After what seemed like an eternity in the van we finally arrived in Newcastle or to be more specific the town of Stockton a short ferry ride from central Newcastle. By the time we arrived at camp we were lucky to get one of only 4 sites left to park up the van (Christmas if definitely here)! The campsite itself is located on the beachfront and is only about a 10 minute walk from the ferry. As it was later in the day we decided to save the ferry trip for the following day and took off to explore Stockton instead. This really didn't take very long as there was only one shopping street with a small supermarket, bottle shop and a butchers! We next headed to the waterfront to take in the harbour from our side of the water before having a walk along the beach then heading back to camp to sit out and enjoy the last of the sun! The next day we took the short ferry ride over to Newcastle. Newcastle was originally founded in 1804 for the worst convicts who were considered too hard for Sydney! The city is also home to one of the largest coal fields and it is from here that coal is exported on a daily basis to other parts of Australia and around the world and as such is still a very busy industrious port! A bit like Glasgow or even Newcastle upon Tyne the cities regeneration has begun at the waterfront with lots of new flats, renovated older buildings lovely restaurants and wine bars dotted along the waterside. It is a really lovely area to walk around and with the sun shining there was plenty to take in as we wandered the waterside area. We then decided to head further into the centre and it soon became clear that the regeneration had not reached this area and still has a long way to go! Very run down and unattractive we literally grabbed a sandwich and headed down to the beachfront area for a look around. Whilst there is not the same level of renovation as at the harbour front it was still a really pleasant walk around 2 of Newcastle's beaches. The walk takes you up to a view point and from here you could literally see dozens of massive tankers on the horizon queuing to be filled with coal. Feeling we had literally walked for miles and seen most of what Newcastle had to offer we headed for the ferry back to camp to chill at the nearby beach and watch the dozens of giant kites making the most of the increasing north easterly winds!