Sunday morning, we left Sydney and drove to Bannisters Port Stephens. The hotel overlooks Port Stephens and is an old, remodelled hotel.

ACTIVITIES

We had a few activities planned here and got busy before we checked into our accommodation for the night. We had planned to do the Tomaree Head Summit Walk, which reportedly has impressive views, but when we arrived at the carpark, the walk was closed for maintenance. ☹️ The wind was blowing a gale across the water to the point where I just wanted to hop back in the car quickly. It also made me a bit nervous about what we had planned for the rest of the afternoon.

Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary: Since we couldn’t do the walk, we had a bit of time before the tour we’d booked, so we decided to visit the Koala Sanctuary instead of doing it the following morning. The main work of the koala sanctuary is to help koalas who are injured in the wild, so there is a hospital on-site to treat and rehabilitate any koalas that are brought in. The koalas that are unable to be reintroduced into the wild because their injuries are such that they wouldn’t survive stay at the sanctuary. We enjoyed watching them. They are so funny the way they cuddle up in the trees to sleep. We also saw one walk along the ground and climb a different tree, so that was pretty cool. The enclosures all have large trees as well as purpose-built resting and eating areas. Cue a selection of cute koala photos:

Stockton Dunes: We took a 4WD tour with Port Stephens 4WD tours. We started the tour on the beach, which runs for 32km almost to Newcastle. The driver spotted a jellyfish on the beach as we were driving, so he stopped to pick it up and tell us a little about it. Then a bit further on, we stopped and got out to search for pippies. You do this by standing on the wet sand and wiggling your feet so that they sink into the wet sand. The pippies rise up to the surface, and you can pick them up. When you put them back on the wet sand, once they are settled, they will tip onto their edge and suck themselves back under the sand. It was very cool to see.

The Stockton dunes are the largest expanse of moving dunes in the southern hemisphere and were pretty impressive, so after a short time on the beach, we headed up into the dunes for sandboarding. It was a bit nerve-wracking at first. It felt a bit like when you drop off onto a black run skiing. The dunes tend to be a little undercut at the top, and you must push yourself over the edge onto that steep bit. It was a lot of fun, but I could only manage six runs because getting back up the dune was a slog. No lifts out there.

Gan Gan Lookout: This is the highest lookout in Port Stephens. We visited on Monday morning as we were leaving to continue our drive north. Lots of gorgeous views, as you can imagine.

RUNNING

Soldiers Point: A loop followed by an out and back to make my 8km run on Monday morning. Mainly flat with some hills at the end of the loop. Pretty views where the roads run next to the water.

EATING

We ate Sunday dinner and Monday breakfast at the hotel restaurant Rick Stein at Bannisters. I had sashimi followed by fish pie which were both delicious for dinner. Breakfast was included in our room rate and was a continental buffet style with cereals, pastries etc. You could also pay extra for a cooked breakfast and barista coffee so I ordered an oat latte.