September 2009
Jazz Wine & Food Festival

Date: 11-13 September

Venue: Shoal Bay Resort & Spa

Contact Details: Shoal Bay Resort & Spa: 1800 18 18 10

Click Here for more information

Come along and experience tantalising local produce from the Hunter Valley and Port Stephens. Sample wine from Hunter Valley Wineries, indulge in fresh local produce straight from the supplier or carefully prepared by experienced local chefs and be entertained with live Jazz concerts and kids entertainment all while enjoying the stunning views of Shoal Bay, Port Stephens.

October 2009
Port Stephens Whale Festival

Date: 3 - 12 October

Venue: d'Albora Marina, Nelson Bay

Contact Details: Deborah Stretton at d'Albora Marina: 02 4984 1333.

Email: dstretton@dalboramarinas.com.au

Website: www.whalefest.com.au

The 2009 Port Stephens Whale Festival includes an extensive entertainment program with whale cruises, photography competition, live music, performances by local choirs and dance groups, roving entertainment, arts & craft tent, interactive stands with information on whales and the environment and loads more!

November 2009
Tastes of the Bay Food, Wine and Jazz Festival

Date: 7 - 8 November

Venue: Nelson Bay Foreshore

Contact Details: 02 4984 4751

Email: nbtm@nelsonbay.com

Click Here for more information

Spread across the d'Albora Marinas in Nelson Bay, Apex Park (Nelson Bay CBD) and Nelson Bay Foreshore, the Festival is the major culinary event in Port Stephens, featuring food from local restaurants, great wine selections from popular Hunter Valley and local Port Stephens wineries and fabulous Jazz Music. Cooking demonstrations by award winning chefs are becoming a big part of this festival. Site stalls offering fresh food, cheeses, chocolate and interesting gourmet products add colour and variety to this event. A spectacular firework display compliments the Saturday night program

The perfect holiday destination – few places in Australia can boast such pristine and expansive waterways as Port Stephens blue water paradise.

Made up of 26 golden sandy beaches, eco diver Marine and National Parks, they range from gentle calm family fun to great surfing, diving and fishing beaches. Enjoy the boardwalk stroll along a world class marina, gourmet restaurants, cafés and shops.

Port Stephens boasts a waterway, two and a half times the size of Sydney Harbour featuring crystal blue waters suitable to almost every water sport imaginable. After only one day of exploring you'll understand why Port Stephens is Australia's Blue Water Wonderland. It doesn't get much better than this.

Fast facts:

• Major holiday resort and play ground area with many and varied attractions with Nelson Bay and Shoal Bay being two of the key resort areas
• Located on the southern shores of Port Stephens
• Famous for a large number of dolphins in the bay
• Port Stephens region is 215 km north of Sydney, population 65,000
• Excellent bushwalking area as well as the "bay experience"

Things to do:

• Hire a catamaran, surf ski or a canoe from the beach at Shoal Bay.
• Explore the beaches at Tomaree Head, at the north-eastern tip of Tomaree National Park.
• Take a dolphin-watch cruise and marvel at the antics of these aquatic acrobats enjoy the bottlenose dolphins at play in the bay

• Hand feed the blue gropers at the Fly Point-Halifax Park Aquatic Reserve.
• Spend the day at Dutchies Beach, the perfect place for family getaways.
• Explore Tomaree National Park, a 20 km strip of rocky coastline between Anna Bay and Shoal Bay.
• Stay at the Shoal Bay Resort & Spa and enjoy luxury, fine food and wine and weekend entertainment on 5 acres of beach front

Don't miss

• Some of the 230 bird species found at Tomaree Head and spectacular views of Port Stephens from the walking trails of Tomaree National Park
• Sampling the produce at Murray's Craft brewing Co. and Port Stephens Winery.
• The bushland walk at Tilligerry Habitat.
• Tanilba House, one of the areas oldest historic buildings.
• Enjoy local cuisine such as local oysters, fresh from the bay or fish and chips on the beach
• The canoe trees at Little Nelson Beach.
• The lighthouse and buildings at Nelson Head.
• The view from Gan Gan Lookout
• A trip on a game-fishing boat.
• Quad biking on nearby Stockton Dunes.
• Nelson Bay Marina where you can board for whale and dolphin watching cruises.

