Celebrating Straya Day...but not in an ocean bar

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It was a long weekend, celebrating Australia Day, so with three days up my sleeve, I decided to get out of town. This time, I took the train up to Newcastle, on the promise of beautiful beaches and a laid back cafe culture - also known as my favourite things. Newcastle is not too far from Sydney, so an easy train trip. Given most of my other weekends away have been further afield and required a plane trip, being able to casually take whichever train took my fancy for the princely sum of $8.40, it felt ridiculously easy.

I had spoken to several people about Newcastle, including one of my work friends, which is where she grew up and her family still lives. Like many former residents that I have talked to, she spoke of Newcastle as a slightly embarassing and unsophisticated family member that they are trying to distance themselves from, although grudgingly admitting that things seemed to be improving. She did talk in glowing terms of the beaches, and mentioned to me that there were some really great ocean bars. My eyes lit up - I thought this sounded fabulous. I had never before been to a swim up ocean bar, so wow, how cool!

"Straya" Day dawned bright and sunny, so it was up early to start on the beach adventures. A quick glimpse at the forecast suggested that this might be the best of the three days, so I decided to make the most of it, and spent hours walking around the coast and exploring the beaches. Newcastle's beaches are truly stunning, some of the best that I've come across. I walked first to Newcastle beach, and ate breakfast across the road at Estabar, which is an excellent cafe and a great place to start your day. This beach has beautiful golden sand and blue clear water, and at that hour of the day, mainly just seagulls and some dedicated surfers. Compared to the beaches that I had visited in Sydney, it was blissfully empty.

I continued my walk, up to the Bogey Hole. The Bogey Hole, besides being a hilarious name for a swimming hole, was created in the early 1800s by convicts, who cut into the rocks to make a private pool for Major James Morrisset. Where the name the "Bogey Hole" comes from however is anyone's guess. It is a gorgeous spot and the perfect place for a quick dip. It beats every infinity pool I've ever seen. My only tip for future visitors to the Bogey Hole is beware of the green algae on the rocks - VERY slippery!

From there I kept on with my walk round the coast and went to Bar beach, and then on further to Mereweather beach. Both beaches are within walking distance from the city, and what a treat for the local residents, as they are some of the nicest beaches I've ever been to. The Mereweather Ocean Baths are fantastic, and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. There are several separate pools, including a children's pool and a pool with lanes for training.

It was as I admiring these beautiful baths that it dawned on me that I had yet to come across the ocean bars that my work friend had promised. I read the sign for the ocean baths, and it then came to me that the words "ocean baths" and "ocean bars" could be easily mistaken....and sadly, I realised that she had said one thing while I heard something entirely different. I felt disappointed and a little bit cheated, which I know is very unfair, however I did have a very sad sense that I was missing out on the bars of my imagination. I didn't even want to swim up to a bar and order a beer, but I loved the idea of it so much it was a bitter disappointment to discover that they only existed because of my faulty (wishful?) hearing. On the bright side, it does however now give me an excellent business idea....

My self-guided walking tour then took me down Darby Street. I had been promised eclectic boutiques and the heart of Newcastle's coffee scene, and wasn't disappointed. I stopped off for lunch at Zinc cafe, and have no complaints whatsoever. I enjoyed watching the world go by, sipping an excellent coffee and enjoying a delicious salad, followed up by a little sweet treat. I also watched the clouds roll in and the first of the showers arrive.

I managed to dodge the showers, and made my way back to the wharf area where my hotel is. It being Straya Day and all, there were lots of people out and about, and lots of activities and fun for all the family. An exhibition of some daredevil motorcyclists, water-ski races, fairground activities... I enjoyed wandering about and soaked up the atmosphere.

It was my first time to be in Australia during the national celebrations, and I really had no appreciation for how much of a big day it was. I saw the Australian flag worn in a myriad of ways - sunglasses, hats, caps, singlets, t-shirts, shorts, boob-tubes, dresses, handbags, jandals (aka "thongs" to an Aussie) - or if all else failed people had a flag draped about them or carried a small flag with them. Apartment buildings had flags hanging from balconies...it was very surprising to me, coming from a country where the national day is a much more low-key affair, however I enjoyed the colour and atmosphere - it seemed a fun-filled family day. That evening I had dinner near my hotel, in the recently redeveloped Honeysuckle precinct. There are lots of restaurants and bars down there, so I was spoilt for choice, but I can recommend Il Grifone.

I then checked the weather forecast for the next couple of days and it looked very grim - the rains which had caused devastating flooding in Queensland were heading our way, and the next few days were forecast to be very, very wet. From my brief encounter with Newcastle, it seemed to me that if I couldn't hang out at a beach, there didn't seem a lot to do with myself in Newcastle. Given I'd already had the cafe experience, and I'd been to the beaches in the sunshine, a day entertaining myself in the rain seemed like a very long day indeed.

Half an hour later, following a little bit of internet research, I had booked myself on a day trip to the Hunter wine region. I spent the next 24 hours congratulating myself on my cleverness - it did not stop raining for even five minutes in Newcastle, however this did not matter one bit in my mini-van as I was exploring the wonders of the Hunter Valley wine region.

I can highly recommend this day trip. We visited five different vineyards, Lambloch Estate, First Creek Wines, Hermitage Road Cellars, Tempus Two, and IronBark Hill Winery. We also visited the The Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop and the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company. The rain got worse and worse, but this bothered me less and less as the day went on. Sadly this was unlikely to be true for the growers, as the red wine grapes were mostly yet to be harvested. I suspect that the heavy downpours and flooding that came through the next day will have ruined the 2013 vintage for many.

My verdict on Newcastle is that it is well worth a visit - I liked it a lot. It's a small and friendly city, with some of the nicest and most accessible beaches you can visit. Newcastle residents, both current and former, should be promoting this beautiful place with much more confidence!

Having had my first weekend in Australia to enjoy the "Straya" Day celebrations I think I sampled the best that Australia has to offer - stunning beaches, excellent food and coffee and of course a great day sampling wine. A fair dinkum Aussie experience.

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Photos

The Bogey Hole
I am not making up this ridiculous name

The Bogey Hole
Hang on tight to the steps - the algae makes it super slippy

The Ocean Baths
Mereweather Ocean Baths - largest in the Southern Hemisphere

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Sound check--- ocean bars vs ocean baths
Ok, we are laughing now. We see how you misunderstood but that is pretty darn funny. Yes, a good business plan to move forward with. Winery hopping was a great idea. We love doing that in Napa and Sonoma. Love the photos of people wrapped in the flag for the holiday. Love the Australian enthusiasm.

[RJT]

Yep - goes to show, we hear what we want to hear! I wasn't disappointed with the beaches, or the baths for that matter either!