Day 3. Crossing the border in to Victoria!

09.01.2013

Day 3 began with a 100km journey to the Platypus Reserve in Bombala, NSW. Up there with Kangaroo's, Wallabies and Koalas (which there will be lots more of in future posts on the blog), the Platypus was one of the quintessential Ozzy animals we really wanted to see. The Platypus is a fascinating and very strange creature with many unique features (It is an egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal) and which can be found only in Australia. Unfortunately for us, they are only active early in the morning and late at night, and bad timing on our behalf meant we arrived slap bang in the middle of the day. Despite there being no platypus-sighting for these two disappointed tourists, we did enjoy a nice lunch in quiet & beautiful surrounds, under the sun.

 On an unsuccessful hunt for Platypus' in the Platypus Reserve

After lunch, we continued the drive with 106km left to go until we reached Orbost, where we presumed we would be spending our third night.  It was another testing day for Priscilla - our camper - with lots of steep ascents & descents through the rolling landscape, and she received her first injury when we drove past a giant speeding lorry (truck, in Oz speak), which flung loose gravel from the road at the van causing a number of cracks in the windscreen. We would later learn this was $285 of damage, through no fault of our own! Despite the speeding lorry, it was a lovely drive through the mammoth  284,659 acres(or 1,152 km²) of the South East Forest National Park. We took advantage to enjoy the views of the surrounding tree-ladened mountains, standing next to a shallow stream at the bottom of a valley. During this part of the journey, we also crossed the border into Victoria for the first time, our third state of the road trip so far.

We spent all of 5 minutes in Orbost before swiftly deciding (with not a lot going on there) to move on & not spend the night as planned. Instead, we drove another 207km to the next planned destination. This meant we had travelled over 400km in just one day, and the camper was as tired as us by the time we arrived. Whilst we hadn't enjoyed the first destination Victoria had to offer, we instantly fell in love with the second. Paradise Beach is one of Victoria's many free camp sites, and has only the very basic facility of a toilet. No power, no shower and only limited space, but there were plenty of other campers when we arrived. And all of this is more than made up for by being right next to a hell of a beautiful beach and the sound of the waves of the Southern Ocean crashing into the shore. We had finally made it to the ocean after 3 days on the road and what an amazing site it was. On the southern coast, you can look out at the big blue expanse in front of you knowing that only the island of Tasmania lays between you and Antarctica. We made sure we were on the beach to watch the sun set slowly behind the rugged cliffs behind the beach.

More about Paradise Beach in the next post, and a trip to Phillip Island to see the penguins!

Day 2 of Canberra

08.01.2013

Day 2 saw us venturing back into Canberra to visit the Royal Australian Mint, where all the coins (but not the notes) are made in Australia. We arrived just in time for the free guided tour at 10 am - the first of two each day - and learnt the history of Australia's currency from a cheerful & informative guide. It was fascinating to learn about the first Australians using the currency of other nations to barter with, and even rum or alcohol when it was absent, before their own system was in place. There was such a shortage of coins - with the British government reluctant to send any more - that they cut holes into the coins to create the holey dollar and the dump. The 'holey dollar' being the original coin and the 'dump' being the centre of it cut out to form a second coin. This ingenious 'Buy one coin, get one free' concept was introduced in 1813, meaning it's bicentenary is being celebrated this year. 

                                            

                               Inside, watching the newly minted coins being poured into barrels ready for circulation

Australia became independent in 1901 and became responsible for its own currency, and the one they used followed the complex British system of 12 pence to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound. In 1963, Australia switched to decimal currency and a nationwide debate led to it being renamed the Australian Dollar. By 1988, counterfeiting became such a huge problem that polymer (or plastic) notes were developed and introduced in the country. They are durable, hard to tear and can even survive a spin in the washing machine - the Bank of England should take note! In 1992, the rising cost of bronze led to Australia removing the 1 and 2 cent coins from circulation, meaning all prices in shops here are now rounded to the nearest 5 cents at the till. On a side note (if you'll excuse the pun), it was interesting to learn that the now defunct 1 and 2 cent coins were melted down and used to create the bronze medals for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 - an example of which can be seen during a tour at the mint. We really enjoyed this trip and would recommend it to anyone.

