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Published: February 2nd 2007
The View Of The Lake
Sam and Duncan become one with nature.Feeling refreshed from the Christmas festivities on the islands of Fiji the travelling trio were ready to move on to their next destination, Australia. We arrived in Melbourne, Victoria at around 4pm. The first glimpses of Oz were of a slightly smoky Melbourne Airport car park where a 'Bush' fire had raged through a forest in a near by area that made everything slightly cloudy and a little hot. We were told it was something we would get used to at this time of year.
I didn't take long before we found our bearings in the city thanks to our little black book of international contacts to get some advice on a place to stay. The help came in the form of one our dearest school friends back in Bristol James Morley, who left good old rainy Blighty for the slightly warmer Melbourne sunshine back in September. He had suggested to us that the St.Kilda area was the place for us with its ideal location only minutes from the beach and having a real vibrant and funky scene. He was right. The hostel that we stayed in was excellent, it was called Coffee Palace and
gets the 5* approval from the group for its location (just off the main street of St.Kilda's) and also for the social scene within the hostel, where we met a lot of great people. The plan in Melbourne was to set-up camp for a week and waits for the much awaited arrival of Duncan the fourth member of the Bristol to Bombay team and to search for a set of wheels that would take us up the east coast and begin our road trip, whilst enjoying the city when we could. The Stress of it All!
Whilst staying in Melbourne we found that there was a new trend to the backpacking scene called 'Flash packing'. Several hostels in the Melbourne area were designed just like the bars on the high streets. There were numerous travellers that we met who were trekking the world with either a set of heels or a shirt that would be pressed for a night out.
Looking for a car wasn't a problem in Melbourne as the hostel information boards were covered in posters with cars for sale. The ads helped us get a little understanding of how much we would be looking at
Digging At Midnight
Alec is trying to free the 'BIG DOG' from the sand pit. spending and the contact numbers helped us realise how crazy some of the owners of the cars were!
Our first possible car, a 25 year old Nissan which was severely in need of a paint job and was owned by an Iranian man who took Alec and Jona for a spin to see how the car performed and managed to inform them on the faults of the car and show them the paperwork in detail while smoking a cigarette and also driving the van. Unfortunately for him his skills at the wheel weren't enough to prize the boys money out of their pockets and nor for the fact that his car smelt like the inside of an animal cage!
The second van, an orange Mitsubishi of 17 years, was owned by a lovely Belgium couple who told us that they had 24 hours to sell their car before they left the country. Great we thought. A decision was quickly made that we would use our haggling skills and try and get the van for a cheaper but 'fair' price. The Belgium’s weren't too happy with the offer and didn't hang around for too long.
The following day
England vs. Oz
The view of the MCG Jona and Sam decided to get up early and resist the lye in and head out for breakfast leaving Alec snoozing. When I (Alec) did awake I was invited to play for the hostels 5 a-side football team in a backpackers league that is played throughout the summer with all the backpacking hostels in the St.Kilda's area and is run by the local English owned drinking establishment called the ‘Elephant and Wheelbarrow’. It wasn't long into the match before I was up to my old tricks of playing one half of football and then limping off early in the second half injured, this time with a twisted ankle!
Back at base I waited in the dorm for Sam and Jona to find me and when they did arrive after 6 hours of being separated the first thing they told me was they had found a van..........and also paid for it!!!
I was extremely worried at that point, thinking it would be a complete banger.
The story of the purchase was they had walked down to a local used car dealership and at the entrance a couple from the U.K wanted to sell their vehicle to the dealer as
Lunch In The Park
Enjoying a spot of lunch with friends from the hostel. they were leaving the country in the next 48 hours. But with a little persuasion the boys had haggled a deal to take the car off their hands, which was 1/6 of the price advertised in the car window. All what was needed now was the paper work to be completed and the road trip would begin.
The Vehicle
The car, named Claire by the previous owners but nicknamed the 'BIG DOG' due to it's size and power and also after the legendary 'Alphabet J' our Greyhound driver in Washington is a 1986 4x4 Holden Jackeroo. The vehicle when first bought had a few imperfections on the outer roof that the garages we visited called "bloody big rust holes!" and were charging $2500 to be fixed, so having been told for the third time that it would coast an arm and a leg to fix the roof Sam decided that we would do it ourselves and left the garage to the store across the street. Returning with a tube of poly-filler, some sand paper and a can of gold spray paint. Sam and Alec spent the rest of the day under the shade of a tree repairing
Beach Camp
The Fantastic Four camp out on the Beach. the holes and literally watching paint dry!
A few more moderations were made to the interior for both looks and performance. A leather steering wheel cover for comfort and control, racing car seat covers a new gear stick and the piece de resistance a new stereo system that is worth nearly the price of the car. This 20 year old monster of a vehicle has a maximum speed of 120km/h and offers four wheel drive for the more adventurous driver (us). The car boasts two legal seats for the driver and the co-pilot and in the back the car has been transformed to fit a full-size blow up mattress for the passengers to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. Not only did Sam and Jona buy a car, but also everything left inside the car. We were given (inclusive in the price) a fishing rod, two fold out chairs, duvet with pillows, tool box, maps and also food boxes that were filled with 16 tins of tomatoes and baked beans. The meals have been adventurous in trying to use up the supply!
