Category: Oceania

Follow our adventures in Australia and Oceania!

Oceania

Darwin

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date June 28, 2018

Darwin

A continent away from Sydney, Darwin could be a world away from Australia. This tropical city, home to an abundance of nationalities and white sand lined, palm fringed city, is backpacker heaven. Looking back to our arrival in Sydney where we all froze, it seemed impossible to be in the same country when the car thermometer showed a sweltering 40 degrees.

Driving through the streets, music pumping, sun seekers dressed in vests, surfer shorts and flip flops. Music pumping out down Mitchell Street, global cuisines, long hair, coconuts and a pace of life so slow its virtually standing still. Darwin was nothing like we expected, but everything like we’d hoped.

Known as the ‘top end’, it is distinctly Asian urban, and, our favourite place in the country.

Within downtown Darwin there is loads to do, drink and listen to. Mindil Beach market is an absolute must, we cracked whips, jokes and tried to do a circus act. Avoid the sea in summer as getting stung by a jelly fish is not funny and highly likely. Darwin waterfront precinct is a great place to hop into a wave pool, go fishing, read a book or bounce around on an inflatable assault course. On the doorstep of Darwin is Kakadu national park, a stunning almost water world of perfection. Not far south is the (in my opinion) much better and less refined Litchfield National Park, home to cascading rock pools and picturesque waterfalls. Decent park management keeps the crocs at bay as you swim, and take selfies with termite mounds the size of medium height trees. Best of all, in June/July and August you can bet your grans house that it won’t rain. Piercing blue skies fettered only with a brutally hot sun will be the flavour of most days.

If you rock up in Darwin with a load to blow you can watch crocs jumping out of rivers, take helicopters over Jurassic like landscapes and sail away into paradise with a cold beer and an overpriced steak. But what amazed me about Darwin, is that you can arrive in this tropical city, dust the outback off, and indulge in a side of Australia that is like no where else in the country. Darwin is the sort of place that was built to be cosmopolitan, built to be the frontier of the Northern Territory, to face Asia head on, and then, had the pace of life turned down to a meagre level one.

It is worth point out that thanks to the likes of Jetstar flights onwards to Asia are super cheap.

And. So it was, after brushing off the outback, reminiscing on amazing journey through a continent, and agreeing that we had had one of the most times of our lives, we boarded a flight back to Asia leaving behind one of the most amazing places we have ever been, but taking with us memories that will last a lifetime.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

We then drove through the Australian Outback to Coober Pedy, Ayers Rock, Alice Springs got robbed in Tenant Creek and the finished up at the top end in Darwin. The full journey can be read here: The Outback

Tags Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Darwin, The top end, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia

Oceania

Tenant Creek

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date June 22, 2018

Tennant Creek

Headed North, everyone will pass through this skid mark. A dive of epic proportions, Tennant Creek is 5 decades past a facelift and a century behind the rest of civilisation. Due to there being just a handful of places to stay, price fixing is in full force and nothing shy of $150 will get you a rusty bed in a shady, condemnable room with dodgy air con that stopped working a fortnight before it was invented.

The whole town was sold out, not a shout out for quality, more a geographical necessity. Between Alice Springs and Katherine the choices are limited.

Tennant creek is a nod to the struggles and issues of the indigenous population. Alcohol laws are in full force, loitering prohibited and crime levels high. It came as no surprise therefore that Tennant Creek was also the place we were robbed.

Sat relaxing, I heard something outside, I went to the window and saw a shadow. I bolted out of the door ready to unleash some Jackie Chan and all I heard were footsteps. I checked the car, the passenger door was locked, the boot was unlocked. I looked inside and saw all our boots and thought I must have left it unlocked. I went back inside and chilled. A little later I went to phone the wife and on the way back, checked the drivers door and it was open. I couldn’t understand it. Our hire car didn’t have a key, just a fob with an open and close button. Inside, to start the vehicle you press a button. Turns out that when next to the car, a proximity sensor opens the drivers door and the boot. Because we were parked so close to the cabin, even when inside, the key was close enough for the car to decide to open. Ive gone outside, realised the sat nav was still in the glove box, glanced in the boot and then chilled. It wasn’t until the following day, when we arrived at some hot springs that I realised we had been robbed. I’d asked my girls to empty the boot whilst I was doing something else. All our swimming things had been in a green bag, they’d decided there was no point taking these inside and had left them in the boot. Just so happens that the idiot that robbed us must’ve grabbed the only bag in the boot and then tried the car door. I had spooked him and he’d been off.

