Once you cross the famous Singing Bridge, the bridge "sings" when the south-westerly winds are blowing, from Tea Gardens you are in Hawks Nest. It is a beautiful coastal town which runs between the Myall River and Bennetts Beach (main beach) and stretches for 16 km up the coast from the shores of Port Stephens. With the notable exception of Yacaaba Head, a volcanic remnant which rises 210 metres at its southern extremity, Hawks Nest is flat and scrubby. Historically it emerged as a service centre for the local fishing and timber industries but since the 1950s it has been a family holiday destination and retirement place where the relatively small local population is dramatically increased in the summer months. The road to the north of the town leads to the Myall Lakes National Park.
Hawks Nest is located 230 km north of Sydney via the Pacific Highway, 83 km north-east of Newcastle and 15 km from the Pacific Highway.