A Newcastle man has been rescued after spending several hours on a remote rock ledge above rising seas at Port Stephens.

The 21-year-old rock climber called police from the rock ledge at Morna Point just after 7:00pm (AEDT) last night, saying he was stuck.

He was later winched to safety by the Hunter's rescue helicopter.

His 21-year-old climbing partner who had managed to climb to safety was also picked up by rescue crews after making his way back to One Mile Beach.

Senior Constable Tony Tamplin says both were inexperienced outdoor rock climbers.

"They usually only practiced indoors and they'd never actually been to that location before," he said.

"They also agreed that the high tides, rising tides had caught them out.

"So from our point of view, better decisions would need to be made in future to make sure they know the area, and that someone knows where they area and what time they'll be back."

He says the men were very lucky their phone signal was picked up.

"This could have ended very tragically if they were in fact out of phone signal.

"All they had was their climbing equipment, there was no other additional safety equipment.

"It appears that no one else knew where they were or what time to expect them back, so fortunately the mobile was still able to work, but it could have ended a lot worse."