Saturday, November 14th

Our first full day of driving though this particular trip was familiar to me having done it last year when I visited. We are even staying at the same place in Canberra as I was quite happy last year (and I also got a really good price for this trip).

We were up at about 6 am to get ready to leave. We packed up the laundry hanging everywhere and had our breakfast. I was disappointed to find that the tuna sushi we picked up last night was actually tuna salad (not pieces of tuna) so I had only a few mouthfuls before handing it over to Mel.

We don’t really have a lot of things we have been accumulating so we basically have the luggage we came with and not a lot more though we are not all that bothered about efficient packing at this point given we are going to be almost a week in the car.

We checked out at about 7:15 then waited at the front of the hotel for the taxi to arrive. Thankfully he was a bit early and we were able to get going. We had decided to catch the taxi because of what we had discovered when we arrived about the train - The train cost is quite expensive (about $17 each) and for about the same amount of money the two of us could catch a taxi (which ended up being $38 - so only a bit more than the train). Obviously there is also the convenience of the taxi as well given that we have the luggage (albeit, not much of it…). The driver was quite friendly and talked a bit along the way. It was odd in that we wanted to be dropped off at the international arrivals area, where the car rental places were, and he ended up getting in trouble for stopping there…as he was talking to the irate airport traffic warden we quickly retrieved our luggage and left.

The terminal was just crawling with people. I think most of the long haul flights arrive in the mornings here so we had a bit of fight to get through the people to the car rental desk. I was irritated to learn that as we were renting the car “one way”, that is, not returning it to Sydney there was a significant “one way” free that I was not aware of. True, reading the agreement they state the possibility of such a fee but the amount ($300) was not known to me when I paid online for the car many months ago. There was an additional fee $87 just for picking it up from the airport. Considering that I already paid £369 ($750) for the rental it has made it a very expensive thing. I tried not to gulp too hard and paid the extra money. The car will give us a great deal of flexibility over the coming days so will make things very easy. We have a four-door silver Toyota Corolla. Not fancy but it will work and has lots of space inside for just the two of us. We picked it up from the car park opposite the terminal, checked to make sure everything was alright, set up Google Maps (for navigation) on my phone for our destination, at least initially, Wollongong on the coast south of Sydney. Learning from my previous visit I made sure that the navigation software was set to avoid toll-ways as I know all around the airport there are a number of them and I can’t be bothered to figure out how to pay for them (cash? credit? some electronic device?) - We are also not really in a hurry. This part of the trip was always meant to be relaxing - Just the two of us going wherever we want though with a several specifics already booked including the hotel tonight and tomorrow in Canberra and Phillip Island on Thursday night. Between those times we can do what we want though the distances are quite big.

Before getting too far we stopped at a 7-11 for some slurpees and snacks for the road. It is always good to have something to nibble on or drink in the car on long trips like this. I picked up a “Flavour Fest” wristband that will give me a discount on any slurpee purchase for the rest of the trip (purple!) then we began.

We very quickly left the busy roads around the airport and much of the rest of the drive out of Sydney was residential with wide roads and many lanes so quite an easy trip. From last year I knew that rather than following the boring motorway we could take the road along the coast - The Grand Pacific Drive (http://www.grandpacificdrive.com.au/) so as soon as I saw the sign I ignored the complaints of the satnav and turned off. Last year I only joined this scenic route a lot further down the road so this was a section I had not seen before, the “Royal National Park” which has very windy and hilly roads. It was not very busy and very few signs of people as we made our way towards the coast.

We made a brief stop at a creek off of the main road. There was no one about as we walked around. A series of small cascades over the rocks with a large drop off just out of sight.

Water

A great view many miles out over the trees of the surrounding forest.

Great Views

It is good to be out the city and Mel spent time looking at the unfamiliar trees and plants around us, as well as, of course, taking loads of pictures.

Eventually the coast hove into view and we were on the top of a large cliff so had spectacular views. This was an area I now remember visiting last year. We stopped at “Stanwell Tops”, a small park at the top of the cliffs that allows you to look south down the coast for many miles.

Views...

When we arrived today there was a gliding group just setting up for a flight.

Prepping

We stopped for a few minutes to watch a tandem team lift up the glider then run and jump off of the cliff when they were immediately lifted high into the air above with the wind currents.

Off They Go...

A pit stop at the toilets and we were on our way again.

From the lookout “Stanwell Tops” the road drops down to the village of “Stanwell Park” where we followed a small road leading to the beach, stopping in the car park of a local park at the bottom of the cliff we had been standing on top of only a few minutes previously. We got out to have a look around. There was an odd looking gentleman parked up in his vehicle who was doing something in the bushes that we gave a bit of a wide berth to and followed a trail through the trees down to the beach.

