Ongoing writing about this trip has been a little challenging. Between the lack of time, lack of space (writing on the computer in the passenger seat of a car is recipe for motion-sickness), lack of internet, and at times, lack of anything interesting to say. You'd think that with seeing so many amazing places, that I would always be full of interesting things to write about, but unfortunately, due to one factor or another, some posts are better than others. Some places that we go strike me more than others, and the ones that don't, I write about more as a form of communication with my loved ones than anything else. It's a great way to feel like I'm talking to my mom or my sister or my roommates. It's comforting when I'm feeling a bit homesick, and I either don't have internet or it's a totally inappropriate time to call back home, like 2am. Or in my mom's case, 10pm. Take Bali, for example. Bali was great, beautiful and a virtual tropical paradise. But it was also dirty and touristy and over-crowded, and I have to say, I wasn't particularly sad to be leaving. But then there are places like Prague or right now, Australia. And when I have a lot to say about somewhere, I can go on and on - as any of you who have been reading this blog consistently have seen.
With Australia I feel like I could wax on and on about one natural wonder after another. It's just my type of place. With each new bend in the road I feel inclined to stop the car (to Steph's dismay, at times) to check out something new and beautiful. It's a truly awe-inspiring country. We flew into Sydney on November 1st, which was exactly the halfway point of the trip (!). I had a few things I wanted to get done in Sydney - seeing the opera house, the harbor bridge, hitting a museum or two, having dinner with some cousins and buying a car. Yes, that's right. Purchasing a vehicle. In doing research about the country, I read many blogs about the best and cheapest ways to do things down here, and buying a car was on the top of most peoples' lists. Pick up a crappy car that runs well enough to get you a few thousand kilometers, then sell it back when you're done. Easy peasy. We were thinking we would spend about $1000, then sell it back for about $600 - paying a third of what we could rent a car for. It's amazing to me now, a week later, how easy I thought that would be.
With Australia I feel like I could wax on and on about one natural wonder after another. It's just my type of place. With each new bend in the road I feel inclined to stop the car (to Steph's dismay, at times) to check out something new and beautiful. It's a truly awe-inspiring country. We flew into Sydney on November 1st, which was exactly the halfway point of the trip (!). I had a few things I wanted to get done in Sydney - seeing the opera house, the harbor bridge, hitting a museum or two, having dinner with some cousins and buying a car. Yes, that's right. Purchasing a vehicle. In doing research about the country, I read many blogs about the best and cheapest ways to do things down here, and buying a car was on the top of most peoples' lists. Pick up a crappy car that runs well enough to get you a few thousand kilometers, then sell it back when you're done. Easy peasy. We were thinking we would spend about $1000, then sell it back for about $600 - paying a third of what we could rent a car for. It's amazing to me now, a week later, how easy I thought that would be.
Cool purple looking crabs at the Sydney Fish Market
We started by going to a used car lot that specialized in backpacker rentals. He didn't have a car for less than $5,000. We went home and went online. We found many cars for about $1000, though often the advertisement would read something like, "1997 Toyota Camry, LOOKS GREAT, needs engine". We also found many cars that seemed to be in great shape, but the registration had run out. No big deal, we thought, we'll just go get it registered and we'll be on our way. So we looked into registration. Australia has made it as non-user friendly as possible, with each car needing some combination of a pink slip, a blue slip and a green slip, depending on the age, make, model, location, and current legality of the car. And even if we managed to get all that figured out, the entire thing looked to be close to $800 to complete. Sigh. After wasting nearly an entire day of sitting around the house doing research, we opted for a rental. So now we have Sally (my name choice, Steph is still deciding if she likes it), a brand new Hundai Elantra. I was sad for a day, renting a fancy new car is not nearly as adventurous, but it sure is easier.
Other than that, Sydney was quite a success. We got everything done that we needed to, including having the best fancy meal of the trip with my three cousins, Danielle, MIchelle and Josh. It was one of those epic, 6-course, 'so many good things that you aren't sure what to eat next' sort of meals. It was also a great opportunity to catch up with some family that I haven't really talked to in nearly 20 years. We also paid a visit to the Sydney Fish Market, where I saw fish that I have never seen before, and had the best sashimi of my life. I'm still thinking about how good that was. The opera house and the bridge were great, but after seeing so many amazing thousand-year-old buildings in Europe, it's a little hard for anything modern to compete.
Other than that, Sydney was quite a success. We got everything done that we needed to, including having the best fancy meal of the trip with my three cousins, Danielle, MIchelle and Josh. It was one of those epic, 6-course, 'so many good things that you aren't sure what to eat next' sort of meals. It was also a great opportunity to catch up with some family that I haven't really talked to in nearly 20 years. We also paid a visit to the Sydney Fish Market, where I saw fish that I have never seen before, and had the best sashimi of my life. I'm still thinking about how good that was. The opera house and the bridge were great, but after seeing so many amazing thousand-year-old buildings in Europe, it's a little hard for anything modern to compete.
Camping at a picnic area outside of Melbourne.
After Sydney we headed to the Blue Mountains, an area about an hour outside of the city where the city-dwellers come to see nature. We met up with a good friend of mine from my couchsurfing days, and spent two days hiking, talking and admiring the blue hue to the mountains that apparently comes from the evaporation of the sap in the trees. I don't know any more than that - you'll have to look it up if you're interested. Then we headed south through the Snowy Mountains (and I tried to recount the movie, 'The Man from Snowy River' to Steph, but since i haven't seen it since I was about 7, I had a hard time), stopping at small towns and lookouts along the way. Australia has an amazing system of roadside rest areas that make road trips exponentially easier and cheaper than they are in the US. Not only are there free and clean restrooms nearly every 75 kilometers, there are also roadside picnic areas complete with gas BBQs that are free to use. So anytime you are feeling hungry, instead of stopping for fast food or eating a cold sandwich, you can cook a little meal, rinse of the dishes in the handy faucet provided, then head on your way. Delightful. And if that weren't enough, many of these picnic areas have a small amount of space for people to camp for the night. Camping in these places is "not allowed", but if you keep it to one night, no one seems to bother you.
Through the Snowy Mountains we took a roundabout scenic route to Melbourne. Melbourne was another town that we both thought we would like to live in - lots of cute cafes, bars and Bohemian culture. The one downside for us, was that we didn't plan well enough to organize a couch, and when we went to a hostel, we found out the price for one night was a minimum of $60 - for a 12-bed dorm. Which is well above our budget. So we sent off a few emergency last minute couch requests, but in the end, found ourselves without a place to sleep for the night at 11pm. No big deal, I thought. Sally will take care of us. So we drove to a secluded spot, backed into the spot, wrapped ourselves in sleeping bags, put the chairs back as far as they would go, and tried to get a little sleep. Not the best sleep I've ever had in my life. Not only did it happen to be a horrible thunderstorm outside, but I was also worried about security or police knocking on the window, and by day-break, I had probably slept total of three hours. Steph faired a little better, since she can sleep soundly on an airport tarmac with 747's roaring overhead. Luckily, in the emergency requests we sent, we were able to secure a place to stay for the next night, so I was able to catch up.
After Melbourne we headed out to the Great Ocean Road, which is something I had been looking forward to since we started planning the trip. I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed. But I think I'll have to wait until the next post to write about that, seeing as how this one has already gotten longer than I thought it would. But rest assured, I'm looking forward to writing about it. Koalas, kangaroos, a beautiful coastline and an epic road trip. Hard not to be excited.
Until next time.
-EC
Through the Snowy Mountains we took a roundabout scenic route to Melbourne. Melbourne was another town that we both thought we would like to live in - lots of cute cafes, bars and Bohemian culture. The one downside for us, was that we didn't plan well enough to organize a couch, and when we went to a hostel, we found out the price for one night was a minimum of $60 - for a 12-bed dorm. Which is well above our budget. So we sent off a few emergency last minute couch requests, but in the end, found ourselves without a place to sleep for the night at 11pm. No big deal, I thought. Sally will take care of us. So we drove to a secluded spot, backed into the spot, wrapped ourselves in sleeping bags, put the chairs back as far as they would go, and tried to get a little sleep. Not the best sleep I've ever had in my life. Not only did it happen to be a horrible thunderstorm outside, but I was also worried about security or police knocking on the window, and by day-break, I had probably slept total of three hours. Steph faired a little better, since she can sleep soundly on an airport tarmac with 747's roaring overhead. Luckily, in the emergency requests we sent, we were able to secure a place to stay for the next night, so I was able to catch up.
After Melbourne we headed out to the Great Ocean Road, which is something I had been looking forward to since we started planning the trip. I wasn't the slightest bit disappointed. But I think I'll have to wait until the next post to write about that, seeing as how this one has already gotten longer than I thought it would. But rest assured, I'm looking forward to writing about it. Koalas, kangaroos, a beautiful coastline and an epic road trip. Hard not to be excited.
Until next time.
-EC
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