Australian Road Trip: Day Five

Day Five: Thredbo to Geelong and the Great Ocean Road

The drive leaving out of Thredbo after hiking Mount Kozzie was a nice rest for my tired legs and I welcomed the long period of sitting. But the view from the driver's seat was stellar! The road leaving the alpine region is windy and completely canopied with the leaves of the ubiquitous Eucalyptus trees.

Australia is an old continent. It feels so, in part, because of the Eucalyptus trees and they are the masters of the great southern land's extreme conditions. They're found in the cold and snowy regions. They're also found in the hot, dry climates where only the monsoons rains sustain them for a season. The shed their bark almost constantly and their tendrils hang down onto anything the dares to inhabit the space below the trees' branches. This bark is seen hanging from other limbs, from highway signs, guardrails, buildings, and the highway. Cleanup, it would seem, isn't the highest priority on the highway department's list of maintenance items as large pieces of bark are a constant hazard on the road, especially for motorcycles.

The road gradually changed from winding mountain roads and passes to more level terrain replete with farms, dairies, and wine vineyards offering samples and food. Most of this day was driving, and while it may seem like a waste, I was able to see a great deal of the countryside and its terrain.

Tomorrow: the Great Ocean Road.

Australian Road Trip: Day Three

Day Three: Onward to Thredbo





The highest peak on the continent of Australia is Mount Kosciuzko. Apart form the first aboriginal peoples, the first European to scale the mountain was a polish explorer named  Paweł Edmund Strzelecki in 1840. He named the mountain after a Polish war hero and freedom fighter. The mountain is about 2300 meters high (7300 feet) and is no where near as high as the behemoths of the alps or the Himalayas. In fact, Pike's Peak in Colorado is nearly twice as tall. While it may be smaller, it's much, much older at over 440 million years old. There are a few options to scale the summit. The most popular appears to be to begin in Thredbo, a small village nestled in the gap between the base of Kosciuzko and surrounding hills. It has the benefit of a ski lift to overcome the steeper parts of the hill and get the climb started.

Looking toward Thredbo along Friday Drive.


After a good night's sleep I woke up and loaded up the car. The drive from Cooma to the park entrance was about an hour long and it became more and more clear as I drove that my goal of scaling the mountain that morning might not happen. I bought my entry ticket to the park and almost immediately the rain started. And it only got worse. Driving through the park is very similar to a drive in any other national park in or near the US's rocky mountains. Winding roads with sharp switchbacks that fell and rose sharply made driving the speed limit of 100 kph treacherous.

I arrived in Thredbo to a torrential downpour. And it didn't cease. The ski lift was closed and it didn't look like it would open that day. The wind was approaching 40 kph and the rain was scheduled to continue till 16:30, which incidentally is when the ski lift is normally shut down for the day.

So, my plans got nixed and there was no place to camp anywhere nearby so I opted for a hotel room again. I got on my Kayak app on  my phone and the cheapest room in town was 110 AUD at the River Inn. I booked and paid for my room and decided to see the village on foot.

 A swollen Thredbo River that cuts through the village.

 Thredbo is a very walkable community. 

Since my plans were cancelled due to the rain, the only thing to do was to grab some food and a few beers. After dinner and drinks and conversations with the others in the bar, who were mostly seasonal workers, I made my drunken walk back to my hotel room and crashed.

Kosciusko would have to wait.

South by Southwest

A Detour

I've made this blog mostly to practice writing and documenting my experiences with Runaway Travel trailers. With that said, I'm going to take this blog on a segue, of sorts, and document my upcoming March trip to Australia. Traveling and seeing other cultures and countries has a way of giving us a fresh look at our own culture or country. We tend to get so accustomed to the way we do things that we forget that there's a different way. I believe this opens us up to new ideas in other aspects of our lives and makes us just better people as a whole.

I chose Australia since it's openness to tourism and ample outdoor activities such as camping and hiking. I gave a lot of thought to how I'd travel in the country and would prefer to hike/hitch hike rides to my destinations but with only 2 weeks available, I figured that driving would be the best method. Besides, there's nothing like a good old fashioned road trip.

Cost

I used the Kayak app on my phone to find my flight. Total round trip costs was roughly 1400 USD which is much cheaper than I thought it would be. My flight departs from Panama City, Florida's airport to Charlotte, NC and a 4 layover. Then onward to LAX and finally a 15 hour flight to Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport. I booked a rental care, the smallest and cheapest I could get, which set me back less than 170 dollars for the duration of the trip. Gas will probably be my biggest expense so I chose a compact. hopefully they'll upgrade me to a Prius or other hybrid.

I'm a backpacking traditionalist so I've bought a new internal frame 60 liter backpack from Amazon for 70 dollars. I've also bought a new sleeping pad since most of my overnights will be outside and I've been given a sleeping bag.

Local insight into where to go, what to avoid, and what to see is important. Lonely Planet guide books are a invaluable resource for travelers and I've used them for years in my journeys. I went to Barnes and Noble and found the perfect book: Australia's Best Road Trips. It documents the 38 best road trips to take. So, after a little research I'll develop some sort of itinerary and post it here.

I hope you enjoy following along in my journey and I look forward to posting lots of pics and information here!

Happy vegabonding!