The most annoying thing is that probably, the thief got to a safe place and realised he’d robbed a families swimming things and then dumped them. Meanwhile I’m left with a $100 bill trying to replace them all in the outback. Scumbag.

A woman in Alice Springs advised me to drive the whole way to Katherine, and I toyed with the idea. Not just because we got robbed, but also because we didn’t really sleep due to fights, shouting, arguments and at times a real fear that our car itself was to be vandalised.

Tennant Creek really is the arse end of Australia, a shit hole filled with thieves, noise and dust. I wish I’d have driven through the town, farted outside the general store, emptied my car and continued onwards.

Just before Tennant Creek is the Devils Marbles, a weird yet wonderful collection of huge sphere shaped rocks. Definitely worth a stop, and if you have the time a BBQ. It was at this place I really wished we’d hired a camper van. To wake up in the campsite next to the devils marbles would be amazing.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Devils marbles, Outback, tenant creek, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia

Oceania

Alice Springs

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date May 28, 2018

Centre of a continent, and the biggest city between Port Augusta and Darwin. In Alice you are half way in and out of the outback and yet still a world away from real civilisation. The most dangerous city in Australia, it is a place that I was dubious about visiting. Everyone I had spoken to warned me, “don’t go out at night”. We scuttled into Alice Springs and headed straight for a resort I’d booked us which has suspiciously changed names from booking to arriving.

A little research quelled my unease, Alice has quite a high Aboriginal population, and though most are general, law abiding citizens, a pocket love nothing more than getting smashed off their bonce and then fighting. Alcohol laws are strict, as are rules regarding loitering and, seemingly most things. It was the first time we had seen a strong police presence, with a police man stood outside every single place that sells alcohol checking the IDs of people wanting a drink, who are actually limited to just one bottle of wine.

I have to say, Alice Springs surprised me, not only did we find the legendary Loco Burrito, a place serving the tastiest burritos outside of Mexico, but we didn’t have a single issue, at all.

Not only is the city synonymous with its demographic and location, it is also the jumping off point for the MacDonnell Ranges. Split into East and West, the latter gains the most interest, partly due to the world renowned Larapinta Trail, mostly due to the countless opportunities for bush walking, swimming in waterholes and Aboriginal heritage.

Within Alice itself there is a few places of note, predominantly the camel rides for $7 each, the desert park, and aviation museum. We spent our time between east and west MacDonnell Ranges and our top picks are Ormiston gorge in the west, which is a stunning waterhole set amongst gorgeous rocky, green spattered scenery. It is also the coldest water any of us have ever experienced. Bone shaking, hypothermia inducing cold, thankfully nice and warm 38 degree temperature quickly ease the joint stiffness.

In the East we loved the simpleness of the Trephina gorge walk, an hour long stroll along the top of the gorge before descending down into the dried up river bed that meanders back to the car park.

The best thing about the MacDonnell ranges is the sheer scope of what to do. We would turn off at every signpost and go explore, the only time we did a wheel spin U-Turn was when we realised that you had to pay to see Standley Chasm. Rubber marks remain, we do not.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Alice Springs, Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Macdonnel ranges, Outback, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia

Oceania

Ayers Rock

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date January 28, 2018

Erldunda

Whizzing north out of Coober Pedy headed for Ayers Rock, and deeper into the outback brought with it phenomenal changes of landscape, wildlife and climate. It seemed to us that every morning was 1 degree warmer and each afternoon a degree warmer still. Erldunda is a self proclaimed famous roadhouse at the cross roads of Ayers Rock, or Uluru. When planning the journey from Coober Pedy I was faced with two possibilities, head all the way to Alice Springs (Alice) and then back track on a day trip to Uluru. I 100% couldn’t be bothered with wasted miles so zoomed in on google maps and came upon Erldunda, some 5 hours north of Coober Pedy.

