Weekend away..

Over a month ago I was lucky enough to be whisked away for a lovely long weekend 

at magical Shoal Bay, located in Port Stephens some three hours North of Sydney. 

 

Relaxing days on and by the beach, including the gorgeous 'One Mile Beach'.

This trip took place back in early May and I had all intention to post some of the pics
and stories from this fab trip a long time ago.. Am very sorry for the delay friends.  xx

Oscar perfecting his hand stands on the beach, friendly pelicans watching us have snacks and the famous yellow/red flag of Australian beaches.

Amongst enormous Sea Eagles, hawks, yellow crested cockatoos, rainbow lorikeets, corellas and many others were these hungry dudes that
kept on swerving in from all around us as we were having a snack on the beach! I love bird and was needless to say in heaven here!

We had four days in this paradise and went there with the focus on spending as much

time as possible in the fresh air and stunning outdoors. One morning we went out on 

a dolphin cruise and were richly rewarded by many beautiful finned friends swimming

next to our boat. I absolutely love dolphins and think there is something so great about 

these amazing creatures. I always feel so infused with positive energy having been close

to them and this time was no different. I could have spent all day watching them really.

 Marshall and Oscar chatting at the stern of the boat, the view from the marine sanctuary near Little Beach, dolphin friends, and our cheesy cruise boat.

Port Stephens (the bay/area) is brimming with the most amazing marine life making it
the perfect place for snorkeling and diving (if you are not afraid of sharks!). As the kids
are too young to take into deeper waters, we spent the afternoon snorkeling at the natural
marine sanctuary near Little Beach and saw so many fantastic animals, including large
turtles, tropical fish and more dolphins swimming past just meters away from us. As you
can imagine we were in heaven and this blissful time flew by very quickly. So amazing!

Oscar checking the territory before heading out, Isabella and I splashing around, Marshall & Oscar getting ready. Seagulls watching nearby.

On my birthday I was celebrated thoroughly by my beloved little trio and was given a 

gorgeous & lovingly prepared warm breakfast, songs in both Swedish and English as

well as some much too expensive presents and some truly sweet handwritten cards. xx

I felt so loved, spoiled and grateful for all the effort, attention and wonderful kindness!

Nothing better than a big kiss from the kids! We held off on the cake until we returned to Sydney. Total bliss.

Oscar is an aspiring gymnast and kept on practicing his hand stands.. He got it in the end!

The fab three that made sure this weekend was perfect. I love them to bits and I can't breathe without them!

After breakfast we spent the rest of the morning just strolling around in the sweet little 

marina of Nelson Bay. For lunch we stopped at a great little place on the water and had

fresh fish that had been caught that morning and was served straight off the barge! Yum!

Nelson Bay marina with all the fishing boats and private yachts. Even the tie poles on the pier are cute (heart shaped). Isabella wading.

Yep, another one. This time watching us have fish for lunch.. He kept on pulling his beak down over his neck.. very odd, but impressive!

In the afternoon we headed over to an amazing place called 'Stockton Beach' which is the

largest moving sand-mass in the Southern hemisphere. The actual beach is 32 km long (!)

and is attached to what seems like a desert with sand dunes as high as 30 meters. Suffice to

say this place is incredible and my photomaniac husband was let loose with his camera and

tripod for a couple of hours whilst the kids and I relaxed and played on the beach. If you
haven't already, please do check out his amazing Flickr stream. He is very very talented!!

The kiddies loved this part of Port Stephens - so much to climb on, run around in and generally just explore and investigate!

The view from the beach as you enter the dunes. So surreal!

The beach is so hard and compact that the council allows 4 wheel drives to cruise along the shoreline. Though the boys did have a swim
here Isabella and I stayed on shore and in hindsight I am happy we did as Marshall showed me THIS real life film when we got back home...

 Isabella deciding the beach and desert needed a tree..

Come Mother's Day we were all so tuned into the relaxed lifestyle and rhythm of Shoal Bay

that we contemplated staying for ever.. but life back in Sydney awaited and it was time to go.

Those are Isabella's little foot prints.. is there anything cuter than little feet...!?!

We'll definitely be back here at our favourite spot before we head off to Europe next year,
and for any of you planning a visit to Australia, this is one of your must-see-places!!
I just know you will love it as much as our little family does!

xx Charlotta

Images: 1 Catherine Ledner, 3 Chris Everard, 23 Churchill Daily Photo, 24 Jean-Mark Palisse, 
44 Thayer Allyson Gowdy , 47 The Bridal Cafe and 48 Troy House via Paper Moon. 
All other images are private and must not be used by anyone without prior written consent.