ABC NewcastleCast

Newcastle and the Hunter are facing a huge threat - a bee collapse. Starting weeks ago, more of the 'Varroa mite' bugs are beginning to be found and a US biotech company emailed the pod with their experiences of this nasty plague.

And despite the rain and cold, a Kingfisher found in a backyard at Ellalong has lit up social media - but how rare is the bird in the Hunter?

Kia sits down with local reporter Madeline Lewis on a weekend that didn't stop for the Newcastle Floods with rescues and a nervous wait for many.

Towns became islands, livestock rescued and how people dig in when the odds are against them.

Sure, it's been a time for the Upper Hunter. But besides floods, we're getting texts about birds. And a man with a chainsaw.

Bulga is a much loved village of the Upper Hunter and the locals know a thing or two about the country. Including how to fight a flood.

And Bulga is praising two lifesaving heroes as they rescued a baby and mum from rising floodwaters.

It's been a hectic 24 hours for Bulga

Flooding. Yet again, the Hunter's heroes swing into action as we go on the ground in Singleton and the Hunter Valley where we're bracing for more flooding from the swollen Hunter river. 

We hear from the publican at Wollombi, and Upper Hunter reporter Bridget Murphy in a soggy Singleton.

Let's face it - we've googled our symptoms before going to a medical professional. Before we write out our last will and testament based on the results, one Hunter pharmacist reckons come in and ask. And Chloe Woodburn would know, she's in a competition to be the best!

And how do Catholicism and Indigenous Australians interconnect. We find one woman's journey to bring her culture and her faith together, with a mission for all of the Maitland diocese.

Hunter Stadium is home to 35,000 screaming Newcastle Knights fans every home game, but beyond the game, can the stadium host international acts? And as Kia and Laurise find out, it's been done before.

Also, University of Newcastle students are hitting the road in a big bus to go west across the state, with a mission to learn more about the world's oldest continuous living culture.

The Steve Irwin has been saved for the second time in its life by Kerrie Goodal who never saw her life working with ships taking this turn.

And this week has been tense. The outbreak of the contagious 'Varroa Mite' has not just beekeepers on edge. Farmers everywhere, already recovering from an incredible wet autumn are now on high stress waiting on what is next

A new program to help rehome greyhounds in a Hunter Valley prison is bringing more than hoped for inmates and companions.

And as the last mass vax clinic shuts in Newcastle, a plea from one long Covid sufferer that the pandemic still has a while to go.

The Census is out - and the Newcastle region has had a surge in people saying they don't have a religion. In sharp focus is the Anglican Church, which lost thousands of followers from the last Census - but Newcastle's Anglican Diocese is already making changes.

And are you trying to get into #vanlife? Seems you're not the only one, but the lack of vans is for a very good reason.