The Health Care System

Health care works a little differently here. Since the US doesn't have a reciprocal Medicare agreement with Australia, we pay out the wazoo for visitors cover health care. We recently went to the doctor for travel vaccinations and a checkup. So here's the deal - you don't file insurance at the office. You have to pay the bill in full. Then you go to a Medibank retail center at the mall, give them a form and the receipt, and on the spot, Medibank either redeposits the money in your account or gives you cash back. Talk about a backwards system.

On a positive note, prescription drugs are dirt cheap. I went to the chemist (re: pharmacy) earlier this week for some antibiotics (don't worry mom - mild sinus infection). I was informed that Medibank visitors cover doesn't pay for prescription drugs and that I would have to pay full price, which turned out to be an entire $8. Maybe now's a good time to stock up on Tamiflu...

Random Sights Around Newcastle

Our favorite bottle shop

One of the local art galleries - wooden blocks that simulate waves


The Hunter Mall - it's pretty dead on a Sunday afternoon

One of the few non-destructive pieces of graffiti

Picture of Che outside the Newcastle Resistance Center

The most rundown block on Hunter Street

Continuing the theme of political incorrectness

Newcastle Harbour

Very large coal ship

Home of the best meat pies in Australia

Palm trees

Sunday was the first sunny, cloudless day we've had in quite a while in Newcastle - but thanks to the 50+ mph winds, it wasn't exactly beachworthy. So we decided to take a walk around the city and snap some pics instead to get out of the apartment. A couple of things that really stood out:

1) The Hunter St mall is in serious need of a makeover. The "mall" concept (closing off several city blocks to traffic and giving it an open courtyard layout) originated in the U.S. in the 70's and came to Australia in the 80's. This shopping/dining layout has since failed miserably in the U.S., and cities across Australia are slowly discovering the same fate. With the proliferation of suburban shopping centers, people don't come into the city as much to shop. It's worsened by the fact that:

a. Parking is scarce downtown. People don't want to park and walk 8 blocks to go window shopping.

b. At 5pm daily, the mall becomes a ghost town (even if shops are open late); and at night, it's not a safe place to walk through (b/c police presence is low and b/c no traffic flows through, there are no crime deterrents).

c. The rail line cuts downtown Newcastle in half.

Luckily, the local govt here has wised up and are listening to citizens concerns. For the first time in 25 years, they are opening Hunter St. mall back up to traffic. And since many tenants have moved out of the central business district, they are keeping vacancy low by giving unoccupied shops to local artists to display and sell their work (absolutely brilliant concept, and it's done wonders in the two months since its inception). However, problem (c) still remains unresolved.

The pictures we took show the large disparity between the Hunter St. business district and the Newcastle Harbour, which sit one block apart - and are cut in two by the commuter rail line. While $$$ continues to be piped into the thriving waterfront district (which was once an industrial area, and has since been replaced with condos, shops, restaurants and bars), the Hunter St. area tries to keep its head above water. Every other block along Hunter is full of crumbling, condemned buildings covered with graffiti - and investors are lined up, willing to inject over half a billions dollars into the economy. So what's the holdup?

While we both think it's pretty unique that the commuter rail service runs right into the heart of the city, just one block from the beach, it also creates a disconnect that separates the two business areas (there are only 3 locations to walk over the rail line). The investors want to cut the rail line a half a mile west of where it currently ends, and replace that portion of the rail with a free commuter bus system along Hunter. But yet, local govt (roundly criticized as being completely inept by the local and national media) refuses to budge. Hopefully they pull their heads out of the sand (or wherever they are lodged) and compromise, b/c anyone who is going to turn down $500 million in private investment (in this economy) is quailfied to run the Oakland Raiders.

Anzac Day

This past Saturday was Anzac Day, which is very similar to Memorial Day back in the states. It recognizes the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who sacrified their lives in Gallipoli (Turkey) during WWI. Events include a service at dawn on the beach (complete with the firing of cannons) and a parade with soldiers (past and present) and bagpipes. But, in true Aussie tradition, every type of holiday gets turned into a party. We fully immersed ourselves in Anzac Day with our American friends the Nagles (who we met through work at CSIRO and actually live in the same building as us). After a long day at Cricketers Arms Hotel, we satisfied our appetite with a traditional Aussie Meat Pie.

Just a couple of things to add:

1. We spent the day at the Cricketers Arms Hotel, home of the largest Two-Up ring in Newcastle, but this goes on at every pub in the city on Anzac Day.

2. Anyone who has served in the armed forces, past and present, are dressed to the nines in uniform. And they were all definitely the most intoxicated people in the pub everywhere we went.

3. We arrived at the pub at 11; by 11:30 it was absolutely packed. In an effort to discourage shenanigans, all pubs in the city closed by 7 or 8.

4. Side bets made up the largest portion of the betting, but betting also takes place inside the ring. In order to be one of the spinners (which is considered a great honor), you have to pony up at least $20 (the max is $50). The spinner has to throw 3 consecutive heads in order to win. But before each spin, someone from the crowd has to match the money in the pot. If the spinner throws 3 straight heads, they get the pot minus their original stake (which goes to charity). If the spinner throws tails, the person who ponied up the cash gets all the pot minus $5 (charity contribution). It's kind of like dice, and the stakes get pretty high quickly.

5. By the middle of the afternoon, the crowd was so large that people were betting and couldn't even see the outcome of what was going on.

