Hey! We are staying in the YHA in Newcastle. We arrived late and the town (or city as they call it) was dead! We walked to the hostel, checked in and had some dinner. We met the people in our room (a family from Glasgow) and then went to bed. Our Wine Tour in the Hunter Valley left at 9.15. It took about 45 mins to get to the Hunter so not too far. We visited 4 wineries in total, a brewery, a chocolate shop, an oliver oil shop and a cheese shop. Everywhere we went we got to taste the lovely wine and in one place the schnapps including Dragon's Breath Chilli Schnapps washed down with Cointreau and Chcolate Sauce! The price of $65 also included lunch and morning tea! So definitely worth the luxury of being driven around for the day drinking wine! We went with a company called Hades so give them a go! In the evening we got a free meal at MJ Finnigans (an Irish pub) and did a Trivia Quiz. We came 5th out of 12 overall but the quiz was really good! Today we wandered down to the visitors centre and then walked along the sea front. The town of Newcastle itself is quite average and run down in places but the front has been regenerated so there are loads of nice cafes and restaurants. We walked to the lighthouse and back and then walked around the gorgeous bay to the beach. We had a picnic in a park and then popped back to the hostel. We've got Pizza night tonight at the hostel before we head off to Byron Bay - we leave at 21.20 and don't get to Byron until 8am but atleast we save 1 night on accommodation! Speak soon! Ems and Steve xxx