Ted Ralphs

We took a ride out to the Hunter Valley region for some wine tasting and I was very impressed! Very nice wines, some of the best Chardonnay I’ve ever had, great Shiraz, very beautiful country. Highly recommended.

I took a ride around Lake Macquarie, which is the largest saltwater lake in Australia and is quite spectacular. Here is the map and some photos.

Today, I cycled part of the way down the coast of New South Wales from Newcastle. This is a really beautiful area sandwiched on one side by the ocean and beautiful surf beaches and on the other side by Lake Macquarie, the largest salt water lake in Australia. Here is a map and pictures from the ride.

We went to Port Stephen on Nelson Bay and explored. It’s a really spectacular coastal area north of Newcastle.

I went for a little ride around Newcastle today on my bike, exploring the hills along the coast. It’s a very beautiful area. Here is a map of the route with some pictures.

I arrived in Newcastle this afternoon. I’ll be here for the next month or so.

This week, I moved from Monash University on Melbourne to University of Newcastle in Newcastle. To get from one to the other, I drove up the eastern coast of Australia from Melbourne through Sydney and then on to Newcastle. A very beautiful drive. Pictures coming soon.

Here are some pictures of wildlife encountered on my visit to Oz. More to come as I go.

Melbourne has some very nice bike paths along waterways. I went for a ride up north along one of these paths for my last ride in Melbourne. Here is a map of the part of the ride along the river (my cell phone battery ran out for the rest of the ride) and some pictures.

I went to a free concert that was part of the Melbourne Jazz festival. Not exactly my kind of jazz, but I am really impressed with how many free cultural events there are in Melbourne.