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Published: April 24th 2010
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The last few days in Sydney, 14th to 15th April 2010
So back into the car for what would transpire to be our final journey in the Beast. We had decided to take the scenic route back to Sydney after several recommendations from some of Doddy’s work mates. First stop was Berry, a small town with some interesting up-market shops and art galleries. We had a nice wander round trying our best to decline all the delicious looking offerings that the many bakeries in town had to tempt us. We then got back into the car and drove along a very narrow and windy road to Kangaroo Valley. The drive, although a little hairy at times, took us through some beautiful countryside, rolling hills with thick dense forests and kangaroos in the fields lining the road. It really was beautiful.
We arrived in Kangaroo Valley about half and hour later. The town itself was very small and we definitely got the ‘yee local’ feeling upon arrival due to the number of looks we got as we pulled up, as if to say ‘you’re not from round these parts’. We then had another wander and this time our attempts at
avoiding the bakeries were not as successful, as we purchased two ricotta and spinach sausage rolls from yet another award winning pie shop and bakery. Well 11am isn’t too early for lunch it?
Fitzroy Falls were to be the last stop of the journey, so with full tummies off we set. The falls were really nice, with a nature walk to reach them. We kept an eye out for the platypuses that are resident there, but they must have been hiding from us as we didn’t see any. After leaving the falls the last 100km of the journey seemed to fly by and we were soon back in Sydney and it was just like we’d never been away. We had a busy afternoon of odd jobs that needed to be completed in order to tie up loose ends for our departure of Sydney. We went to Bondi Junction to restock our travels essentials such as insect repellent and went over to Sports Pros office so Doddy could return his uniform and say bye to his work crew.
Back in Clovelly we thought a fitting last meal would be fish and chips and a crumbed camembert from our favourite
take-away, and took it down to Clovelly Beach to eat where we talked about all the fun we’d had snorkeling and how we’d miss it. It was then time for 1 last ice cream as I called into see the girls from work. We then drove to our friend Alex’s house. We had met Alex whilst in Bolivia and him and his girlfriend Gemma now live in Coogee so had offered to let us stay on our last night. We had a couple of drinks with them and then all headed to the Coogee Bay Hotel where we were meeting a few others for a bit of a leaving do. We had a really good eve and although it was sad to be saying bye to the friends we’d made we’re sure we’ll be back to see them again sometime.
15th April
7am and the alarm was going off. We dragged ourselves out of bed, bleary eyed after not a lot of sleep. There was a lot to be done as it was our last day in Oz and we had to catch a plane in 8 hours. The sadness of goodbyes continued as we had to say
goodbye t the best friend we had made in Oz. The friend that accompanied Doddy to work for the last 3 months, picked me up from work on dark wet evenings and the friend that had taken us all the way to Melbourne and back. Yes our trusty little stead The Beast had to go. The original plan was to sell him to a friend form work however with the huge crack in the windscreen the cost of replacing it was not going to be financially viable, so we had made the decision that every car owner dreads to make, yes, The Beast had to be scrapped. So with number plates removed we watched him be driven onto the tow truck, it was a sad moment we felt we’d given him a happy end to his life. Plus all was not lost, as we actually ended up getting more money than we would have done selling it and also making a $30 profit on the $250 we’d bought it for.
It was soon time to go, with goodbyes to Alex and Gemma we were met by Lynn who had kindly offered to take us to the airport. We stopped
off at the RTA office to hand number plates back and sort out the road tax refund. Soon enough we were at the airport and with bags checked in we relaxed and had a coffee with Lynn. As boarding time approached we said good byes to Lynn and proceeded through customs to our gate.
So that concludes the last 3.5 months in Australia. What can I say? The sights, people, weather and experiences we have had have been brilliant. There’s far too much to see and do in just 3.5 months but that’s not a problem cos we’ll be back!
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