25.01 No Rest In Sight!

Our trip to Adelaide, to Sydney and back to Melbourne covered a total of 4251 kilometres! It was an amazing way to see a small part of such a vast country and the contrasts of the four different States (SA, VIC, NSW & ACT) we drove through. Obviously we would have loved more time to investigate the lots of different places we came across, but that'll just have to wait until next time!

It wouldn't have been made possible with our trusty Magna Wagon, perhaps she isn't quite the lemon that we thought she was! All she asked for was fuel and half a litre of oil! Having a week's break from each other certainly helped too!

We have now worked out that we have driven almost all the way down to the east coast, from Cairns to Byron Bay, and all the way along the bottom from Adelaide up to Sydney! Plus, the extra bit we did on our day trip from Cairns to the Bloomfield Track!

So what's next? There are a number of things to see in Victoria before we have to sell our Magna on, prepare for our own departure, plus there is the blog to update with a number of things that happened towards the end of last year! There will be a number of posts that will be slightly out of order, so don't panic!

03.01 Sydney to Melbourne

We left Sydney at about 7am after loading the car and saying goood bye to everyone - not emotional at all (far too early for that!). Our journey home took us from Sydney to Melbourne via Canberra in one day! Fortunately it was pretty much dual carriageway all the way down, so the cruise control was set and the car just did its thing for the next 800kms!

We thought as we were passing Canberra that we should have a look, just to say that we had been there. People were right that there isn't really anything there. The city was very quiet as if there weren't enough people, and it was a little bit dirty, compared to Melbourne or the other major centres. But the breakfast was cheap!

As you can see from the photos, we made it to Parliment House and took a few photos before we got back in the car and headed home.

Heading down the Hume Highway we decided to have a break at Wangaratta. The weather had been quite warm on the way down so we had had the air conditioning on, but as we got out of the car for a drink we hit this wall of heat. It was 35°C in Wangaratta and not much cooler when we hit Melbourne! In total the journey took us 12.5 hours!

29.12 Eden to Sydney

This part of the trip from Adelaide to Sydney had turned into a bit of a 'Top Gear Challenge', with trains, planes and automobiles being used to reach Sydney. Mum & Dad were using the train, while Karl & Helen opted for the plane!

Back on the road! We drove to Bega (where they make Bega Cheese!) for a spot of breakfast and some picnic supplies!

Unfortuantely at this point our part of the 'challenge' went out of the window, as we hit a massive traffic jam due to a car catching fire and the recovery vehicle faffing around removing the burnt-out shell. This resulted in an enormous volume of traffic trying to get through Moruya. Now this wouldn't have been a problem if the town didn't have the only set of traffic lights on the entire journey up the NSW coast!

As a result of the delay we decided to take a small detour and have our picnic at Hyams Beach.

Looks like these santas were modelled on one that was going to the toilet!

Definitely heading in the right direction!

Another small detour off the highway took us to the amazing Sea Cliff Bridge!!

Finally we've made it! Now we just have to find the hostel!!

Classic road bridge as we head into the city!

We finally arrived at the hostel shortly after 6pm, a cool 8 hours behind Mum & Dad, and 3 hours behind Karl & Helen! Had it not been for the accident and for a set of traffic lights that could have been replaced with a roundabout, we could have been in Sydney at a more reasonable time!

After a bit of a freshen up we went looking for dinner at Darling Harbour! And a good night's rest was in order on our return to the hostel!

28.12 Melbourne to Eden

After doing a little bit of washing and catching a few 'z's we left Melbourne at 9am and headed south via Gippsland. It was an amazing drive, really easy and through some very picturesque countryside, some of which was very lush!

Just doing our bit to easy the fly situation that had been dogging Victoria!

We had a lunch stop at the rather beautiful Lakes Entrance! And while we were at the scenic lookout, two pods of Dolphins swam past beneath us...

...this picture's animated, click to view!

The lush greens of Victoria's south-west.

Finally we crossed the New South Wales border!

After finding the Eden Tourist Park for our tent pitch for the night we headed into Eden. Thinking that it would have a good selection of places to eat, we were greeted with a rather disappointing array of eateries. We then settled on Fish & Chips and headed for the beach opposite the campsite, set up our chairs and mange'd!

Our trusty Festiva, just before we put it down and got the rock out of there!

27.12 Adelaide to Melbourne

We left Port Willunga at 9am and headed back to Melbourne for the night. There was a bit of a delay at Wellington for the ferry, as there was a bit of a queue!

Having cleared most of the cars on the ferry, this was the only view of them!

We took a slightly different route home to the one we came on, after it had been suggested to go via the South Grampians. It was a very scenic drive, although it did take us 9 hours to get back, and there was another two days of driving coming up!!

22.12 Christmas: Melbourne to Port Willunga

With Christmas in Adelaide and New Year's in Sydney, it was going to be a very busy time for us, especially as we'd decided that we would drive everywhere! The first part of our epic road trip across a small part of Australia started in Melbourne and would eventually end in Port Willunga in South Australia, later the same day.

On the way we came across a couple of interesting things...

On our way through Horsham, we drove past this amazing 'Giant Koala'! In fact this is one of the most useful giant things, as it is used as the entrance to the attraction!

As we came into Keith, we saw a brown sign (usually a point of interest) with 'Landrover on a Pole'! Well, we just had to stop and have some lunch under the famous landmark! But, what a waste of a Series 1 though! The Landrover was complete, even with a new exhaust!?

A very pleasant surprise as we came off the A8 to head cross-country, a free ferry at Wellington (SA)!

Nine hours later and we've arrived at Port Willunga Beach, so the perfect time to have a cup of tea! I'm looking surprisingly fresh!!

08.09 Day Trip to Lorne

With the purchase of the vehicle complete and a picnic packed, we decided that we'd take a drive down to Lorne. Lorne is located at the end of the Great Ocean Road and is about two hours from Melbourne.

Our first stop-off on the way was Torquay, and the surfers beach. It was a very popular spot for those learning to surf, perhaps this is where we'll end up once the summer starts to take up surfing lessons!

We ended up staying a little longer than planned, as when we came back to the car the battery was flat (an issue that needs to be sorted), but fortunately we found a hardware shop with some jump leads and a very helpful gentleman who gave us the extra oomph we needed to get started! The engine wasn't switched off until we reached Lorne!!

A very familiar sight from our visit last year, although we were heading in the other direction!

Made it to Lorne without any further issues and made our way to beach-side cafe to sit and relax in the glorious sunshine!

What a surprise! Another pier!

A small drive out of Lorne takes you to Teddy's Lookout, where you can get these great views over the Great Ocean Road winding round coast! A drive in the other direction takes you to Erskine Falls...

There some warnings that we hadn't seen before, such as 'falling trees' and 'snakes'!

On our way back we passed Pole House, which you can stay in! Interested? For more information click here. There were no more car issues and we got back safely. I'll post a blog about our car soon, when we have some decent photos & when I've got a bit more time!

Anyway, here's a picture of the beast! It's a Mitsubishi Magna Wagon, 3.0l V6 and once its issues have been sorted will be transporting us around Australia!