Australia road trip: Sydney to Melbourne

Happy as we were with our free camper van we left Sydney heading South to Jervis Bay , our first stop which had been recommended by Tim. Along the way there are great stopovers: beautiful seaside villages like Kiama where we stopped for a coffee (I recommend you pull over too) or youthful Wollongong, home to one of the top universities in the country Part of the Royal National Park we expected to find to find kangaroos, dolphins and perhaps other wildlife, as well as the usual lorikeets and other exotic birds.

There are several excellent beaches and good trekking to be enjoyed, but since we didn’t have too much time (we had to return the van 9 days later) and were heading to colder weather we decided to enjoy the beach only until sunset and the continue further south. As we were driving out of the park we did see some wild kangaroos right besides our van, managing to shoot some short video.

Less than an hour later we drove into a small viallge where we sould spend the night. It was our 5th wedding anniversary and enjoyed it a different way, cooking a great BBQ and drinking the sparkling wine given by TAB (Traveller’s Auto Barn). Simple, yet fun, and certainly an anniversary we will not forget because of both location and style.

While driving Highway 1 it is relatively easy to spot whales swimming in the ocean; the road menaders between hills and through valleys and capes many of which call for a brief stop to take a picture.

Another town you should not miss is Pambula. It has a great super-long beach but even better is a garden where about 60 kangaroos are free to hop around- you can get very close to them and pics are easy to take.

Unless you have plenty of time don’t bother going to 90 mile beach cause there’s nothing there, and south of Eden the highway shifts inland and views are not that great until you reach Wilson’s Promontory, but if you have to spend a night along the way try to do so in Port Albert; it is legal to camp at the parking lot right by the ocean and it offers splendid views in a peaceful environment.

Unfortunately a forrest fire has left most of Wilson’s Promontory unattractive, but the beaches are superb and there are good surfing spots as well. There is an entrance fee to the Park by the way, around 10 AUD/ person, which is a shame because you don’t seem to get your money’s worth considering the dry, burnt hills you see the first 40 minutes.

Reaching Melbourne from here is a breeze, taking about 2.5-3 hours once you leave the park. We arrived there at around noon and easily found the ATB depot where we left our ride and headed to Itzel’s house.

OVERVIEW

9 days might not seem enough time to see all there is between Sydney and Melbourne, and… it isn’t. However it is enough to see many of the best spots along the way although we would have loved to spend more time in many of them. The road South of Eden is quite boring and unappealing, with no views or nice towns anywhere. Of all the great places there are North of Eden I recommend you don’t miss Pambula Beach, Jervis Bay and at least make a quick stop in Kiama for some nice pictures.



Have you driven along this area of Australia? How did you like it? Are there any spots I missed I should have mentioned? Please share this post if you liked it!