Between the two places is a great deal of nothing. We stopped for lunch in Marla, and then cruised into Erldunda at the new and improved 130kmh.

The roadhouse itself looked somewhat different, almost like a resort. I checked in and got thoroughly ripped off with the woman charging me for the kids individually which is unheard of anywhere else on earth. A mooch around the roadhouse grounds convinced me that the pool would likely give you some bacterial borne disease, and that the proximity of our wooden cabin was guaranteed to serve up a sleepless night of noise riddled frustration.

The kangaroo refuge is a few kangaroos lazing around in a caged off area and the emu zoo is some birds in a similar enclosure. As I was looking into the enclosure I spotted the biggest, buffest, hard core looking chicken I have ever seen. So big the kids quickly pointed in enthusiasm. Turns out we had stumbled upon Cluck Norris, the biggest chicken in this part of the world. We laughed, watching him strut around like he owned the place. Legend has it, Cluck Norris built the enclosure before he was born.

Feeling a little bummed, it was 6pm and I felt like I’d made a mistake, there was nothing to do. Suddenly, some dude with a comb over walks past holding a white rabbit, he handed my son a business card. ‘Dane the magician, 7pm; Free show’.

I sent the kids to grab a decent table, ordered food, a beer and sat back waiting for Dane. Picture the scene, we are literally in the middle of the outback (genuinely, there is a monument), we are in a roadhouse, wooden, with about 30 other Australians, all with two things on their mind; Get drunk and watch magic.

An hour later there was a card with my daughters name written on it stuck to the ceiling, it had snowed inside, a dove had appeared from no where and everyone was amazed. The kids and I agree, that though we expected nothing we happened upon a brilliant, and magical night of humour, entertainment and, well, magic.

Ayers Rock/Uluru

Having travelled so extensively I didn’t really know what to expect, Ayers Rock is after-all a rock in the middle of no where. For me it epitomised Australia, just like kangaroos. But other than a quick look, touch and a laugh, I wasn’t sure what more there could be to it.

My misconceptions, and lack of enthusiasm instantly evaporated the second we saw in the distance, a huge, brown/red monolith. The car was silent as we all sat in awe.

I was instantly slapped out of my stupor when we rolled up to the entrance and I was shaken down for $68! (£42) As I was prising my wallet out of my shorts the ranger asked jokingly “you’ve not got anyone in the boot have you”, I couldn’t believe I’d not thought of that.

The entrance is justified because you get 3 days, I recon -5% of visitors actually visit more than one day, and it’s a real scam that you are peeled out of such a large amount to see something natural. To put things into perspective, the Grand Canyon charges less than half, and the Taj Mahal just £7, with kids being free.

Another thing that annoyed me, is that it is no stopping on the road up to the rock, which did my swede due to the fact the best photographs are taken with it in the distance.

Alas, we parked up and I was instantly over the entrance fee. Few words could give Ayers Rock the introduction it deserves. A monolith of epic proportions, a place so unusually stunning it looks alien to the surroundings. Turns out it was an ancient meeting place for the indigenous population. And what a place to meet. Towering some 348m high and stretching just over 2 miles long, it is an assault on every sense. Steeper than it looks, more imposing than you can imagine, and though plain, more gorgeous than words can describe.
Our time at Ayers Rock was spent walking around the base, we didn’t walk the entire way around because on the day we arrived, every fly in the Southern Hemisphere had decided to visit too.

Ayers Rock was for me, a dream come true. When I was a kid I had books that showed the world, and obviously Ayers Rock stood out from the pages in respect of Australia, yet here we were. Here I was with my kids. Though it really is a huge diversion, and a complete scam to get into, and the food is worse than Sanjay’s food stall in Jaisalmer, India; It is easily one of the most memorable days of the trip, and my life.

