Back to blogging! Will be trying to blog this trip more as we go rather than weeks, months or even years later! This means it will be interspersed with final updates on the Viking Cruise as I fancy getting that tidied away too – we have some down time early on in this trip so in theory this is all possible 😉 Lets see how it goes, I have a suspicion it may get harder as we get into the camping tour, but at least the intention is there!
So here we go – the big adventure Down Under. Another trip booked a long way ahead – we tried for this time last year and it was all full due to the knock on from Covid cancellations. And then suddenly it was time to go 😊
The most daunting part was, and will be, the actual travel there and back. 12 hours from Paris to Singapore (delayed an hour too) after hanging around at the airport all afternoon and evening having travelled to the area the day before as its at least 7 hours drive from Sarlat. Phew. Then 4 hours in Singapore followed by another 7 to Melbourne.
The Melbourne stopover was a late amendment when friends who live there suddenly appeared in our area of France and came for a quick coffee. As you know, a cup of coffee can lead to many things and in this case it was a diversion and 9 days in Oz before our camping trip in New Zealand. Who knew?!
As we filled in the landing cards we realised we had not got around to asking our friends where they actually lived! Turned out to be Rosebud – what a cool name – a lovely spot on the coast of the big bay on which Melbourne sits, about 90 minutes away by car.
We landed at 8 in the morning, surprisingly awake after very little sleep on the flights. That day was gentle, go to the house, have a light lunch, go to the beach to walk the dog – the fabulous Millie – and then chilling out at the house. They have a lovely house too, very comfortable, modern airy and, well, we could certainly move
in tomorrow!
The next morning we went on a run around the area to look at some of the views. As with the US, many place names are taken from the UK. We went to Red Hill for our first look at kangaroos as they are usually in the park there, but alas no cigar – only poo, and lots of it! Then we went to the facility where our friend coaches special needs kids in riding and spotted 4 in the distance, but too far for any sensible photos. Hey ho. Lovely coastal views from Red Hill which started to put our location into context.
