The Great Outback

We have been really looking forward to next leg of our journey. Our plan was to drive thru red hot centre via Uluru from South Australia to Queensland, which is thousands of kilometres of nothingness (4500km according to google maps). Unique experience to Australia. Weather forecast was promising 45c and we did a quick “don’t die air-con” dance. Looks like we outdid ourselves on planning again. No wonder summer is low season in these parts.

Well, Outback it definitely is, no doubt about that. But Great? Well, if it was meant as large, than great it is. Mile after mile after mile of nothing. Definitely not a place to have a flat tire. Hard to believe that there is anything living here. Not that there is much, make no mistake. Well, to be seen anyway. We were hoping for more kangaroos and it was fine to hardly see any snakes (as a road-kill is perfectly alright). Petrol stations every few hundred kilometres or so. With double the prices than elsewhere. But you can’t really negotiate, can you? Mining towns as well – not that they were anything we would have been sorry not to have ever seen. And all this in scorching heat that we actually enjoyed after Melbourne climate. Only gem on the road was Uluru and Kata Tjuta national park. But let’s start from the beginning.

We started in Port Lincoln after diving with The Sharks. First few hundred kilometres till Port Augusta passed quickly. We had our minds set on staying in a “…charming outback town” Coober Pedy. Well, according to the guidebook anyway. Don’t really know what we expected the outback town to be like, but not this. What do we think? We definitely want whatever the writer was on when he was there. To say it is a sh**hole is definitely an insult to all sh**holes we have ever been to. Desperation on level never seen yet. This place is just forgotten, even by God, Allah or Buda  themself. Only people on dusty sun bleached streets were drunk locals, mainly indigenous people, knocking on our car demanding money. We drove past hundred empty opal stores (all of them offering deals of a life time), dozens of derelict accommodation options and miniature surface mines (size of plot is limited, so no big corporations here). It almost felt like a tourist trap, but really not sure who gets there and actually stays there. Guess, no need to explain any further, we filled up our petrol tank and pressed on towards next town. Nothing can be as bad as this! Or so we thought…

Our accommodation for the night was Kulgera Roadhouse. You see, rest stops in Australian outback are called roadhouses. Usually a petrol station selling precious liquid at extortionate prices and a rusty old motel. Occasionally a small shop. And if you are really lucky a beer tap. This one was all that, but with loads of charm. It was a no brainer – place to kip. It even had a pool! And best pub in the outback according to the owner. And this time, we wholeheartedly agree. Actually, probably best pub in Oz. This being proper outback the bar was totally empty. Heaps of charm and character thou. So, we decided to hit the shower and then hit the beer. And this is when this lovely outback tale turns to horror movie. As you can guess, one of us had a pretty disturbing experience in the shower. After good inspection of the premises some relaxing time under the stream of warm water with closed eyes was just what the doctor ordered. Until the eyes were opened and screams echoed in the Great Outback. Spider the size of fist was slowly crawling up the right leg. Guess who it was? Well, only thing we can say is that she was properly shaken. Definitely time to hit the bar. Obviously, first question to the barmen was if there are any snakes around. With complete astonishment in his eyes (for this kind of question to be asked) he said not to many this year. This did not improve the fragile status of mind (Caroline, Ewart, remember Kruger again?). Short visit to the loo that boasted sign “No light, closed lid, no surprises” clenched the deal. Time to freak out. This is the reason you will not be seeing one of the best photos. This pub actually boasted with number of local snakes preserved in jars. With antidotes next to them!!! Dejan decided that in the best interest of everyone present it would be good idea to keep this find to himself until we were far away. Such a smart decision…

Early next morning we then went to Uluru and Kata Tjuta. And this is where the scenery turned to stunning. Red earth, blue skies, occasional tree. What we hoped for. Just inhospitable, dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful. And then Uluru itself. Big red rock in the middle of nothing. It is much bigger and more impressive then on the photos. Close to it is another rock formation Kata Tjuta. Possibly not as majestic, but at least as stunning. And we haven’t even mentioned The Imposter! Just before Uluru you will see first grand mountain and assume this is the real thing. But hold, it is not. This is actually Mount Conner. Very unlucky it is so close to the more famous spot as it deserves a lot of attention. Guess what we did: took dozens of pictures that we then had to delete afterwards of course… So, we did what the tourist do: visited the center, went for a ranger walk, and have I mentioned the sunrise and sunset? Sunrise was probably more special (when you wake up in the middle of the night it better well be!). Judgement could be influenced by lack of coffee and obvious brain inactivity at that time as well. But in our case we had a special view – a rainbow. Yes, we know what you are thinking – this is desert and for rainbow you need rain, they must be in the heat too much. Wrong, we had rain at Uluru! Obviously, our weather story continues…  We definitely learned more about the indigenous people here. They lived in the same way for thirty thousand years before white people came!

