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Port Stephens is a very popular location for Standup Paddleboarding for both locals and visitors. The area offers great surf beach's with the south facing Birubi Beach and the due east facing One Mile Beach catering to swells in different directions. Fingal Bay offers both a surf and great flatwater destination depending on conditions.

Further into Port Stephens is Shoal Bay.

Shoal Bay is a beautiful sheltered bay that provides the perfect place to swim or SUP. Sea grasses and sandy shoals are easily visible up to 10 meters down in the clear waters of Shoal Bay and home to dolphins, sand rays and the occasional turtle.

Each May Shoal Bay comes alive with the annual NSW Standup Paddleboarding championships which attracts over 100 of the states best paddle-boarders who compete in a range of SUP competitions over 4 days.

Following the bay around and under the Inner Lighthouse on Halifax Point we come to the area known as Little Beach, further on from this is another beautiful spot, Fly Point, which is renowned as one of the areas finest locations for sheltered shore diving. Moving around from Fly Point is the Nelson Bay marina, Dutchies Beach, Bagnall's Beach and Sandy Point before we come to the stunning Salamander Bay.

Salamander bay offers a more estuarine environment with an area of mangroves and a shallow area that is often frequented by sting-rays.

The area around Taylors Beach and Lemon Tree Passage has some great mangrove areas and oyster leases that is regularly frequented by many varieties of water birds and other interesting wildlife.

To the North on the other side of Port Stephens lie the Myall Lakes - 5,800 hectares of estuarine lake system to explore.

Overall Port Stephens is a fabulous place to stand up paddle-board. If you are looking for a destination that offers a variety of SUP locations in one area you cant beat Port Stephens ,NSW Australia.

I always enjoy the paddle from Taylors beach to Lemon Tree. Maybe it’s the coffee or bacon and egg roll that I get from the cafe or maybe it's the serenity of the mangroves. The paddle is best done at high tide and best at a high greater than 2m. That way you can explore the few spots on the Bull Island mangroves that are inundated by water.

Its nice to be on a board surrounded by mangroves but unfortunately it gets too shallow to paddle right through the island so you do have to exit back out where you came from.

Once around the island the Lemon Tree marina comes clearly into view and its easy to pull up your board onto the beach and obtain refreshments at either the takeaway cafe or the waterfront pizzeria if you arrive at lunchtime. On the way out paddle down the other side of bull island, if at high tide, once again exploring the mangroves and enjoying the abundant birdlife. If you are feeling energetic you can paddle across to into the Tilligery creek into Fenninghams island where there is a nice little beach and other amenities. All in all it’s a nice paddle. Shoal Bay SUP located near the boat ramp at Shoal Bay offers day hires that means even if you dont have your own SUP you can hire a SUP so that you can do this great SUP trip

The paddle is 2.5km from Taylors Beach to Lemon tree marina and 2.5km back around the island.

Map of Bull island and areas that can be explored during King High tides.

Salamander Bay is an area that is underestimated as a SUP location. It is an ideal location as an alternative to other Port Stephens SUP sites when there is a  NE blowing as the entry is north south facing and the land offers some protection. There is a handy carpark at Roy Wood reserve on Sandy Point Road, just near the intersection of Foreshore Drive.

What I enjoy about Salamander bay is the area along near the old oyster leases on the southern end near foreshore drive.

This area is best SUPed at high tide and you can get quite close to the mangroves.

There is also a large population of what I believe are ‘smooth stingrays’. These rays, many over a metre long lie in water under 1m depth and when you SUP over the top of them take off in hurry giving you quite a fright. They are quite a beautiful fish and obviously like living in salamander bay.

Fingal bay offers two SUP destinations in one. When the seas are calm have a SUP around the rocky headland on the southern end of the beach and explore some of the little coves and inlets out of site from the beach. Better still do the 2 km SUP over to fingal island. Carry a picnic lunch using a backpack or cargo net and make the walk to the fingal bay lighthouse for lunch. It’s a very special spot and only accessible by water or when the fingal spit is exposed at low tide. The spit itself that joins the mainland to the island at low tide is often washed away during storms and can take up-to two years to return.   When there is a little swell fingal can be a great place to learn to SUP surf or catch a little wave.

Shoal Bay is a perfect place for flatwater stand-up paddleboarding(SUP). The crystal clear water, abundant marine life and easy access make every SUP an enjoyable one. The Shoal Bay landscape is dominated by the headlands leading into Port Stephens. Tomaree on the southern end and Yaccaba on the northern end.

The headlands offer a great backdrop to your SUP and can also provide a windbreak when the wind is due east. The SUP across Shoal Bay is only 2.2kms but on many occasions you may be joined by a pod of dolphins or even spot the occasional sea turtle that frequent the abundant sea grasses. Also on the sea floor you will regularly see sting rays and shovel nose rays that make Shoal Bay home.

On a calm day or for the more experienced open water SUP rider you can SUP outside the heads and pass a small gun emplacement that was established to guard the bay in WWII.

Shoal Bay SUP located near the boat ramp at Shoal Bay offers day a comprehensive lesson and hire operation with acredited instructors that know paddleboarding and will give you the Utlimate SUP experience.

  Shoal bay is best SUP-ed when the wind is light as a strong NE wind will together with swells from entrance will make it quite choppy. Shoal by is a good choice when the winds are from the South or South East and less that 10 Knots