NSW Holiday 2007-2008 – Day 10
New Year’s Eve
The day before New Year’s Eve, we’d gone for a swim at the Canoe Pool, and then walked to the Bogey Hole. As I didn’t have my camera with me at the time, I really wanted to return so I could take some photos. I really wish I had my camera with me, because we watched this guy who’d been fishing on the rocks, landing his catch. It was really was exhilarating to watch as he struggled but ultimately succeeded in bringing the fish to shore, so to speak. By the looks of it, it was a kind of flathead. Anyway, on our last day in Newcastle, we woke up nice and early (I set the alarm for 6:30AM!) so we could go for a walk, me armed with camera.
The Canoe Pool
We stopped by the Canoe Pool. As it was very early, there was hardly anyone around. The seagulls were taking advantage of this.
You can see in the video below how the waves keep crashing along the perimeter of the pool (or perhaps I should say circumference), yet the pool itself is not affected by the waves. It really is a great pool for kids and non-swimmers like me.
We also stopped at the Sea Baths, but I didn’t want to take lots of photos as there were quite a number of people swimming (mostly to the left of the area covered by this photo), and I didn’t want any hassles with people thinking I was trying to photograph them. And yeah, I realise I should’ve been standing on the other side to avoid the blinding sun!
The Bogey Hole
On the way to the Bogey Hole, I couldn’t resist taking more pictures.
Here’s the sign warning that the use of the Bogey Hole may be hazardous, at the top of the stairs that lead down to it.
If you look at the photos and/or the video below, I think you’ll be able to see how the Bogey Hole could be quite a dangerous watering hole, especially in certain weather conditions.
I didn’t venture down the stairs too much!
I also took the video below of the Bogey Hole, It was around 7:30AM.
You probably can’t see them too well, but there are metal poles sticking out of the rocks along the top edge of the pool. The day before, there were three guys lying flat on their bellies while hanging on to the poles.
And every time the waves rushed in, they’d hang on, gripping onto the metal poles. They’d get a cold face full of water and their board shorts would be pushed down just a little, exposing bum crack. I guess they did it for the thrills. Jac thought the bum crack exposures were quite funny.
There are a few rock ledges, below the grassy bit you see in the bottom half of the photo. There were people sunbathing on them the day before, watching the Bum Crack Boys.
After our walk, we showered, got dressed, packed up our stuff, checked out and made our way to…
Harry’s Cafe De Wheels Newcastle
199 Wharf Road, Newcastle NSW (on the train line, opposite the foreshore)
Jac is a hot dog fan and had been keen to try the Harry’s Hot Dog De Wheels (AU$5.40), which consists of bun, wiener, mushy peas, garlic, onion and chilli con carne, topped with fat squiggles of cheese and tomato sauces. She thought it was pretty tasty.
And I had the Curry Tiger (AU$5.40). I’d been secretly worried that after all my anticipation it would prove a disappointment, but my pleasure began from the moment I laid eyes on that mound of mushy peas and mashed potato piled on top of the pie. And what I loved best was the glistening well of brown gravy in the centre of the mushy peas. A beef curry pie topped with mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy probably sounds absolutely disgusting to most people, but it’s a surprisingly tasty combination! I can’t wait for the next time I have the opportunity to have another one of these.
After Jac had finished her hot dog and I had polished off my pie, we decided to go for broke and share a chicken and cheese pie (AU$4.20). This was a seriously tasty chicken pie! It was filled with chunks of tender dark chicken meat and mushrooms in a well seasoned, thick white sauce. The cheese sauce was quite mild but definitely cheesy enough in flavour. The pastry was good, not overly flaky. Jac proclaimed this to be “the most chickeny pie I’ve had”. I really couldn’t tell you which I loved more, this chicken and cheese pie, or the curry tiger. I reckon the chicken pie would’ve been tasty enough without the cheese sauce, but I guess the cheese sauce makes it a bit special. :)
Pie lovers should definitely give Harry’s Cafe De Wheels a go!
Bellies full, we made our way to the bus station and caught the bus back to Nelson Bay, where L picked us up and drove us back ‘home’.
John Dory’s Seafood
Magnus Street, Nelson Bay NSW
After a quick rest and catch-up, we decided to walk into town and have fish and chips for lunch. We shared a fish and chips for two (AU$16.00) from John Dory’s Seafood. The fish and chips came with a couple of sachets of tartare sauce, and in addition to the fish and chips we got a crumbed Tasmanian scallops and I got myself a sea shanty. The fish and chips were really good. The scallops were small and dry beneath the crumbs and were somewhat disappointing. Oh well.
That evening, Jac and the girls went to a New Year’s Eve party. I stayed home and watched The Vicar of Dibley on DVD. When fireworks started going off in the neighbourhood I think the little doggies Milly and Molly were secretly glad to have someone around. At first they were quite brave and ran outside barking at ‘the noise’ (I wasn’t worried as there were no way they would be able to get out of the yard) but as the fireworks got noisier and noisier they came racing back into the house looking quite frightened, and snuggled up next to me while I ate my SPAM, egg and rice (yeah, there was SPAM in the pantry, L bought especially for me!).
When Jac and the girls returned from their party just after 10PM, they proceeded to have a party of their own, with a few friends who rocked up shortly. It wasn’t a particularly wild party, but I didn’t feel like hanging out with all the drinking people, and so I made a brief appearance for 5-10 minutes, then went to our bedroom to spend the night with a book I’d bought from Angus and Robertson at Newcastle: Extinct, the book of the BBC TV series. I know it’s probably not a great idea to load up on books while on holiday, especially heavy hardcover ones, but this was an absolute bargain – marked down from $50.00 to $12.99 to the price I paid for it – $2.00! The book jacket was a little scuffed, but otherwise it was perfect. And so at midnight and the start of 2008 I was by myself, quite contented, tucked up in bed reading. At least I was awake! :) What were you doing at midnight on New Year’s Eve/Day?