There are basically 3 routes to follow to Melbourne. Down the coast road (most interesting, or should I say "least uninteresting" !), down a slightly inland route called the New England Highway (boring), or down another inland road even further west called the Newell Highway (very boring). Trouble is, the coast road would also be a nightmare traffic wise just before Christmas, and the Newell is just SO boring even though it is the quickest route, so I decided to go down the central route, the New England Highway, and then cut down through the Snowy Mountains in the south, to Melbourne.
Trooper the dog gets the luxury seat - basically a double bed in the back !! He is very good at trvelling, and as long as he gets his morning and evening walks, and a couple of opportunities for a pee break during the day, he is quite happy just to sleep and bounce around !!
So headed south as far as Guyra, near Armidale in NSW by 6 pm, by which time we both needed to stop. I knew of a very nice free campground there called Mother of Ducks Lagoon, so headed there and found a lovely shaded spot for the first night in Trooopie. Long evening walk around the lake, and then prepared my first supper using the van facilities (few minor hiccups with the burner that need attention !), and set up the beds for the night, for myself upstairs, and Trooper downstairs. It was nice and cool, and apart from my mattresses being a bit thin (to be resolved), it all worked very well.
After breakfast the next day, headed south again, down through Scone, Mudgee and Bathurst, but it was too far to reach my friends near Albury that night as planned, so decided to head towards the Snowy's. I got to Carcoar Dam which looked like an interesting campsite - again free, and right beside a dam where people were set up for Christmas, water skiing on the lake and setting up bbq's etc for the week. Just got set up, and went for a walk, then was about to cook my supper - And a big wind came up. Problem number 2 - You cannot cook on the outdoor stove in high winds !! Hmmmm. Either needs an awning with side panels, or a small internal stove for windy days !! But another good night in the van.
And after a long hike around the lake and over the dam the next morning, we set off south once again. Down through Tumut, Cooma and Bombala, through some of the most beautiful countryside you can imagine - Not exactly Alaska type mountains, but big hills, anyway !! And then coming out on the south coast at Cann River, before turning west to Orbost, where I knew of a great campsite I had been to several times before, once with John and Di Skidmore when they were here in January 2008. Bell birds "dinging" in the trees, and right beside the Snowy River, with lovely walks all around.
A good night there, and then up early and on the road up to Mt Eliza, arriving there soon after 1 pm, just in time for lunch with everyone !! The temperatures suddenly soared today, so it is good the a/c in the van works well ! After lunch, we visited a couple of Janet's cousons and aunt, and then headed up to Hawthorn in Melbourne where we were to house sit a friend of ours from Nigeria days - Bronnie Sorrell, who had gone to Adelaide for Chistmas. Luckily her house was airconditioned !!
So the trip to Melbourne was done, the van had performed perfectly, although I have to get used to the much noisier diesel engine - Which is compensated somewhat by the amazing power of the big V8 diesel engine. It is almost like driving an automatic - once it is in 5th gear, you hardly have to change gear again for anything !!
Remainder of the pics of the drive are here :-
https://picasaweb.google.com/117739775480775657932/0002BrisbaneToMelbourne?authkey=Gv1sRgCNigzdLfl9PAfQ#
No comments:
Post a Comment