Oz, Aussie, Down Under: Whatever – We’re In Australia!
Our Camper!
After overcoming a few technical difficulties (HTML coding gone AWOL) we’ve finally been able to post this. Hope everyone is well.
Melbourne
Rupert writes
An antagonisingly long flight filled with many movies – and, for me, many games of chess with the on board computer that would go into a sulk and crash or cheat whenever it was about to lose – but not an iota of sleep, leaving the both of us very tired (so much so we slept through the whole of the transfer flight from Sydney to Melbourne from take off to landing, missing any opportunity of greatly needed free food. In fact the last thing I remember before realising we’d landed and was about to be ushered off the plane was the captain saying over the planes tannoy; “the cabin crew will be around shortly after take off with refreshments…”, which I can only assume was a gourmet meal fit for a king. It would be just our luck) and hungry.
The inflight warning material. “And That’s What We Call Paranoia!”. Furby toys are a danger to us all.
Being in this state didn’t help our mission to get to a suitably cheap hostel. We paid more for the bus from the Airport into town than we have spent in a whole week in the last five months. We needed to find a camper van, and fast. After a half hour walk we found the first backpacker hangout that had a car park full of multicoloured rust waggons trying to be desperately sold, which is where we looked at each other and decided in unison “let’s hire one”. So we set off to the next hostel, where we booked ourselves into a simple and unashamedly expensive room (although apparently cheap for Australia), then marched off to Travellers Auto-Barn to pick up – after three hours deciding, and innocently but slyly bargaining down – a 2001 Toyota camper van with cherries on top.
We spent a day buying our first groceries for the camper at Victoria Market and walking through the lickably clean streets and parks of Melbourne at night.
Penguin Parade
Laura writes
Penguin Parade is on Phillip Island, Victoria, south-east of Melbourne. It is part of Phillip Island Nature Park, which promotes and protects little penguins. We stood on environmentally friendly viewing stands and boardwalks waiting for sunset/dusk when the little penguins come from the sea and warily cross Summerland Beach in, obviously, parades -for protection and, undoubtedly, support – to return to their sand-dune burrows after a hard day fishing for food at sea.
Unfortunately we were not able to take any photos – the penguins run back into the water at the sound of a cooing seagull, only to start the whole huddling together process all over again – but it was a magical evening!
Rupert writes
Our next mini adventure was in the other direction, following the Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne, ending at the famous Twelve Apostles, of which there are now only nine I think. When not having fun on the twisting roads – or what fun one could have in a two and half metre high van – the scenery was incredible, and the sunset perfect.
The Twelve Apostles
We took a different and far less interesting route back to Melbourne that took us through Ballarat where we were hoping to get a glimpse of some wild west action, but turned down the offer of an eighty dollar reenactment of – apparently – the only civil war that has ever erupted in Australia, of which lasted all of fifteen minutes.
Back In Melbourne
Once back in Melbourne we only had one thing left to do; meet an old friend. I had called a mobile number I had been given years ago on the second day we arrived in Australia and fully expected it to be out of service or belonging to someone else, so was very surprised and happy to hear Doug’s voice on the other end of the phone after I initiated the call with, “Your not going to believe who this is…” and then, “and your really not going to believe where I’m calling from”. After a lot of communication problems we finally met up on Chapel Street, apparently a very hip place to have a coffee.
So to Doug, my old friend: It was great to see you again, and thank you very much for saving our budget and treating us to a couple of rounds of very delicious hot chocolates. It’s great to be back in contact again, and now we owe you some coffee in a posh hangout in Bristol you have an excuse to come back over and visit one day. We will, no doubt, do the same and see you again some day in Melbourne. Keep training hard (he’s on the run again) and all the best with your TAFE course.
Sydney
Laura writes
When we arrived in Sydney it soon became clear that a little bit of pre-planning wouldn’t have gone a miss. Finding ourselves trapped in a city of parking metres, expensive car parks and clogged up city traffic certainly wasn’t an easy task with a huge camper-van and a small budget.
Fortunately for us, after only one night of driving round looking for one of those should I, or shouldn’t I parking spaces we had to return the van to Travellers-Auto-Barn, Sydney, the following morning for a check-up after a few minor hitches we’d found on the road. Not only did they offer us a speedy and friendly service, but also very generously offered us a free parking space in their garage for the two days we were going to be in Sydney. Bonus. The only hitch, we found ourselves eating lunch in the middle of their forecourt with a bunch of hungry mechanics peeping in. Let’s just say the embarrassment was enough to eat out on day two.
Having much camper-van free time on our hands we went to visit the Sydney Opera House, which by the way was every bit as spectacular as promised, took a trip on the mono-rail, walked over the bridge, mooched around the harbour and ate fine quality blueberry cheese cake over-looking the city by night. It was worth every penny.
The very impressive Sydney Opera House
Southamptons Q.E II docked in the Sydney Harbour and the great Sydney Harbour Bridge towering over the city
Byron Bay
We’re now in Byron Bay, after spending several days getting happily distracted by beautiful beaches and fantastic national parks. Two days ago we walked to the top of a look-out above a national park and gazed into the distance with awe.
