We flew over to Sydney on Jetstar, the budget arm of Qantas. Our basic fare included 10kgs carry on baggage each and that's all we were taking. (our return flight with Qantas included 23kgs check-in baggage as well as 7kgs carry on so we were taking a larger, light sports bag with us and going to buy more clothes in the sales). We had flown with Jetstar before and find them perfectly adequate for short haul flights (it's a 4 hour flight to Sydney). There is no in-flight entertainment, unless you take an ipad or rent one onboard, all drinks and food have to be purchased, but there is more leg room than some international carriers we've been on. The staff are very pleasant and we are impressed at how seriously they take the emergency procedures. Each time we have flown with them we have been seated in the row under the life raft storage bin and this meant that we had to be prepared to assist crew with it's launch if required. On our previous flight with them the man on my left wouldn't put his newspaper down to listen to the steward, so the steward stopped the demonstration and explained to this gentleman that if he didn't listen and wasn't prepared to do as required he would be moved to another seat. 10 out of 10 for Jetstar.
We arrived in Sydney a little ahead of schedule, made a quick phone call to Imelda and Ian and having only carry on baggage walked across to the pick up spot. The traffic was quite light, for Sydney, and soon we were in the Northern Beaches, on the deck,with Ian cooking our barbecue dinner.
Sometimes the conversation over dinner had to be halted as the cicadas in the trees around were so loud.
The next day we were all going up to Valentine, just south of Newcastle, on Lake Macquarie to stay with Imelda's sister, Helen. But first we had some shopping to do. Imelda was keen to hit the sales too so we all went down to Warringah Mall, a huge, very busy shopping centre. Imelda had heard on the radio that someone had done research into parking at malls and worked out that you never wait more than 6 minutes for a spot - so we waited and sure enough within 6 minutes someone came out and drove off.
In the Mall we split up for a couple of hours agreeing to meet up later for lunch.
Michael and I bought extra clothes for the holiday, T- shirts, shorts, trousers and undies. We were also pleased to find that the supermarket sold Coopers Birrell non-alcoholic beer. In WA it's still an oddity and has to be bought in liquor stores, in the 'soft drink' or 'mixer' section alongside Coca Cola and lemonade.
We had a very nice curry in the food court and then went back home to collect our bags, have a coffee and then head north.
The journey took about 2 hours so it was around 5.00pm by the time we arrived at Helen's door.
Dinner that night was at 'Jessies' at the Valentine Bowling club. It was busy but not too crowed and the food was good. Helen had reserved a table on the water's edge and we watched the sun set over the lake.
Everywhere around this area is on the lake and Lake Macquarie is huge. Nowhere could I find out the size of the lake, all I could find out was 'twice the size of Sydney Harbour'.
The next day was family lunch day, Helen had been cooking for days and we all sat down to a feast. It was a really lovely day. We met some of Helen's children and grandchildren, her youngest son was unable to make it as he lives in Queensland and one grandson is on holiday in Europe. Some of the grandchildren could only stay for a short time as they had work or other parties to go to, but we were pleased to have met them. What a lovely family.
The next day was another shopping day - we all went to Charlestown Square, 'the largest shopping centre in the Hunter Region'. More clothes bargains and other specials too. Lunch was a very nice 'meal deal' at the fish stall - $5 fish and chips with a free soft drink. It tasted good too.
We had a quiet night in, watching the 2013 Edinburgh Military Tattoo on tv. Helen had been on a cruise around the British Isles and had been to the show.
The next day was New Year's Eve and we all went out to lunch. We took the bus towards Newcastle and got off before the town centre, in Darby Street. Helen chose to take us to 'Monkey, Monkey, Monkey' known as the 3 monkeys. It's one of her favourite eating places. We sat outside in the rear garden, enjoying a leisurely lunch before strolling along Darby Street, which has more eating places than shops. It will be 'jumping' tonight. (we had a coffee at another cafe and the waitress was already tired - she'd started work at 10.00am and was working through to 1.00am, she said "just kill me now.")
Our celebration dinner was back in Belmont at the 16 Footers Sailing Club. Once again Helen had booked a table with a view over the water.
