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Newcastle is at the mouth of the Hunter River, approximately 150 km north of Sydney in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The city is the focal point for the diverse Hunter region that encompasses beaches and mountains, restaurants and wineries.
Newcastle is a great place for surfers, wine buffs, bushwalkers, and anyone interested in Australian history. Similar to its English namesake, Newcastle was an important center for the coal mining and iron ore industries. Newcastle is Australia's oldest seaport, currently the second most important in the country in terms of overall tonnage, and significant for coal exports.
Many Novocastrians take an avid interest in sports, as participants, spectators or both. The local NRL Rugby League team, the Newcastle Knights are widely followed. Newcastle also hosts soccer, baseball, ice hockey, netball, and various other sporting teams. Hunter New England... Read more
Newcastle is at the mouth of the Hunter River, approximately 150 km north of Sydney in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The city is the focal point for the diverse Hunter region that encompasses beaches and mountains, restaurants and wineries.
Newcastle is a great place for surfers, wine buffs, bushwalkers, and anyone interested in Australian history. Similar to its English namesake, Newcastle was an important center for the coal mining and iron ore industries. Newcastle is Australia's oldest seaport, currently the second most important in the country in terms of overall tonnage, and significant for coal exports.
Many Novocastrians take an avid interest in sports, as participants, spectators or both. The local NRL Rugby League team, the Newcastle Knights are widely followed. Newcastle also hosts soccer, baseball, ice hockey, netball, and various other sporting teams. Hunter New England Health and The University of Newcastle are the city's primary employers.
To the north is Stockton beach with miles and miles of uninhabited beaches that stretch up to Nelson Bay. The wreck of the Signa can be seen from Fort Scratchley, which was Newcastle's maritime defense during the world wars. Travel westward to the wineries and taste some of Australia's best wines. Barrington Tops National Park in the northwest has beautiful freshwater rivers and rain forests, a good place to spot a platypus.
The actual city center itself is fairly walkable. With the current construction works for a new light rail lasting until 2017, public buses are the best way to get around Newcastle city. The Sydney Opal card is used here and used in exactly the same way. The shopping centers, John Hunter Hospital and the university are served by several bus lines.
Google Maps works for transit in Newcastle, as do several 3rd party smartphone apps that Transport NSW recommend.
There are taxis available, although you will likely need to call for one. Hamilton station has a Taxi rank which often has a few taxis waiting for the Sydney train. Uber may not have any drivers here, and GoCatch has just a handful. Newcastle Taxi Co-operative can be reached under 131008.
There is a single ferry service between Queens Wharf and Stockton Wharf.
Riding a bicycle is possible, and infrastructure is slowly being built but takes some time to discover. Select areas around Wickham, Islington, and along Honeysuckle Drive have some infrastructure, quiet streets, a gentle terrain along waterways that can be quite pleasant to ride through. Other areas which have some infrastructure are around Adamstown and Kotara Shopping Centre. It is possible to ride to & in the surroundings of the John Hunter Hospital, University of Newcastle but these are up significant gradients. Even so, much riding will occur on roads shared with motor vehicles.
No visit to Newcastle during the warmer months would be complete without taking a dip in the ocean baths. On sunny days you can sunbathe on the Grandstand on the Fort side of the Baths.
The baths are also open during the winter, for the more adventurous. The Newcastle baths are home to the "Newcastle Pirates", a winter swimming club not unlike the Icebergs or Polar Bears of other places.
Most of the city's restaurants and cafés can be found along three main eatery strips: Honeysuckle Drive in Honeysuckle, Darby Street in Cooks Hill and Beaumont Street in Hamilton.
There are numerous options along Beaumont St in Hamilton and Darby St in Cooks Hill. At Three Monkeys (Darby St Cooks Hill) coffee can be ordered by the bowl. Euro Patisserie, 68 Orchardtown Rd, New Lambton, tel: 4957 7188, is deservedly popular for their award-winning cakes and pastries.
Other suggestions:
LOCAL TIME
3:27 am
May 29, 2022
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During one of the days of our stay in Sydney, we decided to go northward - to Newcastle - to look at Stockton Sand Dunes and the east coast. As a result, we drove further to Nelson Bay. The road is very picturesque, the grass is green, there are cows, horses, goats... |