Yesterday I walked the length of Newcastle’s beaches; from Merewether to Nobby’s. It took me about two hours in total, following the coast, in warm sun.
The surf was rough and I saw few swimmers (but many surfers). There were however many runners and walkers sharing the path with me.
That’s an old WW2 bunker on the cliff tops above King Edward Park. Here’s a view of the ocean from slightly further along the path:
The beaches were beautiful. These walks are very nostalgic for me, and I remembered many events from my youth as I strolled along.
Here’s one such memory. This is a photo of a bridge over an artificial pond in a park near the foreshore. Note the two kids leaning over the water:
I took the photo because I heard one of the boys tell the other that only ‘stupid people’ would go into the pond and immediately remembered how, on a dare, I’d waded under that low bridge one day in my high school years!
Newcastle feels lost in time as it has for years. Even Michael Jackson still tours here:
There’s plenty of graffiti in the city, both legal and illegal. I’m no fan of the defacing of public property, but here’s a shot of one example which I find uniquely Novocastrian:
That’s written on the path near Merewether beach and says ‘no coal go nuclear’. Many such sentiments are seen on stickers or posters in this town, seen as it is by activists as one of the epicentres of global warming.
That’s a mural in a car park on Hunter Street. Nearby I found this delightful piece depicting a bear riding in a hot-air balloon:
After about three hours of walking I was a bit ruined. Even though I (thought I) had slathered myself with sunblock, I had burned myself slightly in a couple of places.
After a frozen coke and a quick sit in an air-conditioned mall Bernard picked me up and we went on a bit of a drive to yet another mall.
In the evening we all watched The Hobbit (the first one). We’ll go and see the second one together later this week.