Why go there:

The Port Stephens region lays claim to the title 'Dolphin Capital of Australia'. The bay is home to around 150 bottlenose dolphins, and there are several tour operators in Nelson Bay that offer dolphin-watch trips. These playful aquatic mammals often ride the bow wave just a couple of metres from the vessel.

Between May and June, humpback whales cruise past the town on their northern migration, returning south between September and November and these huge animals are often encountered on the dolphin cruises.

Whether it's for fishing, boating or sandcastle building, this huge bay has everything you need for year-round aquatic action. The diving and snorkelling here is exceptional. Just east of Nelson Bay, the tiny promontory of Fly Point is an aquatic reserve with prolific marine life. Divers have another superb site just off the coast at Broughton Island, with such outstanding features as the ‘Looking Glass’, a split that runs through the middle of the island, crowded with marine life. It would be hard to find anywhere better equipped for aquatic pursuits.

In addition the region offers a great array of accommodation and dining options with shops and restaurants along various beach fronts. Nelson Bay's doorstep within the sheltered arms of the bay there are safe, calm beaches that are ideal for small children, while the coastal beaches just a five-minute drive away are washed by booming waves.

To the south of Nelson Bay, Stockton Beach has the country's largest coastal dune system, stretching for more than 30 km to the northern outskirts of Newcastle.

The area is a great base for fishing trips and cruises around Port Stephens.

One Mile Beach Port Stephens

The perfect place to get away from the crowds. One Mile Beach is a patrolled (in summer) surf beach or just a beautiful spot to stroll. With no development right on the beach, you will feel like you’re a million miles away.

You can also explore the picturesque Tomaree national Park and discover some of the lesser known beaches like Boat Harbour or Kingsley.

It's easy to stay in this area as One Mile is fortunate to have several accommodation properties in close proximity to the beach.

One such place is Wanderers Retreat. Forget the alarm clock, awake to birdcalls, spot a koala or just sit back and relax. They have 2 bedroom, individual, cedar clad cottages and for the Romantics – treat yourselves to a few night s in a Tree house.

Close to all of the Port's attractions and activities, Wanderers Retreat is the perfect base for discovering Port Stephens.

For more information see Wanderers Retreat advertisement

Moonshadow Cruises

Think outside the square... Think Moonshadow!

With three vessels operating on Port Stephens Harbour we can offer the range of scheduled cruises and private charter options to suit your needs. Relax on the harbour on a Dolphin watch cruise, head to sea in search of the awesome Humpback whales, experience the ultimate in water front dining on a Twilight dinner cruise or, charter a vessel and design a cruise just for your group. Check out our Christmas Party options, menus and themes for conference dinners and if you really want a day to remember try one our team building adventures: Pirates of Port Stephens or Secret Agent Urban Assault.

Moonshadow have 28 years experience in cruising and are multiple regional and state tourism award winners. We are even Eco Tourism accredited, so you can be assured you are cruising with professionals.

See advertisement for further details

Pacific Dunes

Since opening in 2005, Pacific Dunes Golf Club has quickly established a reputation for being among the best corporate golf venues in New South Wales.

Located in the picturesque Port Stephens region on New South Wales’ lower north coast, Pacific Dunes Golf Club is the centrepiece of the $180 million Pacific Dunes golf and residential community.

The Club offers golfers much more than just a stunning 18 hole James Wilcher-designed layout, with the Golf Club's restaurant 'The Dunes' offering the perfect venue for a meal or post-golf celebrations for a corporate day.

The Pacific Dunes Summer House Function Centre which opened in 2008 provides a unique conference or function venue with stunning views overlooking the golf course.

Pacific Dunes also has a dedicated team to help manage all aspects of corporate golf days – from merchandise to signage to menu packages.

Combining one of Australia's leading layouts with world-class entertaining facilities makes Pacific Dunes the ideal location for your next corporate golf event.