December. Christmas. New Year's. As a born and raised Midwesterner, these events evoke cold images. Icicles hanging from a rooftop, a layer of snow on an evergreen, carving circles on a frozen pond - all pleasant images, but all undeniably cold. Being residents of the Southern Hemisphere, of course this is not the case for Australians. As you are likely aware, it's hot here in December. What I have a hard time getting over is the stark contrast between what Australians and Americans associate with this time of year. Many people barbecue on Christmas Eve, hit the beach on Christmas, and camp on New Year's Eve. Of course it makes sense to take advantage of the nice weather but something about it feels...wrong. At least that's what I thought until Linnea and I rented a camper van and spent 8 days camping our way along the coast from Melbourne to Sydney. It turns out that enjoying what I traditionally think of as "summer" activities in December is just as fun as doing them in July.
Day 1: Melbourne -> Wilson's Prom
Road trip time. We packed everything we needed into the camper van (clothes, food, books, beer) on Christmas Eve and headed southwest. "Southwest, Ben? Sydney is north. Are you sure you know where you're going?" you might ask. My response would be "Well, no, I don't really know where I'm going. South is the right way to begin though because my first destination is Wilson's Prom, which is the southernmost point of continental Australia." When I say that I don't know where I'm going, there is some truth to that. For this trip, Linnea and I had no agenda or itinerary. The only things set in stone were that we would leave Melbourne on Christmas Eve and arrive in Sydney on New Year's Eve. Everything in between would be figured out on the fly. I have never been on a trip with nothing planned - I am used to at least having accommodation booked. Frankly, I was nervous. I didn't know how easy it would be to find a place to park the van every night. Instead of making you wait to find out if my anxiety was warranted, I'll spoil it for you now: finding a place to sleep every night was easy. Linnea found an app called WikiCamps Australia that gave us a map of places to stay, including a list of amenities and ratings for each location. Instead of being a negative thing, not having accommodation booked gave us a lot of flexibility that we wouldn't have otherwise had.
Anyway, we headed to Wilson's Prom. Prom is short for promontory, which is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or lower body of water according to Wikipedia. After reading that definition, I'm not sure what makes it different from a peninsula, but I digress. Wilson's Prom is a beautiful national park just a few hours from Melbourne. Its excellent walking tracks and variety of terrain make it a favourite destination for Melburnians. We arrived at the park in the afternoon with our fingers crossed that they would still have campsites available. Lucky for us, there were plenty of spots. This would be the first and only time on the trip that a national park would have space for us. As soon as Boxing Day (day after Christmas) comes around, Australians flock to national parks to spend the week camping. After parking the van, we got our bearings by going for a hike to Squeaky Beach. The name of this beach is meant to be taken literally - if you stomp your feet while walking in the sand, it squeaks. We encountered several squeaky beaches throughout the trip, and this phenomenon provided more entertainment than I'd like to admit. After the hike and a camp stove dinner of corn and black bean quesadillas, we figured out how to put the van in sleeping mode and called it a successful first day of the trip.
Day 2: Wilson's Prom -> Ninety Mile Beach
We decided that we would spend one night at Wilson's Prom to make sure we kept making progress along the coast. Knowing this, we planned an ambitious day of hiking. After eggs and toast on the camp stove, we packed up our things and drove to Telegraph Saddle, which is the hub for many of the big hikes on the prom. We hiked to and from Sealers Cove, which is a beautiful hike; to get there, we walked through rainforests, over marshes, and across rivers. We were greeted at the extremely secluded cove by a veil of mist covering the ocean, which was eerie and pretty. After enjoying the view from the cove and scarfing the sandwiches we had packed, we headed back the way we came. Upon completion of this 20km hike on a hot day, we were tired and sweaty. However, Mount Oberon was staring down at us, daring to be climbed. After a snack break, we made our way to the top of the mountain. The hike itself is uphill the whole time and fairly uninteresting, but the view from the top was worth it. After taking advantage of the showers at the campgrounds (camping road trip tip: shower when you can), we left the prom. It was a short but sweet visit and I'd love to be back to do an overnight backpacking trip.
As we began driving, we realised that it was Christmas. I don't mind the simplicity of camping food, but it felt like we should treat ourselves to some sort of Christmas dinner. The trouble was that there weren't many towns where we were driving and everything was closed. That is, until we reached Sale. Driving down the main street, our eyes peeled for signs of life, we spotted one Open sign on an Indian restaurant. Not your traditional Christmas dinner, but we were happy to find somewhere that was open. Plus, I really like Indian food; I have a hard time turning down fresh naan and chicken tikka masala.
We found a free campsite on Ninety Mile Beach (supposedly the longest beach in Australia) but not until after it was dark. That was the last time we would do that - it's too difficult to read signs to figure out where you're going and you often have to avoid kangaroos in the road because they are most active at dusk.
Day 3: Ninety Mile Beach -> south of Eden
We intended to hang out at the beach for a few hours in the morning, but the flies were unbearable. We were bothered by bugs fairly consistently throughout the trip, but they were normally manageable. Here, however, they swarmed our faces by the dozen. As soon as we finished breakfast, we were out of there and on our way to Lakes Entrance. I was hoping to relax a bit that morning and didn't want to be in the car, but the audiobook we had been listening to was starting to get interesting. We arrived in Lakes Entrance to some gorgeous views of the area before descending to sea level. It's an interesting spot because it's where the Gippsland Lakes meet the ocean. There are several brackish straits easily accessible for water activities, making it a popular holiday destination. We enjoyed a bit of reading on the beach and a lunch of PB&J's (never too old for those) before heading to a local tourist winery. Wyanga Park Winery is a lovely little spot on a river. Since it was Boxing Day, we had the place to ourselves, which was great because it gave us the chance to ask the wine tasting pourer plenty of questions about the winery. The wine was tasty and the tasting was free, so we bought a bottle of sauvignon blanc (savvy b) for future consumption.
That afternoon we made good driving progress before arriving at Scrubby Creek Rest Area. We made it to New South Wales! This rest stop ended up being my favourite for the whole trip. It was easy to get to but far enough away from the highway to feel like proper camping. We celebrated our arrival in a new state with angel hair pasta (cooks so fast!) on the camp stove.
Day 4: south of Eden -> outside Canberra
Eden, Australia. Sounds pretty idyllic, eh? At first glance, it seemed like another nice seaside town. Sure, you can go whale watching, but it wasn't in season when we were there. However, our opinion of Eden changed dramatically when we went to the killer whale museum. It may sound silly, but it was fascinating. When you walk in you are greeted by a skeleton of a killer whale. This by itself isn't very interesting; any museum named after a certain animal had better have that animal on display. What was interesting was the story behind the whale - Old Tom wasn't an ordinary killer whale. He was the leader of a pod of killer whales that helped the whalers working in Twofold Bay, where Eden is. He and his killer whale friends would herd baleen whales into the bay and help the men kill these larger whales. In exchange for this delivery, the killer whales got to eat the lips and tongue of the larger whales. Yes, it is a strange partnership, but it made for a compelling story.
We had been debating going to Canberra, the capitol of Australia, which was a couple of hours out of the way. Since it was a rainy and dreary day on the coast, we were encouraged to do more driving than we would have otherwise done. Canberra it was. And if you're surprised that Canberra is the capitol instead of Melbourne or Sydney, you wouldn't be the first. There was a big fight in the 19th century about who would be the capitol, and neither Melbourne nor Sydney, the two largest cities in Australia then and now, would budge. So they picked a spot in between and built a capitol city from scratch. We started to find a driving groove and were engrossed in the audiobook when we chanced upon a sign pointing toward my weakness: nanobrewery - next left! I was driving and instincts took over. It ended up being a popular stop for all campers because the brewery happened to have just shucked their day's worth of oysters 20 minutes before our arrival, which is music to Linnea's ears. Having the flexibility to be spontaneous on a trip is a wonderful thing.
