Storming the Castle.

My week in Newcastle, NSW is soon to come to a close. I depart tomorrow on the train to Tamworth. A week was a good amount of time to spend here. I found plenty to do and enjoyed the quiet town. Saved some money and took it easy after Sydney.

I spent a day on a wine tour of the Hunter Valley, getting slanted on free wine and liqueur samples all day long. It was a terribly beautiful day and we got cheese samples too! That was my favorite part. I do love me some cheese. I also did beer tasting, and counted each stop.

I spent a day at a wildlife reserve. Hiking walking trails and visiting the wildlife exhibits with koalas and kangaroos and all kinds of local birds. The forests are filled with parrots which is kinda cool. The koalas were feeding and you could pretty much reach out and touch them.

A couple days I got to kick it at the beach. I watched the kite surfers for a long time and today I played volleyball with some Canadians from my dorm. We have been watching lots of movies in the hostel as the nightlife is pretty low key and I am trying to save my money for more adventurous things. We have watched some classics. Cliffhanger. Reservoir Dogs. Ransom. Cocktail. Who doesn't love Cocktail. We have also been drinking boxed wine. Classy's the name of the game kids.

I made it a point to take the bus out of town too so I could see the surrounding area and get a locals point of view. It's pretty suburban. Everything so far seems a perfect blend of England and the U.S. The influences from both cultures seem pretty 50/50. It's kinda cool though.

A little side story:
I was going up to my room to bed the other night and heard loud panting from the room next door. It's a private room and I think I don't need to explain what was going on in their. I smiled and continued to bed. So in the morning the couple checked out. My buddy was cleaning their room and said when he walked in, a pair of pigeons flew out the open window. When he looked down at the floor he saw that they had laid an egg in the corner of the room! Is that a sign or what? That chick's so knocked up and she doesn't even know it yet.

There is an old army fort here that used to protect the harbour. Fort Scratchly. I wandered around there before it started pouring rain. It was cool to see. They are turning it into a museum and opening up the buildings soon. There is also an area down by the beach that had some wicked graffiti. I am a big fan of this stuff and you might see lots of pictures of it. Deal.

Everyone I meet has the same damn Lonely Planet Australia book. It makes me want to throw mine away. Instead I am laughing at it and have started taking pictures of everyones.

Wish me luck as I head to the bush tomorrow. I might even get some camping in soon. Which would be nice since I just bought this expensive new tent. And I am shaving the stache tomorrow. I had to let things grow out a bit. Adios for now and check out my Newcastle pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/andersn8/NewcastleNSW


-"She’d love to get at me any way she could. That’s why she’s been flirting with G.O.B. She’s trying to prove that she’s closer to my children than I am, but the joke’s on her, because she doesn’t know how little I care for G.O.B."

-"I think that makes the joke on G.O.B."