Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest: fourteen kilometres of open ocean
Updated: Oct 6
Written by the owners of Tilly and Annies Place and Seacrest 7, Hawks Nest. Last reviewed October 2026.
Bennetts is the ocean beach. It is long, it is beautiful, and Surf Life Saving Australia rates it 7 out of 10 for hazard, which is to say highly hazardous. Both of those things are true at once, and anyone writing about this beach who only tells you the first half is not being straight with you.
At a glance
Length: 14.3 km, running south from Dark Point
Hazard rating: 7 out of 10, highly hazardous, per Surf Life Saving Australia
Patrolled: in season only, and days and hours vary. Tea Gardens Hawks Nest SLSC patrols weekends and council lifeguards cover weekdays in the season. Check Beachsafe the day before you go
Known hazards: rips, bluebottles, sharks
Facilities: car park, toilets, showers, change rooms, drinking water, kiosk and shops
From Seacrest 7: the beach track is directly across Beach Road
How long Bennetts Beach actually is
Longer than most people realise. Surf Life Saving Australia lists it as 14.3 kilometres, running south from Dark Point (Beachsafe). Along the way it goes by other names, from the north: Dark Point, White Sands, Lemon Tree, The Baskets, and Lovers Walk at the southern end.
What that means in practice is that the patrolled section near town is a very small part of the whole thing. Walk fifteen minutes north and you will usually have the sand to yourself, which is lovely, and you will also be well away from the flags, which matters.
Patrols and the flags
Bennetts is patrolled in season, by the Tea Gardens Hawks Nest Surf Life Saving Club and by council lifeguards, with the club typically covering weekends and lifeguards covering weekdays through the busier months (Beachsafe).
Check before you go, every time. Patrol days and hours shift with the season and with staffing, and the Beachsafe page carries the current week. Outside the season there is no patrol at all, and a 14.3 kilometre beach with nobody watching it is a different proposition.
If the red and yellow flags are not up, the beach is not being patrolled. That is the whole rule, and it is the one we give every guest.
The hazard rating, honestly
Surf Life Saving Australia gives Bennetts a general hazard rating of 7 out of 10, in the highly hazardous band, and lists topographic rips among its hazards (Beachsafe). That is not a reason to stay away. It is a reason to swim between the flags and to take the surf seriously.
A topographic rip is one shaped by something fixed, a rock or a headland, rather than one that wanders. They tend to sit in the same place, which makes them predictable if you know what you are looking at and dangerous if you do not.
Surf Life Saving Australia's advice if you are caught in a rip: do not swim against it. Float, raise an arm, and let it carry you out until it loses its grip, then swim parallel to the beach before coming back in. Anyone who swims straight for the sand gets tired long before the rip does.
Bluebottles
Listed as a hazard here, and they turn up on a northeasterly. They arrive in numbers or not at all, so a day with a few hundred on the sand is followed by a fortnight with none.
If someone is stung, healthdirect and Surf Life Saving Australia advise picking off any remaining tentacles, rinsing with sea water rather than fresh, then immersing the sting in hot water, as hot as you can comfortably stand. Vinegar is for tropical stingers and is not recommended for bluebottles. If anyone has trouble breathing or a reaction beyond the sting itself, that is an ambulance, not a first aid kit.
Sharks
Also listed, and worth putting in proportion rather than ignoring. Port Stephens sits beside a juvenile white shark nursery, the beaches are watched by drones through the season, and the practical advice is ordinary: swim between the flags, swim in the day, and get out if you are told to. We wrote the whole thing up here, including the apps worth having.
What else is down there
The northern end is where the Yacaaba Headland walk starts, about seven kilometres return including the beach approach. The southern end runs down toward Lovers Walk.
There is a proper car park, toilets, showers, change rooms, drinking water, a kiosk and shops at the main access (Beachsafe), which is more than most beaches this size offer and makes a whole day there easy.
Getting there and parking
The main access is at the end of Booner Street, with a formal car park. Outside the Christmas and Easter peaks you will park without thinking about it.
From Seacrest 7 the beach track is directly across Beach Road, so you are on the sand about two minutes after closing the door. From Tilly and Annies Place it is a longer walk or a short drive, because Tilly sits on the bay side of town.
Bennetts or Jimmys?
Use both. They are two or three minutes apart and they do completely different jobs.
Bennetts: open ocean, surf, 14.3 km of sand, patrolled in season, hazard rating 7 out of 10. For swimmers confident in surf, between the flags
Jimmys: sheltered bay, shallow and usually flat, warms earlier, no surf. For small children, kayaks and paddleboards
The rule we give families: Jimmys for the toddler, Bennetts between the flags for anyone confident in the surf. Full guide to Jimmys Beach here.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bennetts Beach patrolled?
Yes, in season, by the Tea Gardens Hawks Nest Surf Life Saving Club and by lifeguards. Days and hours change with the season, so check the Beachsafe page for the current week before you swim. Outside the season there is no patrol.
How long is Bennetts Beach?
14.3 kilometres, running south from Dark Point, according to Surf Life Saving Australia. It is also known along its length as Dark Point, White Sands, Lemon Tree, The Baskets and Lovers Walk.
Is Bennetts Beach safe for swimming?
Surf Life Saving Australia rates it 7 out of 10 for hazard, which is the highly hazardous band, with rips, bluebottles and sharks listed. Swimming between the red and yellow flags on a patrolled day is the safest option, and no ocean beach is risk free. It is not a beach to swim at alone, outside the flags, or out of season.
Is Bennetts Beach good for young children?
Not as the first choice. It is an open ocean beach with surf and rips. Jimmys Beach, two or three minutes away on the bay side, is shallow and usually flat and is the better call for small children.
Are there toilets and parking at Bennetts Beach?
Yes. There is a formal car park, toilets, showers, change rooms, drinking water, a kiosk and shops at the main access at the end of Booner Street.
This is general information based on our own experience. Conditions change. Check Beachsafe, SharkSmart and NSW National Parks alerts before you go, and follow lifesavers' directions on the day.
Plan your stay
We own both houses and we answer the enquiries ourselves. If you want the surf across the road, Seacrest 7 is the one.
Comments