The quiet and friendly holiday town of Hawkes Nest boasts both river and ocean frontages and supports a large range of recreational and activities. It is situated on the northern shore of Port Stephens, about 70 km north from Newcastle, and 200 km north of Sydney. Hawkes Nest is ideally located at the mouth of the Myall River on the opposite side of the river to neighbouring Tea Gardens. To the East, Hawkes Nest has ocean frontage with a variety of beautiful beaches extending to the north into the Myall Lakes National Park. Hawkes Nest supports wide range of recreational activities including: bushwalking, camping, fishing, waterskiing, kite surfing, wind surfing, snorkelling, scuba diving, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, boating, cruises, sailing, surfing and there are many 4WD, bushwalking and
mountain bike tracks around the town. There is an excellent variety of accommodation in Hawkes Nest and Tea Gardens and you can hire houseboats for your stay. Things to see and do in the area include: # Seeing the wild koalas in the reserve along Kingfisher Avenue. # Walking along the challenging track to the top of Yacaaba Head, which forms one of the headlands to Port Stephens. # The famous Myall Prawn Festival held every year in March, that includes boat races, a tug-of-war, sand modelling, an art exhibition, the World Prawn Eating Championship, lots of stalls and of course, mountains of prawns # Fishing in the lakes, the bay or out in the ocean. # Bird-watching on the wetlands and Myall Lakes # There bush walk to the scenic Hawks Nest Beach # Driving along the Mungo Brush Road that runs
right through to Myall Lakes National Park # Cruises on Port Stephens # The wide range of entertainment and amusements in Nelson Bay and the other towns in Port Stephens.