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Published: February 21st 2014
My Month Down Under: 18 Feb – 18 Mar 2014
Day 0 (Pre-Travel) – Feb 18
Well, I’m as prepared as I can get considering this is intended to be an explore-as-you-go trip with no solid agenda. I have plane tickets, rental cars, and a ferry booked, but no lodging or driving routes. It’s time for an adventure!
I tried to visit Australia back in 2003 while I was doing six months of humanitarian work at Pohnpei, Micronesia (a real-world Gilligan’s Island). My chance passed. Now a decade later, I’m on a one-year tour in Korea. Most folks use their 30-day mid-tour allowance to vacation with family, but I’m going solo and using this chance to visit New Zealand and also make up for missing Australia many years ago.
Yesterday was President’s Day, so I had the day off work and did a four-hour summit hike of Moak Mountain (photo & video). I‘ve lost track of how many summits I’ve done in my short time in Korea. My calves are slightly sore, but at least I will not be hiking again until New Zealand. It is winter in Korea and there is ice along the
trail, but I’m comfortable wearing a tee shirt. I bet Australia, in the southern hemisphere where it is now summer, will roast me since I’m acclimated for cold!
Day 1 – Feb 19
I finish packing and get everything to fit into a small backpack and a medium duffel bag. Traveling light is the best way to go! I’ve included my gear, tent, sleeping bag, stove, hike poles, clothes, toiletries, camera with tripod, netbook plus tablet, and other essentials. My snorkel fins are too bulky, so I just bring my scuba shoes and plan to buy new fins in New Zealand.
A 30-minute cab ride brings me to the Korean bus station. I’m on the three-hour bus ride to Seoul (Incheon) airport and enjoying the scenery when I suddenly discover my timing is off. I needed to be on the earlier bus! Not only will I miss check-in for Malaysia Airlines, I will then also miss my separately-booked flight to New Zealand, rental car, ferry, etc! The possibility of rebooking is highly unlikely, so this trip is wasted!
I try to call the airline, but the phone connection is impossible to hear. I’m feeling
helpless, but I realize it does me no good to sit on a bus for hours worrying. I pray and get calm. I plan to get to the airport and try to salvage the Australia part of the trip, else I’ll just forfeit and move on to make a new trip somewhere else. So, I sit back and enjoy the rest of the long bus ride.
At the airport, it takes over three hours of work, multiple agents, and dozens of calls, but I manage to get rebooked (with a fee) one day later to Sydney. Since I’m now going to be sleeping overnight at the airport anyway, I keep working on rebooking New Zealand too. By the next day I am successful, against all odds, and with no more fees. My penalty is a 36-hour layover in Sydney which I intend to transform into an advantage!
Day 2 – Feb 20
Ok, so it’s day #2 and I still haven’t departed. I go to Burger King for breakfast expecting my favorite Croissanwich. However, they have nothing but chicken available. Regrettably, I didn’t just go elsewhere. My sandwich is the most horrible Kimchee spiced dark
meat oily chicken you can imagine, yuck!
I finally get checked in and through the long line at security. Then I get stopped at immigration because South Korea has no record of my arrival into the country! I get to go sit in a small room and answer lots of questions before I eventually get through. Now I can finally start the six-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The flight takes us down along the Korean peninsula, over Jeju Mountain’s snowy summit crater (photo), around Shanghai China, over Taipei Taiwan, past the Philippines, near Ho Chi Min City Vietnam, and finally to Malaysia. After a short stop, I board another plane, an overnighter to Australia.
Day 3 – Feb 21 (Sydney, Australia)
At 7:00am I land in Sydney after passing the whole night (and also passing the equator) on my 7.5-hour flight. I already had food and slept on the plane, so I hop on the first train to the center of Sydney. Minutes later, I arrive and am standing between the famous Harbor Bridge and the iconic Opera House on the most beautiful, clear, and mild summer day possible. I walk through “The
Rocks” and to Dawes Point Park (photo) at the base of the bridge. Then I walk back along the shops and cafes of Sydney’s oldest road. Even at this early hour on a weekday, the city is bustling with life! I get Australian dollars from an ATM and buy fresh fruits from a street vendor.
At Circular Quay pier #6, I sign up for a two-hour “Coffee Cruise” of Sydney Harbor. My camera was already getting tons of use, but it will now go into overdrive. We cruise by all the eight-figure valued celebrity homes on the waterfront, have refreshments similar to a British tea, and enjoy the most spectacular viewpoints (photos/videos).
After the cruise I stroll to the Opera House, through the Royal Botanical Gardens, past the Art Museum, and stop between Saint Mary’s Cathedral and the Archibald Fountain in Hyde Park. Along with many others, I find a shady spot on the grass to have a picnic lunch. I linger for a long time and then wander off to explore elsewhere. I find a backpacker lodge, but all lodging is full. Last minute lodging on a Friday is not likely, so I just plan to overnight
in the airport. However, the hotel clerk does tell me about the nearby Aquatics Center and it sounds fun.
