Newcastle and Sydney

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I arrived in Newcastle early in November - so it has been quite a while since I updated. Sorry about that, but so many people to catch up with, so much crap weather to avoid.

Newcastle, New South Wales

The journey from Urunga to Newcastle took 6 hours. Apart from suspecting I had DVT by the time we arrived, I always have to laugh at the contrast between the very British placenames and the aboriginal - Urunga to Newcastle! Newcastle is also surrounded by Jesmond, Wallsend, Blackall and the like. Mind you Sydney has a very posh area called Toxteth.

Anyway my DVT and I found the YHA. It is a beautiful old building - it used to be a gentlemen's club, then it was a nurses home and now it is a YHA. The lounge is in the old ballroom, and it has fake chesterfields - which are just as comfy as the real thing. I loved it - apart from the kitchen and the downstairs showers which were sometimes inhabited by huge cockroaches - but as long as they weren't in my fridge or my room I just ignored it.

My first day in Newcastle was very non-productive. I had felt a bit full of cold for a few days and so I was quite sluggish. I slept all morning and in the afternoon retired to a nice cafe for lunch and a read of the weekend papers. Lazy day, but a really nice day. Not that any of my other days here are any more productive - but I always fit quite a lot of unproductive tasks in to my days, rather than just the one.

Sunday I went to the Sunday markets - the usual tourist tat you get everywhere here, and amazingly backpackers buy it. Firstly it all says 'made in China', so common sense would suggest you wait until China to buy it. Secondly it is vastly overpriced and the stallholders are nearly all English - go to Australia and buy something made in China from an Englishman who can't get a work visa, and then pay the same price to send it all home as it is too heavy to carry. Never overestimate the intelligence of your average traveller. Back at the YHA I had two new room-mates. Anja from Austria and Angela from New Zealand. Everyone was very friendly and chatty - as always and thankfully not a sobstory or lifestory in sight or sound.

On the Monday the three of us had all signed up for a tour of the vineyards, along with three Dutch ladies and three Irish ladies. I asked the Irish lot how long they had been in Oz expecting them to say two days as they were so very white - but they had been here six weeks!! I try really hard to slather myself in factor 45 and I am quite brown really. They must only go out at night. One of them was clearly an argument waiting to happen - she demanded to know if the free meal in the Irish pub was 'real sausages not your Australian muck' before she would deign to sign up for that - for most of us the clue as to the sausages' origination would be in the word 'free', she snapped at the Dutch girls for talking (as if they were here to enjoy themselves) and nearly floored me for laughing at the barman when he took our picture. He turned the wine bottles around and I asked if he wanted all the labels at the front. Stroppy McManus thought I said 'all the ladies at the front' and decided I was questioning her credentials to be a lady. As if! Anja lightened the atmosphere by offering him $50 to strip - quick worker that girl.

But we had a lovely day on the wine tour. One minute it was boiling, the next it was raining kangaroos and koalas, all day a gale force wind blew - but what did we care. Actually it is very odd walking outside when it is so hot and so windy - like being in a fan oven. By 11 a.m. we had tasted 11 very good wines. The beauty of going during the week and not on a weekend is that you get more space, more wine and more attention from the connoisseurs. The downside is .... it's wine, how could there be a downside. The Hunter valley is more famed for its white than its red. I bought a bottle of Tempus Two Moscato which was lovely - I love dessert wine, in fact I like most wine, but particularly dessert wine. We also did a bit of cheese and olive tasting just to line our stomachs. By the time we were on the way home even Stroppy McManus was mellow - either that or she was still suffering from the chili liqueur with which we finished the day. After that I had no signs of a cold.

