Newcastle and Port Macquarie

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After our first Australian Greyhound journey which was luxurious compared to American greyhound, we were in Newcastle (a bit different from the UK equivalent).

Wednesday 12th Jan- Headed to Nobby's head beach on the east of the city. It was a cloudy but warm day with a nice breeze. I walked alongt he beach and around the headland, up to the lighthouse and out to the end of the harbour wall before chilling on the beach. Unfortanatly burnt my forehead and nose which peeled towards the end of the week, not a good look and also ended up with huge white pande eyes from my sunglasses. In the afternoon we went to the salt water swimming pools which are outdoors next to the ocean and I swam a few lengths. In the evening we went with people from the hostel to The Brewery pub where you got a free BBQ and it was quiz night.

Thursday 13th Jan- I caught the bus to Blackbuck nature reserve 30mins outside the town centre and did some walks around the rainforest and other areas. As well as viewing the wildlife including Kangaroo's, Emu's and best of all Koala's. In the afternoon after having a picnic lunch I got to stroke a Koala and have a picture with her. After catching the bus back I had a look around the town centre of Newcastle. In the evening we again went to The Brewery as the food was free and this time our quiz performance improved as we came second by one point.

Friday 14th Jan- Caught the Greyhound to Port Macquarie with Linsey and Paul from the Newcastle hostel and also met Danny when we got picked up by the hostel. The hostel was really nice and we did some food shopping before taking a dip in the pool. Had a group dinner and spent the evening with some goon.

Saturday 15th Jan- Took a morning walk along the waterfront and around the town, it is a really nice place, a lively town centred around the water front. Also looked in the shops and could have bought loads but resisted and only bought a bargain pair of shorts. In the afternoon took a walk to the Koala hospital where there was also a historic house to view before the tour of the hospital where the guide told you about the various patients and the work of the hosptial. Met Barry who was a Koala with scoliosis, apparently it is very common in Koala's especially female ones. When I got back I went in the pool and then in the evening had some steaks on the BBQ and chilled out.

Sunday 16th Jan- Hired a bike from the hostel which was a bargain at $5 a day but wasn't the best of bikes and had no gears which created problems on the hills and I had to resort to pushing the bike up some of them. I followed the coast road and went to 8 different beaches along the 9 Kilometers. Had a dip and lunch at one beach before reaching the last beach- lighhouse beach which was amazing and seemed to go on forever. Managed to find a shorter route back which was only 6k and had less hills but had a really great day.

Monday 17th Jan- It was a 5am start to head in the hostel van back to lighthouse beach to watch the sunrise before trying surfing for the first time. Put on the wetsuit and took a board. The waves were a bit big and rough for beginners so it was a lot of effort to get out and then ride a wave back in but I managed it a few times laying down, standing up will take a few more attempts and I have brusies on my arms where they rubbed on the board as I paddled. Will give it another go though and keep practicing over the coming months. Chilled out by the pool for the rest of the day and had an afternoon nap.

Tuesday 18th Jan- Had to check out the hostel in the morning but the Greyhound to Coffs Harbour was not until the afternoon so had a walk into town to find Australia Day clothing to wear on the 26th. Also had a back massage as had not had my back seen to in months and it was pretty painful. Had a sleep on the bus then checked into the hostel in Coffs Harbour where Lindsey, Paul and Danny were already staying and we went to a pub for dinner.

Port Macquarie was a really nice place, especially the lighthouse beach and def want to improve at surfing as the months go on.

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