Hike From Newcastle to Merewether

From ocean baths to ocean baths

Buying clothes

After my cold hike yesterday, I went to buy a windproof jacket from Macpac as soon as it opened this morning. I ended up getting a ski jacket outer because I liked the hood, along with some thermal underwear, a 28 litre day pack and a water bottle. Not cheap, but it all looks wellmade. This shop is 5 minutes’ walk from my new home, so I’ll definitely take Priya there when she arrives.

First ride on the Newcastle Light Rail

I wanted to start my hike from Newcastle Beach, which is at the other end of the centre of town. Fortunately, the Light Rail could take me almost there. This was my first ride on the Newcastle Light rail, and I went all the way from one end to the other. It was only 5 stops, but this felt like a momentous occasion; I never managed to ride a Singapore MRT all the way from one end to the other in one go, having lived there 8 years!

The hike

After a short walk to the end of Scott Street, I arrived at the Tramway Reserve, with a view east over the Newcastle Ocean Baths to the Pacific Ocean beyond. Only 5 months ago, I was barely a couple of kilometres to the north, at the end of the Newcastle Breakwater, looking out over the same ocean, but the view took my breath away. The intensity of the blue in the ocean and sky is spectacular. So spectacular that I forgot to take a photograph.

I walked along the Shortland Esplanade, stopping at The Kiosk Newcastle Beach for banana and to fill my water bottle. Here’s a view over Newcastle beach from a little further along. View over Newcastle beach I continued along Watt Street, Reserve Road, The Terrace, and onto Newcastle Memorial Walk. The Memorial Walk is a series of bridges, boardwalks, and stairs extending about half a kilometre in total, leading over the headland and down onto Merrywether Beach. Here are a coupe of views from near the start: looking in the direction I was headed Looking west from Strzelecki Lookout and back the way I had come. Looking east from Strzelecki Lookout I continued along the Yuelarbah Track and Memorial Drive, overlooking Gilmore beach, which was rather lovely, Gilmore Beach then on along Dixon Park Beach and Merewether Beach, Dixon Park Beach (foreground) and Merewether Beach all the way to the Merewether Surfhouse. Here are the same beaches looking back from the Merewether Surfhouse Merewether Beach (foreground) and Dixon Park Beach

These enormous expanses of sand feel absurd to me, barely comprehensible, almost wasteful. How can there be such a glut of fabulous beaches right next to one another? How fortunate I am to be here, and not just as a visitor but as a resident in this fabulous landscape. Pondering this, I treated myself to some chips while sitting just past the surfhouse and looking southeast over the Pacific. Box of chips in front of the Pacific Ocean

Afterwards, I continued on a short way to the Merewether Ocean Baths, Merewether Ocean Baths before turning around to walk back. These baths are a rather wonderful Australian institution. They are filled with seawater, but kept isolated from the ocean and shallow enough that the sun heats them to a degree that is allegedly tolerable even in winter. The Newctle Ocean Baths where I started seem to have lifeguards and opening hours, but these ones are just open 24 hours a day and unsupervised, I didn’t feel brave enough to take a cool dip this time; perhaps next weekend.

I was struck as I walked back up the hill towards the Newcastle Memorial Walk that everyone around me was smiling. Not just that, but everyone I’d seen on the walk all day. Even the teenagers in Macpac waiting for their mother to buy hiking boots were laughing out loud at something on their phones. The whole place was full of people who are enjoying their Sunday instead of feeling stressed. I’m going to be happy here. Cold, for a couple of months, but happy.

When I returned to the Terrace, I wandered down York Drive and came upon Garside Gardens. The little flower garden appeared to me like a secret garden, hidden in the bowl of King Edward Park, facing the ocean, mostly shaded at this time on a winter’s day, its protection from the winds lending it an eerie hush. Garside Garden Finishing my journey, I approached Newcastle Beach from the southwest, Newcastle Beach from the southwest Beach then went to buy some groceries, took the 11 bus back to campus, and walked back to my AirBnB. I resolved to keep taking walks like this every weekend, enjoying the scenery, and being immersed in the incredible landscapes Newcastle has to offer. To help with this resolution, I made a blog: this blog!