                                                           

                                                                        All the defunct 1 and 2 cent pieces were melted                     

                                                                        to make the 2000 Sydney Olympics bronze medals

     

                                                             

                                                                                        The Polymer Australian bank notes

    

It was a second boiling hot day here (37oC at 1pm) and so we decided to check out the air-conditioned Canberra Centre shopping mall. It is a fantastic centre, crammed full of every store you can imagine including plenty of places to catch a bite to eat or sip a cheeky drink. I found a bargain cap for just 5 bucks, which became a staple item of my road trip wardrobe. And even if shopping isn't your thing, just walk out the back to check out the amazing view!

                                                                                 The awesome view from behind the Canberra centre!

This view can only be beaten by one other place in Canberra, the Black Mountain Tower, otherwise known as Telstra Tower. The tower is 195m tall, perched on Black Mountain at 812m above sea level, and the panoramic views make this the number 1 tourist destination in the state. It was quite an effort for Priscilla to make it up but well worth the slow ascent. Just $7.50 an adult to go up and you can even venture out to one of the open platforms, weather permitting. Unfortunately for us, the high temperatures were being blown in by high winds and  the open platform were closed for safety reasons. But the views - including one of a small bushfire - made it worth every penny, or cent should I say!

                                   Black Mountain Tower - or the Telstra Tower - in all its glory.
                           

This ended our stay in the nations capital, but we stopped off for one last scenic shot before heading towards Cooma where we would spend the night. On route, we topped up our fuel for the first time, which cost $63 with the petrol costing a relatively cheap $1.40 a litre. We also spied the first of the countless Kangaroo road signs we would pass on our journey - and which would eventually inspire a new tattoo idea for the future, to commemorate the road trip. Watch this space!

We were spending night #2 in the camper at Cooma Snowy Mountains Tourist Park, located in "The Snowies" which in the heart of an Ozzy winter, would be covered in snow. However, in the peak of summer, it was a barmy 36oC when we arrived. We paid just $24 for a powered site for the night so yet again, our small fan was utilised to keep us cool. At 2,228m tall, nearby Mount Kosciuszko is the highest peak on the Australian mainland and a magnet for skiers & snowboarders. It was the second steep climb of the day for Priscilla, and she definitely needed a rest. It was a lovely park to arrive to, near all local amenities of the town, and an onsite play ground, tennis court & trampoline. After all the frivolities, we set up camp for the second night and enjoyed our tea washed down with another Pure Blonde beer.

Camp for the second night

On day number 3, we go on the hunt for Platypuses and arrive at our first 'free camp' site - and what a breathtaking site it would be. Check out my next post for more info!

Still Day 1. Our first day in Canberra.

07.01.2013

As mentioned in my previous post, Canberra is the capital of Australia, and was chosen as a compromise between the two largest cities in the country. It is a relatively small place with more of a big town feel, and has a population of just 367,000 inhabitants (known as Canberrans) compared to the 4 million plus people that live in both Sydney & Melbourne, the two rival cities that wanted the title. It is the largest inland city in Australia, but just the 8th largest nationally. We are now in the Australian Capital Territory or ACT - the smallest state - making this the first time we have been outside New South Wales since arriving down under. Driving for 3 hours to get here, and not seeing too much in the way of towns along the way or many cars on the road, starts to make you realise the size and sparsity of Oz. A similar journey back home in the UK would have seen us pass numerous towns & cities in the same time frame and a whole lot of traffic congestion on the way. Not surprisingly, I'd take the smooth, uninterrupted drive with a lack of cars and a beautiful backdrop like below, any day!

Canberra's layout was completely planned prior to it being built, and so the streets & places are laid out in a very geometric fashion. Looking at it from above (see below pic), you can spot circles, hexagons and triangles, and so there is a very orderly - and almost deserted feel - as we drive into the CBD. Our first impression was of very wide roads, lined by trees on both sides and a distinct lack of people around - even  more so for a capital - to enjoy the abundant space to be found here. This, and the lack of high rise buildings, genuinely makes this feel like just a large, leafy town. We saw countless signs informing us of the upcoming celebrations for Canberra's centenary, showing you just how new the city is.

The capital is most famous for being the home of the federal government, which is the largest single employer in town! This all equates to a lower unemployment rate, higher average income, higher university education level and a younger population than the national average. However, it also equates to Canberra having a reputation of being a boring and staid place to visit, and so we were weary of what we would be able to do here. This reputation is also due to the vast array of museums found here, however being a pair of massive travel geeks, we found this a huge attraction and we started the day with a visit to the National Museum of Australia!

                                                                             Very modern entrance to the museum!

                 

Very excited finding a reference to my home town in England!