Beachward Ho!

As it was yesterday, the surf was pretty high though we did notice a group of people further down going out on their boards for practice or something, otherwise we had the beach to ourselves. It was not sunny, quite windy and a bit cool so we did not really linger too long. It was nice to simply watch the tremendous waves coming in…

Beach

Stupid Tourist on the Beach

Surfers?

As we returned to the car park we stopped to listen to the sounds of exotic birds in the trees, occasionally glimpsing their bright colours through the foliage. Returning to the car the man we had seen parked up earlier told us he had found one dead and another live kitten in the bushes. We commented about the birds and he proceeded to tell us a bit about them. Mel spotting some white in the open field of the park near where some people were picnicking and was off - It was a small flock of large white cockatiels pecking at the grass. Over the next fifteen minutes she slowly moved towards them, snapping pictures all the way.

Birds

More Birds

They seemed unconcerned and continued to eat as she approached.

Photographer

A few minutes later the glider we had seen take off about thirty minutes prior came down for a landing right in the park we were now in.

Back in the car we continued south along the Grand Pacific crossing over the magnificent “Sea Cliff Bridge” where the road instead of running along the shoreline is actually on top of a bridge that follows a short distance out from the base of the cliffs. It looks amazing as it winds around the corners. Of course, this was another stop for pictures. Pulling over into the lay-by just past the bridge we walked the short distance back to have a look around. The view back along the bridge with the cliff in the distance beyond was quite amazing. The magnificent surf below provided constant background noise…that and the cars speeding past us.

Sea Cliff Bridge

Surf

It is nice having Mel along with me and not just for the obvious fact she is wonderful to be around and great to talk too but for the fact she can take pictures while I am driving. When I passed through last year I was always missing great pictures because I was unable to take them while I was alone driving. Here she can take them as we go along. Wonderful.

Flowers

Continuing our trip down the coast we stopped several times in parks beside the road for Mel to take pictures. The sun still stubbornly refused to come out and the clouds threatened rain.

Coast

We passed through several small towns along the coast with many looking like something that time had forgotten with small stores, wooden houses as well as the old-style covered wooden walkways along the fronts of stores in the middle of the town.

Eventually we arrived at the city of Wollongong where we parked the car in a parking area at the top of the ocean cliff near where there are several old canons pointing out to sea then walked around for a few minutes. This was very close to where I stopped last year (we seem to be retracing much of what I did last year - a good thing though as it was quite a nice trip). We walked towards the small harbour then down along the water. I still find it interesting to see the swimming pools carved out of the rocks in the ocean near the shore - Even a ladder for easy access. There is a standard pool here as well separate from the ocean but it is the one carved from the rock I find the most interesting.

Wollongong Harbour...and Pool

We made it as far of the harbour before heading back to the car. We were looking for something for lunch as it was pretty close to noon. There were a few restaurants in the bottoms of the hotels along the road but none particularly grabbed us. I was really thinking of something local rather than touristy. There are lots of hotels here, as you might expect, with the ocean views.

Driving past the harbour the road turns inland and a few streets later we saw an interesting looking place on the corner of a junction - “chicko’s” (http://www.chickos.com.au/) - that looks more like what I had in mind for lunch. There were a number of picnic tables set up outside and all of which were being used despite the weather. We found a spot in the small car park and went inside. It is quite a place. A large open area (no seats) with people standing around either studying the menu which is on big signs above the ordering area or people waiting for their food to be prepared. As you might expect, the place specializes in chicken but we were interested to see a large selection of salads in containers in a cooler along the counter. Mel decided on a couple of salads as I ordered their “original” chicken schnitzel burger (prepared with mayonnaise and lettuce) “deal” that included a drink which I helped myself to from the soft drink fridges near the door. It was interesting as they also had larger items on the menu that you could order like a full chicken or a tray of lasagne. They were definitely very busy and as there was no place to eat inside or outside we got back in the car to drive to somewhere that we could stop and eat.

It turned out to be a bit frustrating as there were no parks for quite some time after that. Eventually, having passed Wollongong we found a park on the edge of an inland lake a short distance from the ocean where I was able to do a U-Turn to pull into the car park and stop. Other than one other gentleman dressed in a raincoat setting up for a picnic and some very interested seagulls sitting on posts in front the car we were the only ones there. We sat in the car watching the birds and looking out over the lake to the mountains beyond. Still grey and gloomy.

Being Watched...

The chicken sandwich was MASSIVE but quite delicious (if a bit bland). Mel’s salads were also quite filling and delicious.

As we finished a pelican landed on the path beside the lake so Mel decided to do her stalking yet again getting within a few minutes before the bird got nervous and flew away. Quite big birds.

