The Big Big City

Sydney in a day! A ridiculous proposition but we thought we’d give it a go. Got up at the crack of dawn in Blackheath to get the train down the mountains into Sydney. This was almost enough of a buzz for Tim – he doesn’t get on many trains, and even gets a little excited on the Freo to Perth line.

Got out at Central station two hours later and made our way straight for Circular Quay. Wandered around the Sydney Opera House and admired the bridge a while and then got a ferry to Manly, which was a great journey in amongst the crowds of yachts on the harbour.





We walked along the beach at Manly for a while, watching the surf, feeling a bit out of place in our jeans while everyone is running around in boardies and bikinis! But luckily the surf wasn’t that great so we didn’t feel like we were missing out too much. Had lunch on the rooftop of the Steyne Hotel – the food wasn’t so great, but the view over the beach was worth it.



Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Rocks and being a Saturday afternoon we stumbled into wedding-photo-land – we must have counted well over 10 separate wedding parties having photos taken in the golden afternoon light. We walked past one group with a kid of about 9 who said ‘There’s MILLIONS of weddings!’ – you said it kid!


Tried to have a drink at the famous Shangri-La hotel with the amazing views over Sydney from the 36th floor, but could only get into the smoking side overlooking the less glamorous wharf. So went back to ground level for a beer at the Australian Hotel in the Rocks. Wrapped it all up with dinner in Chinatown – and it was a great day in Sydders!

But it really is so enormous - so many people, so many cars, so many yachts, so many houses, so much STUFF. Both Tim and I independently marvelled at the sheer number of people and amount of stuff we were seeing, and it amazed us that there is enough raw materials in the world to provide all these people with all the consumer goods they want.

Blue Mountains

We skirted around Sydney as much as we could, but still got caught in peak hour traffic on our way up to the Blue Mountains! Even from out here we’ve been marvelling at just how very BIG Sydney is.

Spent the following day having a look around the spectacular mountains. Parts of it had been burnt, and those walking tracks were closed, so we joined the hordes (and we mean hordes) at Katoomba and started walking there. There were buses and buses and buses of Japanese tourists there, the sheer numbers were astonishing! It was nice walking though, in amongst rainforest and trickling waterfalls and spectacular outlooks over the gorges.



One of the most fabulous things about Katoomba is how many buildings from the 1910/1920s remain intact. In the main street, the Paragon café really felt as if it had barely been touched since the 20s (with service to match). Out the back in the cocktail bar lit glowing red one could sense the ghosts of flappers past. We went a bit mad taking photos.




All around the mountains deciduous trees were putting on a fabulous display of autumnal colours. The ‘cold climate botanical garden’ near Bulpin had North American, Asian and South American collections as well as some Wollemi pines behind barbed wire.


Nic’s uncle John & aunty Lyn live nearby in Winmalee and we caught up with them and the rest of their family – Michael and Sasha, Angela, Michael and baby Oliver and Andrew, Amanda and Brooke. We had a fantastic meal and a great time catching up – it had been a long time between drinks.

Canberra

We stayed with Tim’s sister Finola close to the centre of Canberra in Ainslie. It’s great to hang out in a house for quite a few days, and we figure we’re avoiding the Easter holiday madness when the rest of Australia goes camping. After the rush of Melbourne the nation’s capital seems to suit our countrified pace a little better. There is so much to see in the way of museums and galleries and we had a chance to catch up on chores. Elsie and Larry received some loving maintenance type attention and we did loads and loads of loads of washing. And of course we got to catch up with Finola, meet her bloke Trevor and also catch up with old friends Lage and Mark and their children Manasa and Ruby.

We went to the National Museum, the National Gallery, the National Library, Old Parliament House and New Parliament House! Quite a list, but spread out over quite a few days.

Old Parliament House was last used in 1988, yet it appears that everybody has just gone home for the weekend! Most fittings and many day to day objects were left where they had been used that last day – some offices have been left with scattered papers, personal belongings and even dirty coffee cups. Loved the building with its deco style, and loved all the period pieces like the telephones, TVs and lamps scattered about.




We managed to time our visit to the present Parliament House to when Senator Rachel Siewert was there (for those who don’t know, Nic worked with Rachel for years at the Conservation Council). It was great to see Rach and her office and to go in the back way to Parliament House! While we were there we also chased up a Senator from many years ago, Nic’s great-great-grandfather Hugh de Largie, who was a WA senator from 1901 to 1922.

Finola’s fella Trevor also took us sailing on Lake Burley Griffin in his trailer yacht. There wasn’t much wind but we got to gaze on the city and surrounds from the lake, drifting past the autumn colours of the trees through the AIS rowing course up to the GGs mansion.


We almost had to be forcibly bundled out of Canberra, we had such a great time there, doing all of the above, or hanging out with Finola & Trevor over Easter, or just chilling out on the couch. (The things I, Nic, miss most about having a house are the couch and the bath!) It really was like a holiday from our holiday.

