Sand Dune Safaris

Sand Dune Safaris are running on reduced capacity with SIX separate sessions operating every Saturday and Sunday.

• 10am-12pm
• 10.30am-12.30pm
• 12pm-2pm
• 2pm-sunset
• 2.30pm-sunset

Bookings are essential.
For more info and to book, click here.

Departing from Birubi Beach at Anna Bay, Sand Dune Safaris takes you on a thrill-seeking adventure into the Stockton Sand Dunes, which if you haven’t heard are the largest moving sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere.

We jumped on the bus from the lower Birubi Beach carpark and head south down the beach along the flat hard sand before taking a sharp right hand turn up into the dunes. It’s a bumpy, rocky ride, up and over the dunes, at some pretty precarious angles, the driver remarked “we did get bogged this morning, and had to dig ourselves our out”. You see the dunes are always moving and on a windy day like today, they are moving fast and the sand is soft so the drivers must keep moving at all times to avoid getting bogged (again).

As we climb up over the final dune, we're lay eyes on nature's very own sandboarding bowl, created by the wind and the movement of the dunes. Out we jump, and soak up the surrounds, with just glimpses of the coast we're now surrounded by these mighty dunes, and we’re standing at the top of a very steep bowl!

We meet Andrew our guide and get acquainted with the boards, safety aspects and the different slopes – there’s beginner slopes to get started and get your confidence up, right through to the faster slopes for you to hone your skills on. Sitting or standing it’s your choice, it’s time to get started!

I opted for sitting down sandboarding which was super fun! The slopes look scary from the top but once you push off, you can control the speed by digging your hands into the sand.

There’s much laughter as people are stacking it, trying out standup sandboarding, and egging each other on.

The hardest thing is the walk back up to the top of the dunes! Which can get very hot in the middle of a Summer’s day so I recommend avoiding the middle of the day in the warmer months.

You can hang out here for as long as you like, the bus comes every 20 minutes or so to head back to Birubi Beach. The guys have tables and chairs and a shade sail to chill out under, for you to recharge before you go again, bring a drink and snacks to get your energy levels up.

As a Newcastle local who has always driven past the Stockton Dunes but never gone into them, Sand Dune Safaris was a super fun adventure the combination of natural beauty with heart-stopping sandboarding was an absolute blast!