AUSTRALIA 2011: Sandboarding Adventure

AUSTRALIA 2011: Sandboarding Adventure (May 8, 2011)

Port Stephens is just about an hour away from Hunter Valley, so we were able to check-in at Horizons Golf Resort after our day of wine-tasting. We rented a two-bedroom house for two nights, because we needed all the rest we could get to energize us for the adventure that lay ahead.

T H E  D U N E S

Catching a ride to the dunes

Port Stephens is a large coastal area with beautiful white-sand beaches, sheltered bays, abundant marine life, and gorgeous parks. It is also home to massive sand dunes, covering an area of around 4,200 hectares. The first time I’ve been to sand dunes was when I went to Mui Ne in Vietnam. While I already found those dunes amazing, they were tiny compared to the sand dunes in Port Stephens. It’s just sand as far as the eyes can see, and we didn’t even get to see the whole expanse of it.

To go to the sand dunes we had to drive to Anna Bay, which also gave us a view of Stockton Beach. From here, there were several 4WD tour providers. After some negotiation, we boarded one 4WD tour bus, which took us to a 5-minute ride up and down the most beautiful dunes I’ve seen. The ride itself was fun and adrenaline-pumping. It made us understand why only licensed 4-wheel-drive vehicles can maneuver through the sand dunes and make it out alive.

Is that where we're going?

S A N D B O A R D I N G

The long way to the top

When we reached our destination, our guide gave us a quick lesson on how to go through sandboarding properly and more importantly, safely. The climb up was a little tiring, and it gets even more tiring the more times you do it, but the view up there was completely worth it.

We could see the vast sea, as well as some pocket forests and of course, more sand. From up there, it also becomes very clear how tiny the people where we came from are, so sliding down the massive dunes suddenly becomes daunting.

Down we go

The first slide is a bit scary, but the adrenaline rush it brings is amazing. There’s a proper way to do it, and I had to try it out a couple more times before I got it right and finally went all the way down. It was all good fun though, and the beautiful sunny weather made the day perfect.

C A M E L S

After a few hours of sandboarding, it was time to go back to Anna Bay. When we arrived we saw some tourists who were riding on camels. I've never seen a camel up close before, and to see camels in an actual desert was just so surreal. It looked like a scene straight out of a movie. I really must list down camel riding as one of the items in my bucket list.

It looked like a scene straight out of a movie

After watching and taking pictures with the camels, we drove around Anna Bay a bit as a preview of the wonderful Port Stephens scenery that we will be looking at tomorrow.

Anna Bay

H E A T E D  P O O L

Pool in front of our cottage

When we arrived at the resort, Tita Carmen still had to prepare lunch, so in the mean time we all took a dip in the pool. After all, we were pretty tired from sandboarding. However, while it was very sunny, it was also very cold, so it was a good thing the pool was heated. After some laps, we shivered our way back to the cottage for some lunch.

Sandboarding in Port Stephens, check!