Newcastle (New South Wales)

Newcastle is a city at the mouth of the Hunter River, approximately 150 km north of Sydney in the Hunter region of New South Wales. The city is the focal point for the diverse Hunter region that encompasses beaches and mountains, restaurants and wineries. Newcastle is a great place for surfers, wine buffs, bush walkers, and anyone interested in Australian history.

Understand
The City of Newcastle has a population of 349,000, with the larger metropolitan area of Greater Newcastle consisting of 682,000, making it NSW's second population centre.

Similar to its English namesake, Newcastle was an important centre for the coal mining and iron ore industries. Newcastle is Australia's oldest seaport and the world's largest coal exporting port.

Many Novocastrians take an avid interest in sports, as participants, spectators or both. The local NRL Rugby League team, the Newcastle Knights are widely followed. Newcastle also hosts soccer, baseball, ice hockey, netball and various other sporting teams. Hunter New England Health and the University of Newcastle are the city's primary employers.

To the north is Stockton Beach with kilometres and kilometres of uninhabited beaches that stretch up to Nelson Bay. Stockton Beach can be seen from Fort Scratchley, which was Newcastle's maritime defence during the world wars. Travel westward to the wineries and taste some of Australia's best wines. Barrington Tops National Park in the north west has beautiful fresh water rivers and rain forests, a good place to spot a platypus.

Visitor information

 * Tourism website

By car
The Newcastle area is at least two hours' drive north from the centre of Sydney on the Pacific Motorway (M1). This stretch of road is a major commuter route for traffic from the Central Coast and North Shore so travel time increases significantly in the peaks to and from Sydney.

The Pacific Motorway is on the western side of Lake Macquarie. To travel up the eastern side of Lake Macquarie (through Swansea) then take the "Charlestown" exit (A43/Doyalson Link Road). This route is more scenic, more hilly, and less congested (though it takes a few minutes longer). If you follow this route you will eventually come to the Newcastle Inner City Bypass (A43) at Bennett's Green which you can take if you wish to head northwest (towards Lambton). Otherwise veer right to keep following the Pacific Highway until you reach Charlestown and then follow the signs to the city.

Traffic during holiday periods and long weekends is also affected, with heavy northbound traffic at the beginning of the period as Sydneysiders flee the city for the weekend, and heavy southbound traffic as they return.

By train
Sydney's Central, Strathfield, Epping and Hornsby stations have regular trains to via the Central Coast. Travelling time varies between 2 and 3 hours. This line uses the Opal card (the same as in Sydney) and trips from Sydney are quite comfortable and cheap at $8.30 peak and $5.81 off-peak. You can also use your contact-less credit card to at the Opal gates if you don't have an Opal Card.

Trains terminate at Newcastle Interchange, where you can transfer to light rail to go to the CBD or beach.

There is also a train service from Newcastle Interchange to various Hunter towns such as Maitland. Check the Sydney Trains website for trackwork along the Central Coast & Newcastle Line (CCN); when these occur, buses replace trains between stations and can add an hour to the trip.

Several NSW TrainLink regional services pass through Newcastle's (approximately 5 km from the CBD) daily from Sydney and the Central Coast to the south and from the Northern Rivers and New England. These trains are more expensive than intercity services and tickets must be booked in advance, but they are somewhat more comfortable and are also faster. Occasionally NSW TrainLink discount tickets offer discounts, and $1 fares for kids, so it may be worthwhile checking their fares.

By plane


Flying may not be the fastest way to travel such a short distance as Sydney to Newcastle, especially since there are only a handful of flights every day, and the airport is not particularly central to Newcastle. However, the flight is particularly scenic, especially on a fine day, as there are stunning views of the northern beaches between Sydney and Newcastle. It can be well worth finding an excuse to fly if the cost is not an issue.

If flying into Sydney Airport, then take the train to Sydney Central station, and then change for the next train to Newcastle. The entire journey will be around 2.5 hours.

