Day 1 - Melbourne to the SA border
Thursday 2nd February 2017 Day 1 – distance driven 436 km We’re getting used to the early morning Uber and train
to Brisbane airport – no bus this time as we’re starting from the
boatyard, which is just down the road from Coomera Station. So we were at
Brisbane Domestic Terminal on Tuesday in time for some breakfast before
boarding a Jetstar flight to Melbourne, where we picked up a rental car and
drove first to St Kilda for a stroll along the beach and then some lunch.
The temperature in Melbourne was a cool 23-24 degrees, and it was so nice to be
able to walk in the sunshine without feeling like your skin was being peeled
off you! Then we drove to Pam’s where we received her typical
very warm welcome. It was lovely to see her and Morgan and James again,
and to spend my birthday with my good friend of 50 years. It started with
a buck’s fizz and eggs and bacon brunch, and was topped off in the
evening by a delicious dinner at a very nice restaurant. So nice.
We spent much of the day chatting – catching up on each other’s news
since we were here with Pam this time last year, and reminiscing of course over
past times. Terry, Janet, Pam & me at Pam’s wedding, 1989 The
waitress put a candle in my dessert and sang ‘Happy Birthday’.
Embarrassing. This morning we left Pam’s early for the 80km drive
across Melbourne to the Apollo base at Tullamarine. We arrived just as
they were opening for the day, and after some waiting around for staff to turn
up for work, the paperwork was done. We got a very good relocation deal:
6 days at $1 per day and 3 days at $75 per day, giving us 9 days to drive the
campervan from Melbourne to Perth – about 3,500 km. And no one-way
fees. It’s the same model we had in Tasmania, and that was a special rate
of $180 per day, reduced from $220, so it really is a bargain! Eventually the van was ready, and after checking it over, we
piled in our luggage, and Steve followed me as I returned the hire car to their
base 5 minutes around the corner. Unfortunately, the ABS light on the
van’s dashboard had stayed on all the way there, and the brakes had to be
pumped to get them to work. So after dropping off the hire car, we drove
the van back to Apollo. They changed the van without argument for a much newer one,
and this one is exactly the same layout as we had before. The small
downside is that it has manual gears, but still has cruise control, so no
problem. By the time we set off a second time it was 11 a.m., and we
still had to stop at a supermarket and stock up. We eventually got on the
road proper just before 1 p.m. Steve drove for a while, but then found he
was getting tired, so I had my first go at driving a 6-berth camper van.
With so many miles to cover, I couldn’t really duck out of it this
time. It was okay, but I was glad I didn’t have to manoeuvre it
around town! Today we have covered 436 km, which isn’t too bad
considering the late start. We are parked at a rest stop in Serviceton,
just metres from the interstate border. Tomorrow we will have to put our
watches back half an hour as we cross into South Australia and head towards
Adelaide and Port Augusta. Our stop for the night was actually in the car park of
the Serviceton Golf Club, just a few metres from the border between Victoria and
South Australia. Last March we drove from Melbourne to Adelaide and back,
taking the Great Ocean Road on the outward leg and the Barossa Valley and wheat
belt on the way back, so this time we have chosen a route midway between the
two. The route from Melbourne to the border. And
again zoomed out to show how far across the country we’ll be driving! With thanks to Google maps. |