Standing at Ayers Rock, looking into the distance you can see a bunch of rocks, they look about 30 miles away, though are actually more like 20 miles. The Olgas or Kata Tjuta are a load of boulders that form funky shapes. At the time, the day was getting on and I made the decision to head straight to Alice, in hindsight I really think I missed a trick and regret that decision.

Especially since we were in Alice Springs for 5pm.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Australia with kids, Ayers Rock, Backpacking Australia, Erldunda, Outback, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia, Uluru

Oceania

The Outback & Coober Pedy

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date January 28, 2018

Port Augusta is the crossroads for the north and the outback. A self proclaimed South Australian gem, I must have missed something. From what I saw, the only two things going on in the city was the road in and the road out. Added to the fact we chose to pay $150 for a luxury cabin at Discovery Parks Port Augusta and were completely ripped off, I couldn’t wait to leave the place.

Leaving Port Augusta I thought of how best to summarise the place and really, Port Augusta is little more than a skid mark in southern Australia, with the most exciting part of the city being the road out of there.

Cooper Pedy and the Outback

Synonymous with opals, mining, caves and the outback. Rough and ready Coober Pedy was where finally the weather got decent, and where we all stayed in a gorgeous underground cave.

Driving north from Port Augusta the road begins to enter a part of Australia that is the thing of dreams. The land becomes an arid desert like place dotted with bushes of a faded green clinging to life. Kangaroo hop around in the distance, emus mooch around like they own the place and birds on steroids make meals of the recent roadkill. The outback is every bit as baron, harsh and rugged as I imagined. Yet somehow it captivates and enthrals and the hundreds of miles pass quickly. The speed limit is 110km/h which is about 68mph. I wanted so badly to floor it and whizz through the outback on the single lane Stuart Highway at break-neck speed. But a few close encounters with the worlds largest kangaroos (genuinely, these things had biceps, triceps and pecs) and I realised it wasn’t a good idea.

One thing which amazed me about the outback, was the ever changing landscape. I expected it to be desert like, and at times it is, but it is constantly changing, the colours, fauna, bush, wildlife, changes as though you are driving through a peek into the best landscape Australia has to offer. One thing remains, and that is the scorched colour of the landscape. It looks tired, beaten and burned, as though it has battled for millennia to survive and is now clinging on desperately.

There is not much between places on the Stuart Highway, but every couple of hundred km a roadhouse pops up. We stopped for lunch at Glendambo, a funky little place where the woman taking our order was so angry with life she stood rolling her eyes and huffing and puffing at me. Food was reasonably priced and decent. I soon got over it.

Coober Pedy is a small town, and the first introduction is passing lots of pointed mounds of sand. This is mad max country, a place that has survived despite everything the desert and climate throws at it. Existing purely due to the opals found here and the constant and persistent search for more, Coober Pedy is every bit as ‘mining’ as you expect. Old, ruined vehicles sit rusting in fenced yards where the fence is drooping, windowless buildings built from breeze blocks double as stores working mines dot the landscape. The town itself is often described as post apocalyptic, and it would be difficult to disagree. Think mad max (which was filmed nearby) mixed with zombie apocalypse, peppered with some local Aborigines. A place where the men are real men, and the women are men too. A fascinating place with probably the best pizza in Australia; Johns Pizza bar and restaurant.

We stayed at ‘Down to Erth bnb’ not a typo. Rose, the owner has a single cave that is decorated beautifully. With two bedrooms, kitchen, and spacious living room it is the perfect place to grab a cold beer, sit back and watch mad max.

Within Coober Pedy itself there’s loads to do, though except for the spaceship left behind in the centre of town from the filming of ‘Pitch Black’ most activities revolve around mining. We visited The Old Timers mine, the kids donned helmets and we explored the spider like tunnels beneath the ground.

