Day 1 of our road trip to Sydney - 8th Dec
Leaving Tanunda we headed for the Sturt Highway which is the main road across the outback connecting Adelaide with Sydney. Speed limits here are very low considering the the massive wide open roads you travel on and the distinct lack of traffic.
110km/ph is the maximum speed - or 68mph! Oh man, it does my head in. It quite clearly doesn't reduce accidents cos there are loads of people killed on the roads. You have to reduce your speed round bends, of which there are hardly any, to 65km/ph. You could go round them at 110 and it would still be slow!!!! And don't start me on road works - 25km/ph! ******* **** The air in the car turned blue, and it wasn't me, it was my calm, laid-back, unflappable husband!
The Aussies obey every speed limit, every time - they wait at road junctions when 16 cars could have got out, they don't go through spaces that an armoured tank could get through. When I took my turn to drive, after the obligatory 2 hour swap over you are asked to adhere to, I found myself shouting, 'Drive like a European!'
A lot of planning, for us, has gone into this stage of our travels. We worked out where to stop, rather than distances travelled, because we were determined not to stay in a grotty motel in a one horse town or, worse still, in the car!
We were heading for a town called Mildura on the mighty Murray River. Wherever you see the Murray written or hear it said, it has the word 'mighty' in front of it. I guess it is, its the life blood of the majority of South Australia and the largest river in Oz.
The temperature was 38 degrees, the air con was high, the music was pumping as we drove through the most barren, brown and boring landscape! We found a spot to picnic and, I swear, I could feel my skin pop into blisters instantly! And the flies - swarms of nasty big black things. Yeuch. Soon after lunch we crossed the state border back into Victoria and immediately lost half an hour, such is the time difference!
We travelled behind a massive truck for a little way, it then turned off down a dirt track and chucked up a stone which immediately chipped our windscreen - nice!
Mildura is situated on the Murray, obviously. It is a town.
The middle aged woman in the visitor centre booked us an apartment. As she gave us directions she said, 'Straight on to Street 14, turn left, then you might have to do a yuey.' I looked at her and said, 'But it's a U-turn isn't it, just say U-turn.' I didn't really say that, but I so wanted to. Jim could see that and he was rolling about.
Day 2 - 9th Dec
We've seen about 15 dead kangaroos on the roadside today. They must have a suicide wish because how they manage to get run over when there's hardly any traffic and such massive wide open roads I do not know.
This is how far we had to go, we passed this sign 10 minutes after we set off this morning at 9.30 (and I got up without being nagged.) Mildura sits in the northern most part of Victoria. As soon as we crossed the Murray we were over the next state border and in New South Wales, and the time went forward half an hour again. Foot down, well to 110 km/ph and we were off. New South Wales obviously takes road safety seriously:
These signs are placed at regular intervals along the roadside. The temperature was much lower today, topping 32 degrees and cloudy. This made a big difference to driving. Jim drove for the morning session, it took us about 2 1/2 hours to reach Hay, a town famous for .......shearing sheep - OK.
In fact it has a sheep shearing museum, $15 to look at shears - and model sheep. We gave it a miss!
The land was flat, flat, flat and scrub as far as the eye could see, on both sides of the road. We saw several 'flocks' of emus and pretty impressive birds of prey circling around.
After lunch I drove the remainder of the way to Wagga Wagga, the states largest inland city. Altogether we've covered 560 km today. The road stretches straight in front and shimmers in the heat. When you look in your mirror it shimmers behind you.
Yeah, thanks for that!
Each state is obsessed with fruit flies.
We had to cover quite a distance today because, basically there is nowhere to stop and nothing to do, tomorrow we're just going to drive a shortish distance and find somewhere to stay which will enable us to visit Canberra on Sunday and Monday.
I'm now writing this in our motel room (it's clean and ok, thanks for asking).
We've just watched Jamie Oliver cooking with beer in Yorkshire and Jim is drooling for a proper pint instead of this pale lager they call beer here.
Day 3 - 10th Dec
The sign outside of Wagga Wagga inspired us to push on and hit the open road again this morning. The scenery is much gentler, more livestock grazing and wheat being grown in enormous fields. We passed through Kosciuszko National Park, the alpine area where there are hills! It's home to Australia's highest mountain.
On to Gundagai, another very sleepy small town. A quick trip to the information centre saw us marching up a very steep hill to take in the views of the wooden bridge and wooden railway track. Doesn't seem much but when you've been stuck in a car....
Thought we'd find a cafe for lunch but, it being Saturday, every shop in the place had shut at 12 noon. Tumbleweed rolled down the main street.
Getting back into the car the decision was made - no more little towns, head for Canberra! No sooner said than done, we were there at about 3.30 and in our motel by 4ish, showered and out by 7. What a great night, we settled down in Charlie Blacks, a trendy brasserie. Soon after we'd eaten it became obvious there was a birthday party taking place, a 21st birthday party, so the place filled up with glamorous girls showing their 'mantle and hearth,' as my husband so politely put it, and massive heels. The boys had clearly made an effort in jeans, T-shirts and trainers! Anyway after watching them get wasted - quickly, we headed for another bar where we spent an entertaining hour with three Aussie guys swapping travel tales. They were so funny, their comments about people passing were hysterical, but pretty base!
Day 4 - Sun, 11th Dec
Canberra is set out like the spokes of a wheel, two concentric circles with roads crossing them. It has obviously been built for the car, it's certainly not walkable. We bit the bullet and visited the Christmas market at The Old Bus Depot. It was full of crafts and artisan foods and was interesting to walk round but not a bit Christmassy! Not like Durham last year, in the snow, with carols playing and the smell of mulled wine! We emerged into bright sunshine.
We were feeling slightly delicate so set off for a walk round Burley Griffin Lake which is pretty massive. The Canberra Ironman triathlon was taking place in Centenary Park at the other side of the lake from us so we were intent on walking round to see some of it. Setting off we eyed the sky, it had become very dark.
Stopping to identify some of the fancy buildings on a map we were joined by a friendly Australian woman who was very chatty and regaled us with all sorts of tales. We became aware of a few spots of rain, and with our new friend, headed for some trees. The drops became faster and faster until we were standing in a torrent. Half an hour later, drenched, dripping and freezing we trudged back to the car. Wearing dry clothes we set off again, this time to the National Portrait Gallery followed by the National Gallery of Australia. I know, but it was pouring down! When the rain eventually stopped we managed that walk round the lake. Tonight, on the news, there have been pictures of flash floods, people being rescued from cars, etc.
Day 5 - Mon, 12th Dec
A jam packed day today, we went to Parliament House this morning, it sits on Capital Hill. The PM, Julia Gillard, was announcing her reshuffled cabinet this afternoon so there were film crews and cameras in abundance. it was a fascinating visit, really interesting, we were inside for 3 hours. Of course, we found someone to talk to, today, a guy from Canada who gave us the hard sell for visiting his home country. We've been wondering whether to go to Europe at the end of March or whether to spend 3 months in Canada?!
House of Representatives
The Senate
Up on the roof
We parked in a car park which is underneath the foyer of the building and wondered how we could get so close. But the Aussies are as casual with their Parliament building as they are with everything else.
You obviously can't enter in beach gear or naked but .....
This afternoon we explored the National Museum of Australia, again fascinating, and so well done, not dusty with loads of artefacts but experiential.
We've turned into proper culture vultures - it won't last, but we've learned a lot.
Tomorrow, we're back on the road, a short sprint to a town near Sydney, we need to be there on the 14th. I can't wait to be in an apartment again, unpack suitcases, wash clothes and do a bit of cooking!! I know, the things you miss!
Day 6 - Tues, 13th Dec
We've had a quick sprint down the Federal Highway today to Goulburn, now we're just short of 200km away from Sydney.
Guess what it's famous for.
Yes, sheep sha...., sorry, shearing.
On the way from the highway into town I got stopped by the police. It was about 12.15 pm. I opened my window and he said, 'Have you had a drink today?' I resisted confirming I had drunk a cup of tea earlier but said, 'I wish.' That went down like a lead balloon! He handed me a breath tester and asked me to count to 10. Luckily, I remembered my numbers. He stopped me at 5, I think he was slightly disappointed. He then asked me for my driving licence, which handily was in my purse. I gave him it, he looked at it, then handed it back, clearly not having a clue what it meant. Obviously my husband was very concerned whilst all this was happening, he'd seized the opportunity, got out of the car and was photographing the bloody ram!!
Goulburn is another town. In keeping with it being a country type of place it holds an annual blues festival and has sculptures around the place to commemorate each year.
We spent a really entertaining hour or so this afternoon in an information centre with a brilliant couple. I heard the accent first and asked her where she was from. She said, 'Yorkshire - Whitby.' Then proceeded to tell me they have lived in Canada for 18 years - well you couldn't tell. Her husband said, 'No, but all our neighbours speak Yorkshire!' Anyway, we now have contacts in Winnipeg, methinks our Canada adventure is getting ever closer!
I bought two Christmas presents today - yippee!
This is a long, long blog but I hope it entertains you a little. Hope to see you in Sydney, when we can find wi-fi again.
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