Our main purpose at Port Stephen was to go look for dolphin in the open water. With some luck, we managed to spot a few! Given that it was nearly the end of their migration season, it was quite lucky for us to spot a few swimming beside. Still pretty thrilled about it! :)

After which, we went over to Stockton Bight sand dunes (nearby) and tried sand boarding! It was quite fun and judging from the photos you can see how good we were at it. We had fun sliding our asses off and climbed all the way back up again just for that few seconds of adrenaline rush. So fun!


We went ahead with PJ Tours and I won't say it was very worth it. Most of the time was spent traveling to Port Stephen (inevitable) and the 4WD they promised us turned out to be on a minibus?! But it was still quite bumpy though so still get that experience of rolling over sand dunes on 4 wheels I guess... Yeah, so I would recommend driving or find a better tour provider.


#2 Hunter Valley

Hunter Valley is located slightly before Port Stephen so a 2 hours drive from Sydney will bring you there. It is one of Oz's oldest and major wine regions. So what do we do?? Wine-tasting of course!

We went to 4 or 5 wineries and the wine is really different from all the wines I have drunk in my life (disclaimer: I don't really drink). Since I don't really drink and for me to be able to appreciate the wines mean they are really good and smooth on the palate. Give it a try even for those who don't drink because they give only a small amount (duh, it's a tasting).



Hmmm. There was no grape on the vine for us to see because it wasn't the right season too. Besides wine-tasting, we also tasted cheese and chocolate at different areas specialized in different things. So worth it.

This time, we went for another tour provider, Sydney Booking Centre. If I didn't remember wrongly, the driver was very friendly but again you can't choose the driver. I think this tour is more worth it but frankly speaking, I think it's because of the food that I get to eat (#glutton).

Maybe I just have to pick a better tour provider for Port Stephen and I would still recommend the above two tours if you are looking for something to do outside of Sydney city.

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