Mount Barkly

Wednesday started off with a breakfast with a view (see photo) to give me the energy for a few hours driving after an interrupted night of sleep (no idea why). The café was just round the corner from my airbnb and I was hoping for some sort of view from a place called waterside café but jesussssssss! I mean... look at it! almost made up for the fact that the coffee tasted burnt and all of the fried things in my huge breakfast tasted like the same flavour of lard... I genuinely felt really sick and didn't finish it but being British paid in full and told them how much i enjoyed it... god we're a strange breed.

As I headed towards the state border I final understood why its called New South Wales, if you ignore the type of foliage and you know... the sunshine it really could be Wales down there with rolling hills and beautiful views.

Heading into Victoria it was immediately obvious that the state had decided that the first few KM were the best place to set out their stall when it comes to things you should not do on their roads... all the things you would expect but advertised on huge billboards with massive slogans like the double-wide billboard that just said "BUCKLE UP OR FEEL THE PAIN", or one of the many "DONT BE A TOSSER, report anyone littering" billboards and my favourite uber subtle "only a little bit over? YOU BLOODY IDIOT" ... not a joke, genuine wording!

I'm not entirely sure of the landscape or area i was driving through but just after getting into Victoria i was beset with drissle and for the first time since leaving the UK i saw a temperature gauge read sub 15 degrees... in Victoria's defence i think i may have been up a mountain/big hill situation as by the time i got to Lakes Entrance it was mid twenties and sunny again.

Lakes entrance is a charming little seaside village with spectacular views and i highly recommend it as a stop for anyone passing through the area... I would however also recommend against staying at the "Absolute Lakes Entrance Motel", it would appear that the word Absolute refers to the fact it is completely and utterly at one end of lakes entrance...up a steep 1.5km hill from absolutely anything else or perhaps the fact that it has an absolutely familiar vibe... if you've watched Psycho recently...Read more