Joanna James
This coastal town of only 5230 persons is located very close to the infamous Port Stephens, a natural harbour. Despite 'lurking in the shadows' all the while, its emergence as a popular town among travellers is treading a sensible line between tourism and appeal. Here is how you can enjoy Nelson Bay!
The painstakingly-well organized and helpful Nelson Bay Visitor's Centre is located conveniently under the pedestrian footbridge in Victoria Parade and has to offer a wide range of informative pamphlets on things to see and have an exhaustively-well rationalised and easy-to-follow chart of cruises that one could opt for. Some of the available cruises are dolphin and whale-watching cruises, deep-sea and big-game fishing cruises, yacht tours and even ferries across to the Tea Gardens. It also features fishing guides and tide charts as well as provide information on upcoming fishing tournaments and the like. In case you need any information about any accommodation options such as on Nelson Bay hotels, an inquiry at the centre should help you out. But a word to the wise, today most hotels such as Oaks Lure make the process of finding accommodation much simpler considering their digital presence.
Right behind the Nelson Bay Visitors centre is an appealing patch of greenery specifically more so stunning when lit up in the nights and is called the Halifax Park. What is best about the Halifax park is its scenic bicycle track that winds by the side of the shoreline to the West all up until the next beach, Dutchmans Bay. This gorgeous white, sandy beach a secluded spot that happens to be a favourite among families what with the adjacent kiddies' park and play facilities.
At the seeming eastern end of Nelson Bay is a slightly raised spot of land known as the 'Nelson Head' which separates Little Nelson Beach on the West from Shoal Bay on the East, which is yet another famous spot among holidaymakers. What is intriguing about Nelson Head is its inner lighthouse, dating all the way back to 1872 but astonishingly yet is still functioning, except that its original three kerosene lamp lit system have been replaced with electric lights since the year 1946.
In a nautical sense, this means to be safely anchored with protection against winds. This site is one of history and dates all the way back to World War II. It is said to be the site of remedial operations of the Chinese, their burial site, as well as the armed forces personnel and training base during World War II. It is said that more than 20,000 Australian as well as American troopers had trained here and shipped to shore for operations. Furthermore, the area was said to have been reinforced heavily against a prospective Japanese attack lurking in the unknown back in the day.
The Gan Gan lookout is truly one of the most panoramic locations especially during dusk where the sky takes on a million shades of vermillion and all you can do is but stare in awe and whimsical surprise.
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