Newcastle (for Feb. 15)

We left Gosford at 10 and drove through a few of the small towns on the coast, stopping for a walk on the beach at Terrigal. We then turned inland toward the Hunter Valley Vineyards. We toured around for a bit, finally stopping for a tasting and buying a couple of bottles of their cheapest hooch. We had to do it for the experience!


Having achieved our goal for the day, we had to decide where to stay for the night. Newcastle wasn’t even on our radar, but the fellow at the winery said it had a lot to offer, so we checked it out in our guide book and decided to give it a try. We pulled into the hotel, had a bite to eat and went out touring about 6. We managed to take in all the sights on our list before dark. Nobby’s Head is a landmark and lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour.



The Ocean Baths is a huge salt water swimming pool on the beach and the Canoe Pool is an adjacent paddling pool just off Newcastle Beach. The Bogey Hole is a small pool that an early governor had dug out of the rock on the shore by convicts. The Obelisk is a landmark on the highest point of land in the area with a 360 degree view. From one of the lookouts, we also spotted a pod of dolphins (do dolphins travel in pods?). And we also marveled at an armada of ships offshore, presumably waiting to enter the harbour. I counted 19 for sure, and possibly a 20th behind one of the others.

The day was mostly overcast with occasional weak sunny breaks, but it was nice and warm. It got quite windy in the evening as we toured Newcastle.