In the evening most of the hostel trooped off to the Irish theme pub for a free meal. I don't like Australian sausages very much - whether I pay for them or someone else does. I also intensely dislike Irish theme pubs, so I revelled in the luxury of having the lounge mostly to myself and set to reading Kate Adie's autobiography. This is only the second book I have read since I have been here - far too busy gadding about. The first was Norman Lindsay's The Cousin from Fiji - which was hilarious, but now I have added Ballarat (in Victoria) to my list of must see places. I never liked Adie - there was always something smug about her and a seeming need to be the news rather than report it. But the hostel had a copy of her autobiog so I started reading it - and it was really good. Shame she was centre stage in all the pictures - but to be fair this book was about her. This attitude towards self-obsession in others may seem hypocritical from one as self-obsessed as I ... but I'm not reading the news am I?

On Tuesday I yet again braved the Ocean Pools in an effort to keep up some kind of fitness regime. These are pools of seawater (i.e. absolutely bloody freezing) with the advantage of no sharks, blueys or surfers. Once you get in it is lovely. I went every morning - in fact it was one of the reasons I stayed 5 days in Newcastle. Then I went for a walk right up to Merriweather Beach. Newcastle has miles of lovely beaches. The view is crap though - cargo vessels as far as the eye can see waiting to ship coals to Newcastle, UK - amongst other places. Actually seeing them made me feel really sad. I was voting age during the miners strike and I did nothing. A whole industry just sold down the river because it was 'cheaper' to buy Australian coal. Why didn't I ask how was it cheaper than taking hundreds of jobs, running dozens of towns and entire regions into the ground? Currently in Australia politicians are squabbling over whether or not to buy into nuclear power - if they do, that is their mining industry gone and most of the current boom industry towns in Australia are booming due to the mines.

I was so busy dwelling on the issue of 'coals to Newcastle' that I wasn't watching the tide and suddenly a wave came in right up to my knees. The spray rushed up my legs - and soaked my shorts from the crotch outwards. See - mess around in politics and it is bound to come to no good. That kind of thing is just what you want to happen when you are an hour from the nearest pair of dry knickers. Luckily when I was taking pictures of the view a kindly Australian took my camera and insisted on getting a picture of me - my pleas of 'from the waist up only' were ignored- so if the 'wet your pants' look comes into fashion - I have proof that I set the trend.

In the afternoon Anje and I went to the Nature Reserve. We waited patiently for the bus we had been told to get. He told us that the 363 was a much better bus, so we waited equally patiently for that one. The driver told us this was insanity, it would involve a long walk and we should wait another 40 minutes - we insisted on getting his bus. The 'long walk' was all of 9 minutes. The nature reserve, however, was more of a children's petting zoo - although we did get to see a koala and baby which was very cute. We also got to see a 60 year old woman scream in raptures over the sight of the baby - very odd!! She kept on yelling "Daddy look at this, Daddy come see - and actually she was with her parents and her long suffering husband.

Wednesday I planned to have a day on the beach and snorkelling or swimming, but the weather has other ideas. The wind had picked up and the sand cut like razors so I soon gave up on the beach - so it was off to the nearest cafe for a few cups of tea with Kate Adie's memoirs. A month down the line with bugger all in my diary that is all I can remember about Wednesday. Except for I met this guy from NZ who asked me why I was reading a book - wasn't there enough in Australia for me to do. I was going to justify myself - but why bother? He'd been travelling one week, I am sure after 4 months he will get the urge to do something 'normal' although you just know that it won't be reading - not without moving his lips whilst he reads the large print words anyway.

Thursday I had bought a train ticket to Sydney. The trains here are huge - double decker, but slow. Sydney is 150 km from Newcastle and it took 3 hours. They even had a rail replacement service - otherwise known as an overcrowded bus. It was just like being at home, except for the part where we drove over the Hawkesbury River and I decided that it was so beautiful it was yet another area I needed to visit. But you don't - or you will never get away. One of the men from the hostel was on the train - he was a bit simple bless him and never quite understood that the young girls he was so attracted to were quite scared of him. He seemed to suffer from tourettes because he swore really loudly all the time - and couldn't understand why people got scared or maybe kicked him off buses. He wandered the train in seach of young female companions and got the knock back each time - either from them or from the other passengers. Men were falling over themselves to rescue the young girls, but surely someone should be rescuing Ryan? Although after my episode with Janine in Lennox I wasn't in a rush to jump in to something which just wasn't my business - pathetic excuse I know, but he was a bit scary.