The museum is free and crammed full of exhibits & things to do. We designed our own virtual spaceship and watched it come to life in 3D, and learned the history of Australia, it's people and it's amazing wildlife. It is well worth a visit and was a great start to the day. Oh, and the air conditioning was a great relief from the 38oC temperature outside. Afterwards, we drove to the centre of the circular street layout to check out both the old and new parliament house. Both are very similar, but we agreed that the new one is a very impressive, modern and sleek building set in a beautiful landscape. A very fitting home for the government of a very impressive, modern and sleek nation.

Old Parliament House (above) vs New Parliament House (below)

Before finding our camp site, we stopped by at a local Coles (one of the two main supermarkets here) to buy the first round of bread, milk, cereal, noodles, pasta, biscuits and juice that we would be sick of by the end of the journey! We found the Carotel Motel Caravan park ($36 for a powered site) to spend the first night of our trip on site number 512, and enjoy our first supper in Priscilla - the camper - with a couple of Pure Blonde beers. The site had a whole heap of facilities; the standard amenities block, BBQ area, reception & shop but also a playground for kids, miniature golf and an outdoor swimming pool which we took full advantage of whilst watching the sun set. We were just 6km from the centre of Canberra and set in 20 acres of beautiful landscape, often frequented by Kangaroos which unfortunately didn't make an appearance for us on this occasion.

First night's camp

Our view in the park!

Not only was this our first night of the road trip, but also our first night spent in a van-shaped tin can possessing the uncanny ability to retain the days searing heat, all night long. Being inland, the night time temperatures didn't drop very much (unlike in Victoria, where you can bake during the day but freeze at night) however being in a powered site meant we had a small fan to provide a little relief against the uncomfortable sleeping conditions, combined with the excitement of our first day exploring this amazing country. Trust me, the novelty of spending a night in a camper van in these conditions soon wears off.. Tip for any future trip (funds permitting) would be to hire a luxury van with air con in the back... we can but dream!

Day 2 in Canberra will include a visit to both the Royal Mint and the Black Mountain Tower (offering superb views across the capital) and we leave the ACT to arrive back in NSW.

Day 1. Sydney to Canberra

07.01.2013

It is the morning of Monday 7th January, and we are about to embark on our 48 day road trip stretching 7,250 km (4500 miles) across vast Australia. Ours was to be a smaller journey than originally planned by the two naive, newly arrived Poms who finally touched down in Sydney after a monstrous, 54 hour journey via Amsterdam, Bangkok and Taiwan. It isn't until you arrive down under that you truly appreciate just how big the place is; it takes 5 hours to fly from east to west, even longer than it takes from London to pretty much every corner of the entire continent of Europe. This is even more mind-boggling to us as just 2 of the 640,000 Brits that visit Oz every single year from a tiny island which would fit into Australia 31 times over with room to spare. Being the travel geek that I am, I knew all of these facts & more before taking off from Terminal 5 at Heathrow, but until you visit, travel & live here, until you road-trip around this endless country, you truly do not realise just how much there is to see, visit, travel to & live in. 

We had initially talked of circumnavigating the entire country and visiting the scorching red centre too. Amazingly, the infrastructure to do so exists in the the holy grail of motorways, or freeways as they are called here. Highway 1 stretches 14,500 km (9,000 miles) around almost the entire coastline, barring just a small part of the Northern Territory coast. However, both financial and time constraints meant we had to be a little bit more realistic in what we could achieve on this 'little' adventure of ours.

      

The planned route vs. the actual route we ended up taking!

By this stage, we had spent an amazing 5 months travelling and living in this sunny corner of the earth, and it was sad to say goodbye to the amazing city of Sydney. When first arriving in August, we were initially surprised just how chilly it could be, even in the southern hemisphere's winter, but soon enough, the Australia from the tv commercials back home (and the dreams of inhabitants back home) surfaced and these 2 two pale Englishmen were sizzling in the sun. It was on one of these roasting hot days that we picked up our camper, who we duly named Priscilla. In reference to the classic Australian movie, and as two gay guys travelling across Oz, we couldn't call her anything else. With all our belongings crammed into our two massive, and very heavy, backpacks, we struggled to stand upright to admire our new home for the next 6 or so weeks, but she was ours and this was going to be one hell of a ride!

Destination #1 was to be Canberra, 280km and 3 hours away down the free way with the 110 km/h (68 mph) limit. It was chosen as the nations capitol as a compromise between rivals Sydney & Melbourne, both cities vying for the honour and we had heard very mixed reviews of the place. Needless to say, we couldn't wait to experience it ourselves and make up our own minds.

On my next post, coming soon, we arrive in Canberra!