The pool is a few blocks away, so I start walking. Along the way, I pass through Chinatown and then visit Darling Harbor, a charming semi-circle of multi-story glass cafes with a park in the middle. I has tons of activities for kids, fountains, ping pong tables, and wooden recliners in the shade. They also have wifi and a free mobile app that allows you to control the colored LED lighting on all the glass buildings. I find a comfortable recliner in the shade and spend some time online researching travel ideas. By dusk, the Friday afternoon crowds have arrived in full force and I finally go swim at the pool and take a shower. It has been a fully wonderful day and I am very impressed by the city of Sydney.
Day 4 – Feb 22 (Auckland, New Zealand)
After an uncomfortable night at the airport, I’m finally on the plane to New Zealand... the last plane for a while. I land in Auckland and stand in line for 1.5 hours waiting so customs can
inspect my tent. They say it’s to prevent biological contamination. I then pick up a neat little Nissan car I rented and go to find groceries. The first store was no help, so I went elsewhere and eventually found a huge Pack-and-Save. I stocked up on food for two weeks and only spent fifty NZ dollars (the cost of one meal at a restaurant). It was already dark, but I started the drive toward my first sightseeing area, Rotorua.
Driving in NZ is similar to the British way, on the left side of the road. I took to it well, although it’s weird driving in the front right seat (photo)… my brain is not trained to expect the passenger seat swapped and on my left. The turn signal and shifter are also reversed. The rear mirror and console are still in the middle, but the “middle” is now on your left! Left and right turns are easy… just opposite my accustomed ways. My brain continues to subconsciously panic whenever a vehicle (especially a truck) comes towards me head-on in my right lane! The reflex is automatic and I have to deliberately remind my subconscious that it is ok… the
protective/survival habit is hard to retrain. As I get close to my destination, I drive up to a mountain overlook and sleep in the car for the few remaining hours until dawn.
Day 5 – Feb 23
The sunrise is blocked by a few scattered clouds, so I drive back down the mountain and go to explore Rotorua. It is a thermal (volcanic) area with bath houses and a variety of sports activities to attract tourists. Steam plumes rise from random spots around town and the whole place smells of slightly of sulfur. I drive by the Polynesian Spa, a local favorite, but I’m not interested in bathing in sulfur. I stop at a park and walk up to a boiling pond (photo). Next to it are some hot pits of churning mud. I like the warmth of the steam, but it fogs up my glasses.
Next I go to visit a volcanic valley that is rumored to be the best. I say “rumored” because it turns out to be a tourist trap. I scrap the plans and decide to go see Huku Falls instead. Huku is an area of rock that has been thermally/volcanically
hardened. New Zealand’s longest river is squeezed into a narrow channel and explodes from the outlet (photo). The water is a beautiful light blue. Then I pick up a backpacker (some guy from France) who needs a ride and I start driving south to Tongariro National Park to do the Trans-Alpine hike.
The Trans-Alpine is one of the best hikes on the planet. I pack my gear and start walking up the ten-mile route. At first, it’s hot and the terrain is desert scrub. I’m in a tee shirt and wearing sunscreen. Not even 30 minutes later, mountain drizzle starts blowing in and I change into a coat and hat. A couple hours and a long climb later, a tropical storm force wind appears. I keep going up the mountain because I have hope the weather will clear up sometime during my seven-hour hike. The folks passing me on the way down in the opposite direction definitely do not look happy. Their skin (face, arms, legs, anything exposed) is bright red from wind burn at the mountaintop.
Just as I reach the top, the clouds suddenly blow away and reveal a massive and steep cone-shaped volcano along with
many other mountains around a wide ring-shaped crater (photos). I cross the crater’s flat floor and climb the ridge on the other side. The clouds keep disappearing, but the wind is increasing. I change gear again… opening my coat and adding a full face mask (photo). The terrain has also changed again… it is now a barren volcanic landscape. I take tons of photos and videos. When I finally reach the top of the ridge, I look down the other side and see three emerald green ponds, a large blue crater lake, a bright red crater, steam rising from a bright white area, steam rising from the top of the huge volcano cone, and steam right at my feet. Staying on my feet is a challenge as the wind exceeded 50 miles per hour (photo with my hair slicked back by wind). I’ve hiked for four hours, so it’s time to turn back so I can return before sunset. Since I didn’t have a view due to the drizzle clouds on the way up, I am now treated to a completely different scene on the way down. I drive a bit further south and tent camp for the night under
a crystal clear star-filled sky. There is zero wind, but it is a bit cool.
Day 6 – Feb 24
I wake at 6:30am and the sky is barely starting to brighten. Sunrise isn’t until 7am and my alarm hasn’t gone off yet, but I decide to get a head start. Normally I do not even set an alarm, but today I need to be at the Wellington ferry by noon and it is four hours away. My tent is coated in dew and my fingers get chilled packing it to go.
