Newcastle

Oh my god this place has the most amazing beaches I have ever seen!!  They are just awesome!!  It was like looking at my vision of what Australia should be like!  I loved it!  And the surf (apparently, not that I would actually know) is really good too.

So, yes, went to see weirdy band on Thursday night then headed up the Pacific Highway to stay with Rohan for a few days.  He was obviously at work quite a lot so I was able to start getting over my jet lag when he wasn't around.  Think I'm just about there now!

Friday the weather was pretty miserable so we just chilled.  Went for a drive round Newcastle as it was getting dark (cos it had finally stopped raining!) and sat for a bit on the wave breaker thing that I think shelters the port.  After that it was dinner at a local Italian which was really lovely and pretty cheap too then home to watch the rugby (obviously we had our priorities straight!)

Newcastle's main industry is coal so for as far as the eye can see, there a big ships lined up on the horizon and one by one they are guided into port to be loaded up with coal then they go on their way again.  Apparently some of the ships can be waiting there for weeks before they get their coal!

Saturday was a beautiful day so once Rohan finished work we went for a drive out to the Hunter Valley which is a big wine making region.  There are literally hundreds of vineyards out there and almost all of them have signs inviting people to come in for wine tasting.  This was an option for us but then we both agreed that spitting wine out was such a waste and we'd both be tempted just to drink it so we didn't go in the end!  The views out over the valley are beautiful and it stretches for miles and miles all around. It was so peaceful too with hardly any people or cars or anything really!!  Ooh I should add that before we went out, I had asked Ro if I could use his washing machine, not realising he didn't have one, so when he came back he was like 'oh yeah we'll just take it to my folks place!'  So now I felt awful since these people have no idea I even exist yet they're about to be doing my washing!  So we went to his parents place which is gorgeous and I walk in and there's Brian Smith (totally famous RL coach). I'm pleased to say that I didn't get star struck at all but it was quite surreal when he made me some soup for my lunch!  Random!

I was planning to go out wth Ro's house mate on Saturday night but she is a complete rugby groupie techno head so I declined.  Within an hour of going out she was on the phone to Ro to say that Anthony Minichello (Sydney Roosters full back) was out in Newcastle but since he wasn't in the squad for the game on Sunday nobody actually cared.  Again, we sat and watched the rugby and had a few beers and had a jolly nice evening!

Sunday was big game day so Ro was out early to be at the ground.  Because of all the leagues out here, on any one game day there's usually two or three matches played and Ro as assistant coach has to watch them all.  I couldn't help but think that if I had to do that every week, maybe even I would get a little bit bored but I supose that's what he gets paid for!  Anyway, I was due to go with Ro's mum and sister so they picked me up at lunch time and we went off to the ground.  Fortunately Ro's mum had thought ahead and brought me an extra jacket which I completely needed.  Even though it was a nice day, the wind was quite strong and it was very cold.

After a tight game, the Knights unfortunately lost to Sydney Roosters 16-14 and despite being a Roosters fan I was going all out for a Knights win!  Since I didn't have a key for Ro's place his mum took me back to theirs to wait for him and this is where the fun starts!  We were sat watching the rugby and Ro's sister, Codey was playing with the dog.  The next thing I hear is 'Laura, can you just bring me a cushion?' so I take a cushion out and discover that Codey has passed out on the floor!  Now anyone that knows me knows that if someone faints around me, I'm generally gone within about 10 minutes so I tried my best to help with fetching blankets etc but in the end I was starting to feel really dizzy so I just had to apologise and say that I needed to go and sit down.  Some help I am!

Anyway, Codey was out for quite a while and it was a bit worrying but she is fine now thankfully.  And throughout all this, when I thought she was looking after Codey, Ro's mum was makng me dinner!  She just came in with it - I was a bit bowled over by that cos I wasn't expecting anything at all!  Out of kindness I even ate the cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli that she'd cooked up for me!  The veggies weren't completely disagreeable but I can't see me making a habit of them! 

On Monday Ro was at work all day so I just wandered around Newcastle on my own for 5 hours.  It was cool as I hadn't really seen it in the day time at all and it's quite a nice little country town.  I don't think very much happens there (apart from Tuesday when bizarrely I saw a guy wearing a Wigan shirt!) and the streets reminded me of the kind of buildings you see in Western films.  Despite this I reckon I could easily live there, or somewhere similar.  Monday night was more rugby on TV and I cooked pasta cos I can cook that you see!

Tuesday I decided to venture further afield to Lake Macquarie.  I'm pretty sure this Macquarie dude is fairly important in Australian history but I can't remember why - he is mentioned in my Bill Bryson book so I will look him up!  His name is all over everything anyway!  There are heaps of towns around the lake but I picked Belmont as it seemed like the easiest one to get to really.  After a hour on the bus I think I'd entered a time warp - this place was like the 1950s.  It was totally weird!!  I had a walk to the lake expecting to be able to walk around the edge and eat my picnic but because they've built so many houses right by the lake edge you can't actually walk round.

Not to be disheartened I jumped back on the bus and headed for Swansea (try saying that without putting on a Welsh accent!)  Unfortunately Swansea was even worse and more reminiscent of the 1970s!  I was just so surprised I just can't believe towns like that even exist!  It's like time just forgot them or something!  I did at least get to sit by the lake this time and eat my sandwiches.  The lake by the way is beautiful and again the weather was fantastic so it was like looking at a postcard half the time.

Tuesday night I took Ro out for a meal to say thanks for letting me stay and upped my rice intake to about 10 mouthfuls.  It could have been more but the 6 beers I had beforehand have made things a little hazy! 

So that's it for Newcastle.  I loved staying in a nice house, that was clean (well clean for a boy anyway) and where I could actually unpack my stuff.  It was like heaven but all good things must come to an end at some point so today I've headed back down the central coast (amazing views from the train) and am staying in Bondi tonight. 

Bondi is okay - very commercial and I much preferred the more natural beaches in Newcastle.  It's surprisingly difficult to get to considering how famous it is! Tomorrow I head back into the city for a job interview but hopefully on Friday I'll be going to visit Coogee Beach, Botany Bay (where Captain Cook first landed) and if I can squeeze it in before the Roosters game, a quick trip to Wollongong where Ro grew up cos apparently it's even nicer than Newcastle!  BUsy old me!

See you soon xx