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Published: January 1st 2018
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Happy New Years!! Wishing everyone all the best in 2018!!
We thoroughly enjoyed welcoming 2018 from Melbourne. Although, Sydney is better known for their fireworks, Melbourne also puts on a very impressive display. They launch the fireworks off their tallest skyscrapers thru out the city, I think they said 22 different places. So, once they start, it is like a 360 degree fireworks in the round show. In every direction there were fireworks going off. It was pretty impressive!! And a great way to bring in 2018!
So, I thought I would post some pictures since we left Sydney. We leave Sydney on Boxing Day, and at the last minute decide to go check out the Sydney to Hobart race. The ferrys are full, so we follow everyone else and hop on the bus to take us to Wilson Bay. On the bus, we meet Antoinette, also riding on the bus, tells us Nielson Bay is a better place to see the start of the race. So, of course we follow her, off the bus, on another bus, and we join about 300 other people as we watch the boats tack back and forth until
the cannon blows and they are off. Between all the sightseer boats and the racers, from our view, it looks totally chaotic! Amazed, no one runs into each other. We later learn there was a dispute between two of the boats during the start, and the winner actually is penalized for time, losing his win. But it was fascinating to see! The return trip back to our hotel to get our car, gets complicated and we are grateful to Antoniette who escorts us back via bus, train and bus. We make it with 5 minutes to spare to get our car!
We decided to drive south from Sydney to Melbourne, along the Sapphire Coast. We had made reservations in Melbourne for Dec 30 - Jan 2nd so we had 4 days to get there. We are starting to see the crowds of people celebrating Christmas week and school vacation, as the accommodations are fully booked! And we are very surprised at how packed the campgrounds are, and how expensive they are. Campers are paying up to $95AUD ($74 US) Fortunately, with our small tent, we are able to always squeeze into a spot, and with no power,
able to negotiate the fees. It also appears, our accent does help. 😊 Although, we are rarely more than 5 minutes into a conversation, when the trump questions begin....
We stay the first night at a showground campground. Many of the small towns have them, (similar to our fairgrounds), and when there are not any functions, they open the area up for camping. Basic, but works fine for our needs. The bird life is amazing, as each morning we are awoken to a cacophony of birds, singing and screaming. I think it will forever be my favorite alarm clock!
Then we spend two nights at a caravan park in the small town of Bega, known for its delicious cheese. We meander down the coastline enjoying the beautiful weather, spending some time on the beach. The rip tide and waves are rough, with signs posting no swimming, so we don't. the next day we travel up to the Snowy Mountains, which actually does have skiing in their winter, where Mt Kosciuszko at 7300 ft is the highest mtn in Australia . It is a beautiful drive as we stumble along on back roads, thru more
Random breathalizer test
They pull every car over! rain forests. Returning from this drive, we get to experience the Random breathalyzer test. They are pulling every car over and have you count to 10 into the sensor. Thank you Ian for the heads up, as Australia is very strict on any drinking and driving. Which is a good thing, as the roads along the coast are narrow and windy.
Then it is a long day's drive to Paynesville, where we read of Raymond Island that has a population of 300 koalas. Its rainy and cold by the time we get there. The campsite is listed as full, but the older gentleman agrees to put us on a very tiny spot of grass between the entrance and a campsite, for a 'negotiated' 50AUD. We quickly set up camp and then take the 2 minute ferry to the island. We see a couple of koalas which is exciting, but they look as wet and miserable as we almost feel. Dinner is at a small cafe with very friendly locals who engage us in conversation and by the end, the town is looking up. It rains hard all night, but fortunately our tent stays dry and we wake
up to beautiful blue skies! It is a very enjoyable walk around the island and we see about 20 koalas throughout our walk.
We are only about 3 hours from Melbourne, where we have spent and enjoyed the last 3 days. A City of @ 4 million people, it is very easy to get around, set up on a grid system, and free city trams throughout the center. The Yarro river runs down the middle. Sydney reminded us of Seattle, Melbourne reminds us of Portland. We explore the city on foot, enjoying the downtown area and the beautiful botanical gardens.
Tomorrow we leave for The Great Ocean Road, @ 150 miles of spectacular ocean scenery. Our thoughts are one night along the way, and then one night in Bendigo wine country. After that we fly to Tasmania on Jan 5th. It continues to be an incredible trip!!
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Grant Wiegert
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Down under you are!
Happy New Year to both of you and best wishes for more adventure and good health in 2018!1 Lovely photos as usual and the bird photos especially the parrot is great. It sounds like quite the New Years celebration in Melbourne. The entire U.S seems to be undergoing some serious cold temperatures. This is my coldest winter in VA yet and it is not letting up. We also have little snow and hiking in near zero temp's is not my idea of too much fun. I will be chatting with you perhaps in late fall coming up about some of your travels to Australia and New Zealand. Grant