Sydney was hot and busy. I got the light rail to Glebe, where I was booked into a YHA and dumped my bags to go and have a potter round Glebe. Glebe is getting to be quite trendy - so I was obviously old and out of place. It had nice little cafes and bars. I shared the dorm at Glebe with Karen, Michelle and Tara who were all from Ireland. Michelle and Karen were sisters travelling together for a year. We all got on really well which was lucky because the fan in our room wasn't working and the nights were really uncomfortably hot - tempers could have frayed but we all just muddled along. I went clothes shopping in Sydney - and bought nothing. Everywhere was selling dungarees, tunic dresses or puffball skirts. If I was 4 and planning my 5th birthday party I would have been in heaven. If I was 16 and it was 26 years ago most of it would have been in fashion, but as I am so very old and it is 2006 nothing appealed. I watched neighbours in the 80's and there clothes were very similar to ours - I just never realised they never moved out of that fashion? Apparently the 80's are back in fashion in the UK as well. Why? Who looked good in shoulder pads, glitter eyeshadow, puffball skirts or leggings? Who? Do we learn nothing?

Friday I walked into downtown Sydney. I was wondering if I had time before lunch to get near enough to the harbour to just see the opera house when all of sudden there it was before me. It was an amazing sight - something so familiar that I have never seen for real. I took about a hundred photos of it for some bizarre reason. Then I met up with Phil and Andrew for lunch which was lovely. We had a good old gossip about everyone we used to work with and what they were doing now and a few beers. It was lovely to see them again and so nice to have a normal conversation with someone. In the afternoon I got the ferry to Darling Harbour which is a nice little trip. There were loads of school kids on there. When they got off one of them ran along the shore until he was out of sight of his teachers and mooned at us. It was really funny. I was going to take a picture because it was so funny ... then I remembered the Cleveland social workers and thought better of it.

That evening the hostel had a barbecue which was quite entertaining, we all sat at a long table on the rooftop drinking and chatting. There was another English bloke there - he was very interested in the young girls in my dorm and rushed to hide his stash of pot when he saw me, he just assumed I was in charge as I am so old. Charming. At midnight everyone piled round to the hostel next door at about 11 p.m. Also I had seen most of the residents from there - and all the young men had stupid goatee beards, sat around all day in wife beater t-shirts nodding wisely whilst other young men spouted crap to them and they were all smoking weed very self conciously. As tempting as the idea of spending time in their company was - a tiny dorm room with no fan beckoned so off I went to bed.

Saturday I went round the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens. The gardens were lovely - but everywhere you turned someone was getting married. Then one party after another they all trooped round the most scenic spots of the garden to get pictures done. It was very production line. Also it was very funny to me that the tourists just carried on around the wedding parties as if they weren't there. The funny little train still whizzed round carrying people from one part of the park, often coming in between the blushing bride and the sweating cameraman.

Sunday Glebe had a street market- it was very hot and crowded and very little different from any other market I have been to so I just wandered past on my way to meet up with Eva. I haven't seen her for about two years so it was lovely to catch up again. We went on a pub crawl round The Rocks which is a lovely area and has some great pubs. We went for a drink at the very top of the Shangri-La hotel which is a beautiful bar overlooking the harbour. From there we watched more bridal parties do the picture dash around Sydney's scenic spots. We even met some of the Barmy Army on their way to Brisbane for the first test. It was lovely to have my own personal guided tour of Sydney, and I had a great day - better still despite drinking all day I wasn't drunk. Sydney is marvellous. And I had expected to hate it from what other backpackers had been telling me.

