Long weekend family road trips presented by Mahindra: Port Stephens

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If you’re looking for inspiration for a long weekend escape with the family, then we’ve got you covered with a series of getaways presented by Mahindra.

We will explore a range of destinations that are perfectly suited to growing families and offer as many surprises and delights as the XUV700 we’re driving.

The XUV700 has space for seven with three rows of seats, an efficient turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, loads of conveniences, and the latest digital technologies to make a long weekend road trip both enjoyable and safe.

In this instalment we head to the beautiful seaside holiday town of Port Stephens on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

How to get there

Port Stephens is 214km – or a 2.5-hour drive – north of Sydney and one of NSW’s most popular seaside holiday destinations.

It’s an easy trip up the Pacific Highway through the central coast before turning off at Tomago just past the Hunter River crossing.

There are plenty of places to take a break along the way but only one major service centre to refuel on the highway at Wyong.

However, if you want to meander your way to Port Stephens there are a number of interesting detours you can make, including visiting the famous Hunter Valley wine region or the vibrant port city of Newcastle.

Where to stay

Port Stephens is primarily a holiday town and, as such, has a bountiful array of accommodation options, including a number of the country’s highest-rated family-friendly caravan parks, as well as budget motels, serviced apartments, five-star resorts and glamorous Airbnb houses.

The Port Stephens area has a number of unique areas with Nelson Bay at the centre as it houses the main shopping district and marina. Then there’s Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay to the east, Corlette, Salamander Bay and Soldiers Point to the west, and One Mile Beach and Anna Bay to the south.

Each location offers a distinct character, and it’s easy to navigate around to explore the different beaches and activities available.

Where to eat

The options are endless in Port Stephens, from five-star restaurants to alfresco cafes, bowling clubs, trend-setting beach clubs, and some of the best fish-and-chip takeaway shops in the country.

Rick Stein at Bannister’s, a deluxe five-star hotel at Soldiers Point, is right up there at the top of the list, with the iconic British celebrity chef serving a range of simple yet exotic seafood dishes.

Or for something more casual head next door to the Cheeky Dog for a modern Mediterranean twist on classic pub grub.

In Nelson Bay, the D’Albora Marina has plenty of family-friendly restaurants, but there’s also some great cafes and restaurants on the tree-lined Magnus Street shopping strip or the bistro at the Seabreeze Hotel across the road.

And over at Shoal Bay you can watch the sun fall into the sparkling water from the rooftop of the Shoal Bay Country Club or through the open-air windows at Atmos, or grab some fish and chips from Aussie Bobs and head down to the pristine white sand or find a picnic table on the boulevard.

What to do

A long weekend in Port Stephens is a genuine escape, with some of the country’s most beautiful beaches and plenty of family activities.

Whale watching and dolphin spotting

Port Stephens is famous as a whale watching destination, with multiple tour operators offering half-day or full-day cruises to witness the majesty of humpback whales during the migration season between May and November.

The bay is also home to hundreds of bottlenose dolphins which often frolic in the bow waves.

Fishing

Port Stephens is also a renowned fishing spot, whether you’re just dropping in a line from any number of the countless jetties, beach fishing, scuba diving, or heading out into the ocean for big game.

Pat a shark

If you want to get up close to what’s under the sea without catching them, the Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters at Anna Bay is a great place to visit.

Here, you can feed or pet the sharks and stingrays as part of its fully interactive guided aquarium tour, or walk in the shallows or snorkel with them for an extra fee.

Learn to surf

Inside the bay, the flat water is perfect for stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking. But the region also has a number of well-protected beaches with gentle waves where it’s easy to learn how to surf.

There are a number of learn-to-surf schools that can provide hire equipment and expert tuition.

Ride a camel or quad bike on the beach

If there are no waves or the water is too cold in the winter months, why not ride something completely different on the beach, like a camel or a quad bike?

Stockton Beach is one of the country’s largest sand dune environments and stretches for 32km between Anna Bay at the northern end to the Newcastle suburb of Stockton at the south.

At Anna Bay, Oakfield Ranch offers 20-minute camel ride tours between 10:00am and 3:30pm every day, and one-hour sunset rides on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Further down the beach at Williamtown is Quad Bike King, which offers one-hour and 45-minute guided tours of the sand dunes on four-wheel quad bikes.

Fighter World

Just down the road is Williamtown airport, a mixed-use Air Force base and the commercial aviation hub for Newcastle and its surrounding regions.

For plane-spotters, there’s a car park at the end of the runway where you can watch aircraft take off and land at close range.

You never know, you might even see one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets, the F-35 Lightning, in action.

Or you can head next door to Fighter World, a museum of RAAF aviation history with more than 15 aircraft on display, including an F/A-18A and F-111.

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