With pink, purple, and orange too.

I apologize. The photos in this post are going to be very repetitive. I couldn’t help it. The sky kept changing colors and I kept trying to capture each change.  So, after our month long stay in Newcastle we were ready to check out a few more of Australia’s famous sights, starting with the Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains are called so due to the blue tinge of the area when viewed from a distance. The blue color comes from the eucalyptus oil released into the air due to the abundance of eucalypts. This is a fact that you will overhear often from other tourists if you visit. We chuckled everytime we heard a new person explain it to their family or traveling partner. (And indeed, it is a good fact!)

We decided to use Katoomba as our base for exploring the area. I would recommend this to anyone else who travels this way. The weather was chilly and our guesthouse was particularly cozy. As I mentioned before, it had central heating! (A rare find in Australia.)

Our first night in town we headed directly to the Echo Point Lookout to watch the sunset. It was cold and windy and I was freezing my buns off, but I think it was worth it. Every time we would decide to leave, the view would get better and better.

It was a wonderful introduction to a beautiful region.

xo, jill

Our home for four weeks.

During our first road trip, I started to crave a bit more stability. So when we were offered the chance to work at a hostel* we liked, we jumped on it. (And drove like the wind to get back to Newcastle in time…) 

We started out thinking that we’d just stay in Newcastle for two weeks. Then, maybe three. Three weeks turned into four weeks and before we knew it, we had stayed a full month. No complaints.

We were able to establish routines, work on projects, and make friendships that went beyond the whole “Where are you from?” conversation. We were also able to sit down and better plan how we wanted to spend the rest of our time in Australia.

Here are a few favorite photos from around Newcastle. Mike took my camera out a few times, so some of these are by him.

Stay tuned for a little video of our time in Newcastle, too!

xo, jill 

*I’ll write more about our experience working at the hostel later.

Baywatch style.

On our way back down the coast, Mike and I stopped in Port Macquarrie again. You might remember it as where we celebrated Mike’s birthday and the place I sighted a wild koala. We had a little time to kill before we needed to be back in Newcastle so we decided to go whale watching.

This excursion was one of the first “touristy” things we did. And by “touristy” I mean, fun-things-that-cost-money. We had considered whale watching in Hervey Bay, but the price tag turned us away pretty quickly. Tours started at $85 AUD for 2 hours on a large boat with 300 people and went up from there. In Port Macquarrie we paid $35 AUD for 2 hours on a snappy Baywatch-like boat with 12 people*. I think we made the better choice.

Before we even made it out of the river we spotted dolphins. That’s something I didn’t realize about Australia before. Dolphins are everywhere.

To be honest, I think I enjoyed the boat ride just as much (or even more so) than the actual whale watching. The ride is fast and exciting, and if you enjoy catching wake you’ll love it. I was always a bit disappointed when we slowed down so we could actually start looking for whales.

It look a long time to find one, but we finally came across a teenage humpback. He came right up to our boat and did a bit of showing off. Our skipper was able to identify the whale as one he sees often due to a scar on the whale’s back.

I’m sure a different tour on a different day would have resulted in spotting more whales, but that’s the nature of the activity. You never know what you’ll see. Personally, I was happy with the dolphins, whale, and high-speed boat ride.

xo, jill

*I don’t remember the name of the company we used but we booked via Ozzie Pozzie Backpackers.

“Yes…this is the show you have read about and seen on tv.”

Oh my goodness.

On our first run up the east coast, Mike and I went as far as Hervey Bay. We weren’t able to stay long because we were called back to Newcastle, but before we left we checked out the Shark Show.

How could we not? I mean, check this place out.

The vicious depictions of sharks on the outside should have given me a clue as to the perspective of the exhibition…but I was still a little surprised when I entered. The “museum” is dedicated to the “work” of Vic Hislop, a well known shark hunter in the region.

Basically, he has amassed newspaper clippings, home videos, and random bits of sharks or other animals for display.  All of this is with the aim of convincing you that sharks are mean monsters that desperately need to be hunted.

The tone of the place was a mix of hyperbole and fear mongering. Here are a few quotes from the pamphlet to give you an idea:

The highlight of the museum is the frozen sharks. I’m not lying. There’s what looks like a giant ice cream truck filled with frozen sharks. The only frozen sharks on display in the world. Kind of weird.

To be honest, the whole place was a bit comical to me. I’m not saying that all of his claims were false, but it felt like he was just gathering up facts to justify his desire to kill sharks. Naturally, scientists are wrong, he’s right. He did make the point that one reason sharks attack humans or other gentle prey (whales, dugongs, etc.) is because their original food stocks have been overfished, leaving the sharks to look for food elsewhere. That’s true. But perhaps instead of murdering sharks we should consider NOT depleting the world’s fisheries? Just a suggestion.

xo, jill