Newcastle

 As we had come up to Newcastle for the birthday celebrations we extended our stay to see the city.  It started well with our accommodation looking over the main beach.

In the last 20 years Newcastle has been transformed from a dirty working coal shipping port, to a progressive and vibrant community and a hub for new industries.  Luckily, many of the old buildings and their parks and gardens have been repurposed for this new era.

Each morning we had breakfast in a corner cafe, meeting some of the locals.

One day we caught up with old friends Bruce and Cathy who had traveled with us to Coffs Harbour and Norfolk Island.

The town has many excellent bars, cafes and coffee shops so food was never a problem!

Newcastle is one of the busiest coal shipping ports in the world.  The constant flow of shipping in and out of the harbour is managed from the Control Tower on a promontory beside the Hunter River.

Travel through the town is provided by battery powered light rail that operates as part of the Sydney Suburban public transport network.

The town has an excellent Art Gallery in a beautiful setting.

One very interesting exhibit was an amazing locally hand crafted concert grand piano made from local sassafras timber.  It had an extra 9 bass notes and 5 extra treble notes.  The attendant allowed Graeme to play it and the tone was absolutely astonishing.  I had never heard a piano with the super bright ringing tone of this one and the volume was huge.  Graeme rated it as one of the highlights of his life.

Celebration Day

 On the Saturday, the whole Inchley Clan and invited friends assembled for a huge Birthday Lunch.  The family all brought food and a spit was cooking pork, beef and lamb.

The large central kitchen living area had no difficulty accommodating us all for a meal.

Happily, after the huge meal we were able to relax watching the AFL Semi Final.  Unhappily (for Darren in particular) Hawthorn lost.

The family left that evening and the following day the friends group had a more intimate celebration in a beautiful winery near Cessnock.

Off to a 160th Celebration

 We were invited, along with three other couples and the rest of the Inchley family to Cameron and Nic Inchley's new property in the Lower Hunter Valley for a joint celebration of Graeme and Rhondda's 80th birthdays.

Cameron and his co-owner mate have constructed a huge welcoming house out of three big shed/barns on about 120 acres of semi forested land at the base of the Watagan Mountains near Cessnock.

The property has plenty of trails and water holes to explore,

New Mount Gets a Workout

 My new telescope mount constructed from a left over sleeper and various bits is working like a dream.  It can be taken down after use and gives consistent alignment when put back up.

I have started playing with new settings (when the clouds allow).  Most recent pics are the Trifid and the Swan nebulae.

Testing a New Telescope Mount

 I have spent some time setting up a new mounting point for the telescope and it happened to be a clear night tonight.  The nebula I had hoped to photograph was near the moon - so plans had to change.

Data Day

 When the weather is rubbish it is good to have a backlog of data to play with.  I had collected images of NGC 6744, a similar galaxy to the Milky Way possibly around 30 million light years away with high levels of star formation.  So I was able to see how best to process the data today.

Birthday Lunch

 We had a very pleasant evening meal at "Rubix" with Brett and Cathy a while ago so we thought we would try their lunch options.  Turns out to be an excellent lunch spot as well.

Birthday Bash

On Sunday, Adam and Kate hosted a family lunch/dinner to mark my crossing into the Land of the Slippery Slope.  I ate way too much slow cooked (24 hour) brisket with some good wine.  On a warm lazy afternoon and with everyone providing food, there was no excuse to be hungry.