Port Stephens Getaway

I can’t recall the last time I took a proper break. Not the usual “take a Monday off work and create a long weekend” type of break, but a proper break where you get out of town, walk on the beach and not worry about what emails are coming through to the work account.

This past year has been fairly full on, with some significant changes, so taking some time out is exactly what I needed. So last Saturday, Bella and I jumped in the car and drove the 1,100+ kms from the Mornington Peninsula to the New South Wales Hunter region and Port Stephens (there’ll be further blog posts on other aspects of the trip, including the road-trip, accommodation and our stay in Sydney).

We’ve had the most perfect winter weather while we’ve been here - sunshine and 18-20 degree days - what more could we possibly ask for?!

While we’ve only had three days in this idyllic location, we’ve certainly managed to fill each of them.

Day One involved morning tea at the Inner Light Tea Rooms overlooking the beautiful Nelson and Shoal Bays, before finding the most spectacular location of Zenith Beach.

Located at the end of Shoal Bay, and within the Tomaree National Park, Zenith Beach has the kind of white sand that squeaks as you walk along the beach, and sits between Tomaree Headland and Stephens Peak, and if you’re lucky like we were, you’ll spot whales out to sea and dolphins playing in the waves close to shore.

(We imagine that it’s a fairly popular beach during the summer months, however suggest visitors take caution as it’s an unpatrolled beach and while when we visited, the conditions were calm, being an ocean facing beach it would definitely have the potential of being dangerous.)

Dinner was at Laguna Blu Bar and Dining, conveniently located within the Oaks Pacific Blue Resort. We opted for a delicious wood-fired pizza, however the best part was watching Bella experience the joys of a Nutella pizza, topped with strawberries and ice-cream for the first time!

Day two started with a walk at Birubi Beach where the white sands stretched for as far as the eye could see. We then moved around to Boat Harbour where we were able to spot whales out at sea. Heading back into Nelson Bay, we had a quick lunch at Cafe on the Bay before joining the Moonshadow TQC crew and fellow passengers for a whale watching cruise onboard the Hichenbrook Explorer.

The 3.5 hour cruise took us our around the coastline and some of the islands of Port Stephens were we were treated to a fair amount of marine activity. From whales out at sea, to seals basking in the afternoon sunshine and dolphins playing around the boat as we headed back into the marina at the end of the cruise, we definitely weren’t disappointed in what we saw.

(We’re thinking we may head back to Port Stephens during the summer months so that we can go out on the Moonshadow TQC Splash and Slide dolphin cruise.)

Wanting to wind down after the excitement of whale watching, we headed back to the resort for a swim in the outdoor heated lap pool and takeaway pizza (from Laguna Blu) in front of the TV.

After a busy few days, Day Three was quiet in comparison. We started with morning tea back up at the Inner Light Tea Rooms where the lorikeets decided to keep us company. As good as the scones are, the carrot cake definitely gives the view some competition!

We then spent the afternoon back at the resort to pack up and prepare for our next few days in Sydney, before heading out to the marina for an early dinner of fish and chips at Bub’s Fish & Chips.

The details of where we stayed, ate and played:

Accommodation:

The Oaks Pacific Blue Resort (265 Sandy Point Road, Salamander Bay, New South Wales) - https://www.oakshotels.com/en/oaks-pacific-blue-resort

Dining:

Laguna Blu Bar & Dining (located within the Oaks Pacific Blue Resort) - https://lagunablu.com.au/

Inner Light Tea Rooms (5a Lighthouse Road, Nelson Bay, New South Wales) - https://www.innerlighttearooms.com.au/

Bub’s Fish & Chips (1 Teramby Road, Nelson Bay, New South Wales) - https://www.bubsfish.com.au/

Cafe on the Bay (10/8 Teramby Road, Nelson Bay, New South Wales)

Activities:

Moonshadow TQC Whale Watching Tour - https://moonshadow-tqc.com.au/

Notes:

With flights into Newcastle, Port Stephens is easily accessible from all Australian capital cities.

We would suggest having a car when visiting, as Port Stephens is made up of a collection of towns which are spread out across the region.

For reference, our hotel was an approx. 10 minute drive to the Inner Light Tea Rooms and 15 minute drive to Zenith Beach.

Being a great place to visit during the winter months, we strongly suggest adding Port Stephens to your winter vacation plans.

B x