Lakes & Waterways

Great Lakes are a network of lakes and waterways including Myall, Smiths and Wallis Lake. The region is renowned for its beauty and crystal clear aquamarine waters.

Wallis Lake: Set at the entrance to the magnificent Wallis Lake on either side of the Wallamba River is Forster/Tuncurry. The lake itself is 25km long and 9km wide with many picnic areas and water access points scattered around its shores. Wallis Lake is fed by four rivers, the Wallamba, Wallingat, Coolongolook and Wang Wauk and is a haven for fishing, boating, canoeing and waterskiing.

Smiths Lake: In between the Wallis and Myall lakes is the smaller but just as majestic Smiths Lake, offering warm calm waters separated from the ocean by an impressive sandbar formation.  Great Lakes Council does open this entrance when the waters in the lake become too high or need replenishing.
 
Myall Lakes: The Myall Lakes are one of the largest brackish systems in the Southern Hemisphere and RAMSAR listed . This is an International Treaty similar to World Heritage that  helps protect the world’s most significant wetlands. 280 Bird species are found within the Myall Lakes National Park which is an identical number to Northern Australia’s World Heritage listed Kakadu . The 4 main lakes have a surface area about triple the size of Sydney Harbour. Tranquility reigns especially in the evening  as the ancient paperbarks take on a golden hue in the pre-sunset light . If it is calm, amazing mirror like reflections appear. Then after the sun has gone the trees, form reflecting silhouettes. The Myall Lakes are linked to Port Stephens , Hawks Nest and Tea Gardens via the lower Myall River.