My first stop is to refuel the car. Gas is NZ 200 cents/liter (US $7.00/gallon), so my gas bills for this trip will end up costing as much as the car rental itself. The ferry fares are also quite pricy… making the car my biggest expense of this trip. My next stop is at McDonald’s to upload some journal pages and photos. Unfortunately, I run out of time and must race to not miss the ferry.
I’ve pre-booked the ferry, so I just pull up to the kiosk, check in, and park in the tightly packed columns of queued vehicles.
Once on the ship, I climb to the 10
th and highest deck to enjoy the views. It is a three hour trip, so I also have time to get on the internet, check in with Christie, and finish my uploads. The scenery on this cruise is amazing and the camera can’t begin to capture the sensation.
In Picton, the port on south island of New Zealand, I start driving the curviest highway I have ever experienced. You basically just keep turning your steering wheel full left, then full right, and so on, over and over, for hours. It reminds me of the “Road to Hana” in Maui, which Christie and I quickly abandoned and turned back. I finish the drive and reach the Pelorus Bridge camp just before sunset. I get a great spot right on the river, start my food cooking, have a swim, take a shower, eat, plan for tomorrow, write, and sleep.
Day 7 – Feb 25
Wow, has it been a week already? I have no sense of time because I have a free schedule. A week feels no different to me than a month or a single day! The sound
of the river next to my tent helps me sleep much later than usual. I pack up, make some oatmeal, and take another shower before I hit the road. I spend the whole day driving though the mountains to the west coast. The mountain passes, river valleys, and the numerous points-of-interest along the way keep me occupied.
I had intended to start driving south down the west coast today and stay at a hotel on the beach, but I’m out of daylight and choose a closer camp. I’m also out of gas, so I’m hoping there is a gas station now that I’m out of the mountains. The sign at my turnoff sets me straight, “No fuel for 90km.” So, it is time for plan “C”… I drive up (not down) the coast toward Westport to find gas. Along the way, I see a sign that says “seal colony.” I take the side trip and discover a stunningly rugged ocean bay just in time for sunset. There is a wide beach, huge surf, and steep pointed rock islands randomly jutting high above the water. A short walk up the sea cliff next to the bay, I find an overlook
just above the seal colony (photo/video). Afterward, it only takes me 20 minutes to find fuel and get to the camp.
The camp is a grassy meadow between the mountains and the ocean (photo). I arrive during “magic hour” (the first and last hour of daylight) when you can get some of the best photos. It only takes me a minute to set up the tent, then I start cooking dinner as I listen to my neighbors playing German folk music. I haven’t lodged indoors (at all!) so far during this trip and which prefer because it leads to great camping experiences like this one. I eat Thai chili tuna on a bed of rice, a cheddar topped roll, an apple, a hot mocha, and a glass of Cabernet. Life is great and I sleep very well, especially since I had a chance to talk to Christie while I was in the city today.
Day 8 – Feb 26
I am awake, packed, and on the road at dawn. The coastal highway is amazing in the morning as the sun starts to rise over the mountains. In one hour, I arrive at Pancake Rocks, a
national park known for its sea caves, blow holes, and layered rocks that resemble stacks of pancakes. The visitor center hasn’t opened yet, so I go explore the park. A network of underground caves, some of which have collapsed, create pits with surging surf, strong blasts of air, and jets of water droplets that react with the sea.
Then I continue down the coast to the Fox Glacier. This is my turnaround point and is the farthest south I will ever be… 43.5 degrees south—halfway from the equator to the south pole! I hike up the ridge south of the glacier to the Chalet overlook. Then, I hike down, drive back to the coast so I can cross the only river bridge, and return to the north side of the glacier to hike up to its edge. This glacier and its neighbor I will visit tomorrow are rare because they start high up in the 3000-meter Southern Alps snow fields, but they carry the ice down almost to sea level and right through a rainforest jungle! It was very strange to be hiking a lush green forest of ferns and vines with a glacier running through it.
Unluckily,
the clouds block all of the higher snow-capped peaks and the weather forecast calls for more clouds tomorrow, then rain the day after. These are all the days I have available before I must start working my way back north.
Day 9 – Feb 27
I wake to a bright sunny morning, so I take advantage of the good luck and return to the Fox Glacier to see the snow-capped peaks I missed yesterday, including New Zealand’s highest… Mt Cook. Then, I hurry to see the Franz Josep Glacier while the sky remains clear. I start the Alex Knob trail, an eight-hour hike up to the 4,000-foot ridge south of the glacier valley. After ascending through the rainforest jungle for hours, I arrive at the first of a series of awe-inspiring overlooks. You can see the entire section of the Southern Alps 12,000-foot peaks, massive snowfields that merge into the glacier, and the whole icefall section that rapidly plunges down to the lower elevations. As I keep climbing, the jungle fades away and is replaced by alpine scrub brush. Later, the scrub disappears and at this altitude only short alpine grass and tiny flowers exist.
