This is an amazing beach where you can walk along and even in the winter some people swimming in…read morethe massive waves. It really is quite beautiful here and certainly worth seeing. You should also walk to the cliffs along the Anzac Memorial Walk. This shore is one of the most beautiful walks in Newcastle. I'd chose this as one of the places to see if you're only in Newcastle for a little while.

This park has an amazing skate park right on the beach front at Bar Beach. We visited the big…read moregolden bowl here for Rollerpalooza - a skating event that takes place every year in January. It's pretty great whether you want to get your skates on and give it a bash yourself or just marvel at others crazy skills.

Honestly, this park isn't all that special, though I can't really knock a park all that much…read moreconsidering that any amount of greenery in the middle of a city is a pretty good thing, and this place is certainly one of those places. Look, it really isn't all that big, and there isn't really all that much here, but still it is a splash of greenery which still makes it pretty good.

Compact park on a gentle slope towards the beach. Flat paved paths criss-cross the greenery and…read moreshady trees. We'd heard about Friday Chill - a series of free open air gigs in the park every Friday evening in the summer - and came along on two evenings during our stay. Bring a picnic and some refreshments (or order pizzas to the park like the group near us did!) and enjoy the music as the sun goes down.

Parks are actually quite nice, which is why when I am wandering past them I tend to take a little…read morebit of time to actually look around, even if they happen to be somewhat large. This is another one of those nice splashes of greenery, but it also contains the memorial, which is always reflective of the age of the town. This park is actually reasonably large, which means that it is good for sports, as well as for letting the dogs run around.

Fantastic farm! Tons of Australian farm animals. This is such a wonderful place for kids. It's an…read moreintimate farm, but yet tons to do. Found the staff to be friendly and most importantly enthusiastic. For some of us it was our first time seeing a koala and camels and being able to feed them was an amazing treat. Found the pricing to be reasonable and again perfect outing for a family of all ages. We'll be back again for sure!

This is my favourite place to go with the family to see animals, it's an amazing farm to take your…read morechildren too, not only can they bond with all the gorgeous animals, there's also a playground and water park for them to enjoy also! It's a big farm so you can spend all day here! They also have hot food available for purchase, including packet chips and ice creams. The animals are super sweet and they love following you around for food. They sell bags of animal feed so you can have fun feeding them all, this place is definitely suitable for all ages and also have a daily tour guide you can follow which includes bottle feeding baby animals, petting koalas and tractor rides.

What a cute little community. We didn't have too much time here maybe 45 minutes to grab a meal and…read moreget back on our bus for our Hunter Valley wine tour. We first sat at one restaurant and nobody even came to take her order, we are chosen this restaurant because they serve wine. So we return to the other restaurant that did not serve wine and had an amazing lunch that was brought to us very quickly. Well my friend ordered I went and grabbed a bottle of wine from the bottle shop around the corner. The bottle shop Staff was extremely friendly and help me select my wine, even offering me a few tastings to make sure I liked it before I bought it. How cool! I wish we had more time to spend here and there seem to be a lot of cute shops and things to do easily could've spent 2 to 3 hours. I know it's unrelated but being on a bus tour on a strict time schedule does not make for a relaxing day

I can't speak too much of the gardens as I was here for the Christmas Lights Spectacular but what I…read moredid see has me planning a return visit for Spring in the new year. The lights are here for their 10th year now and I'm pleased to see the addition of rides and food stalls. Great for kids and families however I came with my partner and we both enjoyed taking photos of the lights and changing sections, ie fairy garden, candy land, story book and world attractions. The paths were rarely congested but be sure to follow the one way direction for easier flow of the crowd. Plenty of parking.

Beautiful and picturesque. One of those spots that locals…read moreand visitors alike love but not overly busy. Great morning noon or night to explore , chill, or hideaway. There's a cafe on the beach for food or coffee and the area has the local fish'n'chips plus other stores. There are flagged areas to swim but it's a good beach to almost swim anywhere. Rocks are great source of entertainment for the kids as well as photo opportunities. The cliffs provide a majestic backdrop and the open beach gives lovely light for sunset. I don't know why I don't come here more often. :)

May not be the fanciest of clubs but have upgraded their equipment recently providing a great place…read moreto workout. This place certainly has heart and a sense of family. Good annual prices and a variety of classes gives you a well rounded gym experience. You can even hit the weight room too! ;) Been coming here for many years. I'm hooked.