After hitting the road again, I nearly made a terrible mistake. We were driving through a small town as we were leaving the coast and Linnea asked, "How are we doing on gas?" "We're fine," I responded, not realising that we were about to spend the next couple of hours in a gasoline-less wasteland that locals refer to as "mountains." We thought for sure that we were going to run out of gas on the way up a mountain road consisting of steep inclines and hairpin turns. We made it through the mountains on fumes and I learned a valuable lesson: your girlfriend is always right if she thinks you should get gas.
Anyway, we made it Canberra in time to go into Parliament and get a free tour. It was neat to enter the Senate and House chambers and learn more about the Australian political system. It seemed like there were a few other buildings and museums worth seeing in town, but we arrived too late in the day to see much else. We wandered around the city for a while and it was spooky how empty it was. Parliament wasn't in session and neither were the universities, so the population was much lower than normal. I am glad to have swung through Canberra and also glad to have not gone on a Canberra-specific trip as it doesn't seem like there is much in the city that would interest me. Once we had our fill, we got on the highway and drove until we found a rest stop.
Day 5: outside Canberra -> Nowra
Sharks are cool until you see them in real life. And when I say real life, I don't mean at your local aquarium or Sea World. I mean at the beach. At the beach 30 feet from shore in the water where your girlfriend was swimming just 15 minutes ago. After leaving the Australian Capitol Territory, where Canberra is located, we headed for Jervis Bay. We enjoyed brunch in Huskisson before venturing to Hyams Beach, which boasts some of the whitest sands in Australia. Our Lonely Planet book neglected to mention that there are a pair of sharks that can be seen patrolling the beach. Luckily everyone got out of the water in plenty of time because people had seen the sharks, but it was still a bit spooky how close they were.
This day ended up being a "rest day," which means we didn't do much driving. We sat on the beach reading books for a few hours before beginning the search for a place to stay. We tracked down a caravan park in Nowra that had a grassy field where we could park for the night. The best part: it had showers! Not that you need to know this detail, but I hadn't showered since Wilson's Prom (day 2). I was very pleased after the shower. At least I was pleased until we realised that the Wyanga Park wine we had been saving required a corkscrew to open. We didn't have one. Sound the alarm. I ran from group to group and struck out a dozen times before I found campers with a corkscrew. Crisis averted. It was worth the difficulty to open the wine because it turned out to be delicious. Plus, I met a middle aged French couple who donated their card table and camping chairs to us because they were flying back to France the next day. Either that, or they stole someone else's table and chairs and gave them to us because they thought I was handsome. Their reason for giving up the table and chairs will forever be lost in translation.
Day 6: Nowra -> Blue Mountains
Waking up and being able to take a shower - how glorious.
We headed north to Wollongong in the morning to have a wander around the beach and lighthouse. After a nice walk and a pint at the local brewery, we grabbed lunch and headed to the main destination for the day: Royal National Park. We had seen cool-looking photos of the "figure eight pools" online; we wanted to see them for ourselves. Since they're only safely accessible at low tide, we were on the most strict schedule of the trip. It was a steamy, hot day, and the hike was going to be fairly rocky, so we began preparing accordingly upon arriving at the park. Shorts, comfortable t-shirt, hiking shoes, sunscreen. We didn't have to walk far from the car park to realise that we may have been the most prepared people there. We saw women in heels, guys in jeans, and way too many long sleeved shirts for such a hot day. I'm convinced that many of these fellow hikers saw the figure eight pools on Instagram and showed up hoping they could snap a selfie without breaking a sweat.
