Well as you can see, after leaving Sydney we headed straight back to Newcastle, or technically Eleebana, once again. It must seem like we are just going back and forth to the same places but I promise you as I write this we have finally set off to start our trip up the east coast. We wanted to make the stop off back at Newcastle to say a final goodbye to everyone as well as break up all the travelling, and only stayed for a few days this time, however tempting it was to stay longer in the lap of luxury. Luckily the weather had improved a lot since the last time we were there and was actually hot everyday. We didn't even see a milimetre of rain which was shocking to say the least. We caught the Greyhound coach from Central station in Sydney at about 2 in the afternoon, using the first of our bus pass trips so it was already paid for. It almost feels free! We arrived at Newcastle station almost 3 hours later and Penny came to pick us up. We just relaxed that evening and caught up with all the news and filled them in about our time in Sydney. We got back into our rountine surprisingly quickly and after we had had dinner it felt like we had never been away - almost.

We had a lie in the following morning, which was a Saturday, and continued that with a lazy morning. It was nice sleeping in a bed which wasn't just a couple of mattresses pilled up on the floor. We went to the cinema to see The Bucket List with Penny and Faye in the afternoon, and then did a bit of food shopping. On Sunday we actually had to be up at a resonable time as Dee and Mandy were playing in a football (sorry...soccar!) match and we all went to cheer them on as it was the first match of the season. We walked down to the pitch at Warner's Bay and then stopped for lunch before walking back. They won 3-0 so everyone was pleased. It was a really nice scorching hot day and the best one we've had; there anyway. Ryan and Mandy came over later, and Penny and Tony cooked a BBQ for dinner.

On Monday everyone was back at work so it was just me and Justin again. We got up early and caught the bus into Glenndale to do some shopping. I bought most of the things I went in for, and a couple that I didn't. Penny came home for dinner that night but had to leave in the evening as she had been house sitting for a friend during the week while she was away on holiday. We had to say goodbye to her for the last time which was sad, but I know we will all keep in touch. The next day was another hot one so we got the bus into Newcastle and went down to Nobby's beach. It isn't the nearest one but it's hard to get to any of the others without a car. Nobby's isn't too near the station but it was a nice walk up there. We got some lunch at the kiosk and then did some sunbathing for a few hours. Justin even managed to get through without complaining of boredom!

Wednesday was our last day there as we were leaving early the next morning. We didn't do much during the day as we had to do washing, sort out accomodation and coaches and pack all our bags; boring stuff like that. It was very hot outside though so I did manage to squeeze in some time to sunbathe in the back garden. Mandy and Dee had another friendly match that evening so we all went down to watch again. Unfortunatley they lost, but they were at least one player down all the way through the game so they did well, and we had a good laugh watching, mainly because Dee's little sister was there and she is hilarious. After the match we went into town to watch a film 1000BC at the cinema, and were a bit rushed so we had to sneak our McDonalds in with us. It was getting late and I was shattered, but Ryan popped round to say goodbye before I went to bed. We had to get up very early the next morning to say our final goodbyes and catch the bus to the train station, and then get on the coach. We were finally starting our backpacking trip of the east coast, with Port Macquarie as the first stop, and we were very excited!