New Year's Eve in Newcastle

Finally, an update! After Christmas, we decided to go camping to get to know Australia in a different way! Our plan was to sleep in the car, but since we have a regular car, it turned out to be more difficult and we decided to buy a tent (just big enough for the two of us 😁) and sleeping pads. We went from Byron Bay to Yamba because we heard that you can surf well there. Finding a campsite was more difficult than we thought because we didn't know that almost all Australians go camping between Christmas and New Year, and most campsites are fully booked or too expensive. After some inquiries and a lot of thought, we just turned off the road and found a parking lot where several campers were already parked. We set up our small tent there. We met an older Australian couple there, who even invited us for a meal, and our first camping experience was perfect!

We camped for two more nights. One night in Broomshead (a kind of holiday park right on the beach) and one night in Kempsey (on the way to Newcastle). It was a completely new experience that we really enjoyed!!

On December 30th, we drove to Newcastle, where we spent a total of three nights. Unfortunately, our plan to spend New Year's Eve in Sydney didn't work out because most accommodations were fully booked and the remaining ones were incredibly expensive. So if you want to be in Sydney for New Year's Eve, you should consider it very early!!

Newcastle is a small city right by the sea. There are a few things to discover there. For example, you can go surfing, swim in the Bogey Hole, which is surrounded by rocks right by the sea, so the waves splash in, visit Nobby's lighthouse, where you can sometimes see dolphins or whales, or enjoy nice cafes.

Our hostel was not far from the beach, and since it was the weekend and a holiday, we could park for free right in front - perfect!

On New Year's Eve, there was a fireworks display at 9 pm, so that the children could also enjoy it. It was nice to watch and only 5 minutes from the hostel. After that, we went to an 80s party. There, we celebrated the new year.

We were very satisfied with our decision to be in Newcastle because we had a nice and relaxed time and also saved money!!

Sydney is the next stop 🎉🎉🎉