In the morning, Janaya walks me around the area around the farmhouse. I refer to it as a farm because she does, but it has no animals and the only thing grown on it is dense woodland, which Janaya wants to chop down and sell for timber once her dad passes down this part of the farm to her. It's a beautiful spot, with ponds scattered around the landscape from which the morning mist rises so densely that I mistook one in the distance for a bonfire.
We meet up with Maureen, the accountant who Janaya works for. One of their clients is a rock band that are apparently quite successful in Oz and are playing at a festival in Newcastle, which is not far north of Sydney. Janaya and Maureen are meeting up with them and have free tickets for the festival, while I will catch the train from there to Sydney. It's another four hour drive, but Maureen rents a car for the journey, so it is rather more comfortable than yesterday's drive in Janaya's 1984 Toyota Sudan with its blue vinyl interior.
We interrupt our journey on the way to stop at a remote pie shop on the main road, which Maureen tells me has a reputation for the best pies around. It is certainly busy and has a broad variety, with ostrich or kangaroo being options, but I plump for a crocodile pie. And it tastes like...yes, chicken, although with a bit of a fishy texture.
When we arrive at Newcastle, it is time for me to say farewell to Janaya and she drops me at the train station. The train is comfortable and not too crowded, despite the fact that it is rush hour, and lasts under three hours.
I arrive in Sydney just after 8 o'clock and, not quite remembering my way around, I get to Sydney Harbour Hostel an hour later. Although it is a sizeable hostel, it does get fully booked and, given the time of night and the fact that I hadn't booked, I am relieved that they have a bed for me, otherwise tonight could have been very expensive.
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