Off the beaten track ... Merewether Ocean Baths.Credit: Simone De Peak
Ben Stubbs discovers a wetland aviary and thriving wildlife on bush trails just 10 kilometres from the centre of Newcastle.
Hundreds of orange-furred flying foxes are swinging on the branches over my head. Their acidic smell burns my nostrils. As I scramble to snap a photo, one of them is startled and flaps towards me looking every bit like the Batman symbol.
Newcastle usually isn't associated with wildlife. Before I arrived, the only things I knew about the second-largest city in NSW was that it has the biggest KFC in Australia and one of its nightclubs, Fanny's, had been voted the easiest place to pick up in the country. Neither was on my to-do list.
Yet as I wander through the bush this morning, I'm pleasantly surprised. Blue-breasted forest kingfishers swoop through the trees and technicoloured lorikeets rest in the canopy as I meet a ranger, Doyle Grieve, on the edge of the wetland at Blackbutt Reserve, 10 kilometres from the centre of Newcastle in Kotara.
This 182-hectare park was a former coalmining area and it has been regenerated to its impressively overgrown state only since 1979 when the mining stopped. Grieve takes me through the wetland aviary, shady beneath the sprawling blackbutt trees, despite the heat of the day. We see turquoise parrots, peaceful doves and a surly-looking Major Mitchell cockatoo that gurgles at us .
The rangers here breed the birds to swap with other parks around Australia, helping replenish stocks of endangered species. They've just received a painted Gouldian finch from the Northern Territory and a pied honeyeater.
I hear barking ahead and assume we're at the dingo exhibition. But as I startle a fluffy little owl gawking at me from its perch, Grieve explains the barking owl would make a great guard dog because of its signature call. There are more than 16 kilometres of bushland trails at Blackbutt Reserve and Grieve shows me around the enclosures of emus, kangaroos and wallabies lounging in the grass under the trees.
The real attraction at Blackbutt, though, are the five koalas on the reserve. This is the first time I've seen a koala up close.
A mother opens her eyes briefly and regards us, before stuffing a mouthful of leaves, chewing, then drifting off.
Beside the koalas, two-metre monitor lizards flick their tongues as they clamber over the enclosure, their spiny claws tapping on the rocks. Monitors are vicious and their bite is full of bacteria. "You don't want to play tag with a monitor lizard," Grieve says. There was a recent - human - break-in at the reserve, when two diamond pythons were stolen, prompting him to add: "It's a pity they don't let the monitors out at night sometimes, though."
Grieve leaves me to face the last section alone. I smell them before I can see them. The flying foxes are sleeping in the trees. They squirm in what appear to be black overcoats as I approach. A few spiral around my head with a great whoop-whoop of wings echoing above.
Grieve recommends wearing a hat before walking under the trees. I hold mine tight, keen to make it through the corridor of flying foxes without any overhead deposits.
I head across to Yuelarbah to meet ranger Tiffany Knott at the trail head of my next walk. This second part of my Newcastle nature experience takes me out of town, past Merewether, to complete the penultimate section of the Great North Walk, linking with Newcastle's famous Bather's Way trail.
My 10-kilometre hike begins on the raised walkways in the trees, before the trail descends into the dripping littoral rainforest of the Glenrock State Conservation Area.
The soundtrack of birds above and lizards rustling through the ferns below accompany me as I catch a glimpse of the lagoon through the trees and arrive at Leichardt's Lookout. Here the beach stretches out below and cargo ships wait on the horizon to enter the port.
After shuffling down to Burwood beach, I remove my shoes and churn through sand that has hardly another footprint to follow. I traverse rock platforms and old railway tracks as surfers head past me into the blustery Tasman Sea. At the northern end of the beach are the old railway tunnels, now collapsed craters on the side of the hills leading into Merewether.
I hop through the rock pools beneath the tunnels looking for signs of life, before re-emerging at Merewether Baths.
The rest of the walk to the lighthouse on Nobby's Headland is signposted with the history of the Bather's Way walking trail. Bright yellow information boards spaced along the trail recount Newcastle's past, from the early Aboriginal origins to its colonisation and recent history.
Legging it up to the Newcastle suburb of The Hill, I keep one eye on the sea. In the winter, this coast is full of migrating humpback whales, but I can't see any telltale spouts today.
At the top, though, I do find the path to the Bogey Hole. Built in 1820 as Commandant Morriset's private bath at the base of the cliffs, it is now a crumbling iridescent pool for use by only the bravest of swimmers.
I contemplate a dip, but decide instead to walk among the century-old norfolk pines of King Edward Park and then back to the city.
Getting into my car, I take stock. My feet ache and I've got windburn and sunburn. The drive back to Sydney takes me past that landmark KFC. I'm not even tempted to stop and have a look.
Ben Stubbs travelled courtesy of the City of Newcastle.
FAST FACTS
Getting there
Newcastle is 150 kilometres or about two hours' drive north of Sydney along the F3 Freeway. There are regular trains.
Staying there
The Crowne Plaza Newcastle, on the harbour with great views to Nobbys Head, has 175 rooms, an outdoor pool and a cocktail lounge. Rooms from $295 a night; see crowneplaza.com.au.
Walking there
For more information on Blackbutt Reserve, see http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/recreation/blackbutt_reserve
See visitnewcastle.com.au for trail maps and information about local walks.
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