Port Stephens

It was an overcast morning on my 3rd to last weekend here in Australia.  Despite the weather, Yushi and I went ahead and did a day's outing at Port Stephens.  It was a blast! The drive out south from Newcastle was about 45 minutes.  Our guide was Naomi and two other guys from the hostel, Alex and Sam, were with us as well for the day.  I have to say that the hostels here in Australia are fantastic. They provide many tours and activities at cheap rates which we definitely took advantage of.

 

Ready for our dolphin excursion!

Once we arrived to Port Stephens we got onto a boat with other passengers and spent the next couple of hours in search of dolphins.  We met some really nice people on board.  I met a family of really chill Aussies from Sydney up for the weekend in Port Stephens as well as the crew of the ship.  The sun actually came out while we were at sea and it was a lovely sail.  We did manage to find 2 dolphins and though there wasn't a whole pod, we were ohhing and ahhing over those two for quite a while.  It was nice to see them out in their natural setting.  The boat also had what is called a boom net, don't ask me why its called that, I have no idea, but it is a net that they drop off the side of the boat and people can get in it and have an awesome ride with the waves crashing into them.  Not many went in it, but I couldn't pass up the chance and it was seriously fun!

 

There are the 2 little guys!

 

Boom netting, good fun!

From the boat we headed into the town for lunch.  We were recommended an Aussie pie place by Naomi called Red Neds.  It has 50 different versions of pies from the orginal meat pie to exotic ones like Kangaroo and Crocodile.  Yushi and I tried the recommended seafood pie of scallops and shrimp and the  sweet and spicy african chicken.  Both delicious and the owner was the sweetest lady ever.  I feel complete now that I've tried an authentic Aussie pie.

 

Yummmmmy!

After lunch we headed off to our next and best adventure of the day, sand boarding on the dunes!! It was oin Stockton beach, a short drive away from the harbour.  The dunes were amazing! Who would have thought there would be some in Australia? I never would have.  And to top it off there were even camels there?!! I was shocked to see them sitting calmly in the sand.  Apparently there were camel rides up and down the beach.  In any case, sandboarding.... we got into a huge 4WD with other people and drove up a ways to a dune that was nice and steep.  Naomi showed the boys, Yushi and I how to get on the boards and ride down.  It is not like snowboarding as you aren't strapped to the board but kind of like surfing on a short board except you can't turn, you ride straight down.  Most people ride on their butts because its extremely fast and if you try standing and don't do it right you can eat sand very bad.  After a few times on our behinds, the boys and I decided to give it a go on our feet.  It was hard the first few times and I couldn't get my balance right so kept falling off.  Climbing back up to the top of the dune was also a huge workout and I was sweating and breathing hard each time I got to the top. None of the boys or I had a successful attempt at fully making it down the hill on our feet, but my last run for the day I looked down the dune and told myself I needed to make it all the way down.  The guys so kindly let me go first so I pushed off and looked straight ahead of me.  The wind was ripping through my hair and I was going so fast I was scared, but it was amazing and I made it all the way to the bottom where I then proceeded to make the greatest tumble with flip and roll included off of my board,  turned back and pump fisted back up to the guys at the top.  Wished I had gotten a video of that run! I had sand everywhere in my eyes, face, mouth, clothes, you get the point.  Although the guys weren't able to have the same run I did, we had a good time and headed off to the beach for a swim and to get as much sand off of us.  The water was refreshing and after the swim we were ready for the last part of our trip..... shark and ray feeding!

 

Camels??? Boarding on our butts first!

We went to the Shark and Ray Centre about a 20 minute drive away.  I was curious as to what it would be like.  We all have these negative perceptions of sharks and those were the ones in my head.  Not the case though, it was perfectly safe as the sharks were baby ones and we fed both the sharks and the rays shrimp and squid on little sticks.  I have to admit I was scared to touch them at first, but they're really not so bad.  The sharks are rough and leathery and the rays are smooth and a bit slimy feeling.  The rays are really friendly and came right up to eat from our hands.  We had a lot of fun and it was a great experience.

I touched a shark! 

 Having fun with the stuffed versions! 

Coming back to Newcastle we were all exhausted, but I must say that this trip is one of the best that I will remember for a very long time. 

 

Naomi our awesome guide!