Up The Junction

At 9:00 myself and Holly were picked up by Sasha, who planned to take us to an arts and crafts market. It was great to see her again, particularly looking so healthy and happy. We drove out to her family home at the Junction in Newcastle where we briefly met her mum, dad, uncle and aunt. We then walked down to the Junction School, where the market was taking place. It was a beautiful morning and the market was excellent.

Holly bumped into 2 of her old friends, Inger and Michelle (both of whom, strangely, she'd already bumped into). She bought a ring off Michelle and a card off Inger as well as what can only be described as a garish tea towel skirt. I also picked up another couple of screen printed t-shirts.

Afterwards we headed off to the Junction Hotel for lunch where I had my first schooner...a lovely pale ale called Angry Man, brewed locally. The caesar salad I had was delicious but as expected was a tad overpriced thanks to the exchange rate. I also had my first taste of salt and pepper squid, which Holly couldn't finish as there was so much of it.

Sasha then took us for a road trip along Newcastle foreshore. It was great to see all the places i'd heard about so much and to finally be able to picture the things i'd heard in the classic Newcastle Rap. It was no where near as bad as i'd feared and it was.

Sasha was then kind enough to drive us back to Fennell Bay. We said our goodbyes and suggested that we should meet up again before we left.

Jill then drove Garry, Holly, Marcus and me down to Toronto Workers Club of which Garry is a member. In the car park we got our first close up of Galahs. I totally see why Holly loves the birds so much. They seem to have more personality than any of the birds i've seen so far.

Clubs are popular in Australia, particularly for the older generations as a meeting place. You either have to be a member or pick up a temporary membership. If you're not a member you have to provide them with ID.

I'd heard a lot about clubs but little prepared me for the huge emphasis on gambling that was evident in the club. A huge pokey (poker machine) room, general betting, raffles, bingo, poker and a game called keno. Garry bought me a kino slip, for $10 with which I got a $1 return. Gambling really isn't for me.

Other facilities in the club included a coffee shop, restaurant, bowling alley, golf course, snooker and pool tables, a bottle shop and accommodation.

I made my way through some traditional Aussie beers and by 6:00 we were ready to head home.

The courtesy bus home was an experience. The banter between the men (of which 100% were men, except for Holly) on the bus was incredible, all of whom seemed to know each other. We were one of the first to be dropped off, much to the comedic annoyance of one of the passengers and Garry was then ribbed for the size of his house...comments about the Taj Mahal and the one with the Helipad and security out the front left us all in stitches.

When we got back we had prawns and salmon for dinner, spent some time with Joss and I watched a bit more of the cricket.

New birdlife:
galahs,
cormorants,
corellas