Day 60: 20231122 Wednesday, November 22, 2023- Disembarkation Sydney. On to Newcastle NSW
No matter how much we tell ourselves to pack light and not accumulate stuff, it is always a chore to get all our bags packed to get off the ship. Since we’re not flying out right away, that made it easier because we didn’t have to worry about weight limits, but when it came time to lift our big suitcases up from the curb to get them into the back of the taxi, we could tell some serious reconfiguration would eventually be necessary. They say Australia is a no tipping culture, but someone must have tipped off our cabbie who picked us up at the cruise terminal because before he even ran my credit card for the fare, and before he could help us with the bags (which he really didn’t), he asked for a tip! I guess our American accents gave us away. I said add 10%, which he was happy to do, but this particular cabbie insisted that we help lift our bags into the back of his cab, and didn’t assist at all with getting our bags out and on the curb. He didn’t run the air conditioning so we had to roll our windows down, and instead of pleasant music, he was playing some Arabic News radio channel that was kind of annoying to have to listen to. He really doesn’t understand that a tip is for providing a level of service above and beyond the bare minimum. The cabbie that picked us up when we first arrived in Sydney a month ago was exemplary- hoisting our bags without prompting and shooing us off when we tried to help.
On the plus side, since Ben already had an Australian SIM card for his phone, and there was nobody waiting in line when we arrived, we were able to get out of the car rental office relatively quickly- in under 30 minutes. Also, with some prior right hand drive, left side of the road experience under his belt, hitting the road was also a whole lot less stressful.
Since we were heading to Newcastle, which is north of Sydney, Apple Maps took us over the Sydney Harbor Bridge that we have seen so much from the cruise ship. It is a whole lot bigger up close than it seems from the ship. It also has a sort of Brooklyn bridge vibe to it with all the exposed steel works.
Our prior trip to the Hunter Valley had given us some familiarity with the region and our first stop as the Costco in Boolaro for gas and lunch. It was pleasantly uncrowded and we got to wander through the isles and sample Aussie Costco samples. Surprisingly, one of the very first sample stations was sampling the pickled jalapeños straight from the jar. Boy, that’ll get you off to a fast start. We were surprised to encounter a sample station with a griddle and a woman sautéing fresh lamb chunks on it, just like a real chef’s demonstration. Those were hot and tasty with just a bit of olive oil and Himalayan sea salt on them. We had the Costco Hot Dogs for lunch, but Australian hot dogs are not the same as the Kosher beef hot dogs that they serve in the US. These are much more mild tasting, and are probably more tuned to the UK’s taste buds, which tend to prefer more bland foods. But the Aussies do have chips (French fries) at their Costco food stands which are excellent!
It was just another 20 minute drive from the Boolaro Costco to the Apollo Best Western Plus hotel where we are staying. We chose it as a launching spot for exploring some of the coastline north of Sydney. Now that we have been in Australia for a while, it is apparent that it takes longer to get places in Australia than the distances might suggest. So we won’t even try to drive up to the Gold Coast area, which is better explored from Brisbane. When we got off the ship, the temperatures were in the mid 70’s ˚F and the humidity was about 80% so it was a bit muggy for us. The air conditioning in the car was helpful.
Our first rental was a Citroen Koleo, which turned out to be a pretty nice compact SUV. This car is a Volkswagen T-Cross, and by comparison, it is a pretty miserable car. It is significantly smaller, so even with the rear seats folded and parcel shelf stowed, we could barely get our suitcases and backpacks in the back of the car with the suitcases pushed up against the back of the first row seats. It also is a very low trim level, so no navigation screen, manual air conditioning controls, manual seats with little adjustment, and a mechanical key that you actually have to flip open and insert into the ignition. I’m not sure what’s under the hood, but it’s quite anemic. The engine shuts off at stops, and then hesitates for a bit before it lets you go forward, and you really have to encourage it with a heavy foot on the gas. Forget about passing anything- it’s an absolute dog. I thought Volkswagen used to make cars that had fahrfignugen, but not this model. The cruise control is unable to maintain speed on hills, so it’s pretty much worthless. If anyone happens to be in the market for a compact SUV, don’t get a Volkswagen T-Cross.
The parking spaces in the hotel are sized for tiny little cars, so even getting a compact SUV in a space is a real challenge. The hotel was also surprisingly busy with all the parking spaces in the front of the hotel filled. There are also a lot of rooms that require negotiating stairs to get to. There is a lift, but it only serves a part of the building, and our room was one that you either had to use a side entrance on the hillside to get luggage to the room or climbing stairs with suitcases. I’m a little surprised there are still hotels where not all the rooms are accessible without stairs.
When we start our land tour segment of our next Australia/New Zealand cruise, we will fly from Sydney to Cairns, and then from Cairns to Alice Springs, and then back again to Sydney where we will the board the Royal Princess for the New Zealand cruise. We were informed that the domestic flights in Australia do have more stringent baggage requirements so we will be limited to one checked bag of no more than 50# and one carry on bag not to exceed 22#. So we spent some time unloading our suitcases in the hotel room and reconfiguring to be able to make the flights without paying for excess baggage. We will be staying at the Hyatt Regency in Sydney just before the cruise, and will be allowed to leave one bag with the hotel while we do the land tour part of the trip. We had brought some empty duffel bags just in case, and it was a good thing we did. We moved non essential items like extra shoes and souvenirs, as well as shampoo and other liquids that we need for the cruise but can do without for the land tour into those duffel bags. That was able to get us below the weight limits.
We then ventured around Newcastle, starting with an ANZAC memorial walk they have long their ocean waterfront. Newcastle has miles of beaches on the ocean, as well as miles of riverfront.
It is a rather large city with its own light rail line and very well developed public park spaces and trail system. Although it was hot and muggy to start, a breeze came up in the afternoon and in the evening the temperature dropped to very pleasant levels. We drove around most of the ocean front beaches and watched surfing classes being conducted on a beach near the lighthouse at the mouth of the river while an enormous freighter was escorted up the river by tugs.
There is also an unusual feature of the ocean front called Bogey Hole, where there is a natural pool in a shelf of rock just above the surf line. It can look like a very calm pool, but a chain railing across the front belies its secret in that large swells can crash upon the shore and spill into the pool unexpectedly. Of course, for kids, this is all great fun.
There is also a very nice riverfront esplanade and lots of restaurants in the downtown core. We found a great burger place called Rascals on Yelp, and had some great Rascal Cheese burgers with tasty seasoned chips (French fries) for dinner. Yup, we got a double dose of chips today. We then walked and relaxed on the esplanade watching ships and people. There are a lot of young people in Newcastle. There was some sort of High School formal activity going on in a large public square across from Rascals and this part of the city had very much a university town feel to it.
We got back to the hotel before dark and finished up organizing and weighing the suitcases before hitting the showers and bed. Tomorrow we’ll head north an hour or so and check out Port Stephens.
