AusEmade: Port Stephens and Region Travel Information, Attractions and Tourism Guide, New South Wales, Australia

Port Stephens and Region Attractions

New South Wales, Australia

Port Stephens & Region
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• Hunter Valley
• Mid North Coast

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Port Stephens and Region - Cities, Towns and Localities

Port Stephens boasts a waterway that is two and a half times the size of Sydney Harbour with crystal blue waters suitable for most water sports.

Part of the Mid North Coast region, Port Stephen is gaining fame as the place to be for whale watching, when during the period of June to November, over 4,000 humpback whales swim past on their annual migration north to the warmer waters of the South Pacific Ocean, then south again. Click here to find out more about whales...

With so much to see and do, there is a plenty of activities, check out some of our listed attractions.

Port Stephens Attractions

Cabbage Tree Island and the Gould's Petrel
• Cabbage Tree Island is a kilometre off the entrance to Port Stephens. This is the only known nesting site of the Gould's petrel, one of the rarest and most secretive birds on Earth. They only visit the island for about three months of the year, starting in October. Public access is not allowed on the island due to the fragility of the endangered species, however boating around the island makes for an exciting trip.

Rocky Headlands
• Dramatic coastline dominated by Tomaree Head stretching to Broughton Island. The place to scuba dive is off Halifax Point, where you will see large sponges, blue gropers, sea urchins and other abundant marine life. One of the best shore dives in New South Wales lies protected within the 'Fly Point-Halifax Park Aquatic Reserve'. There are a number of other dives including a swim through Looking Glass Isle, near Broughton Island.

Stockton Beach Dunes
• The wind-blown sand dunes of Stockton Beach comprise the largest continuous mobile sand mass in New South Wales. Most of the sand was deposited about six thousand years ago, having been washed in from the sea and blown ashore to form dunes up to thirty metres high. Despite the stabilising effects of plants such as spinifex, bitou bush and pigface, the dunes move about four metres a year. The lee side of a dune is steep and loosely packed, making a perfect surface for sliding down on a sheet of cardboard or something more elaborate. A day or annual permit allows four-wheel-drive vehicles on to the beach for most of its length to enjoy the wonders of this inspiring sandy landscape.

Tanilba House
• Situated on the shoreline of Port Stephens, Tanilba House, together with its small gaol, elaborate stone gazebo and one hundred and seventy year-old olive tree, is open to the public. There is even a resident ghost of a young woman with long brown hair and floor-length dress, who is believed to be that of Elizabeth Gray, a governess who lived there in the 1830s.

Tomaree National Park
• 50 km north of Newcastle between Anna Bay and Shoal Bay in Port Stephens, the park contains many beaches, with forest and heath and lots of spring wildflowers. Climb to the top of Tomaree Headland for superb views of Port Stephens and the coast.