Australia - Melbourne to Brisbane

Our time in Austrailia was defined by cycling and friends.

We arrived in Melbourne right on time for the Comedy Festival. We’d both been talking about this for several months and finally we were here - ready to explore different parts of the city whilst hopping between different comedy shows. We took in the street art, laneways, boutique cafes and fun themed bars, using the tram to hop between them. Melbourne was a lovely city and we certainly had time to get to know it well. We were lucky enough to stay with a friend of ours just outside the centre in Elwood - a beautiful area a stones throw from the beach. Many beautiful mornings were spent running along the seafront towards the city, stopping at the picturesque beachside cafes for coffee. Tom treated us to local haunts and even took us camping in the wilderness.

The month sped past and soon enough it was time for a solo adventure and move further up the country to Sydney. Taking my trusty bike, I headed to Bondi to experience the beach before cycling down to visit friends in Woolongong. It was meant to be one of the prettiest cycles in the area and I was not disappointed! It was however, an eventful cycle with road closures that required me to cycle back up big hills. Once I arrived at the Great Pacific Drive, all was well. Views spanning miles stretched out in front of me and cycling along a sea cliff bridge was a new first. I had an amazing time with Alana and Gill, a couple we’d met in New Zealand, and they took me climbing to their local crag for some epic big climbs. Gill kept me company on the cycle back and I managed to keep up with him on his speedy bike!

After a few days rest, I woke up with a plan to cycle to the Blue Mountains. From what I’d read and observed on my cycle to Woolongong, it wasn’t looking to be the most enjoyable cycle with all the traffic. So I loaded myself and trusty bike onto the train to take me out the city. This was way less of a big deal than in the UK and I found the simplicity delightful. I arrived in Katcoomba 2hrs later and stretched my legs by cycling around the hill top loop. I hadn’t done too much research on the Blue Mountains so I was awestruck with the expansive views across the plains and the red rocks peaking up.

The next day I cycled to the start of the Great Canyon Walk. This 3hr loop took you down into the valley and through the beautiful waterfalls, rivers and forest before popping back up to a viewpoint that overlooked the great valley below. It was one of the best hikes I’ve ever done and I was tempted to do it again immediately in reverse. But this time I grabbed an early dinner before cosying up by the fire in my hostel. I got chatting to other people there and planned a hike for the next day. I linked up several routes and trails to come up with a 6hr day hike around the mountain range that took in the key sights - the 3 sisters, Fubar steps and the Cascades. I wasn’t sure anything could top my Canyon walk but almost 10 minutes in to this one, I was hooked. The variety of the forest, waterfalls, red rock, plains and mountains was stunning and I was at a loss for words. 

After my time in the Blue Mountains, I met Aaron in Brisbane for our final 10 days. We’d booked a 4WD car with a roof tent to go and explore the national parks and beaches. We picked up our fabulously large Toyota Prado and drove down to Bryon Bay to weather out an incoming storm (just our luck!) We fell in love with Bryon almost immediately and took our time to run around the park to the lighthouse. We were treated to some live music at the local pub and looked out over the sea as the sun set. That day we had our first mishap - we’d left a window open in the tent and the rain was very much inside. Several nights were spent drying out the mattress inside the car with the heaters blasting! Most days were spent seeking out off-routes. We drove into the national parks and charged around looking for the telltale signs of a muddy track. Some tracks were false starts but many were absolutely epic trails. We drove through deep water, slid down muddy declines, rolled over huge rocks and big drop offs. Sometimes we chose to get out of the car to assess and make plans over tricky sections and then carefully made our way through, holding our breath and trusting the car to do its thing! One of the best things we found with the national forests is that they have small and basic campgrounds right among the trees. We rocked up to some fantastic campgrounds, right in nature with trees, rivers and fire pits. Our commitment to the perfect camp set-up drove us to get fires started with wet wood and no firelighters. 

At one campsite just outside of the forest, we woke up to a brisk morning and washed our plates with the resident emu. He calmly came over and drank the water run off from our dishes, watching us closely - probably waiting for snacks! Next we headed over to D’Aguliar National Park and took the most intense off-road trail yet. We were having a whale of a time rolling along through the forests, gaining height and crawling up the rocky trail. After an hour we started to descend and it was clear that the recent rainfall had eroded a lot of the trail, with huge ruts visible. We had to carefully pick our route to ensure didn’t slide down the mountain! Right at the end, the trail deteriorated so much we chose to get out of the car to plan our route. Part of the road had slid down the steep hill and was what left was obstructed by a huge rock and thick slippy mud. It looked challenging but we decided to give it a crack. With our hearts racing, we tentatively crept forward, me on the wheel, Aaron guiding from another angle. It was a tight fit but we made it through and whooped with joy. We finished the final section in style, sliding a good 3 meters sideways towards the gate (but not into it!). The smiles on our faces were huge as we drove away towards Nimbin. 

Our final couple of days we spent on the shore. After a quick stop in Noosa for some hiking and sundowners, we boarded the tiny car ferry over to Noosa North Shore. We finally had our moment to deflate our tyres to the required pressure for beach driving! There was a whole designated area for it too which felt very Australian. We were over-excited about driving on the beach, launching ourselves onto the sand and grinned for hours as we raced along the sand - the sea only a meter away. After the initial excitement calmed, we busied ourselves with videography - trying to get the perfect shot of this experience. It was tricky to say the least! We couldn’t quite get the car, the beach, the tent and us in the shot. In the end we got out of the car and shot from a different angle! Around lunchtime we paused at a sand dune and set up for a cold beer and a picnic. It was bliss. Not another sole around, just us the car and the sea. It was perfect. That night we stayed at the beach forest campsite, watched the sun set and then rose again in the morning to catch the sun rise. We wrestled with the high tide, driving up the beach to get to Double Island Point. Surrounded by the inlets and salt lakes, we drove right to the tip of the mainland and admired the colours of the rock on Rainbow Beach. 

Too soon, it was time to head home. On our way we drove back into the forest and stayed at the infamous Harry’s Hut campsite. Once we pitched our tent, we had a walk around and found some canoes you could take down the river for free. We hopped in and enjoyed a very serene meander down the river as the sun set. Little did we know that this was one of the top 10 things to do in the area! It all seemed very humble and we enjoyed our last night chatting to other camps. The 4WD trip had been a real highlight and a fantastic way to end our year of travelling. It felt surreal to be coming to an end. It’s been a wild ride and we wouldn’t change a thing.