We arrived at 7.00pm and friends of Imelda's joined us, when we joined the queue to order our meal were told that there was a 45 minute wait for the food. Helen was aghast and quickly explained that we had 2 diabetics in our party who needed to eat sooner than that. The staff were very helpful and took the order straight to the kitchen and said that they would put us at the front of the queue. 25 minutes later our meal arrived. Michael and I had Tempura Flounder and it was one of the nicest meals we've had. Excellent.
After the meal we relaxed in comfy chairs in the coffee shop and talked before heading home at 11.30pm. Michael and I stayed up to 'see in' the New Year, watching the fireworks in Sydney Harbour on tv.
After the meal we relaxed in comfy chairs in the coffee shop and talked before heading home at 11.30pm. Michael and I stayed up to 'see in' the New Year, watching the fireworks in Sydney Harbour on tv.
Our New Year 'selfie'
The next day we returned to the 16 footers for a light lunch, wraps and rolls, before doing a little shopping at Bunnings hardware and Aldi supermarket. (we can't wait for Aldi to get to WA ).
No one in the house seemed to know whether the shops would be open, we felt sure that they would be, as they would be in WA but the others thought that as the day was a public holiday the shops would all be closed. So what is all this stuff that we hear in WA about how the rest of the country has 24 hour shopping and WA is backward?!
In the afternoon Ian and Michael helped Helen with a few handyman odd jobs around the house, before a quiet dinner in and an early night.
The next day it was time for Ian and Imelda to return to Sydney so we all went out for lunch before they left. We went to the Caves Beach Resort, and once again were told that there would be a 45 minute wait for food, this time we waited and it was only 30 minutes before our burgers arrived.
After lunch we farewelled Ian and Imelda then Helen took us on a tour around the area. We drove around the Caves Beach area and then out to Murrays Beach which is not on the ocean, it's on the lake's edge. Currently there is only one road in and out of Murrays Beach which is a heavily timbered settlement. Very pretty but we were all thinking of the fire danger and we all agreed that we wouldn't feel comfortable living there unless we had a boat!
We stopped at the little cafe in Murrays Beach and had a coffee before heading back through Swansea, which is a very nice older suburb at the lake's entrance. The tide was very high, (there's mention of it being a 100 year tide) and the surrounding mangroves are deep in water.
Another light dinner before another early night.
The next day we drove around the top of the lake over to Toronto, one of the larger settlements on the lake..
We had a coffee down by the lake's edge before window shopping.
We found a very, very good second hand book shop - we put it on the list for a re visit when we're here with the motor home, without the restrictions of weight when flying. We had lunch at a little cafe on the main street before returning home via Warners Bay. We noticed that there was a concert ('music in the podium') on the foreshore every Friday from 6pm to 9pm so decided to return as it was Friday.
We brought chairs and found a spot under a tree not too close to the band, close enough to hear the music and still have a conversation. Leaving Michael with the chairs Helen and I went for fish and chips - another long wait!! this time I think it really was a 45 minute wait. Michael thought it was a case of grand dad dumping. The fish and chips were very good, the music was lovely, the whole evening was just lovely!
The next day was a special day for Helen as it was the Anniversary of her husband, Philip's, death. She was going to spend the day with her daughter and son-in-law, travelling back down to Sydney to visit the grave and have a day together. We took ourselves off into Newcastle, by bus. We stayed on the bus right to the terminus and then walked along Hunter Street.
Hunter street is famous in our eyes for being the subject of the 'Newcastle song' from 1974 (I think), also known as 'Never let a chance go by'. (It seems that it's better remembered by non-australians, Ian is a kiwi and he remembers it but we couldn't find anyone in Sydney or Newcastle who knew it). The song is about 'cruising' Hunter street and hanging around outside the Parthenon milk bar but no one knows where that used to be.
We walked around the Hunter Street Mall, enjoying the fact that it's a pedestrian street rather than an enclosed shopping centre. We found a huge hobby shop, Frontline Hobbies, with a window display equal to Selfridges in London, Myers in Melbourne or Maceys in New York - lovely puppets depicting children's nursery rhymes.
Cinderella - Prince Charming at the ball.
