Visited beautiful Port Stephens recently, which is about a 3-hour drive up the coast from Sydney in New South Wales and just north of Newcastle. This is one of our favorite areas so far: tons of coastal waterways weaving in and out of the area, lots of nice beaches and one of the longest stretches of sand dunes outside of Saudi Arabia. As you can see from the photo, the port is guarded by two extinct volcanic cones, which is waycool unto itself.
The HUGE sand dunes extend for miles -- or kilometers, if you will. People take their 4WD all over the dunes, so you might be walking in the middle of sand, feeling all alone and peaceful, then suddenly a SUV comes barreling at you. Or an angry camel (but aren't they all?).
So off we went alone into the dunes, with Zig only a latte for sustenance. (She once carried tiramisu to the top of a mountain in Cali.) Once you get to the middle of endless sand dunes, what do you do after admiring them? We played frisbee.
We stayed at a fantastic B&B, The Batch , which is run by Lynn and Neil who are like your fave aunt and uncle, only cooler. They have a great little oasis there with lots of animals running around, including a resident koala, Jack.
Surprise, Jack sleeps a lot. The French Canadian guy who runs our local convenience store said it's because eucalyptus leaves contain alcohol. Here's Jack, drunk again:
