To Sydney and Back (PT.2)

Sydney

Rondo and I both decided to explore Sydney, originally, Rondo was going to meet some other friends, but they were busy until the evening so we both explored, I was going to go alone, but more the merrier. I just wanted to just see the Opera House and Sydney Bridge, and just wander around.

Sydney Opera House, guess it ain't bad

I've been to Sydney before, and the opera house, but I was too young to remember any of it. Very elegant structure, and the bathrooms were nice, any place with decent bathrooms is awesome in my books.

Everyone's best friend

We hoped on a ferry to Watson Bay, I must mention, the Sydney ferries are awesome, best way to get around. The bar area around Watson Bay reminds me of a place called Stanley in Hong Kong, felt more like Europe than Australia, but for some reason I felt uncomfortable, it just felt a little too nice, almost fake. Luckily, all of that is forgotten once you get to the cliffs, where meandering boardwalks and paths bring you past some amazing vistas. 

Watson Bay

Such...power *biting lips* - note the cool square rock errosion

So...inspiring, could be a motivational poster, needs some text

that's better

We went to Bondi Beach, this is when I found out im not a beach person, which is a pitty, it's a nice place. We went to Gelato Messina - very worth it.

That was sort of it, we continued back towards the city and wandered and ate stuff. We got back onto the train which brought us back straight to our airBnB place. I didn't really feel like taking pictures, it was nice to just chill.

Melbourne Express

We slept and we woke, the 9 hour journey back was ahead of us and we got an early start, we left just after 9 am after some breakfast.

The view for most of the way

We were both exhausted, and I felt bad that I couldn't help take over driving duties, I really need to fix that problem, but major props to Rondo for doing something so difficult, he's one of the strongest willed people I know.

Majestic...

the nigh slowly crawls in, we're nearing the Victorian border at this point

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Upon our arrival to Melbourne, to our surprise, fireworks started appearing, I guess Melbourne was just happy to see us all again, definitely not related to the Whittlesea Garden annual culture show that was happening at the time.

Rondo dropped me off at where I was staying, and we parted our ways. He always joked that now he's qualified to be a truck driver now that he has done a Melbourne to Sydney leg in one day. It was a fun trip, and most of all, it was a good way to catch a break. Hopefully there will be more journeys to come.

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To Sydney and Back (PT.1)

 

A Roadtrip is Born

The story starts one week where my good friend Rondo suggested to take a trip to Sydney before the year got too busy. It was sporadic, but my mind was a little hazy at the time so I felt it was best to just go with it and get a change of scenery. My girlfriend was supposed to come originally, but her work scheduled her on the days we were set to be gone which was a huge a bummer, but unfortunately things like this happen.

Onwards to Canberra (Day 1)

Our trip started in Melbourne, where we drove (by we, I mean Rondo, as I don't have a license in Australia) to Canberra, from there we would go up to and stay a night in Goldburn (just an hour away and cheaper). We'd make a push to Sydney the next day, then stay in Sydney a day, finally push back to Melbourne in one day.

Somewhere around Albury, spirits still high, Perfume (band) playing on the stereo.

Rondo's cousin very generously lent his fuel canister, it saved us from fuel anxiety, we just filled up at rest stops, it saved some time and allowed us to go at our own pace without constantly calculating range and checking for the next service station.

Rondo wanted to go to a place called "Shepherds lookout" in northern Canberra. He wanted to be there for twilight, but we were a hair too late. I was surprised to how beautiful it was, I wasn't expecting much, but I was taken aback by the rolling hills and the deep valley before us. There was a viewing platform that extended just beyond a cliff, a sense of vertigo and awe overcame me. As said, pictures simply do not do it justice, it's actually worth a second visit, which I hope to do one day.

Shepherds lookout in Canberra 

Rondo getting some sky plates for his library 

Bushfires 

It's a ~15 minute walk from the viewing platform to the carpark, while we were making our way back, we heard a loud "POP", both of us didn't think much of it. We noticed there was a small fire brewing, we both thought it was the neighbouring farmer burning off something . When we reached the car and got in, the road ahead was glowing red, this is when it became apparent to the both of us that this was actually a bush fire. We quickly went to go investigate and I prepared to call the fire department, we were met with a field that was on fire. Rondo parked his car up wind, just as I was preparing to dial, a firetruck arrived - phew, someone had called ahead.

We talked to the Captain and told him around the time we heard the pop, he thanked us for calling in the fire even though we didn't, but it was not a time to explain so we both just played it down, he was calm and thanked us, we headed our own way and let them do their jobs.

We arrived exhausted in Goldburn nearly around midnight.

Canberra (Day 2) 

Another day came, and we made our way to Canberra again, we made our way to the top of Mount Ainslie. It was a very unspectacular morning, with plenty of fog and low clouds. We rolled on down into the city, this time we scheduled a few hours to look around. What caught me most was just how few people were walking in the city. I get it, Australia is huge, you need a car to get around, but seriously, no one at bus stops, no one walking on the sidewalks, everyone was in a car or a bus. Even the vast bike lanes remained empty, it wasn't until we went to lunch that we actually saw more than two people outside of a vehicle. Maybe the morning was too gloomy for people to be outside.

Obligatory image from the top of Mount Ainslie

Parliament House, I guess it ain't bad

We took a look through Parliament House, bit touristy we know, but we came this far, it'd be a waste not to go see the legendary molehill. It was very enjoyable, and I was surprised how open to the public it was, in Hong Kong you're not allowed into the Government buildings except for open days, we could go right into the chambers of the Senate and House or Representatives without any hassle. 

Pretty much exactly like on TV, speaking of TV, notice the cameras coming out the walls.

The rest of the journey was uneventful until Sydney, we arrived just before 6pm. I'll write that in the next post by clicking here.

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