Blog

After breakfast we checked out some nicer camping spots in the area. We found a very promising spot about 40 km NW of where we stayed, but before we went their, we went to vist the 3 Sisters. A famous rock formation in the neigborhood.

On the way their we came by the Hydro Majestic Pavilion, some sanatoium from the early 1900s with a nice view. Apart from that it seemed a bit leaning on the glory days.

It seemed like the entire village of Katoomba is leaning on these three rocks. We saw the rocks from the same place Queen Elisabeth saw them about half a centuray ago.

After that we headed for our new campsite. After about half an hour on paved road, we turned onto a dirt road and drove for a bit. Mo got all excited about the off road driving, especially when there was a long steep decent. She preferred to get out of the car, so I asked her to make a video then.

And then there out of the blue thre where our first kangaroos, just hopping around.

A few minutes later there was our first wading. Even though this is a common track, I did walk thot the other side and back to make sure the car would not get into trouble. But the water hardly got to the axes.

We saw a few other campers on spots hundreds of meters apart and then we got to the spot we picked for now. It was clos to the Coxs river and had plenty of space. To bad the previous campers left such a mess, but after we cleaned that up, we could put up our tent and awening. Mo went check the river and when I saw here standing silently making pictures, I went to see what was going on and then I also sw the big kangaroo, about 10 meters away minding its own business eating some fresh grass near the river.

Later when we where preparing to make dinner, I made a small trance fire, but just when it started to burn nicely it started raining and hailing, we hail or 12-15 mm.We decided to use our backup noodle cups for now, as it was getting dark anyway. Plenty of days of fully cooked meals.

An exciting day, we will finally start on our road trip through Australia. We just needed some gass cartriges for cooking, but I found a store on the way that would sell them.

We bought a book with maps and camp sites and from there I found a nice camping in a national forest that seemed nice. It had a marker for 4×4 only, so I figured that would be a good start.

At some point we stopped to double check where to get off the paved road on the unpaved road and saw a flashing sign about koalas migrating over the next 7 km. I guess we have to keep our eyes open.

Once we turned to the unpaved road we moved through the forest on a winding road. At some point there was a sign about only 4×4 after that sign. It got a bit steeper, but it was still pretty easy in the normal D4. When at some point I noticed I was breaking a lot, I checked on how to shift down and with a bit of trying I got to D3 and after an aditional click D2.

And like that we arrived at a very spacious grassy area with out 10 setups there. There was a sign with a URL where you had to sign in. The internet wasn’t very fast at this remove area, but enough to load the page and find out this camping was full. We looked around on the website and found a camping about 40 km further which was available, so we booked it and drove there.

There was beautiful scenery around and it was a joy to drive. But when we got to the place where the camping was marked on the map, we found out, is was a camping for hikers only and it was still an hour hike from the parking lot.

iOverlander to the recue, there ware two free campsites at about 10 and 15 minutes driving, which would be good, because by now it was getting late and we did not want ot put up the tent for the first time in the dark. The first campsite was fully packed. All nice camping setups and 90% 4WD.

The second campsite was still very packed, but there was a small spot we could park and put up the tent. Once we got installed I pulled out the stove to prepare dinner, but something was leaking, so the flame kept jumping to the canister. On the the backup stove.

After dinner we went to sleep and had a half way decent night considering the amount of people packed together, who all make their noises.

Today was filled with all kinds of odd jobs. I put together the last pieces of the roofop tent and the awning. I put the awning on the car, which seemed to fit better then expected. We did some grocery shopping and generally put the stuff together.

Also I updated the blog. There is a bit of an issue with the pictures on the map, so for now I post the map and the pictures separately.

Towards the evening Nico got home and we could put the rooftop tent on the car as well. On the left side it was a bit tricky to tighten the bolds as the awning was in the way, but the other way around would be even harder. Good thing it does not have to be done very often.

It seems tomorrow we can leave for the Blue Mountains.

After the late night we slept in late as well. We had some sort of brunch and I looked at what needed to be done to put the rooftop tent together.

We took Ruby for a walk and found the old cemetery which was in the middle of the park behind a tall wall. The place was started in the 1850 and most of the graved we saw where from the 1860-1890s. It wasn’t very well maintained, but it sure has character.

We still needed bedding, and since Australia also has Ikea, we headed there to get some pillow, a duvet, covers and some random bibs and bobs.

After that we had a stroll around Newtown and concluded once more it has a nice artsy atmosphere.

Back home we made dinner and after that I put together the rooftop tent and checked how to install the awning. Looking forward to putting it on the car tomorrow.

Once I got home, we unloaded the car and since it is New Years Eve and I am standing, I have to make oliebollen. Especially since this would be my 4th continent on which I bake them. After the Americas during my exchange year in the USA and my internship on Curaçao, Africa during my project in Rwanda, Europe in the Netherlands, Czech, Estonia and Italy, now I would add Australia to my oliebollen list.

I made the dough in a large pot and put it away to let it rise. After an hour I found it did not rise as much as normally, but we have to work with it. Mo recalled you have to add more yeast then normally, I guess I will experiment with that next year.