We loved Coober Pedy, probably because of its iconic status, possibly because we stayed underground, most certainly because it was nice to have a beer and watch a decent movie.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Coober Pedy, Outback, Port Augusta, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia

Oceania

Adelaide

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date January 28, 2018

Adelaide

Eventually, having driven through what seems like endless vineyards you drive upon a landscape that looks suspiciously like English countryside. Rolling green fields, rocks, even houses that wouldn’t look out of place in Blighty. You have come upon the Adelaide Hills, a gorgeous respite from busy Adelaide.

Rocking up into the city I was aware that there was a high proportion of British expats, within minutes we were stuck in a traffic jam, our first of the trip so far. Eventually, when things got moving we were stuck behind some of earths slowest drivers, definitive proof that the occupants were elderly British, whiling away their lives at a snails pace. Just as they do in Britain.

Adelaide is a coastal city boasting its own unique culture, which is a combination of chic, mixed with sexy and wrapped up in chill. It’s an easy place to love, clean, modern and easy going there is no doubt as to why it continues to attract migrants year on year. Personally, we didn’t think Adelaide had the best beaches, or museums, or landmarks. But it definitely had the best pace of any city we’d been in so far.

Take time to visit the hills though, the kids absolutely went crazy for Gorge Wildlife park, a cheap and cheesy place to hold a koala, play with kangaroos and experience some of the countries wonderful wildlife.

Naturally we hit up the botanic gardens, and took in a few museums, but the lasting memory for us all was the wildlife park and the holiday park we stayed at, which had a huge bouncy thing that the kids flung themselves from repeatedly.

Due to the time of year, the beaches were abandoned but looked like a sure place to lose yourself come summer. With a little more time we’d have loved to make our way over to Kangaroo island, but sadly, it wasn’t to be this time.

Backpacking Australia, touring Australia, Australia with kids, tinytrekkers

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Adelaide, Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia

Oceania

The Great Ocean Road

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date January 28, 2018

Twelve Apostles, The Great Ocean Rd, Australia

The great ocean road is the jewel of Australian road trips. Starting east to west in Geelong, the route traverses some of the countries greatest coastline.

I was expecting koalas hanging from trees, whales crashing against the ocean, kangaroos bouncing through fields and tropical birds filling the skies. All this combined with a rugged coastline unmatched in this part of the world. I expected seaside towns decades past their sell by date, hardy Australians celebrating a life of coastal beauty. I envisaged wineries, seafood and quirky attractions desperate to draw some of the masses from the roads. I expected a lot, and we were not disappointed.

The Great Ocean Road is clearly marked. The route passes by towns that reminded me of great British seaside, often with a shady looking pier jutting out into the ocean. The sea was violent, isolated beaches were pounded with surf as fog tended to hang constantly a hundred metres from shore, broken only occasionally by a rainbow.

Much of the route was spent nipping off into the many attractions en route such as Lorne, where spotting koalas is more like ‘spot the place without a Koala’. Or at man made attractions such as Otway Fly, a super expensive and quite unnerving tree top walk amongst the rain forest. Made ever more memorable for us, as we met a lifelong friend who bailed to the Southern Hemisphere some 16 years ago. We picked up where we left off.

Beyond Otway is the stunning yet tourist saturated 12 apostles. No longer 12, more like 3 or 4, it is one of those images that epitomises Australia. We saw our first rain here and quickly bailed about 20 miles west before finding a slice of nothing, not even rain, and it felt like we had the entire continent to ourselves. It was still freezing cold.

Eventually a 70’s style British seaside town comes along. Name is Warrnambool. Was it not for the mammals that make their way here people might continue driving. Yet come between May and November and theres a high likelihood you’ll be rewarded with a show of whales jumping, rolling and living life in their natural habitat. Head to the whale sanctuary for the best lookout opportunities. No charge. Obviously. Further up the coast you can spot a zillion seals in Cape Bridgewater after passing through gorgeous Port Fairy and interesting Portland.

