Well, we have travelled south and the polar vortex has blown north and we have met up in Newcastle. It is extremely cold and windy today! We parked near the Surf Club at Newcastle Beach this morning and watched the surfers as we walked towards the Art Deco Ocean Baths. After taking far too many photos of the surfers, we continued heading out towards Nobbys Head via the Surf Club at Nobbys Beach. As we walked out we thought that we were seeing Fort Scratchley on the headland and the ‘lighthouse’ at the end of the breakwater. Very disappointing we thought, as it looked to be only a beacon. About halfway out, Cathy turned around and realised that we had walked around the base of Fort Scratchley and it was actually the lighthouse and associated buildings ... read more

Bernie was back at Beaurepaires just after 8.00am this morning to have the repaired tyre re-fitted. He thought that if he was there they would be sure to do the Golf’s tyre ‘first thing’. Good to their word the tyre was already repaired when he arrived so the dinky space-saver tyre was taken off and the repaired tyre was re-fitted ready for a big day of sightseeing. Our first stop was at the BIG Banana - not to visit any of the theme-park amusements, just to photograph ourselves at another big thing! With our BIG Banana shots secured we found our way to Tourist Route 18 to make our way down the coast on the roads less travelled rather than motoring down the Pacific Highway. Our first stop was at Boambee Head. The view from the ... read more

This morning we set out on an Armidale heritage walk using the map for the Heritage Bus Tour. We decided against the bus tour because you just cannot take decent photos from a bus! Our first stop was at Central Park right opposite our apartment. The park incorporates Armidale’s War Memorial. Across the street we found St Mary’s and St Joseph’s Cathedral which is only a block alway from St Peter’s Cathedral. Our next stop required a bit more walking to reach the Wool Wagon/McDonald Park. McDonald Park is, like the entire district, dry as a bone and the wool wagon was safely ensconced in a wire cage so neither was particularly photogenic. The Armidale School opposite is using bore water to keep its playing surfaces green so its oval was in stark contrast to McDonald ... read more

This morning we set out heading east from Dubbo on the Golden Highway on another glorious blue sky day. Chilly again to start with, but the sky was absolutely cloudless and the sun was shining. Rather than taking us into Denman to cut across to the New England Highway at Muswellbrook the SatNav suggested a minor road to Muswellbrook from Sandy Hollow. This route took us via Castle Rock which was scenic and the Muswellbrook open cut mine area which was not. What a bloody big hole in the ground that is!! We learned later at the Tourist Information Centre in Muswellbrook that the mining activity is completely unrestricted these days and the tailings are getting higher and higher. Most of the old locals have moved out of the area so there is no-one left to ... read more

This morning we packed the car and set off for Dubbo. Now that we live on the northern side of the city we found it very easy to make our way to the Hume Highway via the Western Ring Road. If we still lived in Hallam we would have needed to start an hour earlier! Our first stop was in Shepparton where we tracked down some of their Moooving Art - a public art exhibition featuring life-sized 3D cows. Moooving Art pays homage to the strength of the dairy industry in Greater Shepparton. The region produces a large percentage of Australia’s dairy exports, making the cow a perfect choice for this exhibition. Moooving Art was initially seen as a unique and innovative way to increase the district’s dairy profile, but it also provides opportunities for established ... read more