Sadness and excitement – leaving Melbourne

Leaving Melbourne was long awaited but sad. We would finally be on the road again after spending almost 7 months working and preparing the upcoming trip in one of the greatest cities we’ve ever lived. We met wonderful people, drank the best coffee and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of city life. But it was time. Time to feel our beloved Troopcarrier work beneath us to bring us from A to B, time for campfires, time to sleep up high and time to see more of this amazing country.

It took us two days to pack the car. Reen once compared packing his motorcycle panniers as a game of Tetris. Well, this was Advanced Tetris. With the barrier we had installed behind the backseats, some things were a little bit more difficult to fit in and we had acquired a lot more stuff.

In the end, we managed, but knew we would probably repack at least 5 times before everything had its right place.

We left Melbourne in the pouring rain. The city was obviously weeping for our departure.

Giddy for being on the road again we listened to Abba and drove all the way to Lake Eildon. Mt Pinninger provided us with a beautiful campsite and we were glad the rain stopped when we were pitching up the tent for the first time in months.

The next two days we drove through Mansfield, camped at Edi, moved on to Myrtleford, Bright and camped at the beautiful Mountain Creek Campsite near Mt. Beauty.

We decided to do some 4 wheel driving and took a short cut to Mitta Mitta on Disappointment Track….which turned out to be a real disappointment since the road was blocked by an enormous tree. Turning back was the only option unfortunately. Where is that chainsaw when you need it?

To drive from Corryong to Kiandra was a challenge. The high altitudes in Kosciuszko National Park and the fact that it is still winter resulted in closed roads, campsites and Park entrances. Long winding roads and even snow on the side of the road gave us the distinct feeling of driving somewhere in Europe and we had to drive well into the evening before we found a place to camp at Yarrangobily.

Waking up the next morning I looked up and couldn’t believe my eyes: frost! on the inside of the tent. Reen hurried out of the tent to take photos of the unbelievable winter scenery of frost and ice.

We decided to take the advice of our fellow camper and head over to the Thermal Pool at Yarrangobilly Caves and indulge ourselves with 27 degrees bath in the outdoors.

All refreshed we began our longest drive in 5 days. We wanted to reach the Blue Mountains that day since my parents arrived there that day too.

I would’ve loved to know how many kilometers we drove that day, but both my iPhone cables decided their life had come to an end and my Hemamaps app only tracked for an hour before my phone’s battery gave out.  After a long and boring drive on the Freeway we arrived, exhausted, in Leura (the Blue Mountains) where my parents were waiting for us in a nice apartment.

Over the past few days we’ve seen many stunning views and walked beautiful tracks through canyons and over high cliffs. So far the Blue Mountains have not disappointed us and we’ll enjoy its riches for a few more days before my parents go back to a currently rainy Holland and we’ll continue up the coast.


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