Poinciana

In our region, Poinciana trees bloom in November and December. This year's blooms are the best I can remember. It may be a combination of a dry spring followed by a lot of rain in November that caused the wonderful display.

Poincianas are native to Madagascar and have been planted in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide.

The trees give welcome shade in the summer.

In the background are the former nurses' quarters at the Maryborough Base Hospital. The building was constructed in 1928. This is where I go for my infusions, entering on the ground floor to the left. I like to sit in a seat that has a view of the tree which was probably planted in the same year that the building was constructed.

When I was in school, the Jacaranda trees started to bloom in late September or early October. Somebody would pin a bloom to the class blackboard which indicated it was time to really get serious about studying for the end-of-year exams. In November, a Poinciana bloom would appear which indicated it was too late to start studying.

Nobby's Lighthouse

Newcastle is New South Wales second largest city after Sydney with a population of 350,000. It lies at the mouth of the Hunter River and was a major industrial city producing most of Australia's steel. There were major coal fields in the area and a port developed to export the steel.

We drove north along the coast from Merewether past some other ocean baths. We would have stopped except there were no parking spaces. The waves were high and every surfer from the area was out there hanging ten.

We found a parking spot in the old downtown area.

A curious overhanging style.

We will return tomorrow to investigate this area.

We arrived at Nobby's beach.

A storm threatened to the north.

The lighthouse and associated buildings.

The causeway leading out to the lighthouse.

Contemplation.

The Hunter River.

The area was once volcanic.

A tram used to run on the causeway.

There is no admittance to the lighthouse. I was not too disappointed since I didn't want to climb the steep slope.

In the distance is the road bridge to the north crossing the river.

Looking back to the area where the factories produced steel.

The lighthouse is hidden by this lookout. In WWII, this was a heavily defended area.

The final part of the causeway.

Rain was approaching.

I decided not to risk walking further since the rain was getting closer.

An unloaded ship leaving port.

Escorted by three tugs.

A smaller ship leaving port.

We really enjoyed visiting this area.

Newcastle beaches

As you may remember, house exchanges have played a large part in my retirement. When we arrived back in Oz on 2020, we were offered an exchange in Newcastle, about 100 miles north of Sydney which we accepted. Covid intervened and finally we are doing the exchange.

We took the 4 hour train trip to Brisbane and followed up with another 12 hour train trip to Newcastle the following day. It was a pleasure to walk a couple of blocks to see this view.

The coastal area around Newcastle is not familiar to me so we headed north to Nelson Bay and this is Tomaree Head.

Nelson Bay is now lined with units and is a popular destination.

Fifty years ago, I drove from Brisbane to Melbourne and along the way I stayed the night at a motel at Budgewoi that backed onto a beautiful beach. The motel is gone but a few miles south lies Pelican Beach.

When you see a beach like this you understand why Aussies are not overly impressed by beaches overseas.

Lake Macquarie at Nord's Wharf.

It hard to take a bad photo on such a beautiful day.

Later in the day we walked up to our local beach to see the Merewether Ocean Pool.

Driveway down to the pool.

There are two pools, a shallow one for kiddies and a deeper one further out. It's the biggest in the southern hemisphere.

Path in front of the Surf Lifesaving Club overlooking the pool.

With such strong waves, dangerous rips will easily carry unsuspecting swimmers out to sea. It is essential to swim between the flags since that area is patrolled.

A tale of two restaurants

On our second evening in Kyoto we dined at a local ramen restaurant.

Five minutes after we arrived, the seats at the counter were all occupied by men.

My bowl. It was pretty good but the best ramen on the trip was the first spicy version in Hakodate. Its noodles had greater integrity.

Condiments.

The next morning we went to a breakfast place across the street from the ramen joint.

Toast, cold boiled egg, and a salad.

It was run by a little old lady and was so different from the other place.

So neat and tidy. And quiet.

Toast is very thick here. This morning at the station, I had French toast and it was thick as well.

We return to Narita airport today and fly back to Oz tonight. We are ready to go home.