Port Stephens, New South Wales

After our arrival the rain returned momentarily, definitely having us believe the rain is following us, but it didn't stop us taking a drive up to Gan Gan Lookout to survey the region.   

Gan Gan Lookout

Port Stephens is a town of 20 odd thousand people that sits well into the enormous Karuah River, 33 kilometres north of Newcastle. Karuah River is 134 square kilometres and outsizes the Sydney Harbour. The stretch of beaches and towns of Port Stephens sit in between two volcanoes on the doors of the river mouth, Mount Tomaree and Mount Yacaaba. Captain Cook named the port in 1770 after Sir Phillip Stephens a well-respected secretary of admiralty. Port Stephens became a haven for escaped convicts, in 1795 the crew HMS Providence found a group of them living with the local Worimi People. In 1820 a garrison of troops established themselves in the area, which is known as Soldier’s Point. During World War 2 the region still had very little civilization, which made it training grounds for the Royal Australian Navy. As years carried on after the war, better road access created small towns and ports that attract fishing, holidaying and retiring.

Birubi Beach

Dolly

Shannon

We were pumped from the great ocean views of the morning so we set out to Birubi Beach, the northernmost section of the ‘Golden Bight’. Birubi is not just your standard stretch of golden sand, it’s a 32 kilometre stretch of desert like dunes that are up to 30 metres high. There is plenty of activity on the Birubi, camel rides, four wheel driving and sand boarding down the dunes. Even the Airforce flexed their muscles, with some low passes in their fighter jets. It’s an impressive sight, one side you have pristine waters and on the other you would almost think you’re in the Mad Max Movie, which was a prime location for some of their scenes in the 1970’s. We weren't too keen on the idea of riding on an animals back, but we encouraged ourselves to give Camel riding a try. We were hesitant at the start about doing it; the shonky car salesman personality of the owner and the handling of the Camels had us slightly concerned.  After a few questions answered we threw ourselves on the saddle of the most loyal hard working endurance athletes in Australia. The Camels popped themselves up and got ready to stroll, I had Dolly - who was a little competitive and Gumby had Shannon who was pretty easy going. Dolly and Shannon easily strolled along with the rest of the herd; Dolly liked to over take Shannon and also tried to eat more grass than the camel behind us. The Camels trotted along the sand dunes and into the water, they enjoyed splashing around too. After the water we rode back with the experience only lasting about fifteen minutes, which felt like a pretty short time. Although it didn’t last long, the experience to hang out with a camel makes you appreciate all the hard work they’ve done in the country, whether its hauling ore out of a mine, exploring the deserts for new towns or just carrying tourists around all day, they’re all jobs humans can’t do on their own.  

Wreck Beach

Box Beach

We spent the rest of the day checking out a couple of beaches near Nelson Bay, one was Wreck Beach, which we were far to over dressed for (unexpected nudist beach) and Box Beach, a small slice of paradise surrounded by fifty metres of beach and rocky escarpment.
 
We were spoilt with beaches around Port Stephens, with 26 of them to see and such variation in all of them its got all bases covered for fishing, swimming, four wheel driving and getting nude.  Our day was certainly unforgettable here, from watching a sunrise off the summit of an old volcano to riding a camel on the beach, the Port Stephens region certainly showed us a good time.