Get around
The city centre is fairly walkable. Light rail and public buses are the best way to get around Newcastle city. The Sydney Opal card is used here, and used in exactly the same way. The shopping centres, John Hunter Hospital and the university are served by several bus lines.

Newcastle Light Rail (NLR) connects Newcastle Interchange (connected to the train station in a seamless manner – simply walk straight ahead past the Opal gates from the platform) to Newcastle Beach passing Honeysuckle, Civic, Crown Street and Queens Wharf.

Google Maps works for transit in Newcastle, as do several third party smartphone apps that Transport NSW recommend.

There are taxis available, although you will likely need to call for one. Hamilton station has a taxi rank which often has a few taxis waiting for the Sydney train. Uber has some drivers here, and GoCatch has just a handful. Newcastle Taxi Co-operative can be reached under.

There is a single ferry service between  and, costing $2.40 each way, also using Opal cards.

By bike
Riding a bicycle is possible, and infrastructure is slowly being built, but takes some time to discover. Select areas around Wickham, Islington, and along Honeysuckle Drive have some infrastructure, quiet streets, a gentle terrain along waterways that can be quite pleasant to ride through. Other areas which have some infrastructure are around Adamstown and Kotara Shopping Centre. It is possible to ride to and in the surroundings of the John Hunter Hospital, University of Newcastle but these are up significant gradients. Even so, much riding will occur on roads shared with motor vehicles.

Do










Ocean baths
No visit to Newcastle during the warmer months would be complete without taking a dip in the ocean baths. On sunny days you can sunbathe on the Grandstand on the Fort side of the baths.

The baths are also open during the winter, for the more adventurous. The Newcastle baths are home to the "Newcastle Pirates", a winter swimming club not unlike the Icebergs or Polar Bears of other places.



Learn
The is one of the major regional universities in New South Wales. Its academic program is quite broad and includes many liberal arts courses. Their undergraduate medicine degree is very highly regarded.

Buy

 * For locally made clothing with a quirky, hip look, try
 * Retro and second-hand clothing: Newcastle has a range of interesting

Eat
Most of the city's restaurants and cafés can be found along three main eatery strips: Honeysuckle Drive in Honeysuckle, Darby Street in Cooks Hill and Beaumont Street in Hamilton.

Cafes
There are numerous options along Beaumont St in Hamilton and Darby St in Cooks Hill. At Three Monkeys (Darby St Cooks Hill) coffee can be ordered by the bowl.



Sleep
As the largest town in the Hunter, Newcastle has a wide range of accommodation options. Parking campers overnight at the beaches is prohibited, but still occurs to a certain extent.

Mid-range




Cope
Good walking shoes are required for the CBD as many streets are steep slopes. Use the walkways or footbridges to get to and from the CBD and the Foreshore. Make sure you note the Historic Markers in the CBD as they make sense of the magic that is Newcastle.

Go next
Newcastle is a good base for exploring various nearby destinations.
 * Hunter Valley - Australia's oldest wine-producing region; the town of Cessnock, adjacent to the Lower Hunter wine region (including the Pokolbin district) is a 50-minute drive from the Newcastle CBD.
 * Port Stephens - featuring Nelson Bay, a 45 minute drive north of the Newcastle CBD and famous for its holiday lifestyle and beaches, and for whale and dolphin watching.
 * Barrington Tops National Park - a protected area which contains World Heritage listed wilderness, to the north of the Hunter Valley.
 * Myall Lakes National Park - for camping and water activities of the lower Mid-North Coast.
 * Central Coast - a coastal urban-rural region 1 and a half hours' drive south of Newcastle, filled with holiday towns expansive beaches, great for surfing and national park walks, with Gosford as the main hub.
 * Additionally, Sydney, Australia's most cosmopolitan city can be easily reached by train or car, while its approximately 2 and a half hours' drive south-west of Newcastle.