The ultimate weekend trip: Port Stephens

Hopefully you’re feeling fresh enough for an early one, because the most bucket-list-worthy of all activities in Port Stephens is swimming with the dolphins. This is the only permitted wild dolphin swim in New South Wales, and will take up 4 hours of your morning, so allow for that. But since there are more than 140 bottlenose dolphins in the area, it might be your best shot at replicating your favourite scene from Flipper. Head to d’Albora Marinas, Nelson Bay, and hook up with Dolphin Swim Australia.  If swimming is not your thing – there’s also the option to join a dolphin-watching tour.

You can’t come to Port Stephens and not see the Stockton Sand Dunes, which are within Worimi Conservation Lands. You probably didn’t realise the largest moving coastal sand dunes in the southern hemisphere were this close to Sydney. They stretch for 32km right up to Birubi Beach, with steep slopes rising to 40m. Hire a 4WD with a group of mates or better still join a tour – where you can be a road warrior on a sandboard or quad bike, or go old school on a camel.

Next head over to Tin City, an 11-shack village built on the sand in the late 1800s. It’s only a 25-minute drive but it’s as off-the-grid as they come: this is a pocket of country with no power, no water and no sewerage. And it looks exactly like something out of Mad Max for good reason: part of the ‘79 original was filmed here. Note: admire Tin City from a distance as this is private property.  

Step back from the coastline for another equally epic perspective. The walks throughout Tomaree National Park have views out to the harbour perfect for a photo op. The 45-minute walk to Tomaree Head Summit is steep, but the view is worth the climb. While you’re at the top you can watch the  journey of the Gould’s petrel through our augmented reality immersive story. 

Pooped from the morning’s adventuring? Wreck Beach walk is a more relaxing option.  If you’re there from May to November, keep an eye out over the water for migrating humpback whales. Connect with Fort Tomaree walk on your way back down the summit to see the military relics. It’s hard to imagine now, but during World War II Fort Tomaree was occupied by searchlight stations, a radar tower, torpedo tubes, barracks and hundreds of soldiers.

Hot on everyone’s lips is the Tomaree Coastal Walk (including the Tomaree Head Summit) – an epic 27km walk on Worimi Country that winds through ancient volcanic landscapes, beneath shaded canopies of gum and she-oaks, to secluded coves and beaches. The walk can be completed over two or three days, or tackled in shorter sections – choose your own adventure here.