Road Trip 1 (post 6)

Day 1

After a good few days in Melbourne, where we could have seen a lot more, It was time to move on. We had hired a car from Avis when we booked the holiday, and the pick up was just 10 minutes from our hotel.

We got a white Toyota Corolla. It was an automatic. We are both strictly manual drivers so this was a little awkward getting out of the rental garage. I couldn't get going as I was keeping my foot on the brake as well as the accelerator. But we got there in the end.

After getting on the motorway without having to use any of Melbournes hook Turns (see Transport page) we made good time.

I wanted to see a place called Walhalla. It was an old gold mining town, that had a mine you could go into along with other related items throughout the town.

When we got there after driving a very twisty road (Wilma not to good with that part) we arrived in Walhalla to find it had been turned into a film set for a new Liam Neeson film, so the things we wanted to see wern't available.

The nearest we got to Liam was a cardboard cutout that was in the local cafe where we had a lovely scone with cream and jam.

The film is called Ice Road 2 and is set in Napal. a far cry from the heat in Australia.

Try this link for more info. Tiny Australian town turns into 'little Nepal' for Liam Neeson. How taken is everyone? | SBS Nepali

After that we hit the road again for a 2 hour drive to our overnight stay. We headed for a place called Lakes Entrance, and our hotel called Lakeside Waterfront hotel. It was very clean, but as Wilma called it, very retro. With 70's style wood cladding on some walls and exposed brick on others.

That being said, the view from the patio windows was beautiful.

Day 2

We had our breakfast in a little coffee shop and then headed out for our next destination.

We had been on the road for about half an hour when we came across a police patrol car in the middle of the road waving all the cars down. I stopped and was brethalised. This is the first time it has ever happened to me, anywhere. Good job I only had two pints the night before.

After a couple of hours driving we stopped for something to eat, and while we were in the cafe it started to rain.

Wilma took the car after the break and we made good time despite the weather. About a mile from our next stop a Wallaby went skipping across the road. Wilma shouted at me because I didnt have a camera ready.

We ended in a place called Tathra. and stayed at the Tathra Hotel and Motel. It was on a headland that was being splashed by a stormey sea.

The hotel also had a micro brewery, so a couple of drinks were taken, even with the brethaliser in the day.

The motel was anew building and we were in room 1. A bit different to last night.

Day 3

Today we set off after a lovely breakfast, and again after half an hour we had to stop as we came across a lovely beach and we had to get out for a paddle.

About halfway we stopped at a place that was a bit arty with artisan type shops and a dairy that made cheese. We had our lunch in the pub before we hit the road again.

We headed for our final overnighter in a place called Valentia. It is in the Jervis Bay area and has a beautiful beach where alegedly Dolphins go swimming past several times a day. (Although we didnt see any) The Hotel we stayed at was called Dolphin Shores. It was another top class accommodation except for the owner who insisted on telling me everything that was going on in the area even though we were only there for one night,

Day 4

We didnt have breakfast here and went to a local shopping centre to get something in a cafe. When we got there there was a local car club getting ready for a bit of a drive.

We then had a three hour drive to Sydney. Everything was fine till we hit the city, and the directions were hard to follow. We eventually got 50 yards from the hotel on our left, only for the road to say no left turn. I then got messed up on the road and ended up going over the Harbour bridge, Since Id done that, we had to find a way round to come back over it and eventually get to our hotel.