It has almost been a year since we had a trip that was longer than a weekend so to say we were excited about this trip would be an understatement. This trip would also be the first time that we have taken off not really knowing where we will end up.
When we first went to Central Australia (2007), we had the good fortune to meet a couple who live on the Mornington Peninsula to the south east of Melbourne. We met them at Coober Pedy, then at Kings Canyon and later at Uluru. We have got together several times since then when we travelled with them from Cowra back to Victoria and later at Ballarat when we travelled with them to Bendigo. We also had the opportunity to show them the coast south from Sydney down to Kiama in 2010. Plans were made for us to head to Mornington where our friends would show us around the Mornington Peninsula.
Originally we had intended to travel to South Australia as part of this trip but “He” could not secure sufficient leave to make the entire trip viable. The decision was then made to use the maximum amount of leave available (2 weeks) to head to Victoria (as per our original plan) to see our friends and then possibly have a look at the Great Ocean Road and then travel to Mt Gambier before heading home.
If the weather in Victoria was foul, the Murray and Broken Hill would be the likely places to visit. So, on a bright and sunny Saturday morning, we left Sydney and headed south to Albury where we had booked a site in the Albury Motor Village, a small caravan park that we have stayed at on three other occasions.
There is not much to write about the trip other than saying it was one of the best drives we have ever had with little traffic, no fools to be seen, and light winds. Worthy of mention is the fact that McDonalds at Gundagai has done nothing to improve our opinion about that store. Once again, the items on the menu were not reflective of what was available and would you believe they remembered to change from the daytime to the lunch menu as we stood in line at 12:30pm.
We must also mention that we refuelled at the Shell station at Gundagai which is near McDonalds. This was planned to ensure we arrived at Albury with fuel in our tank and also to take advantage of a 4cpl discount.
If you stop for diesel here be wary that all of the diesel pumps were surrounded in an accumulation of spilt fuel. We had to wade through the spilt fuel to get to the pump and we now have mats and shoes that smell of diesel. Might sound narky but the smell is not pleasant.
There is still evidence of the recent rain in NSW. There is still a large flooded area near Goulburn and Lake Hume is very full. The country looks vibrant, the drought is over in southern NSW.
We had hoped to arrive at Albury and be setup by 3:15pm, that was achieved by 3:14pm. We purchased take-away for tea and headed to bed fairly early as we were both tired from an early start and from the long drive.