Super Saturday recapped
With the Sun shining and my cold improving, a half-baked run was cooked up.
A half-baked run must be:
- planned at the last minute - check.
- suitably uncooked in its preparation - check.
- highly improvised - check again.
And thus a plan was born…
The G’s headed North and we met up at Swansea. Like us, it appeared that many Novocastrians had the same idea as we did and had come up with their own relatively half-baked plans to suit the beautiful day.
There were those that tempted fate (and relatively shallow waters) by diving and jumping off the channel towers.
While the more conventional of people either enjoyed the view, fished off the piers or were out carving through the waves in jetskis and all sorts of boats.
In the brackish shallows of the Swansea Inlet, just as we were about to venture on to the sands of the shoreline, was a Crocodylida; saltwater Crocodile.
Or so Matt thought.
The beach yielded many other amazing finds. Walking along the edge, I noticed a relic of ancient times, a shoe, at least 18th century in its origins, left on the sandy banks atop a pile of drying seaweed. I imagined the settlers of Australia stepping off their boats right here and losing a shoe. It was miraculously preserved considering its age - a testament to the superior build-quality of shoes back then. They really were amazing manufacturers.
To our surprise, the highlight of the day was spotting this Swansean Wolf. Once thought extinct, the 4-legged creature is defined by its ability to walk on land and also swim in the water. They move at incredible speeds, but nonetheless, I was able to capture a shot of it emerging from its cave hideout in the shallows as it made for the hills.
Swansean Wolf Fact Sheet
Height: 52-70 cm
Weight: From 19-28 kg. The Swansean Wolf is a rawboned breed, rarely carrying excess layers of fat or flesh. Type and balance more important than size.
Colour: Red, Gold, Cream & Black/Tan.
Coat: Hard single coat developed as a result of warm climate.
Temperament: Generally cautious, seldom slavish or demonstrative to strangers (particularly shake drying in the prescence of Humans)
Characteristics: Strongly individualistic, sensitive, highly intelligent, gentle, curious & affectionate.
The Swansean Wolf footprint.
The final tour of the morning took us to Swansea Castle.
Swansea Castle was constructed in 1807 BC as a fortress outpost for the Swansea Channel - and in turn, Lake Macquarie. At the time, it was the largest castle in Australia. It was constructed on the left bank of the Swansea Inlet, chosen for its excellent 300° defensive viewpoint, it overlooked the Pacific Ocean making Viking, Egyptian and Persian enemy vessels easy to spot. The various towers housed many gatling cannons, elite archers and native rats.
It is said that during the construction, the Great Hall and Crown Room were visited by Napoleon Dynamite Sr.
After our tourist adventure, we headed further North and grabbed coffee/tea/nougat at our favourite Tea Shop. After we were satisfied, our journey turned Southward again, where we played pool, caught up with Brad and Kerrie then went bowling and finally grabbed some late dinner.
All in all, another great day spent with great friends.