I put the first blobs of dough in the hot oil and all worked as normal and five minutes later we could taste first oliebollen. The outside was a bit more crunchy than the normal ones, but the structure and the taste was very close. Due to the smaller batch and the lack of rising I was done baking after 27 oliebollen, about 1/4 of my normal amount.

We shared some with Nico from Columbia who is staying in another room and we discussed the best places to watch the fireworks without it being to crowded. We decided to go to the Vaucluse land tongue for the 21:00 fireworks and then see what we would do for the midnight fireworks.

It was surprisingly quiet on the road and apart from some roads to popular viewing locations the trip was pretty smooth. We drove up to Watson bay and found a parking spot pretty easy. After a nice walk by the ocean coast with some amazing big trees, we got to the beach on the bay side. On one side they where playing loud music, so we moved in the other direction and found a bench with a good view, so we settled there.

The fireworks where very nice, but it was a bit in the distance. So we decided we would move closer to the city for the main course.

Once at the car, we had an unpleasant surprise. The car would not start. I had left the lights on. After 10 years in Estonia I am completely used to the Nordic wiring where the power to the lights is cut when you turn off the car. Even though where where parked on a hill, this would not help the car with automatic transmission and the jump starter was still at home.

I saw some people getting in their car and asked them if they had jumper cable, which they didn’t but they did suggest to walk down the road and as the police who where there.
On my way there I was greeted by a guy with a fishing rod. On my random question if he had jumper cables he replied: “It must be your lucky day, happy New Year”. But it turned out he did not want to give up his parking spot. But then he surprised me by pulling an entire battery out of his trunk as well. He emptied his trolley bag and but the battery in there for easy transport up the hill.
Once connected the car started instantly and by that time the guy had followed me, so I didn’t even have to walk it back.
We offered him some oliebollen and then went our way.

On the way back we found a nice a quiet part with view to the city, which looked promising. We decided to go home and pick up the jump started just in case. After a little rest we where debating if we would drive to the park or drive to the area we had stayed the first few nights, but opted for the park as that would be less crowdy.

We arrived about 23:55, found another bench and waited for the show to start. It was very nice with flares shooting from the high buildings. A wonderful start of a new year which has lots of adventures in store for us,

After a sweaty night, I woke up pretty early feeling much better. I guess some tension released. I went online to search for the next step: camping equipment.
In the preparation for this trip I came across 4wdsupacentre.com.au which offers camping equipment for wholesale prices. On their website I saw they still had black Friday sales, so I created an account and filled my shopping card. A rooftop tent, an awning, a n awning wall, a fridge with extra insulation and a jump starter (since I have an automatic). All for 930 AUD, which is around 530 euro. To be picked up at the closest branch.

Then I went on my way to pick up the LandCruiser. I first dropped off the rental car at Hertz, where Ong helped me again and he asked about our progress. We was very happy to hear we got a GLX version. He had driven one for years and could only speak good about it.

I walked to the bus stop to catch a bus to the train station, but after 15 minutes waiting without any of the scheduled busses passing by I checked where the train station was and decided to walk the about 1200 meters.

The train was pretty empty. 8 carts, double deck, 2 + 3 seats. At some point I found out you can move the back rest around, to change the direction in which you sit.
The train stopped a bit earlier then my planner had said and I found out I had to got 1 station back to change to the train I needed. It always takes some time to find the right train and when I heard the whistle I jumped in what turned out to be the fast train to the center, so the wrong direction.

We even passed the station next to our house before I could get out and get on the correct train. Then once more change to the correct destination and all in all more then an hour behind on planning I got to our car.

In the mean time I got a text message from Mo (who has the Australian sim in her phone) that the order could be picked up, so I could do that on the way back. I also came across a shopping center where I went to big Aldi to pick up some stuff for oliebollen, since there was gluten-free flower available I opted for that, so Mo could have oliebollen once again.

The 4WD Supacentre was as I expected a candy store. I picked up some rachet straps so I could tie the box of with the tent on the roof and made some pictures of some nice to haves before getting my stuff. Then I found out that everything except for the tent was available. I was directed to the loading dock and there was greeted by a cheerful guy who told me it was my lucky day as he had found the last tent and it was mine.

We loaded everything in and on the car and I was off.

I woke up before Mo again an went downstairs to have a cup of tea and search for a car. This time i moved my attention from private sales to businesses.
Several options seemed interesting. I zoomed in to the Sydney area, and at some point realized the best way to visit these place was to rent a car an drive there.

Once Mo got up, I suggested we would rent a car and find our transport an home for this trip. I booked a car through my regular car rental agent and we could pick it up at noon from a Hertz car rental about half an hour from where we stayed.

It seemed there was a bus connection that way, so we walked to the bus stop and caught the first bus to the rental place. There we found the booking did not come through. Luckily they did have a car available, though for about double the rate we booked online.

About 40 minutes later we pulled into a car sales area. A few dozen plots with cars of all brands and age. After a bit of searching we found the first place I had on my list, to find out the car I found online was already sold. He did have a much tweaked Mazda pickup, but that was not the first choice. We moved around the yard, and the neighbor asked what we where looking for. He had a Volkswagon pickup. It looked nice, but there where plenty of other cars to look at. Long story short, at some point we saw a Landcruiser 120 series, which ticked most of the boxes. We arranged a test drive and where convinced.