Snowy Mountains

If we were to visually plot our path through South Eastern Australia it would look like a bit of a zig zag – coast, Murray, mountain, coast, mountain. But we reckoned that no visit to NSW would be complete without going to the Snowy Mountains - especially with our new (or previously latent) love of mountains.

We did our slow crawl up past the picturesque Budawang mountains – good old Elsie, she doesn’t move fast, but she gets us there. We got a little delayed at Braidwood, a laidback, arty little town. Being so close to Canberra we decided that it was ideal for 30/40-ish public servant types with a conscience. And then we realised that pretty much described us – no wonder we enjoyed it!

Because of our delay in Braidwood, we didn’t make it as far as Cooma, and so looked for the nearest national park with camping and ended up in Wadbilliga NP. And when we went for a walk the next morning we discovered the Tuross cascades and waterfall was really quite stunning, some steep gorges cut into the granite. We both love the randomness of our decision-making process and how often it turns out so well.

We did finally arrive in the Snowy Mountains proper and found a great campsite just inside the Kozciusko NP on the banks of the Thredbo River. Spent a bit of time chatting to another couple there, with a very similar ‘rig’ to ours - camper trailer, Landcruiser (albeit substantially newer & smarter than our Elsie) and a tinnie on top (albeit substantially larger than ours). Turns out Chook & Chub (for real, that’s how they introduced themselves!) had been on the road for 12 months - the first couple we have met of a similar age doing a similar trip!

Chook & Chub warned us about the cold, and with a thermometer they were able to tell us quite precisely how cold it was getting, like –4 degrees before dawn. That evening Nic got into a bit of campfire cooking – a kangaroo stew followed by scones – appropriately hearty, warming, high-country style cooking.



The next morning everything was very icy when we woke up, even our breath on our blanket had condensed and iced over! After the mist cleared we went to Thredbo and took the chairlift up 500m to the start of the walk to Mt Kozciusko. And it was COLD on top of the mountain, with a freezing wind blowing through the sunny day. As far as they go, Australia’s highest mountain is kind of underwhelming to look at, a rounded hill that sticks out of an enormous, high plain. Still it was a 14km walk with a gradual climb of about 500m to the top and appropriately stunning views all the way up.




Nic, who went through an intensely obsessive horsey phase as a youngster, has always wanted to emulate The Man from Snowy River. What she actually got was to accompany a very nervous learner rider on a beginner’s trek – Tim’s previous horse riding experiences haven’t been entirely positive. But the gentle trek through the foothills of the Snowies was a great experience – winding through the beautiful eucalypt forest flushed green after recent rains.


And of course the Snowy Mountain hydro, which we only saw fleetingly on our sunset drive from the mountains to Canberra.

South Coast NSW

We copped another massive downpour on the morning we were packing up at Croajingalong and the rain continued all day. SE Victoria and SE NSW have had a lot of rain in the past few weeks and it shows, everything is so green and lush and in such stark comparison to parts of SA and Victoria and even Tassie that were so parched and brown and crusty.


We both enjoyed the drive into NSW through the lush forest in the pouring rain – especially from the warmth of Elsie. We only made it as far as a caravan park in Eden, needing to dry out a little and wash a bunch of soggy things. Plus we really wanted to spend at least a night in Eden, having missed out on going to Paradise in Tasmania. Surprised that more businesses in town didn’t make more of the ‘Garden of Eden’, I think we only saw one caravan park called that.

The weather was so crappy that night that we even treated ourselves to a meal out, at the Eden Fishermans Club. Other NSW towns have big RSLs or Leagues Clubs, but Eden has the Fishermans Club and for that reason alone we had to eat there. It was definitely in the same vein as a Leagues Club and after dinner we even lost $3 on the pokies purely because neither of us had ever had a go before. That is one addiction with which neither of us have any affinity.


From Eden we headed just a little way up the coast to Mimosa Rocks NP and we continued our fledgling love affair with the South East corner of Australia. It is one part of Australia we hadn’t heard much about or had any expectations of, but we are loving it. Laid back, not overly developed, a rugged and rocky coastline interspersed with great beaches, surf or at least the potential for surf, loads of inlets and rivers surrounded by rolling green hills – its been a bit of a revelation.

The Marramarang NP just north of Batemans Bay was a particular favourite. Beautiful forests of spotted gums leading down to a rocky coastline and wee little bays and beaches. We had a long surf at Pretty Beach and I (Nic) got chatting to a couple of women, just a little younger than me, who were also learning to surf, and the swapping of stories did wonders for my confidence!





Occasional fishing forays around the mouths of the inlets yielded some good eating fish – bream (black and yellowfin), dusky flathead, and tailor. And at the beaches the ever present Australian salmon. And roadside stalls provided small but intense Sydney Rock oysters!

Cape Conran & Croajingalong

Leaving the relatively well touristed Gippsland we struck out east for Croajingalong NP. By a slight miscalculation (Tim navigating) we ended up sidetracked along the way at Cape Conran. It was a fortuitous mistake in the end, Cape Conran was not only a renowned surf spot, but had a nice beach of golden sands and rocky headlands to explore. The campground was a goodie and was home to a couple of ENORMOUS goannas, which were impressively dinosaur like.



After a couple of nights we moved on, as per our original plan, to Croajingalong National Park – a beautiful coastal environment of teatree, numerous inlets, a long golden beaches, and an old lighthouse at Point Hicks.


Point Hicks is actually an historically important spot. Not sure if the plaque below is readable, but this is the spot where Captain Cook’s expedition first sighted the Australian mainland, and it was named after the First Lieutenant Zachary Hicks. It had some historical importance for us as well – at almost exactly halfway through our trip the marker was telling us that we were exactly the same distance from Perth as we were from Cape York (1945 miles), two significant points on our own personal travel compass.




This part of the world is so packed with enticing little inlets that always put Tim in mind of fishing. We stopped at this inlet in Croajingalong and watched the leaping mullet which Tim managed to catch on camera (if not on a hook!).

Gippsland Lakes

Down in the salt water country things were still a bit damp. The Gippsland Lakes were yet another revelation – bigger than anticipated and consequently more widespread. Amidst the lakeside holiday shacks on shallow mudflats Tim caught the obligatory black bream.

Lakes Entrance was notable for its fish and chip shops – how many can one town support? Crossing to the ocean there were long stretches of golden sands heading eastwards. After our short time inland we were not a little excited to be back in the salt air.



But the Lakes area wasn’t all about fishing – we did head into the hills to Mitchell River NP for a short walk through a red rock gorge by the Mitchell River and to the Den of Nargun, a sacred place for the Gunnai/Kurnai people. Apparently in these parts most of the cultural knowledge is held by the women and another cave, Deadcock Den, tells blokes pretty plainly what will happen if they go near the place. Nic went to look at that one by herself.


We were both excited to be out walking so that we could try out our new purchases of hiking boots – long overdue. We’ve done a lot of walking so far, and both of us in Blundstones, which isn’t the greatest footwear for hiking all day! In the process of buying them we chatted quite a lot with the guy in the shop, and at one point he called out to the other guy ‘These two climbed Cradle in Blunnies!’ and the other said ‘Didn’t think it was possible!’ and we puffed up a little and felt quite hardcore. While realising all the while that we are clearly NOT hardcore, if we were, we would not have thought twice about climbing Mt Bogong just a few days earlier.

We moved on to spend a couple of nights by Lake Tyers, a little further east, and just a little less developed. Had a late afternoon exploration of the Lake in our tinnie, which included stalking a school of tailor that were leaping out of the water in a feeding frenzy (and managed to catch one of them). It was beautifully still on the inlet, with so many different arms to explore, and we were surrounded by black swans, pelicans, white egrets and all sorts of other birds on our wanderings.

Up high again

In Tasmania we developed quite a fondness for mountains, so we were very excited to get up high again! Armed with maps and info and tips from mountain lovers Cam and Lindy, we got onto the Great Alpine Road, and ended up first in the Mt Buffalo National Park.

Which we quickly realised had been quite severely burnt in the recent (and not so recent) bushfires - parts of the park were pure charcoal, and most of the rest of the park seemed to be regenerating from fires a few years ago. However we were glad to have not been forewarned because charred though the remnants were we still got to see the fabulous views from the mountain and also experience the impact of the fires firsthand.



Then it was onto Mt Beauty and camping in the shadow of Mt Bogong – Victoria’s highest mountain. We were right there and could have climbed it, but with a climb of 1000m and 8 – 10 hours we just didn’t have it in us on this particular day. I (Nic) like to say that climbing mountains (or conquering peaks) is a particularly Western male thing to do – or maybe that is just an excuse for being lazy.

So we did a couple of shorter walks around the Bogong High Plains, including to one of the famous old cattlemens huts, the Wallace Hut. We drove through the oddly out-of-season Falls Creek, with parked snow ploughs, alpine looking ski lodges and ski hire places everywhere in the sunshine, with not a bit of snow to be found. Unfortunately, most of the snow gums around the place seemed to be still in
regeneration mode from fires a few years ago. The snow gums seem to regenerate so slowly – if fires keep coming through so regularly you’d think this kind of country will never get a chance to regenerate.




In a typically mountain kind of way, the weather started rolling in, and we had a fairly damp night, and a very soggy morning. To the point where we gave up on trying to pack up and just made a cooked breakfast to eat in bed. The long road down to the coast took us through some badly fire ravaged country near Omeo and then into the startlingly green low country.