We remembered to look up and take note of the architecture of the buildings above the shop fronts. Although Newcastle had an earthquake in the 1990s? there are some lovely old building remaining. In the absence of the Parthenon we went to the Saigon Feast and enjoyed a lovely 'lunch special'. Then we crossed the railway tracks and walked along the refurbished Honeysuckle Wharf area, a lovely spot.
We were going to have a coffee at the 'world renowned establishment' of Harry's cafe de wheels - railway carriage but their coffee machine wasn't working! We crossed back over the railway tracks and got the bus back 'home'. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and settled down in front of the telly at night.
Sunday morning I fancied a stroll around a local market and all the brochures said that the Saltwater Market was on in Swansea, on 1st Sunday of the month so off we set. Well, what the brochures should have said was, 1st Sunday of the month except the first one of the year! No market!
Helen drove us around the streets of Swansea and that was interesting as it is one of the older 'villages' on the lake and has some of the older cottages. We drove out to Coon Island Point, a nice little nature reserve on the tip of a spit of land, and again noticed the high tide level.
In the afternoon we went around to spend a couple of hours with Helen's daughter Desiree and son in law Phil, and then went back to 16 footers for 'Happy Hour' and to meet a couple of Helen's friends, Aileen and John. John is a native Novocastrian and at last we found someone who remembered Hunter Street in it's heyday and the Parthenon milk bar!
Our last day of our little holiday and Helen drove us up the coast, north of Newcastle.
We drove to into Nelson Bay and then out to the little bays and beaches of Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay. They were all really busy - it was great to see so many families out with canoes, surf boards and general beach games and activities. We were not so active and just drove by, driving back to Nelson Bay for lunch.
As it was hot and sunny and the town was busy we opted for the quiet cool of the 'Diggers Club' and sat relaxing over lunch before heading back south and 'home'.
In the early evening I packed the bags, not using that extra bag after all but filling one of our incoming 'carry on' bags and that will be the checked in bag. (We will buy books!)
Tuesday morning and time to head back to WA. We drove around the lake to Cardiff to catch the train down to Sydney's Central station. It was a slow train journey, the 168 kms taking 2 hrs 25 mins but the seats were comfortable and it was a very interesting and picturesque trip. We passed through Woy Woy, famous for being the home of Spike Milligan's mum. We passed through Gosford, travelling along the lovely harbour. We were awed by some of the houses (cottages) on the opposite edge of the lake, with no road access and presumably no electricity (solar only) they really were 'back to nature'. (The only down side was that the windows of the train were so dirty I couldn't get any decent photos).
We arrived at Central station and decided to have lunch at the cafe there. Not the best idea - expensive and the noodles were lukewarm, the quiche and chips were tepid and the scones were stale. It explained why the queue was so long at Hungry Jacks.
Helen's return train was every hour and the next one left in 10 minutes so we made our goodbyes and headed to different platforms. The domestic terminal was only 3 stops from Central and the Qantas terminal was extremely quiet. We had ourselves and baggage checked in (check in bag only weighed 10.8kgs) and headed for security. Once again I was selected for a 'wipe down' - the once over and bag check with a swab that is then tested. I thought it was for drugs but it wasn't, it was for explosives! I told the operator that I'd been selected 'at random' in Perth and joked that it must be the floral bag, then I said that the machine is silent when testing, not like on tv, perhaps he should sing whilst it's testing "I think not" was his smiling reply.
Hunter street is famous in our eyes for being the subject of the 'Newcastle song' from 1974 (I think), also known as 'Never let a chance go by'. (It seems that it's better remembered by non-australians, Ian is a kiwi and he remembers it but we couldn't find anyone in Sydney or Newcastle who knew it). The song is about 'cruising' Hunter street and hanging around outside the Parthenon milk bar but no one knows where that used to be.
We walked around the Hunter Street Mall, enjoying the fact that it's a pedestrian street rather than an enclosed shopping centre. We found a huge hobby shop, Frontline Hobbies, with a window display equal to Selfridges in London, Myers in Melbourne or Maceys in New York - lovely puppets depicting children's nursery rhymes.
Cinderella - Prince Charming at the ball.
