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Published: January 27th 2018
Whereas we planned a relaxing evening of strolling around the Queen Victoria market, we accidentally stopped at a travel agency and got a rush of excitement and adrenaline when we decided to go on a roadtrip to Sydney!
Despite the heat (39 °C) the next day, we finally went to the Queen Victoria market. Afterwards, we met another Dutch girl who tagged along to the State Victoria library and the Parliament. We ended the day with a (FREE!) barbecue at the hostel.
Our last day in Melbourne was even hotter: 42 °C, so it wasn't a punishment to stay in and prepare for the trip. In the evening, we went to a “hidden bar” (called Loch & Key; no, I did not misspell lock). It didn't turn out to be very hidden, but was cute nonetheless. There was no menu: the bartender just asked what you liked and gave you something appropriate (and he was really good at that).
On Saturday we collected the car and started our roadtrip. Driving through Melbourne was an adventure, but it went pretty well (Emma drove). In fact, considering that it was her first time driving on the left in a huge
car, the driving went great! Once we left Melbourne, the roads were empty and the landscape was gorgeous, with huge fields as far as we could see. Our first campsite was an adventure for me as well. I'm not much of a camper, and it was a free campsite with a dirty toilet and no showers. When Emma found a huge spider (a huntsman) on our car door, I flat out refused to leave the car until the sun was out again. Nonetheless, the views were worth it!
The next day, we exchanged the yellow fields of yesterday for green hills and lots of trees. We also saw many signs warning us for crossing koalas, kangaroos and wombats, but no (living) animals. After we got to our second campsite, we visited a cute little town that had wild parrots flying around and pelicans chilling with some black swans near the shore.
The Australian wildlife continued to amaze us on the next campsite. Our neighbour called us over: there was a koala in the tree just outside the campsite! Later on, around 2am we were woken up by a strange sound that was caused by enormous bats of about
40-50 cm wide!
The next day we went for a hike through a beautiful forest and over the beach, with the most gorgeous views. All the animals we saw in the forest were birds, yet as soon as we entered a town, we saw 7 kangaroos just chilling on the grass.
Just when we didn't think we could be amazed anymore, we were. We got to our next campsite after having spotted a couple kangaroos next to the road, only to find about 70 (at least!) kangaroos at our campsite. They were literally everywhere and they're not afraid of people at all. You can get close enough to pet them, in theory (but they're wild animals so we didn't).
Although I don't mind having a hostel again in Sydney, I'll definitely miss the camping vibe. Everywhere we came, people just came up to us to ask where we're from, what we're doing here, how long we're staying. Everyone is so friendly, open and eager to help or give advice. I can't wait to see what Sydney brings!
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Paul Stapper
non-member comment
Roadtrip
Great adventure such roadtrip, Anne! :)