ACTIVITIES ATTRACTIONS MARYLAND

Waking from a dream and the vision of swimming with Dolphins and Autistic children, in 1996, Andrew began an odyssey of adventure, one that would transform him from a humble residential builder and developer, to one of Australia’s leading dolphin experts and facilitator of Dolphin Assisted Therapy.

This journey has taken Andrew around the world in search of locations for his extraordinary work, meeting many leading experts who share his vision and passion for Dolphins and Whales.

As a father of three young boys he is excited about working with youth and currently resides as president of the Newcastle NSW Australia based charity RUSH Haven Inc. Andrew has recently joined ORRCA as part of the trained marine mammal rescue unit and highly recommends the organisation.

Andrew shares his knowledge of Cetaceans, his passion for training and achieving results, spirituality and healing with the help of an enthusiastic team and the wonderful and loving Dolphins with as many people as he can aboard the wonderful 50 foot catamaran ‘Imagine’ at Port Stephens.

Andrew invites you to join one of his remarkable programs in Port Stephens or in the south pacific ( Ha’apai Tonga) and share the profound experience of the Dolphins and Whales.

DolphCom’s team of professionals is committed to assisting human evolution and exploring human potential to produce profound outcomes.

Stockland is Australia’s largest diversified property group. We develop and manage residential communities, retirement living villages and retail centres – the building blocks of thriving communities.

Stockland Jesmond is located on the corner of Blue Gum Road and Mordue Parade, approximately 9 kms North/West of the Newcastle CBD.

The centre provides a Woolworths and Big W plus 74 specialty stores offering a convenient range of homewares, fashion, food and services including Australia Post, banks and ATMs. The centre also offers customers the convenience of a Priceline Pharmacy, a Medical Centre and a large GoLo.

With over 900 car parking spaces, parking is easy and convenient.

Westfield stylists are here to help you turn your look from drab to fab! Take advantage of these great Fashion Services, available at the Hunter's Leading Fashion destination.

Shopping with children can be easy at Westfield Kotara! We have Kiddie Cabs available for hire and a variety of facilities, such as Kids Playworld, Parents Rooms and Parents with Prams Parking.

At Westfield Kotara we offer FREE parking for the first 3 hours!

We also offer parking for disabled shoppers on all levels near the centre entrances, Parking with Prams on Level 2 & 3, to make it safer for your children, located conveniently near the lifts and escalators directly into the Centre.

For more information about this service, please contact the Customer Service Desk on 02 4016 2570 during centre trading hours.

Blackbutt Reserve has a long history of exhibiting captive wildlife. The first enclosures were built in the 1960’s. Since that time the exhibits have been relocated from Lookout Road to the Carnley Avenue entrance.

Blackbutt Reserve contains a number of multi award winning wildlife exhibits. The exhibited animals and the interpretative signage located along the boardwalk (both wheelchair and pram friendly) provide an opportunity for visitors to observe the fauna and learn about each species.

There are birds including the Australian King Parrot, mammals like the Bruck-tail Rock Wallaby and even reptiles such as the Eastern Long-necked Turtle.

Koala Feeding 2pm daily
Learn interesting facts about Koala's behaviour, physiology and habitats by our trained staff and volunteers. Bookings are not required for koala feeding.

Picnic spots - Blackbutt Reserve has five main picnic area each with their own unique features making it easy to find a location to suit your needs.
Blackbutt Junior Rangers

Guided tours - Blackbutt Reserve offers a range of guided tours for private and community groups.

Blackbutt Reserve playground - A new regional playground has been built at Blackbutt Reserve and was designed for 2 to 10 year olds.
 

After we have all the passengers onboard we will head to our first winery.

Midweek tours can be a MYSTERY tour. A lot of the time we may wait until all the passengers are onboard and after discussing with them what and where could be of interest we decide what to do. Your driver will then try and make arrangements with the wineries concerned to make the bookings. Normally we will spend around 45mins at each winery. Depending on passenger numbers we will visit 2 wineries before heading to lunch, this will be at a restaurant/winery where you will have a 2 course meal ( mains and dessert) if lunch option is chosen,  after tasting the wines on offer. The lunch stop including tasting is between 1.5  and 2 hrs duration we will head off and visit 2 more wineries during the afternoon before we take you back to your accommodation for a well earned rest.

Weekend tours are more organised as this is the busiest time for the Valley.

You can let us know when you make your booking if you have some favourites you like to visit and we will do our best to at least fit some of these into the day.

The story of the Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia is nothing less than inspirational.

Until the mid 1980s this vibrant wetland refuge was a dump in every sense of the word!  Over the previous century, the massive Hunter estuary wetland system known as Hexham Swamp had been progressively filled for rubbish, railways and recreation, leaving only fragmented patches of remnant wetlands across the estuary. A significant patch of wetland in Shortland was converted to football fields and a clubhouse. This one-time home ground of the Hamilton Rugby Club was to become the eventual site of the Hunter Wetlands Centre.

Today, Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia is a vibrant wetland ecosystem bursting with life. The site is regarded as a wetland of national and international importance and the centre enjoys a growing reputation for excellence in wetland conservation, education and ecotourism.

This remarkable transformation was due to the determination and persistence of the local community and some far-sighted organisations, who have joined forces to protect and restore this remarkable wetland for the benefit of all who depend on it… and those who simply enjoy it!.

 iSurf Newcastle Surf School was founded by former World ranked professional surfer and talented surfboard shaper Jye Byrnes. Jye grew up surfing the beaches of the beautiful city of Newcastle and the world when competing. Jye has now turned his knowledge and experience of the water and boards, to a surf school, aimed at getting new people to enjoy the wonderful world of surfing and improving the ability of those who are already addicted.

Learn to surf in safety, with iSurf Newcastle surf school. We cater for all ages and skill levels. It’s never too early or late to learn to surf, or improve your skills on a board.

At iSurf Newcastle Surf School, all instructors are experienced qualified surf instructors holding ocean safety, blue cards (working with children check), senior first aid and are competent advanced surfers in their own right with many still to competing.

iSurf Newcastle Surf School promise to provide the safest environment to learn to surf. Our instructors get out there in the water with you, encouraging and supporting you along the way. We pride ourselves on having instructors who love to surf and are well respected members of the Newcastle surfing community.

Our lessons are well structured and individually tailored to the needs of the students. Designed to promote personal development and water awareness, through the excitement of learning to surf.