Trusted travel is back! Our travellers (and staff) were absolutely bursting with excitement as we made our way north to beautiful Port Stephens on New South Wales’ Mid North Coast.
After checking into our amazing beach house and kicking our shoes off after the drive, we went exploring the local beach at Corlette and gathered supplies for the week ahead.
There were some familiar faces in this group and it was wonderful to catch up and get to know our new travellers over an evening BBQ before settling in for a chill evening at our pad.
The next morning, we were ready to hit the ground running, or should we say sliding, as we looked for an adrenaline hit straight off the bat with an awesome 4WD and sandboarding tour. The sand dunes at Anna Bay are the largest coastal dunes in the Southern Hemisphere and we got an amazing feel for their massive scale being driven around by our friends at Port Stephens 4WD Tours. When it came time for sandboarding, it was certainly tough-going to get up the hill but it was worth it for the amazing views of the beach and dunes. Of course, what goes up must come down and our group of thrill seekers slipped and slid their way down on specially designed sandboards.
After the thrills of the dunes, we looked forward to a relaxing afternoon with some furry and fluffy friends. Oakdale Wildlife Park is home to over 80 species of native, farmyard and exotic creatures ranging from meerkats to echidnas. One member of our group even signed up for the personalised reptile experience and because we were there on a quiet day, the rest of Trusted Travel were able to tag along for a private tour of the park’s reptile collection. Lucky us!
After a massive second day, we had a slow ‘n’ steady morning before heading out to Fighter World to see Australia’s largest collection of military aircraft. Next door, Williamstown RAAF Base is an active military facility and we were amazed by the raw power and noise as the Air Force’s F-18 Super Hornets took off and landed just a stone’s throw away.
Thursday morning gave us time to do some more exploring of the local area and we visited lookouts and pristine beaches as well as having a hearty counter lunch at Soldiers Point Bowling Club. In the afternoon, we had our last planned activity as we went back to the sand dunes for a last look and to be led on a camel ride around the area. It was an awesome experience to see how well adjusted these amazing creatures were to the soft, steep hills of the dunes.
As always, food was a big part of our Trusted Travel experience and throughout the trip we enjoyed big BBQs, wonderful Thai food, delicious pizza and home cooked pancakes, bacon and eggs each morning. Yum!
It was time to wrap the trip up on Friday morning and after packing our bags and saying goodbye to the beach house, we headed down the coast to Stockton to view some of the historic shipwrecks off the breakwater and enjoy sweeping city views of Newcastle, just across the river.
All in all, it was an amazing trip in a beautiful part of our own backyard. We can’t wait to do it all again! Until next time Port Stephens.