Monday - Happy Birthday to Me!! I had such a lovely weekend with Eva that I didn't really care about being Billy no Mates on my birthday, I had a drink on the roof with the girls in my dorm which was lovely. Anywhere was lovely which wasn't our desperately hot dorm. I pottered round the fish market and had afternoon tea in a posh food hall. Afternoon tea would have been nice by itself as the tea was excellent and chocolate cake is always perfect, but fortunately there was a young Australian girl having a break down in public whilst her poor Scots mother looked on trying to understand why everyone under the age of 50 feels the need to behave like this anywhere, let alone in public. The young lady was fine - but Sydney was no good for her. If she just got away from Sydney it would all be fine. Well try Glasgow love - and then have a rethink. And I am sure these days you can now get chai in Glasgow - so your cup really will runneth over. Now I sound wicked - I wasn't pleased the poor girl was having a breakdown, I was just pleased that I got to watch. Backpackers, me in particular, are so dimensional and conversation can be so limiting that to see a slice of normal life always entertains. Part of me wanted to butt in and suggest that maybe Sydney wasn't the problem, but it clearly wasn't a good time, so I just carried on stuffing my face with cake and drinking the wonderful tea. I have decided I can't live in a country where they can't make a decent tea - which obviously rules out the UK.

Tuesday was so hot I felt ill. How will I cope with the summer? I spent the afternoon and evening with Greg and Jessi and their boys. I went to school with Greg's sister and haven't seen him since he moved out to Oz over 20 years ago. He looked just the same except for a bit greyer. I had a really lovely time. The boys were very funny and it was so surreal to see Greg with his sons - I always think of him as 15, him having a 15 year old makes me feel ancient. When I got back from Greg's Michelle and Karen were waiting with a card, a present and a cake - I nearly cried. It was such a lovely gesture. The cake was really lovely. Say what you like about Australians - they can make wine, tea and cakes. I could live here quite easily.

On Wednesday I went to Manly beach. Despite the heat the sky was really overcast due to the smoke from the Katoomba forest fires. I can't say Manly was much to rave about though, even had the sky been perfectly blue. It is quite built up and has lots of tacky tourist shops. But the ferry ride to and from Manly gives a fantastic view of Sydney Harbour. In the evening I went to a comedy club with Tara. Even though the place was so packed we couldn't move and could hardly see it was a great evening and some of the acts were really really funny. In the first half a group of women from Melbourne shoved past us and obliterated our view. So in the second half we moved forwards to be able to see. One of the women grabbed hold of me and tried to wrestle me out of the way - even her companions were shocked. I hid behind Tara, who is really tall, until the nasty woman went away. Actually I didn't - but I wanted to. I just shrugged her off and gave her a look which would have soured milk, but she was drinking wine so it had no effect. I also hoped her fingernails weren't poisonous as they had been digging into me. Her friend then started chatting to us and was very pleasant- I think she was embarrassed about the wrestling. The second half was hilariously funny and I hope mean, wrestling woman missed it all because tall Tara was in front of her.

On my last day in Sydney I went to Bronte beach which is lovely - very peaceful and very quaint, with lovely sand, blue blue sea and even a swimming pool. Just what a beach should be. As Karen, Michelle and I were all leaving Glebe in the morning we went for an Indian meal in the evening and ordered far too much - as you do. But it was very good. It had been a lovely week, I really liked Sydney and felt I was very fortunate to have such great people to share a dorm with - particularly as it was such a small dorm, and all our stuff was all over the room.

On Friday 24th I left for Canberra for the weekend - but you may have to wait another month for that!

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Photos

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Trying to be arty - Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House with Jacaranda tree.

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Garside Gardens, Newcastle.

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Koala and baby, Blackbutte nature reserve, Newcastle

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Flying foxes, aka fruit bats. Blackbutte reserve.

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Newcastle ocean baths ... and me. Look closely at the shorts - very high tide!

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Bar Beach and Merriweather beach, Newcastle.

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Liquid lunch - wine tasting in the Hunter valley

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Sydney Opera House

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Sunset from Glebe hostel rooftop.

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Drinks with Andrew and Phil

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Friday night barbecue on the roof

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Botanical Gardens, Sydney

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Meeting up with Eva

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Eva on a pub crawl in The Rocks, Sydney. I just took photos.

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Aborigine performance, Sydney Central Quay

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Happy Birthday to me

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Bronte Beach