At 4,000 feet, I am as high as I can go on this trail. The morning’s clear weather has passed and I’m up inside the clouds. I assume the clouds are here to stay, but I decide to wait an hour just in case they pass. I have lunch in the clouds, and then I take a nap among the clouds. The clouds are getting darker, so I start hiking back down the mountain. I finish the whole trip in six hours… two hours faster than the average.
I stay in a backpacker dorm, which is perfect because it rains most of the night. There is a hot tub, so I relax in it until it is time for dinner. They have all-you-can-eat pizza and it’s good stuff (meat lover’s with barbeque sauce, Hawaiian, etc)… live music too!
Day 10 – Feb 28
It’s still raining, so I sleep in an extra hour. Then I start the drive north. The rain eventually pauses, so I do a short hike to an overlook near the beach. At the top, you can see the beaches, lagoons, and all of the Southern Alps except the two highest peaks
up above the clouds.
When I was driving down, I found some beachfront log cabins in Hokitiki, a small artsy town on the west coast. I check in early and spend some time getting online and getting everything charged before I go back into the wild tomorrow. Before sunset I drive up to Lake Kaniere and Dorothy Falls. Back at my cabin, I make dinner and then walk across the highway to “Glow Worm Dell”, a fern grotto where you can see the glow worm larvae shining like thousands of bright blue stars.
Day 11 – Mar 1
I’m in no hurry to leave my nice beachfront log cabin, so I have a quick breakfast with hot tea as the sun rises and then I go back to bed. An hour later, I’m ready to get dressed, packed, and check out on time. I hang around for one last Skype call with Christie before I go offline into the wild again. My first stop is the local pharmacy (or “chemist” as it’s called here) to get some anti-histamine cream for my bug bites. The tiny black flies here bite like mosquitoes and for foreigners like
me with no acquired resistance, the allergic reaction creates a nasty welt.
Lunchtime quickly arrives as I’m driving up the west coast. I’m not quite hungry yet, but I stop to get take out before I change highways and turn east into the mountains. At the intersection, I pick up another backpacker and it turns out to be another French guy. He only rides a short distance because he is not crossing the mountains like me. I stop to see an old mining town and then visit a small museum in Reefton. When I asked why Reefton is called “the town of light” they said it’s because the town was one of the very first to get electricity back in 1888. Of course, I then had to go see the old powerhouse. It was hard to find the location, but I finally found a sign down in the ditch next to the road. Then I hiked across a cable suspended “swing bridge”, down the river, and finally found the powerhouse ruins.
Then after some great scenery driving up into the Lewis Pass, I stopped at a hot spring to relax. The experience was very disappointing. First, I was
attacked by biting flies, then the black algae in the pool stirred up to stick all over me, and on top of that, you have to keep the water away from your head to avoid amoebic meningitis! I took two showers to get clean, then moved on. I reached the camp where I intended to stop, but it had swarms of the black flies so I kept driving. Three hours of daylight remained, so I went ahead and topped the pass to drive down the other side of the mountains. The eastern side terrain was very dry and desert-like. As I got down to lower elevations, I was again in green fields and forests… very beautiful countryside.
I arrived at Hanmer Springs an hour before sunset, so I had perfect time for the one-hour hike to the top of Conical Mountain. The 360-degree mountain panorama sunset was well worth hiking back down in the dark. Back in town, I pick one of their several private campgrounds and set up in the dark.
Day 12 – Mar 2
The night was exceptionally cold, then quite warm again by morning. Hanmer Springs thermal pools are just across
the road, but I have to wait until 10am for them to open. This hot spring is the best in New Zealand and is definitely not disappointing. It has over a dozen pools, some very hot with unfiltered hot spring water straight from the ground and the rest with clear filtered hot mineral water. There were rock pools in the sun with hot waterfalls, multi-level tiered hexagon pools with sun shades, and round spa pools with all kinds of sprayers, jets, and bubbles. I spent lots of time in them all, but one pool in particular was the perfect temperature and I had a perfect spot in the shade next to a waterfall. The breeze was cool, so I stayed low in the hot water and admired the mountains surrounding the village. I really really didn’t want to leave, so I stayed in the hot pools for four hours!
The rest of the long drive to the east coast was very scenic, but uneventful. The terrain reminds me of driving out west in the United States… lots of arid but beautiful mountains and valleys. I was glad to finally reach the ocean. The points of interest on the east
coast are not well marked, neither with signs nor on the maps. So, I just started parking on the road shoulder and exploring on my own. I found sea caves, walked up on a seal, and found some of the famous New Zealand paua shells. Later I found a nice waterfall and a colony of seal pups. Then the scenery changed to brown grasslands… hours and hours of tan grassy hills. It was more rugged than the US plains, but just as monotonous and devoid of points of interest. An hour before sunset, I arrive in Blenheim, the major city in New Zealand’s famous Marlborough wine country. I set up camp next to a river and plan which wineries I want to visit tomorrow.
