Thursday, January 5, 2012

Last day Tamworth to Toowoomba

Last Day travel Tamworth to Toowoomba

This morning we headed north for home. The country is quite green and enjoyable to see. We climbed up and down several small ranges of hills across rolling farm land into Stanthorpe around lunch time.

We noticed a decline in road conditions, once we crossed the Queensland border. Typical.

It has been an enjoyable trip of 3491km over 10 days. A summary -
1 night Parkes NSW
1 night Bendigo Victoria
4 nights Melbourne Victoria
2 nights Sydney NSW
1 night Tamworth NSW
Home to Toowoomba Qld

Certainly planning similar trips again.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Paddy's Markets and day 1 of the trip home

Marie, Jacqs, Melissa, Charlotte and Elessa at Market City
Today was our last day (or really half day) in Sydney. We packed up early, but our parking at Citigate gave us parking until 7pm. Given the premium of parking and the opportunity, we decided to wander 2-3 minutes down the street to Paddy's Markets and  Market City for a browse and a family get together with Elessa and Marie.

Marie, Elessa and Cos
We arrived early (a feat for us normally) at 9:30am and met Elessa and Marie. It was great to catch-up, and the poor things endured a window shop with us for the next four hours. The Markets and shops above had a little bit everything for almost any shopper. Certainly the girls managed to find things to buy. We wish Marie and Nick all the best in their up coming move.

Overall Sydney was worth a visit, and the suburbs we passed through north were leafy and well kept. Traffic was less aggressive than Toowoomba drivers, and less pushy than Brisbane drivers. On the whole, driving in Sydney was less stressful  than driving in Brisbane.


Crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Mid afternoon we finally headed north for home. We crossed the Sydney harbour Bridge, then ended up in a tunnel (Lane Cove) system, before our GPS and Melissa found a route back to the Pacific highway. Travelling along Pacific Highway to Newcastle, then turning inland to arrive in Tamworth around 8:30pm local time.  The inland route was slower but certainly more scenic with the multiple of historic towns and hamlets along the way. The country was generally green and enjoyable to pass through. We found accommodation at Budget Motabelle Motel, which is inexpensive, roomy, a relatively modern finish and has dining/kitchen and two separate bedrooms. It also has free wireless Internet, a rarity these days in motels. We certainly will consider it again next time we pass through Tamworth.
Day 9 Sydney to Tamworth

Tomorrow will be our last leg home, some 6 hours driving time inland and eventually passing through Warwick.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Seeing the landmarks of Sydney

The girls over looking The Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Harbour
After a well needed sleep in, we managed to get out and about to travel down to Circular Quay around 10:00am. The streets were full of people and busy. We headed down George Street to Circular Quay which took about 30 minutes on foot.

The Rocks
Around noon we met with Elessa at Circular Quay. We saw "the Rocks" (the oldest area of European settlement), the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the harbour and finally the Sydney Opera House. All were magnificent and met expectations. The Harbour was truly beautiful and the water was a rich blue colour. I understand now the reason for European settlement in this particular piece of coast. The perfect harbour.

The mid to late afternoon was spent walking/window shopping through Pitt, then George Street ending up in the Mall. The Girls saw the Channel 7 studios from the outside, which pleased them greatly. It is there we met James (Elessa's Fiance),  Elessa and James lead us to China Town where we shared a really nice Chinese meal.

We all returned to our room, where we took a look at the day's photos.
7 studios
Opera House

Monday, January 2, 2012

Melbourne to Sydney

View from our Melbourne Appartment

Today we departed for Sydney, which was a relatively easy trip of ten or so hours. The streets of Melbourne were quiet due to the Public holiday which was great for us. The traffic was light, and our path was easy in comparsion to our arrival. Barring the tram only stop that Swanston Street suddenly become unbeknowns to the GPS.  Melbourne has great freeways in and out of the city, so apart from the multitude of speed cameras and frequent speed changes due to road works, it is a great system of roads.

We were sad to leave Melbourne, as it is a friendly, and interesting city. We all had a handle on the lay of the land, which is a credit to the city planners. Our accommodation was fine, good price, fantastic location, great rooms, friendly folks, but the building is ten years old and needs some maintenance. Last night was not so pleasant as the building air conditioners failed and were unreliable both News Year's night and last night.  Last night was particularly bad and very warm. Also, our balcony door lock was tempremental and washing machine was not the same as ours. Generally the building needs some tender loving care. We were told that the folks who leased the building didn't own maintain airconditioners etc on a public holiday.  They were very apologetic. Hmm.

The road to Sydney was broad and well sign posted. Almost all the towns have been by-passed, which lead to a quick trip. Given the time of the year we saw a police presence on the roads, about same as one would normally see between Toowoomba and Brisbane (150km). NSW and Victoria both seem to use more automated and hidden speed cameras, so hopefully we don't have any surprise speeding tickets waiting for us. There shouldn't be, as we stuck to the speed limit all the way. The Victorian landscape was very dry, but the county got greener as we moved closer to NSW.

Travel to Sydney Day 7
First impressions of Sydney is it is like LA, very spread out, lots of people and grubby. The roads seem to be fine, but not as well designed or maintained as their Victorian couter-parts. Our accommodation seems well placed in Haymarket on the CBD edge. We are staying at the Sydney Citigate Centre Hotel, and it is a four star establishment. The room and facilities are plush and modern in comparion to our Melbourne room, but lacks a kitchen/dinning/lounge, laundry and seperate rooms. It is just a hotel room made for a family.

Tonight we walked the streets near our hotel, and found that we are just 5 minutes from Sydney Cental Railway station. We should be able to visit the CBD with out too much problem. After checking out the Train station, we walked along historic streets lining with dozens of eating establishments. We settled on a busy Thai place were the food was outstanding, and the price was fair. Very enjoyable.

More photos to come.

Tomorrow we hope to catch up with Elessa and Marie.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Last day in Melbourne

Cook's Cottage
Today we took a tram to Cook's Cottage in Fitzroy Gardens. It's Captain Cook's actual home that has been moved to Melbourne in 1933. Being very informative, it is well worth a visit. Both Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens are delightful to walk through.

At noon, we took another free Tram to Harbour Town, and met a nice couple from Christchurch NZ along the way. They described the destruction of their city's CBD by the multiple earthquakes since we visited. Hundreds of buildings demolished.  Very sad. The free Tram is a excellent for seeing the major land marks of the CBD.

View back from South Bank
Harbour Town is a mega-shopping precinct, similar but larger to Queensland's Gold Coast version. We spent most of the afternoon at Harbour Town before returning by Tram to our Hotel. The ride was very hot and crowded, as it was closing time for some of CBDs many shops and apparently 38 degrees 47 on the tram we're sure. We cant wait to return  north for some cooler weather.  Some logic there I'm sure.

Carriage Ride
For dinner we explored South Bank (near the city's Crown Casino) then took horse driven carriage down the streets. The carriage ride was a highlight, and the French lady driver very polite and friendly. She was a fantastic Representative for the business. The girls practiced their royal wave and really had fun. Finally, we wandered home (after sampling a "Pie Face" treat or two) which was certainly worth eating. A long but enjoyable day.