Oct – Dec 2012: Three months in Australia

Some essentials:

1. For cheap and competitive flights, check out FlightFox.com;
2. Insect netting – we picked up some meshy curtain material from a Thrift store for $3 (bargain!);
3. Lots of sun protection! For example, a collared, long-sleeved shirt, broad rimmed hat and sunscreen! The UV is intense in most places, even this time of year.
4. Free Wi-Fi isn’t as widely available compared to Canada. We found it at McDonalds (not always reliable), public libraries (also a good place for cheap books), and often the local R.S.L. club (Canada’s version of a Legions Club).
5. If you aren’t tenting it like we did, you can stay overnight for free in rest stops and often showgrounds.
6. There are no Rec. centres in Australia for cheap showers. Showers can be had at 24-hour truck stops, caravan parks and campgrounds, and public swimming pools.

 The Trip

The main plan for the Australia trip was for Jules to do some teaching at the university, and for us to spend time with family and friends and attend a longtime friends wedding. However, we also wanted to travel the country. Like Canada, Australia is huge. To get around you really need some wheels. After comparing prices on rental cars, campervans and buying a vehicle from Travellers Autobarn, which have a guaranteed buyback, we decided to buy privately. We bought a cheap 1991 Subaru sportswagon that we could sleep in the back of and headed off to central Australia. Below is a Google generated map of our 8000+ km journey.

The first leg of our trip left from Jules’ parents house in Forbes (H) and followed the Barrier Highway through Cobar, a mining town where Jules grew up, through to Broken Hill, another major mining town. We continued on through the Flinders Ranges National Park and onto the Oodnadatta track to Alice Springs (B).

Highlights:

• Driving through the Flinders Ranges;
• Lake Eyre;
• Seeing the “Bubbler” at Wabma Kadarbu Mound Springs Conservation Park;
• Drinking a beer at Williams Creek after hours of rough, unsealed roads in 40°C heat;
• Drinking a beer at Marla after hours of rough, unsealed roads in 40°C heat!

From Alice Springs (B) we drove the Red Centre Way through the west MacDonnell Ranges to Uluru and the Olgas (C).

Highlights:

• Swimming at Ellery Creek Bighole;
• Camping at a rest stop overlooking Tnorala (Gosse Bluff), an eroded remnant of an impact crater from an asteroid or comet that hit an estimated 200 million years ago; and driving into the centre of the crater the following day;
• Sunset at Uluru.

 

Having seen the big rock (C), we wanted to escape the heat and head south to Port Augusta (D). We drove the Stuart Highway through Cooper Pedy fast tracking it south. After spending a night in Port Augusta (D) eating fish and chips by the ocean, we headed into Victoria through the Barossa Valley and onto Horsham (E). Here we restocked our supplies and continued on to Mt Arapiles.

Highlights:

• Finally reaching the coast with cooler temperatures!;
• Drinking wine in the Barossa Valley;
• Two weeks climbing at Mt Arapiles.

As the temperatures started to soar at Mt Arapiles, we decided to head to the coast once more and drive the Great Ocean Road (F) via the Grampians National Park. The Great Ocean road covers a small stretch of coastline in southern Australia and is well worth the trip. It could also be a day trip from Melbourne. After seeing the Twelve Apostles and checking out Bells Beach, we started the journey home with a quick stop in Canberra (G) and then back to Forbes (H). Here the car would get a well deserved break and stay with Jules’ parents until we return in 2013.

Highlights:

• Seeing the Twelve Apostles;
• Partying with old friends and spending more precious moments with my young niece.

The three months flew by quickly. We ended the trip in Sydney (slightly browner) with Jules’ family and friends. This year a Canadian Santa visited us on Xmas eve. He gave everyone that was good that year a present!