After a sweaty descent through the rain forest, a stroll across the beach, and a bit of scrambling over rocks, we found the famous pools. They are nearly perfectly circular rock pools that contain all sorts of sea greenery. There is one in the shape of a figure eight, but so many people have jumped in it that the water is gross from sunscreen and whatever else people bring with them when they jump into a rock pool with their GoPro. I haven't been able to find out much about these rock pools, but I'd be fascinated to understand what caused them to form because they were unlike anything I've seen before.
The way back on this hike was uphill nearly the whole way, so we were pleased to get back to the just-powerful-enough air conditioning in the camper van. We began driving and had a harder time finding a free campsite because we were pretty close to Sydney. Our plan was to hike in the Blue Mountains the next day - we made it all the way there before we were able to find somewhere free to stay. It turned out to be a great spot, though. Plenty of space and showers!
Day 7: Blue Mountains
The Blue Mountains is a mountain range that's surprisingly close to Sydney. Depending where in the range you'd like to go, it's an hour or two by car from the city, making it a favourite weekend getaway for Sydneysiders. It derives its name from the bluish haze that sits above the dense eucalyptus forests throughout the region, which is caused by finely-dispersed oil droplets in the air that come from the eucalyptus leaves. It's a beautiful place - or so we had read. After a lovely, big breakfast in a cute mountain town whose name I can't remember, we sought out that beauty to see for ourselves. We hiked the National Pass Trail, which took us into and out of a gorge. There were many excellent views, and the hike was challenging enough to keep the crowds away. Aside from enjoying longer hikes simply because I enjoy hiking, I've noticed that longer hikes are nice because the larger groups tend to avoid them. This means less time spent stepping to the side of the trail to let others pass, which is a plus. Anyway, the National Pass Trail was excellent. We had plenty of daylight left, so we decided to go for another hike, which may have been a mistake. After a lot of hiking the previous day and starting today off with a relatively strenuous hike, our dogs were barking and could use a break. It would've made more sense to do something more relaxing for the afternoon, but, as they say, hindsight is 20/20. The end of our full day in the Blue Mountains and last day in the camper van had us camping in the same spot as the night before. We arrived early enough to play plenty of gin rummy (our card game of choice for the trip) and make some delicious tuna tacos.
Day 8: Blue Mountains -> Sydney
Goodbye camper van lifestyle, hello Airbnb. We dropped off the van and took an Uber to our Airbnb (there's a sentence that wouldn't have made any sense just a few years ago). After allowing for a little bit of relaxing, we hustled off to a park to stake our claim on a spot for the New Year's Eve fireworks. As you can imagine, getting spots is very competitive. There are many ticketed events that cost hundreds of dollars to be on the shore of a harbour or more to be at a fancy hotel or restaurant. We opted to go the free route and chose Yaranabbe Park, which was a good spot for firework viewing without being overly crowded. We arrived at 4:30 for the midnight show, but we came prepared. We had plenty of snacks (no alocohol allowed! probably for the best when waiting nearly 8 hours), books, and games at our disposal, and we ended up making friends with the fellow Melburnians sitting next to us. The fireworks were excellent and the harbour bridge looked incredible. Sydney's fireworks weren't one of the reasons that we chose to be in Sydney for New Year's Eve, but we were glad to have seen them and it was fun knowing we were one of the first major cities in the world to celebrate the new year.
Days 9 and 10: Sydney
I've done Sydney and blogged about it before, and I don't have a ton to add after my third trip. I did enjoy going to a show at the Sydney Opera House for the first time - we saw a Beatles orchestra show. Otherwise, Sydney was its usual sunny self, full of fun places to explore on foot.
Wow. This post ended up being longer than I expected. If you made it this far, good on ya. Overall, the camper van road trip along the coast to Sydney was great. There are certainly discomforts that you have to put up with when on the road in a camper van, but they're no problem. I really enjoyed the sense of adventure and freedom that the van gave us. I would be surprised if we don't do another camper van trip sometime soon.