We remembered to look up and take note of the architecture of the buildings above the shop fronts. Although Newcastle had an earthquake in the 1990s? there are some lovely old building remaining. In the absence of the Parthenon we went to the Saigon Feast and enjoyed a lovely 'lunch special'. Then we crossed the railway tracks and walked along the refurbished Honeysuckle Wharf area, a lovely spot.
We were going to have a coffee at the 'world renowned establishment' of Harry's cafe de wheels - railway carriage but their coffee machine wasn't working! We crossed back over the railway tracks and got the bus back 'home'. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and settled down in front of the telly at night.
Sunday morning I fancied a stroll around a local market and all the brochures said that the Saltwater Market was on in Swansea, on 1st Sunday of the month so off we set. Well, what the brochures should have said was, 1st Sunday of the month except the first one of the year! No market!
Helen drove us around the streets of Swansea and that was interesting as it is one of the older 'villages' on the lake and has some of the older cottages. We drove out to Coon Island Point, a nice little nature reserve on the tip of a spit of land, and again noticed the high tide level.
In the afternoon we went around to spend a couple of hours with Helen's daughter Desiree and son in law Phil, and then went back to 16 footers for 'Happy Hour' and to meet a couple of Helen's friends, Aileen and John. John is a native Novocastrian and at last we found someone who remembered Hunter Street in it's heyday and the Parthenon milk bar!
Our last day of our little holiday and Helen drove us up the coast, north of Newcastle.
We drove to into Nelson Bay and then out to the little bays and beaches of Shoal Bay and Fingal Bay. They were all really busy - it was great to see so many families out with canoes, surf boards and general beach games and activities. We were not so active and just drove by, driving back to Nelson Bay for lunch.
As it was hot and sunny and the town was busy we opted for the quiet cool of the 'Diggers Club' and sat relaxing over lunch before heading back south and 'home'.
In the early evening I packed the bags, not using that extra bag after all but filling one of our incoming 'carry on' bags and that will be the checked in bag. (We will buy books!)
Tuesday morning and time to head back to WA. We drove around the lake to Cardiff to catch the train down to Sydney's Central station. It was a slow train journey, the 168 kms taking 2 hrs 25 mins but the seats were comfortable and it was a very interesting and picturesque trip. We passed through Woy Woy, famous for being the home of Spike Milligan's mum. We passed through Gosford, travelling along the lovely harbour. We were awed by some of the houses (cottages) on the opposite edge of the lake, with no road access and presumably no electricity (solar only) they really were 'back to nature'. (The only down side was that the windows of the train were so dirty I couldn't get any decent photos).
We arrived at Central station and decided to have lunch at the cafe there. Not the best idea - expensive and the noodles were lukewarm, the quiche and chips were tepid and the scones were stale. It explained why the queue was so long at Hungry Jacks.
We bought tickets for the train out to the airport ($12.50 each - the trip in from Cardiff had cost us $2.50 each but specifically did not allow exit at the airport).
We found some really comfortable chairs in the coffee shop and relaxed until time to head to the gate.
Boarding was swift and smooth. The plane wasn't full and we enjoyed enough legroom, and got a meal and complimentary drinks. Inflight entertainment was available too but we chose to read our books. For future trips we will have to check out Jetstar v Qantas weighing up the included extras that Qantas has.
(Because we flew at a peak time the Jetstar tickets cost quite a bit more than Qantas return tickets, had we flown back a day earlier it would have cost $60 more each ticket.)
We landed slightly ahead of schedule but Ralph and Hanny had to drive around the block (No standing in the pick up zone) because we had to wait 20 minutes at the baggage carousel. Then we were outside, into the WA heat, glorious!!!! There's no place like it!!!!
Boarding was swift and smooth. The plane wasn't full and we enjoyed enough legroom, and got a meal and complimentary drinks. Inflight entertainment was available too but we chose to read our books. For future trips we will have to check out Jetstar v Qantas weighing up the included extras that Qantas has.
(Because we flew at a peak time the Jetstar tickets cost quite a bit more than Qantas return tickets, had we flown back a day earlier it would have cost $60 more each ticket.)
We landed slightly ahead of schedule but Ralph and Hanny had to drive around the block (No standing in the pick up zone) because we had to wait 20 minutes at the baggage carousel. Then we were outside, into the WA heat, glorious!!!! There's no place like it!!!!