After Uluru it was time for a bit of R&R in Alice Springs. Nothing to write home about this town except the wonderful experience of feeding wallabies. Local rock wallabies descend from the local hill every evening and expect to be hand fed and caressed. Such a great experience!

Night in a hotel did the trick and we were on the road again. All the way to Townsville there was nothing to tell you about. We continued our usual 2 hours on 2 hours off driving routine. And passed one road train after another… If you are wondering what that is, it is a colossal truck with up to four trailers. A proper monster to pass in the dark!

And sun and hot air almost all the way to Townsville. Yes, we said almost. Close to the east coast started raining. And we mean raining heavily! Quick check with the locals and we found out we were catching a tail of a cyclone Oswald. This area had a massive rainfall – some were even saying biggest in the last one hundred years! Hmmmm… typhoon, heat wave, cyclone… it can’t be us, right?

Some more pictures here.

Face to Face with Great White

Well, not strictly speaking. There was a steal cage in-between. Minor details…

Yes, we decided to go for the cage dive again (previously done in Gansbaai in South Africa). Not a lot of places in the world where you can see great whites and every opportunity should be used to maximum. So we got on board the boat at 6:30 am and got ready for long drive to cage dive site –  that would mean taking anti sickness pills. We did this before and we knew better. Most people were heroic thou and said they were never sea-sick. That would be until the boat started it’s left to right little dance on the water. Soon enough, most of the people were hugging white plastic bags and retching their guts out. Above and under the water.  And we were so nice we did not say we told you so…

We were there at 10 am and in the water by 11 am. Yes, we were the first one to jump in, would you have really expected otherwise? But only thing we saw was blue ocean and occasional trevally. What a disappointment! And this would be in a freezing cold water. But then an hour or so later we were in the water again (a lot of people decided not to try yet). And then it came. Apex predator of the sea. We can verify it is as magnificent as it looks. And what an experience to see it emerge from the blue to slowly and menacingly circle the cage. No joking with this one, that is for sure. After three passes it went back into big blue. Exhilarating! Groups went in and out of the cage until everyone was able to say they saw the sharks. And then we got another go. This time not one but two sharks appeared. Didn’t go close to surface at all, just came from the deep circled the cage few times and went back. Experience not to be missed.

Capitan then took us on a drive around the seal island (on Dejan’s request actually). What a site! Seals lounging in the sun, swimming in shallows, pups playing. Absolutely cute! Hard to remember they are favourite food of the great whites. But that would be nature…

How do we compare this sightseeing to one in South Africa. Different. Here we saw sharks really well under the water (visibility was more than 20 m), but they did not breach out of the water at all. So, no teeth counting. Both experiences are amazing and should be done. And possibly repeated. You never know…

Some more pictures here.

Barossa Valley

According to our alternating driving schedule it was Dejan’s time to sample while being chauffeured around. And he did not take his task lightly. After all, this is Australia’s best wine region. Project plan was created and lengthy list with of less than 7 wineries summoned up. And off we went. Conclusion: this is the best place for wine in Australia. We sampled some really good vinos. Dejan even went for a tasting of fortified whites and reds (we are sticking to European tradition and not calling them sherry or port), which were matched with different food (he got small canapés). It was a real treat.

We were pretty delighted – so much so, we decided to stay another day. This was an excellent news for Nives – her time to hit the tastings. So, we had some more good wine next day. We even tried the legendary Penfolds Grange (50 AUD  for a tasting and 700 AUD for bottle). It is an iconic Australian wine. Yes, we can confirm it is a good wine (being Shiraz this is a big compliment!). As were few others from other producers (couple of hundred AUD a bottle). So yes, there is some really good wine here. However quality to price ratio is totally out there. Spending hundreds on one bottle is just crazy. But all in all, we really enjoyed the experience. And finished off Australia wine tasting on a really good note. Next one will be in New Zealand. 

Some more pictures here.

