I awoke early at my hotel for the second and final day of my brief but rewarding Newcastle adventure to get a taste of my hotel’s breakfast buffet (which you can read about HERE), though I may have thought twice about that had I realised it would be my first of three breakfasts that would be consumed before noon.
My second came not long after, back at the Surfhouse where we’d enjoyed lunch the day before – except now we were downstairs on the terrace of their Café, looking at walkers by and the incoming waves. I enjoyed an eggs benedict, which did the trick, and the rest of the team had everything from bagels with smoked salmon to muesli. A wide selection in a stunning location.
This was all before we donned wetsuits to get surf lessons with a pro surfer. With limited time available to us (and only one board) I ended up being more of an observer rather than a participator, but still took away a lot from the experience. And being around 8am, the water was beautiful. The hardest part was getting out (it was warmer inside than out!). Andrew managed to catch a couple of small waves but ultimately we all wished we had more time for the experience. We’ll just have to come back again soon! Though given my coordination, I might want to stick to body boarding.
Next up came what ended up being our third breakfast. We headed along to the Albion Hotel for a BBQ Brew Breakfast set up as part of Newcastle Craft Beer Week in collaboration with brewery Grainfed. We enjoyed a brewing demonstration, which Andrew got to be a part of, alongside three beers from the brewery and three accompanying meal.
First were handmade chili cheese sausages, accompanied with marscarpone scrambled eggs and a hash brown to join with Grainfed’s “Sneaky One”. The “quiet one” was accompanied by Lamb and Chive sausages and the same eggs and potato. Finally, the “Another One” came alongside what I guess was lunch: twice cooked pork belly, with a apple and fennel puree, served alongisde a scallop with a pomegranate molasses. Delicious. Though the lamb sausages won out of the dishes for me, as did the accompanying “Quiet One”.
By the end, we never wanted to eat again. And I couldn’t even think about drinking another beer so close to noon. But with a beer connoisseur amongst us in the form of our Chief Funster, we had one final stop to finish off our two day Newcastle odyssey. A special menu of “feral beers” was on show at The Hop Factory and Andrew assured me they were of high – albeit “feral” – quality. I stuck to the water, full to the brim, but wholly satisfied.
Overall, my two days in Newcastle showed off just how much is happening in the seaside city. There has been much talk of late about the “death of nightlife” in the community as a result of the strict lock out laws. And while this might be the case most nights of the week by the account of the locals, events like the Newcastle Craft Beer Week are popping up in its place to show off the vibrant city in all its colours. In this case, from the darker ales to the brighter summer pints. All the while the surf is fine, the sun is out and the city is ready to welcome you to join in on the fun… there’s plenty on offer and I hope to be back soon!
Larry travelled to Newcastle as a guest of Destination NSW.
