NSW Beaches - 2.Mid North Coast
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Little Gibber Beach - Hawks Nest


Beach Info
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Headland at Little Gibber

Little Gibber Beach Overview

Location 6kms North East from Hawks Nest. 170kms North of Sydney
Nearest Town: 6kms (Hawks Nest)
Tasman Sea Beach Facilities Activities Rating Accommodation
Beach: Sand Patrolled: No Sunbathing: 82% Hotel/Resort: No
Length: 500m Toilets: No Swimming: 83% Caravan Park: Camp Ground
Faces: SSE Showers: No Surfing: 76% Beach Food: No
Top: Rocky Headland Picnic Area: No Kitesurf: 50% Café/Kiosk: No
Bottom: Beach to Hawks Nest Tidal Pool: No Fishing: 77% Restaurants: No
Surrounds: Bushland Pier: No Shore Dive: No Risk Level: Remote Beach
Reef: Around Headland Other: Snorkelling: 81% Dumping Waves: No
Ocean Swell: Yes Access: 4 - 4WD or Hike Spear Fishing: 80% Frequent Rips: No
Other: Car Park: On Beach Walks: 77% Shark Attacks: No Report Found
Transport: No Other: Other:
Scenic and protected south facing beach off the beaten track that is well worth the effort to get there.





Little Gibber Beach Map


View Crescent Head to Port Stephens in a larger map


Beach Picnics

As you can drive your car onto this beach, many visitors run picnics and BBQs from their cars, using either external shelters or awnings from their car. Little Gibber is a great place to have a bbq picnic on the beach.

Sunbathing

Nice clean sand, rarely gets crowded due to difficulty of access. Beware of cars driving across beach.

Swimming

Little Gibber headland offers some protection from easterly winds, so when it is onshore everywhere else this beach will most likely be cleaner and safer. Beach is not patrolled and help is some distance away, so care should be taken.

Fishing

Surf Fishing is practiced along the main Hawks Nest beach. There is also some good potential in the rocks around the headland.

Beach Walks

There are good views of Broughton Island from Little Gibber Headland. It would be possible to walk from Hawks Nest to Little Gibber Headland, but a better option would be to park near the headland and explore the nearby area by foot.







Geography

Little Gibber Beach (Unoffical name) is located at the bottom of Little Gibber Headland, at the north end of Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest. Bennetts Beach begins east of Hawks Nest township and curves north-east for appox 10 kms before hitting the headland.
Access to the beach is usually via 4wd vehicle, though it is also possible to walk in from Mungo Brush road.


Name

Gibber is the aboriginal word for stone, or rock. The word is commonly used in the phrase 'gibber plain' which means 'boulder-strewn plain'.

Bennetts Beach (Main Hawks Nest beach) 4wd Access

This stretch of coastline has many good options for 4wd beach driving, but requires careful wading through multiple permit systems that can best be described as a hotpotch.
Bennetts Beach is a prime example of this, as to drive the entire beach would require 2 separate passes, as council polices the bottom half of the beach and National Parks the north end.
If you are planning to just visit Little Gibber beach then you can do so by purchasing either a National Parks Day Pass ($7) or best value NSW multi-park Pass ($65) which will allow a full year access to all National Parks in NSW, and access the beach from National Park turnoff on Mungo Brush rd.
If you want to access the south end of Bennetts beach, or plan to drive on other council beaches in the Forster/Tuncurry area you can purchase a year long council beach driving permit ($47). Be aware that this pass is valid from 1st July to 30th June, unlike the National Parks pass which is a full year starting from purchase date.

Passes can be purchased from Information Centres and various other locations (ask at shops). The fines for driving on council beaches without permits can be fairly high, while if you run into a ranger without a pass you will probably be able to purchase a day pass on the spot.

Bennetts Beach is an interesting and worthwhile beach drive, especially with Little Gibber Beach as your destination. Sand can be soft if it hasn’t rained in few days and narrow patches should be avoided, especially when the tide is coming in. There are only a few spots to worry about and they all have high roads behind them. If in doubt, always take the high road.
Traffic is light to medium on warm summer weekends, heavier during summer and easter school holidays and light during the week.
The drive itself is fairly straightforward, just follow the beach north to the headland. From the national park beach access road off Mungo Brush Rd there is around 5 to 6km of beach to Little Gibber Headland.


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Little Gibber Surfbreak

Fun beach break that is worth visiting when rest of coast is onshore. Protected from east wind and swell by headland and Broughton Island, there will be nice clean waves here when everywhere else is blown out.
Needs around 3ft to get going unless you have a long board. Both left and right waves.
Best swell is from the south, best wind from the north.


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Created by admin. Last Modification: Thursday 28 of April, 2011 20:15:27 EST by admin.

Category: 2.Mid North Coast
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