Day 13 – Mar 3
I get an early start. I want to find internet and email Christie, then be at the winery at opening because I have limited time. I have to be at the Picton Ferry by 1pm. Also, the first sounds of raindrops on my tent motivate me to suddenly awake and tear down the tent in great haste. It rains hard while I take a shower, but my
stuff stays dry since it’s already packed.
Most wineries do not open until 11am (lunchtime), but I find one that opens at 9am and one at 9:30am. The first is Hunter’s and the estate is very nice. You park in a space shaded by grapevine trellises and stroll through gardens past an artist’s studio to get to the cellar door. I picked a grape directly over my car door. The grape was very tasty… as were the wines I sampled. Then I went to the Forrest winery and ordered a “tasting tray”, six wines of my choice from their inventory. They were all very good!
I couldn’t stay much longer in Blenheim and I had to force myself to leave. The drive to Picton Ferry was very short, so I had time for a quick walk along the Picton Harbor. This time, my car fit inside the ferry ship instead of out on deck like last time. It was a very different ship, so I got to explore all of the different passageways, ladders, levels, and viewing platforms. While we cruised out of the Queen Charlotte Sound, I stayed outside and enjoyed the scenery. Once we reached the
open ocean, I went below deck. I tried to do travel planning, but the seas were very rough. I just propped up my head and tried not to get seasick. A couple hours later, the ship settled down which meant we had entered the Wellington Harbor on the north island. I tried to go outside, but it was pouring rain.
I wanted to visit the national museum and it was close enough to see the building from the ferry, but I needed to drive north. It was already going to be 11pm by the time I finished the trip to Mt Ruapehu. It had been a long day, so I just went straight to sleep.
Day 14 – Mar 4
Again I was up early… this time to start my attempt to summit Mt Ruapehu. This mountain is an active volcano, 2797m high, last erupted in 1996, and covered in snow even in the summer. Inside the summit crater is a lake that boiled away during the eruption and has since refilled. I planned to ride the ski lifts to 2020m to save some time and beat the bad weather supposedly coming after 3pm. The
lifts were closed due to icing during yesterday’s rains, so I had to climb from the base. After a couple hours, I reached the top of Knoll Ridge and the top of the highest ski lift. However, the clouds were closing in and the summit looked windswept. I could not safely go up. I had lunch and enjoyed amazing views. This mountain is next to Mt Ngauruho, known as Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings movie. I was higher than its summit and had a great vantage point.
I hiked down and drove further north to Waitomo Cave, which is famous for its glow worm lit cave ceilings. I had a 45 minute tour down through the cave formations and huge chambers. Then at the bottom you reach water and continue on boat. The ceiling is a patchwork of bright blue dots, just like tiny electric lights or stars. The river eventually exits the cave and we stop at a dock to exit.
The rest of my trip north to Auckland is uneventful. I arrive after dark and realize this is my last night in New Zealand. I’m very excited about starting my Australia trip tomorrow.
Day 15 – Mar 5
My day starts with a traffic jam. It is 8am on a weekday in Auckland and everyone (well not everyone!) is heading to work at the same time. I abandon my plan to swim at the beach. Instead, I find a place with internet to spend the morning planning for Australia. After lunch, I spend a couple hours strolling through the Auckland Botanical Gardens… a very nice way to pass the time until I need to be at the airport. The gardens are extensive… everything from native, to African, to desert, and many more. My whole time in New Zealand I’ve been immersed in tree ferns, aloe trees, and exotic flowers.
Now it’s time to repack, refuel, turn in the car, and check in at the airport. On the flight I watch the movie “Gravity” while I’m also high above the clouds observing the sunset from my window seat. Being in the air added more to the movie watching experience than you would get in the safety of your home or in a theater. I get to Sydney late, pick up a car (a Toyota Yaris), buy groceries, and sleep
until sunrise so I don’t miss any scenery.
Day 16 – Mar 6
Driving in Australia is very different than New Zealand. Although there are many more cars, everyone drives at a relaxed pace. I head south out of Sydney, then cut over to the coastal touring route. My goal is to spend the week working my way down to Melbourne. The day starts out cloudy, but I still make a few stops to see the sea cliff bridge, visit some waterfalls, and do a bit of shopping. Eventually I drive out of the cloudy area. By the time I reach Hyams Beach (claims to have the world’s whitest sands), it is hot and sunny. I finally get to go snorkeling and see pufferfish, rows of kelp full of fish, and lots of stingrays. Then I just swim and enjoy the beach for a while.
