Oliver of Otterburn reporting in again, this time from Newcastle-(upon-Hunter).
I am in Newcastle, the second city of New
South Wales – not the Newcastle of northern England so close to my farm.
My friends, Margaret and Ray, have taken me to see their son Rohan, his lovely wife Ainslie and their little son Toby.
I had a lot of fun playing with Toby and his toys. He is a happy little fellow who just loves to stuff things in his mouth. So it was a bit scary for me, but luckily I escaped, slobber-free.
Newcastle is a fine city. It is a port city, at the mouth of the Hunter River.
There is an attractive riverfront walkway with gardens, restaurants and new apartment buildings.
Just a short distance away is the surf beach and the large ocean baths.
For wine lovers the vineyards of the Hunter Valley are only a brief drive away.
While we were down at the riverfront a huge coal ship was escorted out of the river by three tug boats.
The coal is railed down from open pit
mines in the Upper Hunter Valley, loaded in Newcastle and shipped off to China, Japan and Korea.
As soon as the big ship left the river it
was replaced by another, coming in to be loaded.
There is always a queue of ships waiting to enter port. This is Australia’s contribution
to global warming.
I worry that little Toby will pay a price because the peoples of today will not listen to the warnings of so many scientists.
I am now back in Sydney, but I believe that I will be on the move again in a couple of weeks time.
