|
Driving
Melbourne To Sydney
If you're planning on
settling in an city when travelling to Australia I would highly recommend
flying into a different city, within a reasonable distance, and drive for
the experience, e.g. if your going to settle in Sydney, fly into Melbourne
or Brisbane for instance and stay for a couple of weeks and enjoy a
different part of Oz before moving onto your desired city to blowing all
your dollars and end up tied down with your inevitable casual / temp job!
My girlfriend and I stayed with friends in Melbourne ( Voted most liveable
city in the world ) for 2 weeks, then hired a car for a long weekend. It
cost around $300 ( approx 100 quid ) for the weekend including the one way
drop off fee, plus fuel which cost us $70, (fuel is much cheaper than in
the UK.... but then what isn't!!?? )
We used Avis to rent a medium car, they were very helpful and traveller
friendly. I would strongly suggest paying the extra on the access cover on
the insurance of about $20 extra a day. Anything could happen to the car
on the open roads from a stone chip to a kangaroo running out in front of
you!! We saw a lot of wildlife unfortunately all fit for passing as a
pancake !! Your journey could last from 12-17 hours on the road so
anything is possible.
We drove up the east coast on the 'Princes Highway' route which follows
the coastline and is a beautiful, easy and pleasurable drive passing
through some fantastic and picturesque towns.
We stopped off at two towns ( Lakes Entrance - Victoria & Kiama - N.S.W. )
both after about a 5-6 hour drive, we also stayed in Motels both great
where we relaxed in a double room ( prices ranged from $50-$80.....around
20-30 pound a night ) and the rooms felt like heaven after the 2 weeks on
the floor in Melbourne !!! I recommend picking a few random places to stop
on your journey off the map, driving through and stopping at or either
side of that destination, which ever one takes your fancy or the one you
feel comfortable with!
We continued onto Sydney on the second day to finish our final leg of the
very worth while journey. One thing I will say is make sure you have a map
of the city you are driving into, things get a little hectic in the city
after the open roads, so try and stay calm and try not to upset your
navigator like I did ! It's bad enough upsetting the girlfriend let alone
in a 4 foot by 4 foot sq car !!!!
A few Tips -
* There is no courtesy driving here, so don't waste time letting people
out you'll not be thanked for it, Aussie drivers ( city at least ) rarely
let you pull out, it's pretty much one for all !!!
*Don't tangle with trucks, let them pass or stay clear of them, most of
them are aggressive, fast and big......if it was legal they'd drive right
over the top of you! and that applies in and out of the city !!! The
trucks ( lorries!! ) here make ours look like skateboards !!!
|