A short drive later I arrive at Jarvis Bay where I camp for the evening. It is a Thursday, so the camp is mostly empty except for all the kangaroos and parrots. The kangaroos are cute beyond words (photo). I get some photos and have time for a long sunset
hike along the beach. The I cook lamb curry over a campfire as Australian possums come up to my picnic table to investigate.
Day 17 – Mar 7
I have breakfast while a kangaroo next to me proceeds to eat every leaf off a bush. Once again I procrastinate tearing down camp because I don’t want to leave. Around 9am I force myself to go. My whole day is spent stopping at beaches and sea cliffs all down Australia’s southeast coast. I snorkel and swim, or sometimes just hike around the sand and rocks. Each area has a different character…. all sand or all rocks or a mix; big surf or calm; busy or completely empty. Durras North was especially nice. It has a clear sandy lake that merges into the ocean across a huge sand dune beach front. The front has crashing surf, but the lake is perfectly calm. By wading from sand bar to sand bar, you can cross almost anywhere you wish. The kids would love it as much as I do.
I don’t find much of interest snorkeling today until I finally reach Mystery Bay. I set up the tent near
the beach quickly so I will have time to snorkel before the final hour of daylight. I almost never swim the first or last hour of any day because those are prime feeding times for sharks. Just before I dive off the rocks, a huge boom of thunder changes my plans. Long ago, I was severely shocked by lightning hitting the ocean. I retreat to the campsite.
I add the rain fly to my tent, help my camping neighbors set up their huge tent quickly before it rains, and take a shower before making dinner. There is a brief sunset and increasing thunder/lightning as I finish another tasty meal. I listen to music, sip some Australian merlot, and write in my journal before bed.
Day 18 – Mar 8
The weather is all clear by morning. My tent didn’t leak a single drop. After breakfast, I walked all the way to the far side of Mystery Bay to see why it’s so mysterious. Apparently in the 1800’s, five people set out from here in a small boat to explore a gold field further down the coast (before the road existed). The boat washed back on
shore, but the people were never seen again. It was already warm enough to swim, so I did some snorkeling around the bay’s rock islands. After that, my tent fly was dry for packing, so I hit the road again and kept exploring along the tourist route.
One of the more interesting stops was Camel Rock. It is just a rocky point extending beyond the beach and it looks like a camel, but it was at a huge beach that I had all to myself. I tried unsuccessfully to climb on the camel, collected some nice shells to send home, and laid out in the sun briefly. My next stop after a couple hours driving was the trailhead for hiking up Genoa Peak. I love the smell of the eucalyptus forest… it is perfectly still and dead quiet. The peak has a rock pinnacle and three sections of ladders to reach the top. The 360 degree view was perfectly clear, it was sunset, and in all directions I could see peaks that were dozens of miles away (which means I was looking at over a million acres at once). It got dark so I hiked down and looked for
a camp. It took a couple hours to find one, so I just ate quickly and went to sleep.
Day 19 – Mar 9
I woke before dawn so I could break camp and be at West Cape for sunrise. It is a rocky beach with the ruins of an old homestead and a very steep boat ramp. I made some coffee and sat on a rock to watch the sunrise. The only other person there (I’m usually alone) was an artist taking photos. Then the fishermen arrived and took turns launching their boats. My drive today doesn’t include any stops for a couple hundred kilometers, so I just enjoy the drive.
At the larger town of Bermagui, I stop to swim in the “Blue Pools.” However, they are actually green with algae so I skip the swim. Just down the hill there is a big festival underway so I spend some time enjoying the local food and music. Then the drive heads inland and I stop the visit the Den of Nangun, an aboriginal site. It is a steep hike down into a canyon, then up to a cave behind a waterfall’s plunge pool.
Men are not allowed there because the “Nangun” is a legendary creature of half stone and will reflect spears back at the thrower. It also takes children! I went swimming in the river and dove from the rock cliffs, then hiked back out. I also stopped at Agnes Falls during my long drive down to Wilson’s Promenade, the furthest south you can go in Australia unless you visit the island of Tasmania.
The scenery is incredible… granite outcroppings on tall green mountains, beach after beach, baby blue tidal rivers, and huge islands scattered out to sea. I camp, watch the sunset, watch the stars, have dinner, and sit at the picnic table to write. As I’m writing this, I’ve seen two wombats come by, then I heard the bushes next to me shaking. I switched on my flashlight and saw it was a six-point deer. Instead of running off, he just walked right up, past the table, and kept going. Not even ten minutes later I hear another noise and see two rabbits. The rabbits start munching on grass next to me so I go back to writing when something rushes by me from behind. One rabbit thumps and
runs off, then the second rabbit does the same, then I see the fox! The fox also walks right up to the table! I’m hesitant to go the bed because I’d like to stay awake and see what else happens! (in fact I do stay up to midnight and walk though the fields by starlight… I see countless deer, rabbits, wombats, bushtail possums, and a couple more foxes).
