Newcastle, Australia

January 16th - January 18th 2012

We got to Port Macquarie but found that campsites were either full or very expensive so we drove on and parked up for the night without power. The next day we drove to Newcastle and went straight to the seafront. We made lunch and looked out over the crashing waves and crystal clear waters. We had the dilemma of not knowing where to park for the night and decided to get it sorted straight away so that we didn't have to drive around looking for somewhere late like we did at Port Macquarie, this time we wouldn't be able to have a night without power. We drove over the big bridge to Stockton but found that the price of the campsite was far too unaffordable. The trouble with coming at this time of year is that everywhere is priced high for the holiday season.

View to Nobbys Head

We used the sat nav and drove around to a further two places but both were again too pricey or full. After quite a lot of driving we ended up at Lake Macquarie and got two nights. The site was pretty crowded and full of children running around causing havoc. We walked to the shops but didn't really enjoy our day at Lake Macquarie as we'd had a couple of tiffs. Those days when your driving around in the heat, frustrated and wanting to stick to the budget can be exhausting and when you're in such a confined space can lead to difficult moments. After our nightmarish day we decided to spend a full day chilling out. We did our little chores like the laundry and I managed to finish reading Thomas Harris' Red Dragon and start reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, something I'd been looking forward to doing ever since we bought it in Coffs Harbour. Craig had a dip in the pool while I sat at the edge eating red licorice and we enjoyed the peace of a pool without children!

Nobbys Head

The following day we decided to drive back to Newcastle as we didn't really get to see the sights before. We parked up at the art gallery and had a look at the New Aquisitions Exhibition which was free. The space was quite small and I didn't find it too impressive. We left and wandered around outside in the pretty gardens. We drove to the coast where we had been a couple of days before and made lunch. We then went for a walk to Nobbys Head and enjoyed the heat and scenery. As we walked we watched the surfers and boogey boarders battle with the waves. We watched the giant cargo ships navigate their way into the harbour before turning round and walking to the 1922 Ocean Baths and Newcastle Beach.

Colourful birds in Blackbutt Reserve

After our day in Newcastle we decided to drive to Blackbutt Reserve where we saw a variety of animals and birds including reptiles and koalas. We were now very close to Sydney so we found a lay by to park up in for the night. We were a little worried as there were no camping signs dotted around but the handy map book we were given with the camper said that this spot was OK for overnight parking. We needed all the money we could for our next few days in Australia 's biggest and most famous city.