Surfs Up
Rupert writes
We borrowed a couple of body boards from the posh campsite we’d checked ourselves into for a night and headed to the beach full of tanned athlete surfers doing their stuff. With a happy memory of body boarding somewhere in Cornwall when I was about eight, I threw myself into the Australian sea with great expectations of ‘hanging ten’, doing a few spins or at the very least catching a few big waves. I attempted to catch only two waves – the remainder of the time was spent avoiding them – and both occasions resulted in the waves catching me, and then persisting with great furious anger to drag me to the bottom of the ocean, spinning me around a few times before imbedding my head into the sandy bottom with biblical force and spitting me out again as I clutch my board in one hand and my head in the other, looking back with a terror of a Pol Pot victim in my eyes as the next onslaught of white fury is about to land on me. After nearly drowning, I crawled out – quite literally; the back-current was immense – and onto a beach several hundred yards from the one I had entered this revisiting of childhood memories adventure.
Tags: Australia, Byron Bay, East Coast, Great Ocean Road, India, Melbourne, Sydney, Travel
Monkey
wahey you’ve made it to Oz! It is nice to know you are somewhere a little safer – this sounds boring and adultey but its true! camper van looks v posh. bring it home!! u planning on going to alice springs? xx
Hi Jenna,
Yep, we’ve made it!
We’re planning on heading to Alice Springs in about 2-weeks time after heading up the coast to Cains and then back down to Townsville. Unfortunately we’ve got to double back on ourselves there a little bit, but it seems to be the safest and easiest route to take. xx
hey wow aus sounds amazing!! ive decided to head of to india now flying to kalcutta then of towards delhi. any usefull hints!! also so glad you meet up with doug hope hes fine will you see him again before you leave is so say hello from me! take care love jenna xxx
Hello long time no message. Very ashamed of myself!
Got a spare minute in the office, alone and thought of you two and so went on website and there you were. All brown etc
Love the “no furby’s”… fantastic! they really are deadly little critters!
Would have loved to have seen the penguins too! I have a thing for the little fellows after finding a wine called “the little penguin (rose)” and bought it even though I don’t like wine … what a fantastic marketing ploy…makes people who don’t like wine, buy it!
Well it’s march now and you’ve been gone 6months and it’ll be summer before we know it… but I am missing you both very much now and you must come home soon!
It’s Yeti’s 30th birthday bash this sat and we’re going to Bournemouth for a big bash at the BIC a Godskitchen extravaganza – should be errr messy to say the least especially as Yeti hasn’t been out for well er since before christmas!!!!!
Anyway I have to go, as I has to go and do some work and sought out another angst ridden teenager!
Toodle pip and tatty bye
Joey XX
Glad to hear that you guys are safe and well. It was great to catch up with old Rupy again, after all these years. a very surreal moment when i spoke to him on the phone and an even bigger spin out when i met up with him with Laura in Chapel St. If only we had a bit more time to catch up. But it was worth it. Good luck with the travels guys. And i’ll take you up on that coffee back in bangin’ Bristol sometime in the future! A BIG hello to all the old crew reading this in Bristol aswell !!!
Jenna; fantastic, your going to have an exhausting and incredible time. We’ll send tips soon!
Jo; lovely to hear your still kicking. I hope Yeti’s birthday bash went well and everyone survived. We’ll be home soon!
Doug; it was awesome to catch up, we’ll definitely have to catch again soon. Glad you got my email this time and hope the postcard has arrived.
Take care all.
Hey People,
I have to admit i’ve not looked on here in a while (it may be the insane jealousy). I have to say i’m truely inspired by what you’ve done and don’t even know where to start in explaining how amazing some of the photos you have taken are.
Figured it was about time i posted on here, i could hardly keep quiet when you have made it all the way to Oz lol
Hi Oz,
lovely to hear from you. I’m glad our pictures have inspired you. Maybe enough to do the same? I’m sure you could convince Lou to run away from England for a bit and see some of these many wonders of the world!
Speak soon.
Hi Guys,
Great blog, pics, and good to hear you had a good time in one of our vans. Sorry about the mechanics, but you’d think they’d have to wander off into the savannah and spear a buffalo sometimes, the way they are around food 🙂
Anyway, if you’re up for any more trips in some wheels, let me know and I’ll ensure you get a great discounted rate.
Cheers & beers,
Chris Finnigan
Travellers Auto Barn
Hi Chris,
Good of you to drop by. I imagine you do like the free advertising.
Van’s been great. Another update will be coming soon.
Rupert and Laura
What a beautiful place !
Ooh shoot i just wrote a big comment and as soon as i submitted it it come up blank! Please please tell me it worked right? I do not want to write it again if i do not have to! Either the blog glitced out or i am an idiot, the second option doesnt surprise me lol.
Sorry Fuzu, but your last comment must have been lost in the depths of the web…. But you’ve got me intrigued now!
Good Morning just figured i would let you know i had a issue with your blog appearing blank as well. Must be gremlins in the page.