Melbourne

Major highway between Sydney and Melbourne was closed most of the time due to bush fires. But we managed to go through on one day it was open. Road was pretty empty. We could see torched areas and on one section we could smell the smoke as well. Talking of bush-fires apparently we made it in the worst heat wave in the last 40 years. And this is after typhoon in Palau after 50 years. What is next? Volcano eruption in New Zealand?

Anyway, back to vino. We passed through Rutherglen and Milawa. First one famous for bold reds and fortified vines, second dubbed as a gourmet region. Reds were actually pretty good. We tried a new grape – Durif and liked it. Not loved it, but liked it. Fortifieds were nice. They even call them port here, which is probably not very legal. Interesting, Australians not sticking to rules? Milawa had some nice cheeses and local vines, but not sure if we see it as a gourmet place. So, we figured we should cut this short and make a detour to only high mountains in Australia to see the only ski Area on the continent. Guy from the guidebook who said these were Australian Alps hasn’t obviously ever seen the real thing. No magnificent vistas at all. So, we turned back to another vine region known for best bubblies. Needless to say Nives’ mood had lifted instantaneously. So, Yarra valley. Nice scenery, decent bubblies. Similar to Slovenian or Italian ones. No comparison with real stuff thou for Nives – still swears by proper champagne. And again, we noticed that winemakers here call their sparkly wine champagne if it is made with traditional method. French are probably preparing protests as we write.

Best gem of the area was the chocolate factory on route to Melbourne. Absolute best chocolate ice-cream ever. Yum!

Melbourne. Felt a lot like home. Bit warmer than Dublin (not by much thou) and with brutal sun (that you had to avoid at all cost), but similarities were there. Relatively low, mainly green suburbs to live in and friendlier people (not comparing to Irish! Just on Australian level). And with great coffee culture. What we liked was the mix: European, Middle-eastern, Asian… all together. Neither as good as the real deal in our opinion, but all together was a treat. What we missed was any Australian native scenery. Aboriginal museum was closed for weekend (while we were there). It is almost as time began with English in every-day Australia and we feel this is wrong. Reminded us a lot of America that way.

So, we strolled the streets and enjoyed the buzz. Even went for a market and cooked a proper feast: oysters, barramundi, Tasmanian salmon, beef, spring lamb and kangaroo. With copious quantities of wine – we had to clear the cellar before heading into best wine region in Australia – Barossa valley. Meal to remember…

As luck would have it we happened to be in Melbourne during Australian Open. Obviously, this is due to meticulous planning (roysh) and not a chance. Anyway, we saw few matches and really enjoyed the experience.

And it was time to leave. For a scenic drive this time. Yes, we are talking about Great Ocean drive and 12 Apostles. Beautiful postcard scenery – eroded cliffs between the sand beaches and blue ocean. Huge waves (probably the biggest we have ever seen) were softly rolling on the horizon, until they broke on the coast with mighty thunder. If only there were no be aware of snakes signs (to put it mildly Nives was freaked out) and flies that were a nuisance on a new level.

And right after the drive we went to the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve as well. Goal was to see koalas in their natural habitat. Nives was on the mission. Dejan was on a verge of desperation (Caroline, Ewart – remember Kruger?). But believe it or not, we saw them. Yes, that would be correct – them. Not one but two! Downright cute. They were sleeping (apparently this is the most time consuming activity in a life of your average koala) huddled between the branches on eucalyptus trees. We also saw ostriches – loads, even young chicks. No pictures taken thou. Seemed not really Australian thing. Until we got back to the car and read that these birds were no ostriches, but emus, native Australian birds. Felt very proud of ourselves, indeed we did. Duh! Armed with good luck we pressed on – goal was Adelaide and then Barossa. And to our astonishment we saw loads of kangaroos next to the road close to sunset times. What a beautiful creatures. There was even a small pup hiding in his mum’s pouch. So sweet! What a day…

Some more pictures here.

Sydney – Some More

After New Year’s eve we went to Blue Mountains, a national park close to Sydney with one of the Oz landmarks – Three Sisters’ rock formation. It is a very nice area with a lot of holidaymakers and tourists. Nature is beautiful, but nothing really that we haven’t seen before (similar). Still, we enjoyed our few days or R&R in the nature and even managed few bbqs (not proper coal, but even electrical ones were good). And then we went back to Sydney for a few days.

