Easily our most popular kayak tour, just a fifteen-minute drive from Newcastle city center. After a short introductory lesson in kayaking 101, we hit the water to practice, before starting our kayaking adventure. You will spend a wonderful day paddling with our guide, exploring the beautiful Hunter Wetlands National Park, celebrating the resident sea eagles, and migratory shore birds of Newcastle’s best kept secret.

Don’t know your curlews from your avocets or the difference between an oyster catcher and a godwit? Don’t worry, observing local and migratory birds feeding on the mudflats is a great thing to do with a kayak. Many of the birds in the Hunter Wetlands National Park have travelled all the way from Alaska, at huge risk to their life. With a breeding pair of White Bellied Sea Eagles making their home in the Hunter Wetlands National Park, it’s always a thrill for our guests to experience these fabulous birds at close range.

We will step ashore on one of the island beaches and enjoy a selection of great food prepared by your guide. While you relax with a cup of tea or coffee, hear tales about the history of the Hunter River and the role it has played in the development of modern Australia. Take a walk along the beach as you learn about some of the old shipwrecks around Newcastle, or the military ruins found on the island.

Your guide Glenn MacFadyen actually paddled his first kayak in this area more than 40 years ago. A storyteller by nature, Glenn always has plenty of great tales about his life spent sailing the oceans of the world. (They don’t call him “avachat” for no reason)