Now, I bet your wondering how much this vehicle cost eh? With the information given
Morning Wake Up Call
Sam plays the guitar at breakfast to you above we would like to hear your predictions on the price of the car and the real price will be entered in a few days time so send us your guesses!
The only problem with having 4 adventurous drivers and a car to suit is the equipment needed to tackle the terrain. A twenty minute off-road excursion was halted when we came across a fallen 60ft tree that blocked our path. The only sawing devices we had in the car were our pen knifes. Armed with the pen knife saws we went to work on the tree to break through the trunk. After 20 minutes we were knackered and hadn't scratched the surface, our last option was to use the 'BIG DOG'! With heavy acceleration the car speeded up to the tree and drove straight over it!
Mother Nature 0 - BIG DOG 1!!
We had also tested the vehicle out on the sandy beaches of Phillips Bay. The sand was soft and hard to manoeuvre but the car was performing brilliantly until we fell in what looked like a hole. Trying to use power like in the last situation the car started to sink. It
was about 1 O'clock at night and the groups were digging the car out of the sand with their hands to level it up. Sometime later the car looked like it could be pushed out of the sand and with Alec, Jona and Dunc at the rear we pushed for dear life to get the monster free and with Sam opting for the less physical task of 'givin' it some gas' the 4x4 was free. After closer inspection of what we thought was a pit was in fact a child's play pit that a young beach made that afternoon had created by leaving a lovely pattern of shells were the car wheel fell.
Child's Play Pit 1 - BIG DOG 0!
The day finally arrived for Duncan to join the team. His arrival was on the back of an 18 hour flight from L.A and with the combination of jet lag and the flu Dunc was whiter than a ghost and even paler when he wore sun cream! Soon after landing we whisked Skinny D off to watch England vs. Australia in a 1 day international match. The match was poor on the performance side as Australia made little
The 'BIG DOG'
The Beast In Action. effort in reaching our total batting score. But the entertainment came from the crowd with the Auzzie fans (being 95%!o(MISSING)f the people watching the match) verbally sledging the English team "You Pomme's can't play bloody cricket!" and we would reminded them that we were better at rugby and football. The arguing would be regularly interrupted by either a Mexican wave or a beach ball that was being fired around the stadium. Overall the day was very entertaining.
Since Dunc's arrival the group has had a boost of energy and has made sure we eat three meals a day and not skimp on portions, even though were on a budget. He can be heard every visit to the supermarket insisting on the B.M.M "Bread, Milk and Muesli!".
Road Trip!
The journey finally began and after a leisurely trip up the coast of Victoria we entered New South Wales. A big bonus of having a 4x4 meant the camping was free as we trekked to remote locations and were able to see some of New South Wales' most picturesque spots. The camping has enabled us to become real close the wildlife of Australia and have come across
Boys On The Beach
The Beach Boys on Manly Kangaroos, Possums, Wallabies and Monitor Lizards which are 4ft long dragon like lizards that circle the tent when you’re sleeping!
The driving has been equally shared amongst the group except Alec who has been a passenger for the first week of the trip with his ankle injury. The groups actually preferred Alec as a passenger rather than behind the wheel as his driving skills are slightly suspect and the group doesn’t feel at ease with him driving. (In my defence I didn't pass my test till 3 weeks before the trip began).
Sydney We arrived in Sydney on a scorching summers Friday, and to hide ourselves from the midday Sun, we decided to walk. In the botanical gardens we could enjoy the shade given off from impressive array of trees and sculptures. The gardens are beautifully maintained and it is very surprising how green the gardens look considering the drought that Australia is suffering at the moment. A number of newspapers have suggested that the gardens will be unable to maintain some the trees and flowers because of the heat and dryness of Australia and will have to stop planting them.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge
Team Photo
Chilling out in Melbourne. and the Opera House looked amazing when we visited the harbour. In the evening the bay became really busy with people celebrating the end of the week in the bars and restaurants. Sydney was also having its annual summer festival, which meant there were street entertainers and live music, which kept us entertained all evening.
The city had a great mixture of parks/gardens amongst the tall buildings of the main city area and you are only a short walk before there was a place to relax in the shade on the grass. If Melbourne is Australia's culture capital, Sydney is it's international darling.
Whilst in Sydney we also stayed with Alec's family in North Ryde, a 20 minute car journey from the city. We were treated to great food and accommodation from our hosts Nigel, Gayle and Maddie their daughter who made us feel like were all at home again, making it hard for us to leave. While staying we watched a movie called 'Wolf Creek' about a group of travellers who go on a road trip and get lost and basically don't return. Ever since we have been camping in places where there are other campers because we
'Man Make Fire'
Sam tries to light the fire in preperation for the evenings dinner. are too scared to be on our own!
Next Stop Byron Bay!
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Hamish
non-member comment
Great Blog
Well done, Alec. Enjoyable blog. Great exposure of Dunc and Sam! Should I submit it to Cotham website?