Newcastle NSW

So I'm here, in my final destination. Newcastle is pretty cool, surrounded by water on 3 sides, massive crashing waves and sandy beaches too. I haven't managed to walk around in the daylight yet, but have been shown the good drinking spots for the weekend... all I need now is someone to drink with, only met about 5 people from the office so far and none of them likely to come out :(

Had my first day at the Hexham office today, was "interesting" to say the least...got there to find out that they assumed I had everything already so I've still got no phone, no laptop, no uniform, no IT logon, no permanent flat... I'm sure it'll all happen fairly soon but they've had 2 weeks to sort this crap out! My manager obviously hasn't read my contract either, he expected me to pay for my own internet, yeh right. My 'office' is in a portacabin next to the lunchroom, near the outside toilets! It's a far cry from the swanky top-end offices in Brisbane but it's got a lot more character too, there are groups of cockerels that strut around and a cat that plays with them, the site is in the middle of a large swampy area so plenty of wildlife including huuuge colourful butterflies. I did get to walk around the workshops, they build LHDs from scratch there so I finally got up close and personal with some serious kit. I was given some work to crack on with by the only other person in my office, a young electrical engineer (i think) called Ashleigh, she seems pretty cool but was manically busy most of the day. Looks like I'm gonna be working on datalogging/reporting software for the next month or so, my idea of hell! Luckily I'm at my most enthusiastic right now, it's another half-finished project that I have to patch together and deliver...the shittest type. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get my own log-on so I can actually put some notes together. Apparently another guy is away at the moment but when he gets back he will take me underground to see a few sites and the equipment they use :D

It's not all bad, I'm going to see a flat nearby tomorrow, is in a block with another 15 or so students from the nearby uni. I'm not going to jump into the first one I find, they seem to be willing to pay $800 a week for me to live here so I'll hang on for somewhere as nice as possible. I'm booking my motorbike training tomorrow too, can't wait to start riding out here. My Varadero has been sold in England so I've got the best part of £700 to buy a bike out here, that's a lot more than I expected so very happy with that.

Hmmmm so what else to say...there are pictures coming, not many yet but there will be after the weekend, promise! Met an English girl who works across from my new apartment and practically jumped on me as soon as she heard my accent lol, pity she's boring and ugly! Oh and in the last 48hrs I've been mistaken for a bouncer (while smoking outside a bar) and a local student (i was wearing a suit at the time, what the fuck do students wear here???).

To finish this mammoth entry here's a few things I've noticed about Oz so far:

1) The streets are deserted by 6pm
2) Everyone drives a 4litre turbo'd ute that's never seen mud.
3) Philadelphia comes in solid blocks that taste rank.
4) You can only buy booze in off-licenses, otherwise known as "bottle shops".
5) These are often "drive-thru"
6) Petrol only costs 60p a litre!
7) Prostitution is legal and the sex shops/brothels advertise openly.

Photos soon...

RTC xx