III. AUS - OA/NSW 6: Batemans B - Bla EN

Tu, 10.01. Batemans Bay
Wow, definitively one of my highlights on the East Coast and almost better than the Great Ocean Road and Mornington Peninsula:
After another very nice drive through forests, lakes, rivers along the ocean with the mountains in the background we reached Batemans Bay - a beautiful town directly situated on the ocean. Along the water you could find long bike paths, a lot of playgrounds and barbecues, shops etc - what we all used. After an almost 2hrs bike ride we spoilt ourselves with ice cream (watermelon, omg one of the best flavours and so refreshing :))) before we went to the beach and the absolute highlight: jetski with breathtaking scenery and a lot of fun & action, sooo cool 😎

We, 11.01. Batemans Bay - Braidwood
After a full moon night and awesome star gazing Ester had some pancakes for breakfast at McDonalds and then another round on the jetski. This time it was a lot cloudier and windier so that we had more and higher waves and thus got really wet :D
As the weather suddenly changed to grey sky we continued our journey towards Canberra. We drove through super nice forests with a lot of farns and palm trees. Via the Budawang NP the road was very hilly and steep with a lot of other mountains in the background, so nice - but a lot of work for the car, especially towing a heavy caravan behind us ;)
We also had another border crossing from New South Wales NSW to Capital Country Australia's Capital Territory ACT - I have thus already seen all 7 states on Australia's main continent (Northern Territory NT, Western Australia WA, Queensland QL, New South Wales NSW, South Australia SA, Victoria VIC and Australia's Capital Territory ACT); so there is only one and 8th one missing - Tassie :)))
We then stopped for ice cream and coffee in Braidwood, a small historical town where we later also camped along a nice river.

Th, 12.01. Braidwood - Canberra
From there on we continued to Canberra, Australia's capital. The landscape was now rather farmland with mountains in the background.
After arriving in Canberra we first went to the Telstra Tower in the Black Mountain Nature Reserve - the highest tower from which you get a super view of the whole city and surrounding landscapes.
After that we visited Cockington Green Gardens Miniature Town, a British style miniature town with a lot of small interesting details and also enjoyed a small train ride there. Ester and Daddy went to the Dinausaur Museum and I enjoyed some time with me, myself and I ;)
Afterwards we went to the city centre and started a roughly 1,5hrs bike tour from Clock Tower along the river/lake to the Old and New Parliament in the Parliament Quarter. The ride was super nice and I was positively surprised of Canberra. Most tourists skip it but the town is super nice, clean, well maintained with many parks and other attractions and museums for all generations. The Population also seems to be quite active, with many people riding bikes or running.
This time we arrived quite late at our campground; back in NSW again - and so far it was also the loudest with a lot of cars and trucks and noisy as if you are sleeping next to a highway :P

Fr, 13.01. Canberra - Blue Mountains NP
From Canberra we made our way towards Sydney and the Blue Mountains the next day :)
On the way we passed many windmills on a highway that was purposely made bumpy to keep the drivers awake.
In Penrith we went to Loolipops, a very famous Australian indoor playground chain - Ester's highlight.
From there we finally drove to the Blue Mountains and the whole drive through the tremendous national park was just breathtaking. The blue colour is created by a gas emitted by the leaves of the trees. With 42* it was incredibly hot that day so that there was also a high fire risk. There are also a lot of small towns, all located between 500-700m above sea level.
We went to a nice lookout in Wentworth Falls before reaching the Echo Point / 3 Sisters in Katoomba - 3 famous mountains within the Blue Mountains. The view was spectacular and we did a 30mins hike to the rock formations with super steep stairs down to the Honeymoon Bridge. The wind down there was incredible and as we figured out later that was with 45* the hottest day in Sydney and surroundings since 159 years :P
We continued our drive through the Blue Mountains via Lithgow and through wombat area to Capertee/Airly Creek where we slept within amazing scenery on a private property owned by a guy named Col, an old friend of Tom. The views were incredible, a mountain range with up to 60 wild kangaroos, just fantastic and something you would not experience as a normal backpacker ;)

Sa, 14.01. Blue Mountains NP - Blacktown/Parklea
After a nice sunrise Col offered us to drive up the mountains (but before I got to enjoy the definitely dirtiest private toilet and apartment I have ever seen, flies and ants everywhere :P)
The drive to the mountains was more than a 4WD experience: incredibly steep and uneven dirt foresty roads, passing many kangaroos and rabbits through very beautiful rainforests and rock formations - partially reminded me of Angkor Wat in Cambodia ;)
Having arrived at Genowlan Mountain we then enjoyed a very nice view down to Col's property within the Blue Mountains inclusive my thongs climbing experience on a very bumpy rock :)
After that he then showed us his self-made hut directly located next to a lake before introducing us to the secrets of diamonds and how to trace and find them and then also showed us on the way back some cool rocks with big caves.
It was not only the landscape that really impressed me and made me feel very grateful; it was all the discussions with an almost 90years old experienced Aussie and his opinions about life:
- Never give up
- Listen to your feelings and warnings
- Keep it simple, everything difficult is wrong
- Don't hurt someone on purpose, always try to help
- Integrity and karma
We then continued to Pearsons Lookout and the widest canyon in the world. We stopped at Fruit Bowl, a fruit and vegetable market before getting a first glimpse of Sydney's skyline 65km away at Kurrajong Hills.
Via Richmond, an old historical town we then went to Greg, another friend - and a nice refreshing swim in their private pool :)))
In the evening we then reached Sydney's "Wild West" in Blacktown/Quakers Hill where Tom grew up and where we could stay a week at his godmother's (an absolute catch lover) place - inclusive electricity and shower ;)

Su, 15.01. Blacktown/Parklea - Featherdale Wildlife
This morning Ester and me went to the Featherdale Wildlife Park and that was also for me a really nice experience:
Fortunately it was not a zoo but a wildlife park with all of Australia's typical animals which you could feed and photograph. Kangaroos, koalas, quokkas, wombats, dingos, emus as well as the dangerous ones such as crocodiles, snakes and spiders :)
After that we all went together to the Parklea Markets - a huge market hall consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish stands as well as Asian markets (shoes, clothes, toys etc) and Australian tourist stands. Ester was again really spoilt by getting 2 pairs of shoes (1 pair of shiny shoes and 1 pair of rollerblades) and a Frozen toy kitchen. There were also many international food courts and you could also already see Sydney's cultural diversity with a lot of Asian, Indian, African, Arab but almost no Aussie people :P
After that we washed the car, played with the New kitchen and tried the rollerblades before we all had an early and exhausting night ;)

Mo, 16.01. Blacktown - Chill out
That day we decided that we all need some time to relax and organise a bit.
I finally had the opportunity to update my travel diary, to sort all the pictures, to do some washing, to plan my time in Sydney and Tassie etc.
For lunch we spoilt ourselves with a nice buffet in an Australian-Chinese restaurant and that was just sooo diverse and sooo delicious - sometimes you just have to spoil yourself :)))Read more