Walk is only 2.2 km return. But clambering up the steep sections on this Grade 5 walk requires a modicum of fitness. The best time to tackle the walk is between May and October, when you may be able to spot the plume of a whale spout from the summit.
Find another world when you get to the summit of Mt Tomaree.
6. Enjoy a whale-watching cruise
Port Stephens is known for its excellent whale-watching season and Moonshadow-TQC and Imagine Cruises both offer eco-friendly cruises. The tours, which run for about three hours, give guests the opportunity to spot humpback whales performing pectoral slaps and body rolls. The 360-degree viewing deck also offers every guest a vantage point to see whales breaching, bringing their considerable bulk out of the ocean for the money shot.
Don’t miss the whale-watching season in Port Stephens. (Image: Moonshadow TQC)
7. Learn to surf or SUP
Port Stephens is blessed with some of the best surf breaks in the country. But if it’s your first time surfing or SUPing around the area you should sign up for a few sessions with Port Stephen Surf School instructors who will take you to places a little more off the radar. It’s how they roll. Whether you want to hone your technique, or learn to stand up on a board for the first time, the bronzed instructors will find discreet, uncrowded breaks where you can hang ten to your heart’s content.
Hang ten to your heart’s content.
8. Destination dining
What a weekend in Port Stephens will tell you is that you need to book a return visit to make time for some of the best restaurants with rooms in NSW. The waterways that curl around Port Stephens are what defines the seaside village. So of course, snapping a selfie over a seafood platter while overlooking the water at Rick Stein at Bannisters, or the Wild Herring at The Anchorage, Port Stephens are the best kinds of souvenirs.
Help yourself to some seafood at Rick Stein at Bannisters.
9. Tour Tin City on a 4WD safari
Explore the sand dunes of Stockton Bight with 4WD Tours R Us. In addition to offering sandboarding adventures amid the colossal dunes of Stockton Bight, the operator takes in Tin City, one of the filming locations for Mad Max. The history of the cobbled-together corrugated iron shacks is fascinating: the shanty town originally built to accommodate shipwreck survivors soon expanded during the Great Depression to include more than 36 huts.
Explore the sand dunes at Tin City, one of the filming locations for Mad Max.
10. Discover the best beaches
There are many stunning stretches of sand near Port Stephens, which is one of Australia’s most-loved aquatic playgrounds. While adventurous types have the option of diving with a grey nurse shark colony off Broughton Island, those looking for something more sedate can walk Wreck Beach or fish at Great Lakes Marine Park. Competent surfers should follow the swell to Wreck, Box, Samurai and Zenith beaches while families will love Salamander Bay, Shoal Bay and Nelson Bay
Shoal Bay is a favourite spot among families.
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