While doing the paperwork we where offered a drink, but the choices where limited. Mo took a Pepsi and I ended up with a Corona after learning you can have 1 standard unit.
An hour later we where the proud owners of a 2007 Toyota LandCruiser 120 GLX 4.0 l V6 with an automatic 5 speed.

Only one issue, we came here by rental car. So we parked the LandCruiser outside of the sales yard and headed back. I would come pick it up later.

On the way back I did not feel very well and at home we made some dinner, which I ate half before turning in early. The LandCruiser would have to wait.

Today we will be moving to a different place. So we take it easy. I updated a few blog posts and enjoyed the view from the balcony once more.

Jerry got stuck in traffic, so he was a bit later then planned. He is pretty busy with the properties he takes care of through housesitters.com.au
He arranged that we can stay in a place he is taking care of. “But, you might have to take Ruby, a GORGEOUS smart and well-trained white standard poodle, for a walk in one of the nearby parks”

While he house sits other properties he AirBnB’s his own apartment, which has an amazing view of the city. Because of that view he can charge a good premium for new years eve, as you can watch the fireworks from his balcony.
As his apartment was on the way we stopped there to see his place and help change the bed linnens before we went to Newtown.

It is a stylishly renovated house in a really friendly looking neighborhood. After we settled in our room, we first went for a walk with Ruby. We went to the bigger park down the street. After that we went to explore the neighborhood and get some groceries. It seems a nice vibrant and inclusive neighborhood.

We kind of skipped lunch, so we made sandwiches, there was a good selection of gluten free options for Mo, even at the small neighborhood Aldi. After that with had a bit of an after dinner dip. And we just hung out. I checked some more car options, but so far the response on the website was below expectations. 22:00 still seems the time we get tired and want to sleep. I than actually sleep and Mo tries. Resulting in me waking up pretty early and Mo sleeping in.

Today we decided to check out the Opera house. Jerry had advised to take the tour, but that was sold out except for a 09:30 tour, which seemed a bit early. So we booked a tour for February 10th, when we should be in town again before our flight back.

We took the ferry again and had a stroll to the Opera house. It is a very impressive building up close, but due to the preparation for the New Years eve fireworks, the access around it was somewhat limited, so I guess that we can revisit in February as well.

We continued our stroll into the park, which turned out to be the botanical garden. We found some very impressive huge trees, which turned out to be Ficus, just slightly bigger then the once we normally see as house plants.

We also came across this white bird with a black head and a long curved beak. As we have internet now, I could look up which bird it was and it turns out to be an Australian white Ibis. At some point we saw one on a drinking fountain, where I can make some nice pictures.

We wandered around the park and found a wishing tree, the way to Mrs Macquarie point, which was also mostly closed for the fireworks setup and a succulent garden. Here was saw some nice cactusses but also the first big spiders, with a body as thick as a finger.

It was time to eat something and after that we found a nice tap room on the Rock before returning home around sunset (20:05) We found out the Opera house side of the bridge has lights, which turned on just after the ferry left.

After a good night of sleep, I saw a message from Jerry that the cleaning lady would come in at 10:00, so I woke up Mo to get ready. We let the cleaning lady in and left for the nearby park to see what we would do today.

Jerry had send a link with markets around Sydney and one of them on ‘the Rock’ was advised. So we decided to find out how the ferry works and see if we could find this market.

The ferry works very convenient, you beep in with your payment card and once you get off you beep again. We sailed to the other side of the bay, got nice views of the bridge and the opera house. The third stop was also the endpoint: Circular Quay. This seems to be the heard of all public transport. And a nice surprise, the fare was 1 AUD, (around 55 cents). We quickly found ‘the Rock‘, the old town of Sydney where the city started around 200 years. It is now a vibrant part of town with a nice mix of nicely renovated old – and new buildings.

But as much as we walked around there was no market to be found.
After a drink and a meal we came by place what had a sign that the market was closed until early January, while on a website it was specifically said that between xmas and New Years the market was open. Let’s see if we will have another opportunity later.

We also wanted to get a local sim card, so we would have an internet connection once we would leave Sydney. We where advised to get a Telstra sim, as their network has the best coverage, especially in the more remote areas. This seemed a bit more challenging. In the first store the employee was not very helpful, the clerk in the second store was more helpful. He pointed us to George street at the beginning of the CBD (Central Business District), which borders the Rock on the south side.

There we first found a shop with nice hats. I fitted several, including hat from crocodile – and kangaroo leather, but opted for a normal leather hat that can be folded. Soon after we found a shop which had Telstra sims and an helpful lady explaining to get online and find the package we required.

We wondered around George street and found the largest Lego store in the world, which we off course checked out. The we took the tram back to Circular Quay, where we caught the ferry back home. Mo cooked a nice meal, while I activated the SIM card. A little bit of chilling and we got to bed around 22:00. We seem to adapt to the current time zone.