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Published: December 21st 2008
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Our surprise lunch in Sydney Tower
Enjoying a feast with Helen and Mike. Sydney Surprises
We met my Uncle Mike and his partner Helen in the centre of Sydney and went to Centre Point Tower for lunch. A tall, pole-like structure, it overlooks Sydney's skyscrapers presenting commanding views of the metropolis below. At the top of the tower is a revolving restaurant giving diners 360 degree panoramic views - meaning you don't have to delay that assault on a juicy bit of kangaroo steak to leave your table for the views!
After we had had our fill of great views and decent tucker, we headed down to Circular Quay and caught a ferry to the destination of our final surprise. It was then revealed that we would not have to spend 2+ hours in the car on the way back to Newcastle or 2.5 hours on the train because we were going on a seaplane! There were 6 passengers on board including ourselves. We flew alongside the coast, past Manly, Palm Beach, Gosford and the Lakes until we descended into Newcastle. It had been a fine, sunny day and it was only as we approached Newcastle that we saw rain. However by the time we touched down that shower had moved on
The Pelicans in Nelson Bay
'Hey, could I have some please?' and so we walked to my Uncle's place in Newcastle where we would be staying for a while. We had guessed that we might be having lunch in the tower, but never imagined that we would be treated to a seaplane trip, we felt like VIPs and to sleep in a large, comfy bed again was brilliant!
Nelson Bay
Nelson Bay lies about 45 minutes drive north of Newcastle and we headed up there on Thursday 6th. We stopped first at the Gan Gan Lookout where we took some photos overlooking the bay and the two major headlands; Tomaree and Hawk's Nest. It was a beautiful, clear day and fairly warm (our first few days in Newcastle had been cloudy and a bit cooler than we had been expecting). We then drove down to Nelson Bay and had lunch at a little cafe next to the coastguard - manned by volunteers. The cafe overlooked the water and was a pleasant place to enjoy lunch.
On the way to Tomaree, we went past an area allocated to the fishermen for cleaning their catch and it was surrounded by a horde of Pelicans all waiting for any scraps
View from Tomaree
Our day out to Nelson Bay. that might be thrown away (see attached photo of birds). When we arrived at Tomaree we began to climb it. It was actually a tough walk, especially as the sun was at it's peak and the air was very close. The climb was well worth it though and gave great views (I'm saying that a lot I know). By the time we had descended, it was swim time. We headed back to the town and swam at Little Beach. A place of relative calm as it was inside the bay so no waves and ideal swimming conditions.
Rugby League International
Before embarking on our trip, I had chanced upon the fact that the Rugby League World Cup would be played at venues across Australia when we there and specifically that England would be playing New Zealand in Newcastle a few days after we had arrived there. As a result, I had booked the tickets quite some time ago and was shocked at how quickly the day of the game (Saturday 7th) had finally arrived. I must confess to knowing little about Rugby League other than England had played New Zealand the previous year in a test series
England v New Zealand
Energy Australia, Newcastle and beaten them 3-0, therefore we were confident of an England victory.
We were looking forward to seeing the New Zealand Haka, a ritual to which the England players added spice to by turning their backs on, inciting cries of 'cowards' by sections of the English fans (of which there were many). Despite this, England played well for the first half and raced away to a commanding lead. However things took a turn for the worse in the second.
New Zealand came back to win the game quite convincingly which was a bit of a shame. It was amazing how many New Zealand fans there were when they finally went in front. They seemed to triple in number! We left the ground disappointed that England had lost but could at least concede that the better team had won. One of the highlights had been the half-time entertainment where we got to watch 2 teams of seemingly drunk blokes attempt to roll a large, inflatable ball around large sponsors skittles in a race. Especially when one team completely lost control and seemed to be pushing the ball out of the ground.
Blackbutt Reserve
A nature reserve,
just outside Newcastle and completely free as it is staffed by volunteers was a favourite of ours. We spent a couple of hours here admiring the variety of bird life that the region has to offer. It is always nice to see the koalas, wombats and kangaroos too. They had a nocturnal zone so we could see the wombats in their burrow. In June 2007 high winds and heavy rain meant that many of the aviaries were destroyed and only now is it starting to get back to something approaching its former glory.
Elgar at the Opera House
We caught the Newcastle-Sydney train down to the Opera House on Thursday 13th for the Matinee performance. We enjoyed a takeaway lunch at Circular Quay where we were on the defensive against a very sneaky looking seagull. We then headed towards the Opera house where we picked up our tickets and went in for our musical experience of the Opera House.
The first half was the Violin Concerto in B minor with the Canadian James Ehnes playing the violin. The second half included Pomp and Circumstance Marches Nos 1 & 2 followed by the Enigma Variations featuring the
The Hunter Valley
Old Building at Audrey Wilkinson wines well-know 'Nimrod'. Although we don't normally listen to much classical music we both enjoyed the concert and marveled at the expertise of the musicians.
The Beaches and Ocean Baths
Newcastle is blessed with a plethora of great beaches. We used our time here to get acquainted with a few of them. Two of Newcastle's beaches also have saltwater swimming pools on the foreshore which basically means you can swim in all but the wildest weather and the bonus is - it's all free (well if your not a rate payer). There are fantastic surfing beaches here too - something we have not done too much of as yet. This should change as we have booked ourselves onto a week-long surf camp!
One day we attempted to walk the 'Bathers Way' past all the beaches and subsequently found ourselves in the middle of a torrential downpour when we got to the last beach (the furthest one away). Still at least it was warm!
The Hunter Valley
We booked a wine tour from Newcastle to the Hunter Valley - one of the first wine producing regions in Australia. We caught the bus to Cessnock and
met up with our tour group at the first winery of the day:- Kevin Sobells. It was strange to be drinking wine at 10:00 in the morning and we worked our way through the suggested tasting order starting with the white wines. There were about 3 people pouring for a group of about 20 people. Lisa sampled the Verdehlo and was asked what she thought and she replied 'Its alright', not realising that the owner, Kevin Sobell had just asked her that! We also went to Tullochs and Audrey Wilkinson wineries but they do not export to the UK. We also tried various soft cheeses and a some novelty liqueurs. I think we were both feeling a little light-headed at the end of the tour.
Glenrock Lagoon
Just south of Newcastle is a nature reserve called Glenrock Lagoon with walking trails right down to the beach. Less than 100 years ago this area was still mined and miners would be hard at work digging for coal which would be sent along the coast by rail to the port where it would be loaded onto ships. Since the cessation of mining at this location nature has been quick
to reclaim the land, but reminders of the industrial past are still evident. We saw old rail lines and engine parts along the walking track which were rapidly decaying in the sea air.
The day had certainly warmed up by the time we got to the lagoon itself and onto the beach. As we went around the circuit Mike (Uncle) pointed out old aboriginal sites such as in the river where they used specific rocks to sharpen tools.
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