We’re currently holidaying along the beautiful eastern coastline of Australia, not three hours north of Sydney in an area called Port Stephens so I wanted to share some photos of the neighbourhood with you.
The peninsula is home to a number of pristine bays that circle around Port Stephens from Nelson Bay through to Anna Bay. We’re vacationing with Milo in the Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay areas, which are two stunning examples of the Australian coastline with long deserted beaches backed by high rising sand dunes and turquoise blue waters lapping at the shore.
We plan to snorkel around the reefs, swim with Milo at his own ‘dog beach’, watch the dolphins play in the ocean, and get stuck into some of the local cuisine.
Back in a week’s time…
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| Fingal Bay, Port Stephens |
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| Fingal Bay, Port Stephens |
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| More Fingal Bay, New South Wales |
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| A stormy looking Shoal Bay, Port Stephens |
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| Pristine bays, turquoise blue waters |
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| Milo surveying the scene |
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| Driftwood |
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| Some local Fingal Bay fun! |
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Hi Russell, sorry to hijack this post but Maria and I were scheming to get you to write a post about the expat joys of buying a bra (see comments below the post): http://joburgexpat.blogspot.com/2011/12/wading-through-minefield-of.html. I just thought it was the funniest thing and told her you might well be up to it! Great pictures by the way in this post!
Hi Sine, you’re welcome to hijack this post anytime. I’ve been over to your site and made some (in)appropriate comments on your suggestion for me to post on that rather interesting topic.
How on earth my name got dragged into things, I’ll never know, but a great suggestion. I’m sure the other NSEW expat dispatchers will love me recommending that subject for next month’s series of posts! 🙂
What a terrible life you have. It must be awful for you wandering along pristine, empty beaches and wading through the warm waters of the Pacific. Lucky sod.
It’s a hard life, Jack, but someone has to do it. Wading through the warm waters of the Pacific is just bliss… until a Great White takes your leg off. Hasn’t happened yet thankfully.
LOVE Port Stephens, it’s been a favorite little spot ever since the first time I went swimming at the town end of Sandy Bay and there were dolphins and penguins joining in and Pelicans flying overhead. Then when an Easterly blew up in the arvo we went over to Anna Bay – the first sight of that pristine coastline and sand dunes in the glorious sunshine with a light offshore breeze was unforgettable.
If you like there I *highly* recommend Jervis Bay down below Wollongong. It really has the whitest sand in the world and crystal water. Hyams Beach is where we were, right on the beach. Magic.
p.s. reading your comment below I probably shouldn’t mention that Anna Bay to Stockton Beach is a white pointer breeding ground LOL. I myself have seen the odd small ‘flathead’ swim past – but they are all well fed apparently. Have fun!
Hey Stan, thanks for your comments. It’s a great spot, isn’t it? The first time I went there, I also stayed at Anna Bay (think it was at the Melaleuca campsite/backpackers). It was just beautiful there, not a soul in sight, and endless sand dunes running off into the distance. God’s country, for sure.
Thanks for the Jervis Bay recommendation. I’ve been there several times. In fact, the last time we went, we headed to Hyam’s Beach and also to the National Park (can’t remember the name of the beach there). Again, it was divine and I couldn’t believe how white the sand was.
I didn’t know that about the white pointers and that stretch of beach. Thanks for the warning! And there was me thinking they were dolphins! 🙂