Australia's exportation of natural resources has been a touchy political subject for years. So I set out with my cousin, Ari, to shed some light on the process while enjoying the Sun

The Port of Newcastle

Newcastle (Newy for short) is Australia's seventh largest city. It is where the coal industry meets the Pacific Ocean.

Gigantic open cut mines, located further inland, transport their coal in staggering quantities by train to Newcastle's shipping docks.

Hunter region coal train lines

Bulga's open cut mine

The mine photographed above is similar to what you would find at every dot on that train line. That's a lotta coal, and a lot of destroyed land.

A Lazy Sunday

It wasn't until 2pm that we finally decided to make a move. We loaded the car with our skateboards and hit the road for Newcastle. We were leaving from Maitland, which is featured on the train line map above. It's relatively close to Newcastle compared to the others.

The drive usually takes 45 minutes and today was no different.

It was hard to get any decent photos with my phone, let alone from a moving vehicle. I did my best though and managed to capture this one. It gives you an idea of the length of these coal trains (they can have up to 108 carriages).

That faint dot in the sky is the moon

We cruised around the streets for a while, taking photos and enjoying the vibe. We then bee lined it for Darby street, the cafe hub of Newcastle.

Cafes are nestled tightly together. Displaying modest exteriors...

Keeping their creatively designed inner sanctums a secret. Only for those who enter.

I ordered a burger! Chick pea patty, served with grilled halloumi cheese, onion, rocket, tomato, and beetroot puree. It was absolutely amazing. Ari ended up getting satay chicken noodles ^.^

I then stopped in at the nearby health food store and grabbed some kombucha tea and dairy free chocolate. It was a treat yourself kinda day, ya know?

We jumped on our skateboards and made our way to the water

Passing a few iconic Newy buildings on the way.

The clock tower

The new university building (and the clock tower, clever design)

As well as this art piece

There is also another well known building in Newcastle, one that's quite infamous with locals. For anyone who lives in Newcastle, you'd have to know the Queen's Wharf Tower.

To the locals, it's The Penis Tower

From the top you get an amazing view of the harbour and we were lucky enough to capture a giant fuel tanker coming in to dock. To be loaded up with a maximum of 400,000 metric tonnes of dead weight. The ship is flanked by smaller tug boats which carefully manoeuvre the whale of a vessel to it's mooring point.

Then we headed home

The mining operation in Newcastle is a none stop conveyor belt of export. It never sleeps. Local miners work on rotating shifts to continually pull coal from the Earth. This industry also directly finances the families and businesses of the region. If the mining operation was stopped, a lot of families would find it tough.

We didn't end up getting home until the Sun started to sink. I managed to catch another glimpse of a coal train, this one returning to the mine.

I hope you enjoyed this read, and had a great Sunday yourself.

All the best, harrynewman

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Getting Coal Out Of Australia. Country Town To Harbour City

The Port of Newcastle

A Lazy Sunday

We jumped on our skateboards and made our way to the water

Passing a few iconic Newy buildings on the way.

Then we headed home