Getting Closer...

At this point we left the Grand Pacific Drive to head away from the coast towards Canberra following the Illawarra Highway as it winds it’s way up through the Macquarie Pass. These are the cliffs we have been following all along the coast and the road is very winding (causing Mel a bit of uncomfort though, as the driver, I found it a lot of fun).

Macquarie Pass

At the top the weather was really closing in and it was quite foggy. I asked Mel if she wanted to make the trip off of the main road to the “tree top” walk I had done last year. We agreed that since we were here…

“Illawarra Tree Tops” (http://www.illawarrafly.com.au) is about 20 km or so off of the Illawarra Highway so is a bit of a trek. When we arrived there were only three or four other cars in the large car park and it was raining. Entering the visitor centre we visited the toilets, grabbed some soft drinks and purchased our tickets ($25 each). I did ask the lady there as to whether it was worth visiting in this type of weather and she said that some people actually prefer it as it is quite peaceful to hear the rain in the trees and the calm of the fog.

It was already 3 pm as we followed the path leading into the trees. Mel and I liked the playful painting of a long snake along the middle of the winding path and she stopped several times for me to take pictures of her sticking her head out of the hole in a board painted with something like a koala…Oh dear, we really are kids at heart.

Snake

Warden

Koala

Wombat

Heading down hill a little bit the winding path in the trees we saw that a trail had been set up to the side for Halloween with a sign painted in red paint on a rock “Beware the Jabberwocky” then a sign later “Snakes Leeches Biting Insects”.

Forest

The walkway itself is made of metal mesh with sturdy handrails that leads you out into the tops of the trees on the side of the escarpment.

Walkway

Mel on the Walkway

Walkway

Last year I remember the views of the coast from here were magnificent but today we could not see much further than half a kilometre at the best of times. We were all bundled up in our waterproof jackets but we did get quite wet. We enjoyed spotting a few of the birds here. As we were alone it was very quiet and several pairs of what looked like dark red and blue parakeets came very close to us in the trees.

Tourists

Being here and paying the entrance fee we were determined to make the best of things despite the rain. We climbed up the spiral staircase of the 45 m “Knights Tower” to have a look around.

Knights Tower

View from the Top

It was windy at the top but at least it had a roof so offered a bit of cover from the drizzle that continued to fall.

At The Top

Odd Person...

The lady at the information centre was right - It was very peaceful. The only sound being the wind, occasional birds and the clicking of Mel’s camera taking pictures…

Back to the Car

We left the walkway and climbed back up the trail to the information centre which was closing up by now. We put our wet clothing in the back of the car then followed the small road back to the Illawarra Highway (stopping only briefly to get a picture of a magnificent looking cow alongside the road).

A short distance later we had to stop at the small town of Robertson for two reasons. (1) So Mel could take a picture of the famous giant potato (yes, indeed) and (2) So I could visit the “world famous” Robertson Pie Shop (http://www.robertsonpieshop.com.au/). Last year I had regretted passing by so I was determined to visit this time. Mel was wet and tired so did not come in but picked up a few pies for dinner or, at least, a snack.

Giant Potato!

A short distance later we drove alongside the eerie “Lake George” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_George_(New_South_Wales)) - A lake that looks like it has dried up but, evidently, it does actually have water in it but just periodically goes through dry spells lasting for long periods of time (measured in years). We stopped at a lookout point to have a look at this large flat area covered with green and the occasional flock of sheep or herd of cows.

Lake George

The rest of the drive to Canberra was quite boring.

Wombats!

Kangaroos!

I just followed the signs to Canberra then carefully followed the satnav as it took us into the city to the hotel as I know the roads in Canberra are quite tricky. We are staying at the same place I had stayed last year - “The Mercure Canberra” (http://www.mercurecanberra.com.au/).

We arrived at the hotel just as it was getting dark. I parked the car in the car park at the back and we walked through the middle of the hotel which is arranged around two central courtyards. The hotel itself is only three stories high with only a small number of rooms. Checking in we were told for an extra $30/day we could have a suite so we eagerly agreed! Our room is amazing. When you enter the room there is a kitchen table and a small kitchen area (no cooker but a microwave, sink and small fridge) then a lounge area with desk, sofa and comfy chair.

Main Floor

There is a small balcony looking out over the courtyard. There is a small staircase leading up to our second (!) floor bedroom and bathroom.

Second Floor

From Above...

The bedroom looks out over the lounge area below and has a skylight. Quite nice.

Courtyard from our Window

It is also nice to have free wi-fi.

Just going to relax, watch some television and have a pie. It has been a long day and a bit of a drive for me: More than 350 km. Our route today…

>> Sunday, November 15th