It is never a nice feeling to be robbed. It is even less when it occurs during a long-term trip abroad and when the thief leaves with 95% of your personal belongings. This is what we experienced (a first time for us) this week in Adamstown, a district of Newcastle reputedly quiet. This lowlife even left with food and petrol! We will make no comment about the New South Wales Police here even if we would have a lot to say about it. Our initial impressions upon arriving in Newcastle were negative (popular city without character). We are leaving it (certainly extremely light) with an evidential confirmation of our doubts. Run away from Newcastle and prefer the surrounding area (Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie) which are, in our opinion, the only valid reason why Newcastle is ranked in Lonely Planet's Top 10 cities to visit in the world.
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It's a bit short sighted to blame Newcastle for losing your belongings to an opportunistic thief. You had a bad experience here... sure, but the fact is that this could have happened anywhere.
If you're going to drive around and leave all your gear on display in your car overnight then eventually some low life is going to see it and take the chance. It sucks... but that's life.
I'm really disappointed you didn't come away with at least a few nice things to say about Newcastle. You were here during Surfest, did you check that out? What about the generosity of the locals? After hearing about your plight some of my friends delivered you a tent to replace the one you'd lost... and your story made it into the local newspaper. Do you think that would have happened in Sydney? No way!
You're absolutely right about Port Stephens & Lake Macquarie. They're both fantastic, but Newcastle is brimming with character! I'm sad that you didn't get to see it.
Sorry to hear that. My car registration plate was stolen last Sunday,it was only between 1930PM- 2100PM.
Im considering to install black box with security camera on my car.
@Andrew I understand your disappointment since Newcastle is your city. I do not blame Newcastle for what happened. Indeed this can happen anywhere. In 30 years though, I have been traveling on every continent. I visited over 20 countries including some of the world's poorest. The fact is that this is the first time that such a thing happens to me and it happened in Newcastle. In my post of March 3 (http://iphoneographyoz.blogspot.com/2012/03/newcastle.html), 10 days before the events, I already expressed doubts about Newcastle. I will not lie about my experience. Arriving in a city ranked in the Lonely Planet's Top 10 cities to visit in the world, expectations are very high. As I have said repeatedly I think Newcastle is vastly over-rated and I think that the only reason the city is ranked in this Top 10 is due to its surroundings.
Anyway the purpose of this blog is not to put too much focus on long comments of opinion (some people were actually friendly and generous with me and I took the time to thank them in person). It is more envisioned as an artistic tour guide in which emphasis is placed on the publication of photographs showing an overview of Australia. What happened was part of the reality I experienced in Newcastle and I decided to publish a photo about it.
Cheers mate!
@Seong Sorry to hear that too. Where did it happen?
i live here and this should not be in the top 10. inner city is an embarrassment and our council should be ashamed. drunken violence and opportunitic thieves are part of our night life. Yes, we have amazing places and events as well, but its not top10 worthy..