Tea Gardens is situated 75km north of Newcastle and 2 and half hours drive north of Sydney (215km). The population is over 2000 and another 1000 people live in the adjoining town of Hawks Nest just across the Myall River.

Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest is a well known holiday spot in summer and has several good cafes and restaurants as well as an excellent choice of rental accommodation. These twin towns adjoin a harbour (Port Stephens), a surf beach (Bennets Beach), and if you follow the river north a 20 minute drive to the Myall Lakes. This makes it an excellent base for water sports and you often see dolphins off the coast or on the ferry trip to Nelson Bay across Port Stephens. There is a significant retired population in Tea Gardens and the town is experiencing rapid growth. It is a RRMA 4 town and as such qualifies as a rural posting for GP Registrars.

There are two Medical Centres in Tea Gardens/Hawks Nest one being the Myall Coast Health and Medical Centre and the other being the practice of Dr Pearson. The doctors at the Myall Coast Health and Medical Centre share the on call roster. On average there are about 2 calls out after hours per week.

There are lots of accommodation options available for locums.