For me the Great Ocean Road was one of those places where you spend more time looking at what is around, than at the road ahead. The kids grew bored on the in between journeys, but sprang to life every time they saw something a little out of the ordinary, which was very frequent.

Be aware, prices rocket in this pocket of Australia and places sell out well in advance.

Beyond the Great Ocean Road and just across the border between Victoria and South Australia, is Mt Gambier. Famed for a supposed stunning blue lake that was oddly normal looking when we arrived, it is a nice little town to kick back, relax and walk down a sinkhole.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags 12 Apostles, Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Great Ocean Road, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia, Twelve Apostles

Oceania

Melbourne

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date January 28, 2018

Melbourne

Long revered as being the worlds most liveable city (whatever that really means) I was looking forward to Melbourne. I’d rented an apartment with stunning city views and placed us just far enough from the hustle and bustle not to hear it, but close enough that we could walk or hop on the free city tram.

I must say, Melbourne wasn’t what I expected. Yes, there was the coffee shops, graffiti scrawled walls and fish and chip shops. But I just felt the city lacked any real identity, which is probably a huge attraction for many.

The city itself is modern, chic and walking around the arcades gives a glimpse into student life and $30 breakfasts. Supposedly the best coffee in the world is to be found in Melbourne, something I found out after having left the city so am unable to comment on.

We walked a lot in Melbourne, there is a free zone for the tram which you can hop on and off with ease and that allows you to really get your teeth into the city.

The main starting point for the city is Federation square, a cobbled piece of the city where the only activity is that of relaxing, chatting and not doing much.

A couple of places worth noting is the NGV, a perverted and somewhat pointless array of so called art, housed in a concrete wanna-be-Tate-modern building. The kids laughed at the drawings of penises, but I just felt it was little more than an outlet for some perverted individual keen to show the world his lurid and vulgar wanderlust.

Conveniently next door is the ACMI which is the Australian Centre for Moving Images, a small but wonderful little media museum that on weekends has tonnes of activities for families, such as making stop motion movies and watching some Australian classic TV.

Beyond the city centre we walked as far as docklands from Flinders st. and out as far as the hospital which is where our apartment was.

Melbourne to me lacked the friendly feel which every other place we’d been (and would go) had. I was talking to a couple of locals in the pool and they said it is due to Melbourne having undergone a population boom, and this was easy to see. At one point in the city my daughter said, ‘it feels like we’re in China’ and I looked around, and realised that it really did. Only in Vancouver have I ever seen as many Chinese people outside of China. Naturally, we embraced that and had a gorgeous Chinese meal for dinner.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia

Oceania

Canberra

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date January 28, 2018

Canberra

Legend has it, that years ago Melbourne and Sydney got into an argument about which city was best placed to be the capital city of Australia. Most countries would figure out their differences with handbags at dawn, but not Australia. Apparently, someone pencilled in a place halfway between the two cities and then set about building a new capital city. Everyone was happy and got on with their lives, content that they might not have been awarded capital city status, but then neither had the other.

Canberra is in its own state, ACT or Australian Capital Territory which by all accounts, is a poor effort at a state name. My first impression of Canberra was that it felt a bit American, and like it had been designed by a visionary with a knack for what the future might look like. Researching the city, I found I wasn’t far off. It is indeed an American design and the odd thing is, it feels designed. Most cities feel natural, like they started as some building and then naturally extended into the surroundings. Not Canberra. Everything feels like it is supposed to be there and for me that really takes away from the feel of the place. I soon got over that when I realised that virtually every museum in the city was free. And that means a lot. Four kids and I quickly become a high tariff, even when my 5-year-old rolls back his years to being just 3. Or 4.

The numero uno place in Canberra for us, was the war memorial. It would be criminal not to visit what for me, and all of us is simply one of the most beautiful and well stocked museums we have ever had the privilege of visiting. Meticulously crafted it represents a journey through history of the Australian military. Stories are told through artefacts, exhibitions, and enough props and activities to keep you occupied for days. I gave us 3 hours, we spent the entire day. Even passing Canberra, this is a worthwhile stop few will regret.

