Australia Road Trip

Canberra, ACT

Off the ship at 9:00 and quickly through customs but then a 45 minute queue for a taxi. We still arrived very early for the booked time to collect the rental car. 'No worries' they obliged and we had the car. Before heading out I turned on the Garmin GPS but got no signal. Oh well I decided to head out and follow the first signs I found directing me to the airport which would give much clearer access to open skies. It finally locked in after 15 minutes and off we headed to Canberra.

We travelled through city suburbs for quite some time before being in countryside, but once in the country it remained sparse of human population until Canberra. Our route took us off the main motorway, onto the Old Hume Highway and through the villages of Mittagong, Moss Vale and Sutton Forest. We stopped off at The Linden Winery for a taste of Canberra Region wines before the final 40km to our hotel. Although it was still early we stayed in as my cold had gotten worse.

Next day we were onto Track 3 of Canberra recommended drives. This one is called 'Looking at Canberra' and takes us to 4 hilltop lookouts around the area looking down into the valley in which the city is settled. The points were: Mount Ainsley, Mount Pleasant, Black Mountain with its iconic Telstra Tower, and Red Hill on the grounds of one of Australia's military compounds.

We continued onto a couple of shopping malls but once again headed back on the early side to the hotel. I did get medicine while out and hope it does the trick. So an evening of Australian Open tennis and watching a bit of a lighting storm as the temperatures cooled down.

Slept pretty well so the medicine must be working. Mom headed off to the local Saint Brigid's Catholic Church. Then once again flown into the valley and lake to Aspen Island on Lake Burley Griffin to listen as the National Carillon (tower with 53 bronze bells forming a huge musical instrument) was played. Next was lunch and shopping at the Sunday only Old Bus Depot markets with quite a selection of local artist and craftsmen articles. No buskers or musicians while we were there.

Blue Mountains

The day was completely overcast with rain drizzles turning to rain showers as we headed east to Batemans Bay on the east coast. The drive took us through the hills surrounding Vanberra and onto a fairly long flatland. I thought we were close to sea level but then we came to a 30 minute steep descent showing we had been at altitude. We turned north at Batemans Bay hoping to follow a sea view route, but no luck as we were screened by bush and trees.

Still the drive north was interesting, and we had a lovely stop at the seaside town of Kiama. While there we spent some time observing the sea surf driven blow hole which was very active. Onwards around the outskirts of Sydney and into Karoomba. A real old hotel with push chairs, a large common sitting room, and stairs everywhere.

The next day was meant finding viewing vantage points for the mountain vistas but no luck as a spattering of rain continued but more so fog and low cloud ceiling prevented such views. We finally gave up trying and headed on.

Hunter Valley

The further we drove from the Blue Mountains and the closer to the Hunter Valley the better the weather became. We arrived in clear blue skies over Pokolpin. The area is wide open with some hills and distant mountains. The map shows hundreds of wineries. Quite unbelievable (but true). Our hotel in Pokolbin was right in the middle of all the vineyards so easy access. I headed out for a couple of wine tastings and then over to Cessnock for dinner at a nice steakhouse.

Next up we started with the non-wine related activities: Australian woods craft, chocolate and fudge factories, and cheese shops. We also wanted to see the gardens but the drizzly rain put a stop to that. Instead a did a few more wine tastings, followed by dinner in.

Nelson Bay

A little late getting started the next day (I had taken a sleeping pill) but then it was only a 2 hour drive to our next destination: Little Beach in Nelson Bay. We stopped off at the lighthouse for its views and a coffee to kill some time before check in. And then some more on the beach watching the flock of pelican milling about and surrounding returning fishermen as they cleaned their catch. Our hotel is a lovely 2 bedroom unit with pool and short 2 minute walk to 2 dandy beaches. No plans here except relax and stop off at the sand tunes when we head south to Sydney. I did a bit of grocery shopping and then relaxed in the pool.

Next day was a bit overcast but good weather to be out for a 1.5hour dolphin watching trip. We saw a number of dolphins in the nice bay that is Nelson. Also a few sea birds. The trip was over all too soon and we were once again back on land. We finished the day visiting the arts and crafts centre and doing a bit of retail therapy.

Sydney

It rained overnight - good as the car needed it! We tried to stick to a coastal view on the drive to Sydney but the ocean played peek-a-boo with its absence bring greater than its presence. First stop was at the hotel to drop off the luggage and I left Mom to check in while I returned the rental car and walked the 1.5km back in wonderfully warm and sunny skies. Email checked and dinner in - tomorrow will be a day on the water with Bettina Wilcox to celebrate Australia Day.

Australia Day dawned with overcast skies and a cooler temperature. We made our way to King Street Wharf and met up with Bettina to board the Captain Cook Cruise ship for our 4 hours out on Sydney Harbour. We were top deck with windows eating and a catered food service with open bar. Great way to spend the day. The boat was one of many out that day and joined the flow going up and down from Darling Harbour out towards the heads and back. Tug race, fireboat spraying, small ship and tall ship races all went on. The sun came out as our time on the water came to an end. We took it easy for the rest of the day.

Next up was spending 4 hours on the top deck of one of the double decker hop on hop off buses touring Sydney and Bondi & Bays. We stayed on except to switch from one route to the other. Pretty good views in the warm sunshine. Then that evening we went to Mosman and the home of Bettina & Juan for dinner with them. Fantastic day.

After spending the morning in we headed down to Circular Quay and took the ferry across to Manly Beach. We returned after an hour or so people watching on the inner beach. And that finished our Australia stay. 7:40am flight the next morning back to Phuket meant an early to bed.