Day 20 – Mar 10
My first adventure today is climbing Mt Oberon. It is not hot outside yet, but the sun is fierce. A shuttle bus takes me to the saddle, then I hike up a gravel maintenance road almost to the summit. The top is all granite blocks (tors), so I have to scramble up the rocks to the top. The views are amazing! It is a crystal clear day and the mountains and seas look like a vision of heaven. I stay and stare at the view for a full hour. Then I go do some snorkeling. The water is quite cold, so I can only stand it for half an hour since I don’t have a wet suit.
I make lunch and try
to decide if I want to spend a second night at the park. I decide to move on to my next destination, Phillips Island. I want to be on time for the nightly sunset “Penguin Parade” where hundreds of tiny penguins come ashore to rest. Once I reach the island it turns out to be a tourist trap. However, I cross back over the bridge off of the island and visit the fishing town of San Remo. I have fish and chips on the wharf while watching a phenomenal sunset.
Day 21 – Mar 11
The morning is rainy so I spend a couple hours at a cafe to use the internet and call Christie. The rain finally relents and I do some snorkeling. I explore Twin Reef with its tide pools and rocks covered with sea life. There is little kelp and lots of sea fans, sponges (some pink and green), and many more I can’t identify. It all waves back and forth with the passing surf. I get pushed and pulled about 10 feet each time too, but I keep enough space so I get swept up close to the rocks without touching them.
Beyond the reef is a ledge that drops down 20 feet. This is where I see most of the fish. I also see a shark lying below the ledge along with two others that may have also been sharks or guitar fish. Then I lie out in the sun and dry my clothes on the rocks before leaving for Melbourne.
The city lifestyle is much busier than I’ve been enjoying lately. As I approach Melbourne the roads get bigger and more crowded. In very little time, I’m downtown looking for parking and checking into a dorm. Then I take a walk along the Yarra River at the center of the city. The city is very modern and fancy. I buy a ticket for the Sea Life Aquarium and plan my walking tour for tomorrow.
Day 22 – Mar 12
I sleep in until 9am so I have enough rest. I’m amazed that I’ve been fully active and living each day to the fullest for a solid three weeks, yet I’m still maintaining full energy without getting tired. After checking out of the dorm and taking a shower, I walk a couple blocks to the garage
where I’m parked. I repack my daypack and start my walking tour of central Melbourne. The town is all about art… some very strange and most of it I just don’t understand. For example, is a really strange piece just for the creative “shock factor” or is there an actual point/purpose? By lunchtime I’m still a bit under-impressed.
I find some free wifi and make some calls. I’ve also learned how to navigate through the city blocks and buildings indoors rather than along the streets outdoors. It is a maze of glass, escalators, and levels lined with shops. I have a great local brunch, then go visit the aquarium. It is a small unimpressive building on the waterfront, but inside it has four levels mostly underground. It is more and more impressive as you go through the themed areas. Two levels underground is a 2.2 million liter oceanarium designed like a shipwreck with acrylic windows and tunnels where you can see hundreds of big fish in schools, huge groupers, various rays including giant mantas, and lots of sharks. They are all actively swimming and interacting, not just sitting around lazily like in a typical tank. A couple levels up
is a huge saltwater crocodile, then a tropical rainforest including archer fish that shoot jets of water at you. The final level has penguins… lots of them! Their enclosure is full of actual ice and a glass front tank where the penguins dive and jump. The penguins are much bigger than I expected and very energetic.
It’s been a great day, but I’m ready to leave Melbourne at 4pm so I can beat rush hour traffic. Northeast of the city I find a small camp called “The Willows” and I arrive just in time to watch the sunset. I park under a massive willow tree in the middle of open grassland. The landscape is ideal… like camping inside a painting.
Day 23 – Mar 13
The night is clear and calm. My tent is almost entirely made of window mesh, so you can see all around including straight up. It is always surprising (in a good way) to wake up and see a sky full of stars or an early sunrise. I see a lot of shooting stars. That’s why I don’t install the rain cover unless I must. If rain appeared, it would only
take one minute to add the cover.
Most of my day is spent driving. I stop at Lakes Entrance to swim at the beach, but I only sightsee because the breeze is a bit too cool for swimming. I also stop to hike “The Pinnacles”, a cliff whose upper half is red and the lower half is pure bright white. I decide to camp early and spend some time at the beach before dusk. The site is right at the coast and is covered in kangaroos. I set up the tent and gather firewood. Then I go swim in the crashing surf. Later, I swim again before rinsing off, starting dinner, and lighting the campfire. Wallabies and other critters I can’t identify visit the campsite. Four large kangaroos munch the grass around my tent as I go to sleep.
