Today was all about getting to Sydney. I took only one tiny detour and that was halfway through the five hour drive to stop for coffee. The ‘free breakfast’ at the hotel had been DIY instant coffee, DIY toast and cereal, so I’d skipped that to save time.
Goulburn is what Australia does superbly: Small town in the middle of nowhere. While its claim to fame is that it’s Australia’s first inland city it should really be publicising its Park Cafe in the town centre. Their selection of cakes is quite marvellous – so good I had to have two: the almond finger and.. well, no idea what it’s called. Cinnamon bun but with apple inside and a crumble top, served warm. Glorious.
They do meals too but it was too early for me. The lady next to me was in the loo when hers arrived so I asked her husband if I could photograph it.
“Smashed Avocado” if you’re wondering.
The scenery was farmland which became farmland on hills. Picturesque, some nice views from the motorway. The hills got steeper and woodier, and the road started crossing high bridges over tree filled gorges. Sadly after that I reached the outskirts of the coastal urban sprawl, hidden police cars in the central reservation supplementing the multiple speed cameras, then traffic, constant traffic.
Australians in the outback drive a Toyota Hilux, need no speed cameras, have almost no police presence, stop to help others, drive considerately and well.
Australians in the towns around Sydney drive terribly, justifying the high police presence, the mobile speed traps. They also drive other brands of 4×4, SUVs, and cars with oversized badly tuned engines. The number of boy racers with engines misfiring and spluttering as they go past would be comical if they weren’t so noisy. It’s also pointless, nowhere in Australia has a speed limit above 110km/h so they’re just spewing half-combusted high octane petrol in some misplaced attempt to impress the girls. Or maybe each other, I guess gay Aussie lads can ruin a car engine too.
Place names were familiar. I left Liverpool and drove through Chipping Norton following road signs to Canterbury. The last 50km took an hour, after the previous 400 had taken 4, but eventually I reached the hotel, checked in, cursed the poor quality of the wifi (couldn’t handle photograph uploads) invested $3 in some more laundry. The machine didn’t spin well so it could well be morning before things are dry 🙁
I used the rest of the afternoon to prepare for tomorrow’s embarkation on another cruise. Boarding pass, where/when to return hire car, how to get to the cruise terminal. Some time planning the evening’s entertainment. Some reading.
Dinner was extravagant. I’d spotted a cafe across the road, decent reviews online. I’d had serious elevenses so dinner could be simple, and I had other plans for the evening. Google said they opened at 5.30. At 5.40 the sole person inside saw me at the door and opened it, invited me in. It took him another half hour to prepare my food, but that was fine, I wasn’t in a rush and he was setting up the seating outside and doing other ‘I’m opening’ preparations.
I went for the garlic bread with salami, which turned out to be a very thick slice of bread also covered in cheese, and the loaded chips. They were loaded with bacon, fried egg, onion rings and corn on the cob. They were also loaded with salt.
He thought I wanted a takeaway but I had my book and was happily sat at one of his tables, drinking my coffee, so he brought a plate and cutlery over and left me to it. It was builder’s cafe grade food, overpriced (at $26 for the meal) but tasty, an ideal prelude to two weeks of fine dining.
The other plans needed a 40 minute drive across Sydney. Bexley RSL was hosting a dance class, and I danced.
I filled the car on the way back. Fuel prices in Australia are just weird. Utterly weird. 148.9c/litre for fuel, or 80 yards away, 115.9 for the same grade. I filled up at the second garage.
Less than 2km walked today. I parked by the cafe for coffee, crossed the road from the hotel for dinner. All my exercise came from dancing, and from holding a steering wheel for just under 500km.
Tonight’s hotel is pretty decent. Lots of traffic noise from the road, even with the balcony door closed, but hopefully that’ll clear up before bedtime. The balcony overlooks the pool but is north facing so no sun.
The balcony door can’t be locked so when I went dancing, my camera and tablet still in the room, I used the old ‘chair under the handle’ trick. Effective.
(Note: The next two weeks will have the least internet access of the trip. I should be able to posts updates on 4-5 days in that period, but no more than that and probably less. You can however track my progress online.)
Update: The Marine Traffic website is awesome! Sadly I can’t view it from the ship 🙁