Craig Gascoigne: Byron Bay sand artist

On the way home, a stop off at Byron Bay around lunch time on Saturday.  We found local sand artist, Craig Gascoigne raking his magic on the beach.

The Veronica chronicles: last days

As I write this, TC is winging her way homewards. Veronica Viva is basking in the fact that she carried us over 3000 kilometres (close to 2000 miles) in just 12 days.

On Tuesday we left Melbourne for the longest day’s drive of the road trip aiming to put Sydney within easy striking distance yesterday. We made it to the town of Yass just after nightfall, but not before a pit stop in Gundagai.

When in Gundagai, it’s customary to visit the Dog on the Tuckerbox. Here is TC looking suitably, and politely, impressed as the sun sets behind her.

Winter has been slow to arrive this year, but Yass did not disappoint yesterday morning, providing us with the first zero temperatures (Celsius) of the trip and a decent fog to drive through after breakfast before the sun burned it off.

TC’s last night was spent in Sydney, including Thai take away food and some time with my family – and packing!

It was super busy at the airport this morning, but we made time for farewells. We stacked up lots of memories on this trip, including a number of video “Carpool Karaokes” in the can for our future amusement. Because, as you know, what happens on the road stays on the road.

 

 

 

The Veronica chronicles: Melbourne

On our walk into Melbourne’s CBD, we swung around to the Fairy Tree in Fitzroy Gardens to see Ola Cohn’s  delightful carvings.

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Flinders Street Station

Some Japanese food to ward away the cold.

Then a short drop in to the National Gallery of Victoria.

A walk along the Yarra River.

More fuel before the walk home.

And a stop by Melbourne City Town Hall to see the rainbow flag lights display remembering Orlando, Florida.

The Veronica chronicles: Phillip Island then on to Melbourne

This morning began in the town of Cowes on Phillip Island in an overcast fashion brightened only by a tasty bircher muesli garnished avec geranium flower for breakfast.

Today was all about Australian animals for TC. Albeit the walk around the Wildlife Park was a tad muddy, it was more than made up for by the variety of unique animals in the mix.  Here’s a taste.

Last stop before heading towards the big city was The Nobbies – the Southern Ocean in full swell with not a migrating whale in site.

We negotiated our way into Melbourne with little or no fuss and ended a good day with a great meal at Smith & Daughters in Fitzroy which may have included a glass (or two) of Tempranillo for one of our party.

 

The Veronica chronicles: Lakes Entrance to Phillip Island

Tonight’s post is a short and sweet summary, due largely to slow internet speed. Here’s the summary of a good day’s driving in Victoria’s east.

Saturday morning after rain fell during the night at Shelley Beach near Lakes Entrance.

An unintentional but delightful visit to Lake Tyers and some black swans just down from where we were staying.

We drove through driving rain towards Phillip Island and a cold date with hundreds of penguins who came ashore just after dark. Photographs of the Fairy Penguins are strictly forbidden. While we were waiting a pair of Cape Barren geese were grazing nearby.

How to warm up after shivering down by the beach? Thai food, that’s how.

The Veronica chronicles: Canberra to Lakes Entrance

Canberra delivered a gloriously mild winter morning with not a sign of fog or frost.  The National Museum of Australia provided today’s morning coffee spot by Lake Burley Griffin.

Next stop, Cooma and on to Bombala where we stopped off at the Visitor Centre for directions to the Platypus Reserve. We were advised that, given recent heavy rains, the platypuses had been more active in the middle of the day than normal. We drove up Maybe Street, hopeful of a more definitive outcome.

Between the two of us, we managed to capture some shots of the Bombala River, but saw no sign of the elusive creatures. TC did see a kangaroo though.

Suppressing our disappointment at missing out on the Ornithorhynchus anatinus, we motored on into Victoria travelling in the late afternoon through dairy and timber country on the way to Lakes Entrance.

TC cooked up a storm for dinner, which certainly hit the mark on this cold evening. Tomorrow we head for Phillip Island for some penguin, fur seal and koala action. Stay posted.

The Veronica chronicles: Sydney to Canberra

Day 5 was a quiet day. TC took herself off to explore the city and came home in time to make us popcorn.

With only 3 hours of actual driving ahead of us on Day 6, we took our time heading down the Hume Highway towards Canberra via the Southern Highlands.

TC was a little discombobulated when I suggested that we hold off our first coffee stop until we got down the road an hour or so. The little town of Berrima worked its charm, especially AFTER the coffee and food.

Then it was on to Goulburn and the Alpaca Centre where the owner, Bill, gave us an insight into the manufacture of a large range of clothing items.

Before dark, we were driving past the often waterless basin of Lake George and into Canberra for an overnight stay before heading further south tomorrow.