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Petunia Desert Princess
Setting off from Sydney Russell - So the day to leave Sydney has finally arrived! It was up early and time to pick up the van. We had arranged to pick up the van at 9am but I knew they opened at 8am so I was hoping for an early get away. First we had to get the train over to the suburb of Sydney and as I didn’t know what train line it was on we had to walk down to Central station to make sure. Of course much to Lins’ annoyance when we got there we found that it was on the airport line or to put it another way the line that stops outside our apartment door!
We arrived at the hire place and despite the lights being off there was clearly people inside and a sign on the door confirmed the 8am opening. But the door was locked. We knocked but got no response. Now this place is in the middle of nowhere so we were a bit unsure as to where to go. In the end we walked the 25 minutes to the nearest café and had a cup of coffee before returning at 9am. Still the door is
Palm Beach 1
The Sea Plane runway locked. Eventually someone lifted their head and came over. “At the weekends we like to use the side door!” the man said as if that was obvious! OK, we headed inside and started with the paperwork and got it in order. I had checked earlier in the week that it was OK to pay in both cash and EFTPOS as due to ridiculous banking rules over here you can‘t spend your own money using EFTPOS if it is over $1000. “It is OK for us to use both cash and EFTPOS?” I confirmed. “No” said the guy “You can’t use EFTPOS at all coz you’re not our customer - we are only an agent. You must use a credit card.” Hang on, that’s not what I was told and this is ruining our carefully laid plans. I tried to argue but the guy just waved me off and said take it up with the company that leased you the van. It became quite obvious that the agent, who also hires his own vans, was not happy with us using his competitor, but how were we supposed to know that! He passed us on to his assistant to cover the detail
Palm Beach 2
Home and Away - Let me be the one.... of the van. She was marginally more friendly and gave us a quick tour of the van but again she seemed disinterested in any of our questions. We asked about hiring camping chairs and was told it was a rip off and we should buy our own set as it would be cheaper. As it turns out she was right but I can’t help feeling it was just a malicious dig at the company we hired the van through!
Soon we were on the road and I was getting used to the feel of the van, the gear changes, the brakes… CRASHH!!!! It seems our guided tour missed the point about how to lock the kitchen cupboards and all the crockery came smashing on to the floor. Fortunately it was all hideous so no harm done - we would just have to procure some essentials from our apartment before we left! As we were driving across Sydney (Not the best place to learn how to drive a van!) we decided to Christen our new companion Petunia, the Dessert Princess (She is Pricilla’s little sister - and yes, that is DESSERT).
Next we had to pack up our lovely Sydney flat and bid a tearful farewell to Jayne and Dinh (We’ll meet again). I can’t believe how much stuff we have managed to accumulate in just 5 months. We threw away 6 bin bags full of rubbish! Though I’m pretty sure we are the only travellers driving a campervan around Oz with a wedding dress on board!
The plan was to head out of New South Wales and get to Queensland as soon as possible. To that end we decided to aim for Byron Bay on our first day. Not out of NSW but pretty close - and if we don’t make there we’ll stop in Coffs Harbour at worst. But first we had always wanted to head to Palm Beach, one of Sydney’s most northern beaches and the set of the childhood favourite Home and Away. It’s sad but I actually wanted to see Summer Bay. So we set off and were across the ANZAC bridge with just one wrong turn! We then tried to find our way across the city to Palm Beach. Now I was driving so my beautiful girlfriend was navigating. We travelled for about half an hour until the Sydney Harbour Bridge came into view. Hang on aren’t we supposed to be going away from that. After some more map consultation and some investigation of the cul-de-sacs of Kirribilli we eventually found military road and were on our way to Palm Cove just around the corner. Just around the next corner, the next corner. Lets say it’s a lot further than you’d imagine. When we eventually got there we couldn’t find a parking space so by the time we were walking down to the beach it was nearly 3pm. We seriously needed lunch so we dropped in on a lovely little café near the waters edge where we could watch the Beaver fly in and out of the harbour. Oh sorry, perhaps I should mention Beaver is a type of Sea Plane. We walked in and consulted the menu. They only appeared to sell burgers which is definitely not on the wedding diet menu but needs must. “Sorry we don’t serve food” I was told. Hang on you’re a café what do you serve? “Tea or coffee and we have a couple of cakes left I think.” A café that doesn’t sell food - OK!
We got back to the van and decided it had to be time to move on. It was 3:30 and we wanted to be in camp before dark. So I guess Byron Bay is getting a bit ambitious - we’ll go to Coffs Harbour and if we don’t make there we’ll stop at Port Macquarie.
It turns out that’s it’s just as far to drive back from Palm Beach as it is to get there so we weren’t back on the Pacific Highway until gone 4pm As we approached Newcastle the sun decided it had it for today and annoyingly dropped below the horizon. Now for those who don’t know your NSW geography (and shame on you) only making Newcastle is like setting out for Edinburgh from London and making it as far as Milton Keynes (I know what your thinking - my British geography isn’t any better either) - well it was disappointing but the chances of hitting a Roo are greatly enhanced after dark and despite Petunia’s Roo Catcher I’d rather not go there. We grabbed the first campsite we came to (it was ten to seven by this time and they shut at 7!) and camped up for the night.
Now just in case you had forgotten we are in Australia. You know that really hot country on the other side of the world. Well let me tell you they might equip their campervans with tropical strength blankets but their weather is definitely not tropical. It is the first time in a long time I have woken up and couldn’t feel my nose. The next morning a big blanket was added to the shopping list.
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