Parliament House and the National Museum are worth a gander, though the latter does feel like it was designed by your grandad, it is free and in the basement kids can design robots and then pit them against each other, albeit virtually.

Canberra for us was also the first place we really saw kangaroos, for a time they seemed to be everywhere, and when we left our hotel room for dinner, we saw loads of them on our lawn. We all probably got a little excited that night.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Tinytrekkers, touring Australia

Oceania

Sydney

Post author By Stuart Wilson
Post date January 28, 2018

Australia, home to stunning coastal cities, gorgeous beaches, the outback, kangaroos and koalas. A land so vast it spans five-time zones, three climatic regions and is home to some of the most diverse wildlife on earth. For many Australia is a place to retire, or somewhere to visit long migrated family, for us, it was a continent of adventure, of exploration and of driving one of the worlds most epic journeys. Sydney to Darwin via the great ocean road, and the outback.

You can drive directly from Sydney to Darwin up across Queensland, but we decided to go via Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Uluru and Alice Springs with lots of other places thrown in for good measure, and, just over the region of 3000 miles.

Sydney

We rocked up into Sydney off a red eye from Singapore. Car hire was a breeze, just £750 for a Toyota Camry hybrid for the month and unbelievably with no deposit to leave. Just me and 4 kids, we strolled out of the airport wearing shorts, rocking t.shirts and sandals and showing off a decent pair of sunglasses. We hadn’t stepped a foot beyond the doors before we all looked at each other and began dramatically shivering. It was freezing cold. We had arrived into Australia in the middle of winter, and the blue skies had lied. It was just 7 degrees.

Sydney is the launch pad for most people heading to Australia, the largest city in New South Wales, and is easily one of the hippest, most relaxed cities in the world. Everyone looks either high or retired, and no one really gives much of a damn about anything too serious.

This write up is not to tell people what to do, or to advise, different people like different things and so this guide is really what we did by way of giving you a jumping off point, somewhere to start with your own adventure. Nonetheless we spent a lot of time walking in the city, sure we hopped on and off the city trains from time to time, but generally Sydney is a very walkable city. An absolute must is the walk from from Macquarie’s chair through the botanical gardens to the Sydney Opera house. From there you can bounce across the harbour and mooch through the Rocks, which is the place British convicts turned up a couple of centuries ago. Walking around the area feels surreal, rich in history, yet shadowed by the huge iron harbour bridge with glimpses of the opera house dotting the eyeline.

Whilst in Sydney try and catch a footy game (Rugby League) at the stunning ANZ stadium. Don’t bother trying to sneak alcohol in, all bags are checked.

Everyone heading to Sydney wants to feel a slice of Bondi beach, and unless you’re a surfer, or hardcore till you die sun-seeker, you’ll be disappointed in winter. The beach is empty, waves huge and most things closed. This offers up a fantastic opportunity though. From Bondi beach is arguably the cities most famous walk ‘Bondi to Coogee’. A walk of around 4 miles, it meanders the coast on well trodden pavements taking in many bays, cliff edges and finishing in quirky Coogee. The walk took us about 2 hours, and in all honesty, it felt a bit ‘for the sake of it’. Worthwhile, but not life changing.

Beyond Sydney is the blue mountains, which looked green to me, and a number of other cities, namely Manly and Cronulla.

We did visit a few museums, and I realised very quickly that Sydney can become yours, there really is something for everyone and its easy to understand why some folks come, and struggle to leave.

I must point out our favourite restaurant whilst there, ‘Friggitoria’ a gorgeous little Italian place with a small menu serving up some of the best pasta I’ve ever tasted. If the kids are fussy, theres a Dominos around the corner shelling out reasonable sized pizza for $5 a pop.

Read the full trip…

We drove from Sydney through Canberra, Melbourne and along the great ocean road to Adelaide, the full journey can be read here: The Great Ocean Road

Tags Australia with kids, Backpacking Australia, Sydney, Tinytrekkers