MELBOURNE TO PORT STEPHENS

Welcome to our 10 day tour to the North Coast of New South Wales – and two delightful “Ports” - Port Stephens and Port Macquarie. With chauffeured pickup from home, we travel to Melbourne Airport where we’ll be greeted by an O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours representative who will assist us with check-in and see us onto the plane for our direct flight to Newcastle. Arriving at Newcastle Airport, we will be welcomed by our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach crew, who will assist us with our luggage before we board the coach for the transfer to our accommodation, the Oaks Port Stephens Pacific Blue Resort. Port Stephens is an area of magnificent volcanic headlands and spectacular bays. This will be our base for the next four nights as we explore the local area, including Newcastle and the Hunter Valley. 

Lunch at own expense and arrangement / Refreshments in flight

OVERNIGHT: Oaks Port Stephens Pacific Blue Resort, PORT STEPHENS

EXPLORING PORT STEPHENS

We take in the sights of Nelson Bay and the Tomaree Peninsula. It’s easy to see why the area is referred to as the “Blue Water Paradise”! We’ll see all the major attractions including Fingal Bay, Shoal Bay, Salamander Bay, Soldiers Point and the town of Salamander. Mid-morning, we board our cruise boat for a cruise, followed by a light lunch, on the spectacular waterways of Port Stephens - with any luck, we may meet some of the long-time locals - the friendly dolphins! This afternoon, we head to the Stockton Bight Sand Dunes. Covering an area of over 2,500 hectares along a 32km stretch of Stockton Beach, the brilliant white sand dunes climb up to 30 metres high with slopes up to 60 degrees. We’ll take a drive through the dunes and along the beach aboard a specially designed 4WD vehicle. We’ll see “Tin City”, a small makeshift fishing village emerging from the dunes like a mirage and enjoy afternoon tea in a unique setting!

OVERNIGHT: Oaks Port Stephens Pacific Blue Resort, PORT STEPHENS

THE HUNTER VALLEY

We spend today in the nearby Hunter Valley – our first stop is the Hunter Valley Gardens, 25 hectares of stunning feature gardens nestled in the heart of the Hunter vineyards at the foothills of the Brokenback Ranges. Glory in the lavish array of colour and scent of more than eight thousand roses on display in the Rose Garden; laze above the 10-metre waterfall and take in the superb views from the lookout or step back in time with all your favourite fairytale characters in the Storybook Garden. We have all morning and lunch here, so there’s plenty of time to enjoy! Early afternoon we visit the Hunter Valley Cheese Factory to taste their range of fine handmade and preservative-free cheeses; all available for purchase, as are their delicious preserves. After a beautiful day in the Hunter, we head back to the resort.

OVERNIGHT:  Oaks Port Stephens Pacific Blue Resort, PORT STEPHENS

NEWCASTLE

We head south this morning to take in some of the local sights of Newcastle, the state’s second largest city and one of Australia’s largest ports. Newcastle is a city of industry as well as history with its terraced houses, a majestic cathedral and ancient fort. A mixture of old and new! We take in both as we join our local expert for a guided tour through Newcastle’s streets, past the sites of our convict history, fort and gaol, Australia’s oldest school, oldest restaurant and many other places of interest. After some free time for a wander and to purchase lunch we head to RAAF Williamtown for our visit to Fighter World, the world’s first fighter aircraft display centre. It’s here we see the history of the Australian Air Force close up.  After a wonderful day, we now head back to the resort to relax before dinner.

Lunch at own expense and arrangement

OVERNIGHT:  Oaks Port Stephens Pacific Blue Resort, PORT STEPHENS

FORSTER AND NABIAC 

We depart Port Stephens this morning and head to Forster Tuncurry, where we see one of Australia’s cleanest lakes - Wallis Lake. The lake stretches 25 kilometres between Walling at State Forest and a sliver of land separating the lake from the sea. Our luncheon cruise will take us on a tour of this crystal clear, pristine waterway, home to a rich seafood harvest, including the famous Wallis Lake oyster. After disembarking, we head to the nearby town of Nabiac to visit the National Motorcycle Museum of Australia. This purpose-built complex housing 800 motorcycles and a motorcycle orientated gift shop. Among the favourite machines on display are a Kenilworth scooter (1919), a twin-cylinder water-cooled 2-stroke Scott, and a Vincent Black Knight. There is an excellent range of vintage bikes from the early nineteen hundreds and many interesting later machines. From here, we continue north towards Port Macquarie – our home for the next five nights.