Day 24 – Mar 14
After three packs of oatmeal and a mocha, I’m on the road while watching the sunrise. I’m a couple days ahead of schedule, so I take it slow. I stop to see some beaches and some overlooks. As I weave my way back up toward Sydney, I take different routes if
possible. Mystery Bay was my favorite on the way down, so I return for another visit. It is an amazingly scenic combination of sandy beaches and random rocks with tall cliffs on the right, sea caves on the left, and islands with a lighthouse far offshore. On this perfect summer day, it is a very special place. I swim, hike all along the bay front, lie in the sun, then take a shower, and finally make lunch at a picnic table just behind the beach under the shade of eucalyptus trees.
The coastal drive continues to provide scenery including forested hills, bridges over crystal clear lagoons, and charming small towns. Of course, the beaches are amazing. I find a beach with surfers, sunbathers, and families with kids playing in the sand. Although I love the coast, I change course and head inland into the mountains. I find another amazing camp in open country, set up the tent right next to the river rapids, and watch another giant sky-filling sunset.
Day 25 – Mar 15
The only flaw with sleeping under the stars is that clear nights tend to produce dew. This morning my tent has
big drops covering the ceiling and I get out gently so I don’t make them fall. After my morning routine (mocha, brushing, breakfast, shaving), the sun is out and I quickly dry the tent. On the road again, the countryside is scenic and the sky is huge… it’s as if the sporadic clouds are much higher than usual.
I stop to see lots of overlooks and use my GPS to find places unmarked by signs. Eventually I find a town and use the wifi to have a great chat with Christie, upload my travel notes, and get my tablet camera to work (since my good camera died). Later in the day after a great drive, the open country turns to rugged mountains. Suddenly there are 1,000 foot cliffs of sandstone everywhere. I pass the biggest camp and choose a smaller more remote one. There are only a couple sites, but there is a large chest-deep pool in the stream for swimming and rope swings. After a swim, I warm up with a campfire before spending another night under the stars.
Day 26 – Mar 16
I am already in the Blue Mountains National Park, so
I spend all day exploring it. I start at Wentworth Falls, a waterfall cascading steeply down a valley, over the huge sandstone cliffs I mentioned yesterday, then continuing to cascade over and over down into the canyon. I also hike tons of side trails and lookouts. The sky gets dark and thunderstorms appear, so I take a nap in the car at the trailhead for Victoria Falls. In an hour, the two storms pass and the sky brightens. Unfortunately I’ve waited for nothing because the trail is gated closed after only 100 meters. I drive to the park office and learn that all trails on that side of the park are closed due to damage from a recent wildfire.
Then I go to Perry’s Lookdown and claim a campsite before exploring all the trails in that section of the mountains. My first trail is shown on my GPS, but not on the park maps nor is there a trailhead or sign. This is the shortest trail to the canyon’s bottom, so I attempt it anyway. It goes downhill gradually through the forest, then drops off a cliff. I work my way to the left to find a safe way
down the cliff without success. So I work my way to the right and finally find a way to descend and eventually see the trail markers. After weaving down several sets of cliffs, I reach the fern-lined stream at the canyon floor. Next I hike the Hat Hill, Wind Cave, and Anvil Rock trails. Back at the camp only a few other campers have arrived including my neighbors, three funny doctors from Sydney.
Day 27 – Mar 17
The morning is chilly and it is very early, so I go straight to making coffee. The doctors are out of camp fuel so I help them satisfy their caffeine addictions too. If I had to work their shifts, I’d be a true coffee addict too. The sun rises very quickly in a clear blue sky, so I start my first hikes… Govett’s Leap (“leap” refers to the water leaping over the cliffs), Horseshoe Falls, and various overlooks all around the area. By lunchtime I’m nicely sun baked.
After lunch I backtrack to some places I had to skip yesterday due to the rain. Echo Point is the best and most crowded lookout in the park. It
has an eye-popping view of a wide expanse of canyon and the best view of Three Sisters, three enormous spires of stone. Just outside the park I finally find a gift store with good souvenirs that are not just junk. Then I visit Sublime Point and keep driving to more attractions. It’s not late, but the lake I wanted to visit is already gated closed. So is the next camp I wanted to stay at… then the next camp too! So I just drive in the dark to the beach back in Sydney.
Day 28 (Last Day) – Mar 18
Sunrise at the beach in Sydney is a great finale to my trip. The surf is up and the surfers have started early. I hike the boardwalk in Sutherland and find a couple surf pools for swimming. Large waves crash onto the sea wall and some water splashes up into the huge rectangular pools. The water is a bit cool, but I don’t care because the sun is very intense. Then I shower and change in preparation for a long flight to Seoul via Kuala Lumpur. I still need to repack and refuel/turn in the rental
car, but first I spend a few more hours just sitting at the beach. The trip has been amazing, the timing was ideal, and these experiences will live with me always.
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Christie
non-member comment
Hi! I am enjoying reading about your travels and seeing all your pictures! Sure wish I could be there! Love YOU