Well, city is still beautiful. We really liked the harbour and new architecture (and in fairness all is pretty much new). But people were funny. Not very friendly, but not something you really count on in big cities, so ok with that. However, we realized that whole wellness thing was not in Manly only, this was a widespread bug! Everybody was doing some sort of exercise all the time. We have never seen so many outdoor gym classes in the parks! At midday! Or muscular bodies and plastic boobs (ok, we know they are a fashion accessory these days, but still!). Downright disturbing. Dejan was intrigued, Nives irked to high heaven.

And we haven’t even started on whole surfer dude thing. Dejan digged this and even joined the scene few times (with limited success). Nives definitely irked again.

So, no surprise there that street food culture in actually absent. And this was a shock after Asia.

We still enjoyed our few days in Sydney and soon it was time to leave. 

There were some nice beaches and vistas south of Sydney, but again pretty much same to ones north of the city. And it was getting cold next to the sea. We are not talking a bit chilly here, but downright cold! And you can’t be in the sun at all as it feels like giant X-ray machine. A little heat and a lot of cancerous radiation. So, we decided to go inland and visit few wine regions instead.

Here are some more pictures from Sydney and New South Wales.

Sydney – New Year’s Eve

We arrived in Sidney on 30^th. Well, actually we arrived in Manly, suburb of Sidney. As we did not have any accommodation, we figured we’ll sleep in a car again. This would have been before we got acquainted with the culture in Sydney. Well, at least in Manly. On New Year’s eve everybody was up at dawn for surfing, swimming, running or whatever other activity that involved cardio workout and showing off your body. Felt like one of the cheesy Star Trek Next Generation episodes where everybody is pretty, well-adjusted and abnormally happy. We figured it must be Manly.

Now, next decision was one of the best. We decided to go to Sidney with ferry. Arrived in harbour in the right way – stunning view of bridge and city skyline. We REALLY liked this. However, place where we wanted to go to watch the fireworks was closed already. About three hours ahead of schedule! Dejan was devastated to have missed sitting 11 hours in the sun waiting to see fireworks (he actually tried to hide this, but not very successfully). So, we decided to explore holidays Sidney. And we liked what we saw. Beautiful city with amazing harbour, bridge and center. We even managed to find some company to have few drinks with! And if even you had to guess – yes, they were Irish from Cork. Currently living in Melbourne. Was nice to have a company for few hours, but then we head off to find a place to see the fireworks (Nives was adamant!).

Walking in the town we found another group we chatted to. This time Bosnians (probably second generation), living in Sydney. After a while, we ended up in a nice spot close to the bridge and had a really good view of the fireworks. That was stunning, albeit a bit too short. All in all it lasted about 10 minutes and we kind of felt it should have been longer. And then, we went to Manly again to spend another night in a car.

If we thought that people were ‘funny’ on December 31^st they were absolutely weird on January 1^st. Everybody was jogging and exercising again first thing in the morning!!! We are talking 6 am here – we barely made it to the car! In our opinion, this is textbook OCD.

After few nights in the car and all the celebrations, we decided to take a break for a few days and go into the mountains for a bit of R&R.

Hunter’s Valley

This famous wine region deserved a post of its own. At least we thought so.

We are not really connoisseurs of Australian wines in Europe, too fruity for our taste. But we figured we had to try them now we are in the Oz. Best bet was to go to the oldest wine region in the country / continent – Hunter’s Valley.

Big surprise was that there were practically no vineyards to be seen! Just vine tastings and shops galore. Soon we realized that this is a big selling ground and not big grapes growing ground. In one of the vineries we visited they actually confessed that the grapes grown in their vineyards in Hunter’s are not used for vine at all!

Vines we have tried were not so bad. Definitely more to Australian vine than we thought. Are they going to make our first pick in the shops? Hardly. Only wine we bought was the closest to Bordeaux we could get (no Shiraz in it definitely!).

In Hunter valley we decided to treat ourselves to a motel room (we sort of needed a shower). So, we ended up in Kurri-Kurri. And indeed we got the shower there – a cold one. As was the welcome. First the guy was annoyed that we checked the prices on the Internet (tried to charge us higher rate). And then on the checkout we were chased out because we were 15 minutes late. Reality: another lovely perk of Australia – checkouts are at 10 am!!! And this being country of rules and regulations this means 10 am sharp. So, we left the place with the owner yelling that if we do not leave immediately he will call the police. What is it with the Australians and this fear of police – never have we seen anything like it before. And this would include growing up in what is these days known as socialistic repression.

On our way to Sidney (our New Year’s Eve destination) we also saw some more beaches (honestly, they all look same by now). And a few more… and a few extra…