OVERNIGHT: Sails Port Macquarie by Rydges, PORT MACQUARIE

PORT MACQUARIE AND THE BEST OF THE HASTINGS 

From our hotel, we take a sightseeing tour of the historical sites of “Port” including its oldest building, St Thomas’ Anglican Church built by convicts in 1826. We view the old Court House, Allman Hill, The Garrison building and the historic town green. Our first visit for the day is to Sea Acres Rainforest Park, 72 hectares of rare coastal rainforest. We take a tour with a local expert through this magnificent area and visit the Enviro-Theatre and the Ecology display. After lunch, we head to Cassegrain Winery for a tasting. Our last stop for the day is Ricardoes Tomatoes & Strawberries farm. The greenhouses boast five varieties of hydroponic strawberries and eight varieties of tomatoes.

OVERNIGHT: Sails Port Macquarie by Rydges, PORT MACQUARIE

THE HINTERLAND 

Our first stop today is the Wild Koala Breeding Facility (Guulabaa) where we view the great work done by volunteers. (You can make a gold coin donation if you wish.) Back in town, we visit Roto House, built in 1890 for John Edmund Flynn, a land surveyor who settled in Pt Macquarie in 1885. The house, built of red mahogony, has been restored and is classified by National Trust. It’s now time for a cruise on the River Hastings through the everglade rainforest, navigating through 3 river systems and seeing water lilies, pristine rainforests, huge elk horns, birds, and wildlife in this fascinating environment. We’ll enjoy morning tea underway. Back on dry land, we head down the coast to Lake Cathie, then onto Laurieton, taking in the spectacular scenery of this coastline.  After lunch in Laurieton, we travel up North Brother Mountain for a magnificent view of the Camden Haven area.

OVERNIGHT: Sails Port Macquarie by Rydges, PORT MACQUARIE

THE NORTH COAST 

We make our way north to South West Rocks where we take a sightseeing tour of the area and visit the Trial Bay Gaol and the Arakoon National Park. Work on the Trial Bay Gaol commenced in 1877 as an experiment in penal reform. Following our guided visit of the museum, we drive to Kempsey to salute the King of Country with a visit to the Slim Dusty Centre. The centre’s exhibition features objects and images from the Kirkpatrick family’s own extensive archive, as well as contributions from fans and friends from all over the world. The display provides a look into Slim’s first steps into show business, the early years of adventures with Joy and their mates touring the towns of Australia’s outback and the glory days of life on the showgrounds of Australia with artistes and performers of vaudevillian delights.  Memory acts, dental trapeze and comedy skits were all part of Slim and Joy’s shows for years, until they settled into the type of performances for which they became famous; rollicking country music and Slim’s natural good humour, all with a very Australian flavour. Enjoy the costumes, the music of some of Australia’s finest musicians and the insights into Australia’s vast history and geography that only Slim and Joy’s 60 years on the road can provide.

OVERNIGHT:  Sails Port Macquarie by Rydges, PORT MACQUARIE

WAUCHOPE 

Heading inland, we make our first stop at Vickers Fudge. Continuing through Wauchope, we step back in time with a visit Timbertown. The entire village is re-created to demonstrate the struggles and achievements of Australia’s pioneers in the timber industry. We can ride on a steam train or horse and carriage, go panning for gold and watch a blacksmith demonstration. There are interesting displays through the village, in the saw mill, cottages, church and school house.  Topping off the day we head to the Bago Vineyard and Maze. For those with a sense of adventure, have a go at conquering the maze (additional expense). The venue has a beautiful view point where we enjoy a wine tasting to end the day in a relaxing setting. 

OVERNIGHT:  Sails Port Macquarie by Rydges, PORT MACQUARIE

PORT MACQUARIE TO MELBOURNE 

After breakfast we complete our memorable tour of the naturally beautiful Mid–North Coast of New South Wales. Leaving Port Macquarie we enjoy the relaxing drive back to Newcastle Airport for our return flight to Melbourne. Upon arrival, our chauffeurs will be waiting to transport us home with many interesting stories to tell of our coastal adventure.

Lunch at own expense and arrangement / Refreshments in flight