Robot Claw

Yesterday I mailed a box of mostly biscuits and chocolate home. It was big and a bit heavy (11 lbs) and cost a small fortune to send but it should arrive in only a few days. Fingers crossed it does!

I then lazily walked up Hunter Street, a walk I do at least once every trip. This is one of the more nostalgic parts of these visits, but the truth is the endless development and restructuring of the Newcastle CBD from retail into expensive residential has rendered the street almost unrecognizable from my youth.

Every old haunt is now gone – even the buildings – and I’m not sure how many more times I’ll need to follow my old steps. I continued to the beach.

The day was lovely with people even sunbathing, which is remarkable since it’s winter in a few days. Seagulls were everywhere and swarming anyone that looked like they had some food.

The work on the Newcastle baths is (more or less) complete and it’s wonderful now, with a very retro look. I stood for a while amongst the gulls and watched the waves.

The brave guy in the above pic dove off the rocks and went under immediately. Look closely and you’ll see he’s wearing flippers but no goggles or snorkel. I watched for a while but didn’t see him come up, so I image he was diving to see the underwater life. Was he opening his eyes in seawater without goggles? I always hated that and the thought now makes me itch!

When I got back to mums I was ruined. I haven’t rested since arriving and maybe I’ve pushed myself a bit? I should probably take a day off.

The evening was very relaxing: a visit to Kirsten’s for dinner (sausage sandwiches!) and to see Juliet. Three friends of 40 years catching up with each other. It was wonderful 🙂

Yesterday I went with Sue to see Koalas in the wild.

The place was a ‘koala habitat’ near Nelson Bay, which is to say a narrow strip of bushland between a residential suburb and the bay itself. There’s a well maintained path that winds through the bush, which is inhabited by koalas, bandicoots, echidnas and many different bird species.

From what I had read I figured we had a decent chance to see some, and as we walked we constantly looked up. But our efforts were in vain, and aside from plenty of birds we saw none of the furry beasts. Regardless the walk was lovely, and it would be nice to live locally and be able to do it often, and perhaps one day see a koala! (We found out later there are only 3 or 4 koalas in the habitat, and the last sighting was over a month ago.)

Next we headed to a small amusement center run closer to the bay. Called ‘Toboggan Hill Park’, this is essentially a toboggan run built down a hill with a few other things like mini golf or roller skating added on. Sue said it’s been there forever, but I don’t remember it and doubt I had ever been.

The run is 1 km long, and you start by getting winch-pulled up a hill for a couple of minutes to get to the top. This stage was surprisingly strenuous, because the toboggan has no backrest and you’re supporting your own weight against the slope! Once you reach the top gravity takes control, but you can adjust your speed with a handheld brake.

I decided I’d go at full speed since this would likely be the only time I’d ride it. This would mean no braking at all, and about 40 seconds to the bottom. There’s about ten turns (the above photo I found on the internet) but they’re not particularly steep and the toboggan doesn’t ride up much. I ignored the brake and had developed impressive speed by about halfway, but then I misunderstood a suggested braking sign for a required braking sign and – like a fool – slightly applied the brake. This single incident reduced my speed a lot, and even though I once again reached a good clip by the end I wish I had completed the entire course like a bat out of hell!

It was a lot of fun, and I dearly considered a second go. But at $10 a ride it wasn’t worth it twice.

Afterwards we went to Boat Harbour for another walk. This was part of a longer 20 km walk all around the end of the bay and as you can see the weather was beautiful. In fact it’s been warm enough here (about 70F at noon) it’s hard to believe it’s winter this weekend!

The walk wound around the scrubland on the cliffs and right up along the rocks. I imagine whales and dolphins would be visible from the walk but we didn’t see any. Aside from the ever-present birds, the only wildlife we saw was a (deadly) small brown snake on the path, which we kept well away from as it slid into the brush!

The above is a pic of my dinner almost every night: a ham and salad sandwich. It’s delicious with a fresh roll, shaved ham and beetroot.

I’ve been wanting to visit Fort Scratchley for many years since I’ve got fond memories of the place from my youth. Yesterday I went with Kirsten and Lance to see a temporary outdoor sculpture exhibit.

There were dozens (over a hundred?) pieces of art all around the fort, and there’s some sort of contest where viewers can vote on their favourites. Almost all of them are for sale as well, with the above piece only $69,000!

This was my favourite. I forget what it was called, but this delightful 1.5 meter creation depicting a knight on an emu is for me in honor of the Great Emu War of 1932, a very dark part of Australian History. Sadly it was not for sale, although I’m not sure I could have fit the 150 kg masterpiece in my suitcase.

The fort affords a wonderful view of Nobbys and the harbour, and while it looks a little gloomy in the photo the weather was nice. Alas the usual historical exhibits seem to have been put aside for the duration of the art installation, and I must come back another time to see the fort itself.

Happily one thing not temporarily closed was the daily firing of the 1 am time gun, and we had the best ‘seats’ in the house. It was dramatic and louder than expected: so much so I dropped my phone on a child and made them cry!

On the way out we saw this handsome crow eating his takeaway McDonald’s high on a light post. Alas he was a litterbug and tossed the packaging onto the ground. When next you see litter on the ground and reflect on the bestiality of the person you may presume had thrown it there, be mindful it may not have been a person after all!