Asian Champions League: Newcastle Jets v Nagoya Grampus

Last week we went with the Nagles and Levi, our Swiss/Hungarian friend/visiting researcher at CSIRO and Stacey, to the Asian Champions League soccer match between the Newcastle Jets and Nagoya Grampus from Japan. To put it bluntly, the level of competition was terrible: closer to college soccer than the MLS. On the bright side, the insults chanted from the Squadron were quite entertaining, and apparently security doesn't care if you chuck alcohol containers or spare change at members of the other team stupid enough to taunt the crowd. The Jets lost 1-0 (the lone goal was significantly aided by a deflection from a referee jumping into the path of the ball).

Jason Mraz

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Two weeks ago we took the train down to Sydney to see Jason "Can I buy a vowel?" Mraz (credited to John McLees). Unlike the States, it appears that Australia doesn't cram people into venues like sardines. The concert was sold out, and despite only showing up 30 minutes before the main act took the stage, we were able to get about 20 feet from the stage relatively easily. Other random observations:


1. The horns players in Mraz's (who Melissa first saw in Austin in 2002 in front of 75 people at the Cactus Cafe) band were from Austin, Texas - Grooveline Horns (and they were pretty good). We actually saw a couple of Hook 'Em Horns thrown up in the crowd as they were introduced.


2. Drew is getting too old to party during the week. We got back from the concert at about 3AM after taking the train back from Sydney to Newcastle, and he was wiped out the rest of the week. We still had a great time!

NRL Rugby (Newcastle Knights v New Zealand Warriors)

Trumpet Guy - for some reason, he played the theme song to "The Odd Couple" every time Newcastle scored a try

Kicking the point after

The "cheerleaders"

"Cheerleaders" in action

Apparently you need an Easter Bunny mascot

But the Easter Bunny has nothing on Unicycle Guy

Part of the worst halftime show we have ever witnessed

This is what happens when instant replay officials are too chicken to make the call - they pass it back to the refs on the field. Really?

I don't think it's a coincidence that the refs wear pink

Since Melissa and I couldn't spend Easter Sunday at the Lucio family Olympics(we missed everyone), we decided to go with the next best option - Sunday afternoon at "the footy". "The footy" is what the locals call the National Rugby League, the top league of professional rugby in Australia. It's interesting b/c 10 of the 16 teams in the league are located in Sydney or its suburbs (Australian Rules Football, the one with the pointing refs, is huge in Melbourne and the state of Victoria - we'll cover that in a later post).

Quick background on the NRL: until the 90's, it was a semi-professional league (most players held regular day jobs). Since then, several articles Drew has read describes "the NFL Effect" on the NRL (funny how Americans get the blame for ideas carried across the pond when they don't work out) - rugby league is now their full-time jobs, and they spend more time in the weight room than anywhere else. The NRL supposedly tests for steroids, but some of these guys are almost cartoonish-looking. It's made the NRL more of a smashmouth game, and it's turned a lot of people off. Pacific Islanders are in high demand as well - it's amazing how a few small islands turns out so many freakishly big athletes.

Quick rules for the game:

13 people to each side

Only backwards passes are allowed

In essence, you get 6 "downs" - after the 5th tackle, you have two options: attempt to carry the ball over the try line, which we would call the endzone (if unsuccessful it's a turnover at the spot) or you kick it away

Forward passes can be attempted in the form of kicking the ball ahead to a teammate

4 points for a try

2 points for a successful extra point/penalty kick

And in the words of John Madden "The team that scores the most points will probably win the game. Boom!"

Non-footy observations:

Tailgating is completely foreign concept to Aussies

"Cheerleaders" resembled adult dancers more than anything else

They had the most efficient beer lines we've seen at any sporting event (Take notes America)

Footy observations:

The referees wear pink jerseys

Instant replay officials have three options: try, no try, or pass it back to the ref. Do what? Isn't that what instant replay is for?

There are some pretty wicked collisions (and a lot of trash talk to go along with it)

The Knights beat the Warriors 24-22

Hunter Valley Wine Country

Guinness Beef Pie


The lone Irish pub among the 120 wineries

At the Hope Winery with our tour guide, Mr. Rowland

Overlooking the Hope Estate (Clapton and The Who played here last month)

Entering the Hunter Valley

Vineyards at the Hope Winery

Harvested vineyards at the Carindale Winery

Hermitage Estate Winery

At the Bluetongue Brewery - best microbrew in Australia

Tasting planks

Old man played a mean guitar

Home of Dragon's Breath chili schnapps

We spent the Saturday of Easter weekend in the Hunter Valley, home of Australia's wine country and about an hour's drive from Newcastle. The Hunter is known globally for their semilion chardonnay and shiraz. We were going to take a tour bus originally, but waited too long to book it. Fortunately, one of Drew's co-workers (Rob) offered to give us a personal tour of the Hunter Valley. Once you get into less populated areas, kangaroo and wombat-crossing signs pop up every few miles (think deer crossing in the states). We'll try to get pics of them next time we head out there.

We spent the day sampling all sorts of wines (for free of course). One winery, the Hope Estate, felt it necessary to market their wines to the American sector with catchy names. It turns out one of their red wines didn't go over too well in the south. They named it "The Cracker"

After the fourth winery (and about 20th wine tasting), we decided to switch it up and go to the Bluetongue brewery, home of Australia's best-selling microbrews (which it turns out was recently bought by a joint venture of Coca-Cola and Miller SAP; so much for staying independent - it seems that the big companies buy up anything popular nowadays). One observation: an ice cold ginger beer on a hot day freaking hits the spot. The final stop of the day was the Golden Grape estate, home to an absolutely potent liquor: chili schnapps (butterscotch schnapps infused with a few red hot chili peppers). For the first half second, it's delicious; after that - well, words cannot describe the burn. Don't worry - we're bringing a bottle of that back to the states so everyone can try it for themselves.