Posts Tagged ‘sydney’

THE Grand Pacific Drive departing from Sydney doesn’t take long to lose yourself in the chill factor as you leave the city behind and enter its southern fringe and into the sub-tropical lushness of the Royal National Park. It pays to stop off for a walk here and explore one of the oldest national parks in the world.

From here, it’s a leisurely drive  offering spectacular scenery, dramatic coastal cliffside views and sandstone heaths inland. Stop off at the Hindu Temple in Helensburgh or enjoy a spot of  horseriding at beautiful Otford to really fire up the romance-o-meter before jumping back in the camper to head to Stanwell Tops for some amazing views. Before long, you will reach the charming seaside suburb of  Thirroul – reportedly the Aboriginal word for “Valley of Cabbage Tree Palms”. Thirroul was a former coalmining hamlet boasts excellent surf beach at Sandon Point. It’s golden beachfront has a wonderful grassy area to enjoy a coffee from a local cafe or kick back with a picnic. This was the place that inspire writer DH Lawrence to pen his novel, Kangaroo.

It’s only a half hour cruise along the seaside drive from here to reach Wollongong, one of the most liveable regional cities south of Sydney. A magical place to park your campervan for a night or two is at Shellharbour Beachside Tourist Park. This park’s lovely beachfront location is only a short stroll away from Shellharbour Village and its restaurants, shops and cafes. At night, I highly recommend an evening spent at the Lagoon Restaurant to set the mood and enjoy a wonderful feast of fresh seafood right on the oceanfront.

Some of the nearby attractions worth exploring here include Blackbutt Reserve, Seacliff Bridge and the Illawarra Fly treetop walk (pictured).

AUSTIN BONHAM

It’s a sign of the times when just about every major city in Australian today has road tolls in one shape or other, generally on the most useful roads & freeways.  If you’re an inter-state or overseas traveller with a hired car then paying for these tolls needs to be done within a certain time frame of travelling to avoid penalties, not only imposed by the Toll Service but also rental car provider.

A Quick Guide to Australian Road Tolls:

Sydney:

Sydney operates one of the most extensive networks of Toll Roads and Bridges in Australia. All use electronic e-tags and only 4 – the Eastern Distributor, M4, M5 and M2 – offer cash booths. Travelling without a Toll Pass incurs fees from the Toll Operator and in the case of a hired car from the Car Rental Company as well, so it pays to plan ahead.

As a visitor to Sydney or infrequent user of the toll roads you can register with the New South Wales Road Traffic Authority for an E-Toll pass to pay any toll fees across the state. These are valid for between 1-14 days. For durations longer than 14 days a second pass will need to be obtained.

You can register for a pass online at the NSW RTA website (www.rta.nsw.gov.au/myrta/myetoll/index.html), via phone on 13 18 65 or at any RTA Registry. Registration can either occur before or up to 48 hours after your trip.

When registering a hired car for an E-Toll pass ensure you advise the RTA of the rental company name and the expected start and end dates & times of your Toll trips. This is to eliminate any chance of you being charged by another renter using the vehicle on the same day.

To qualify for the E-Toll pass you need to travel in the designated ‘e’ pass lane when passing through the Toll Booths.  Your number plate will be photographed and matched to your pass registration.

If you do not travel through the designated lane or travel without a Pass a Toll Notice will be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle. This notice is the full Toll and includes an additional $10 administration charge. If the vehicle has been hired the Car Rental company will likely charge you its own administration fee ($50 is not unheard of) in addition to the RTA costs.

Melbourne:

In Melbourne CityLink operate Toll Services from the Tullamarine Freeway, across the Bolte Bridge, through the Burnley and Domain Tunnels that link the South-Eastern suburbs with the West Gate Bridge and Tullamarine Freeway, and a short stretch of road into Exhibition Street on the Southern side of the CBD.

So, if you have picked up a rental car at Melbourne airport and are heading into the city or southern suburbs the likelihood of using CityLink is high. There are a number of different payment options for casual users which can be pre-purchased over the phone including a 24 hour, Weekend or ‘Tulla’ Pass.

• The 24 Hour Pass commences when you first use Citylink on your nominated day.
• The Weekend Pass covers you from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday.
• The Tulla Pass covers travel between Flemington and Bulla Road in either direction

You can also purchase these passes on the CityLink website (citylink.com.au) , via phone on 13 26 29, at the Post Office or selected newsagencies up to 3 days after you travelled.

Failure to pay within the specified time incurs a Late Toll Fee that is charged to the owner of the vehicle and in the case of a rental company you may incur additional administration fees from them.

Brisbane:

In Brisbane, Toll Services are concentrated south of the city and to the east running north of the airport and south across the Gateway Bridge to feed into the Pacific Highway and Gateway Extension Motorway.

Toll Services operate on the following and all operate under a fixed fee system:

• Gateway Bridge
• Gateway Motorway
• Gateway Extension Motorway
• Logan Motorway

Future plans include the Northern Link extending the Western Freeway into Brisbane inner city Bypass (2014) and the new M7 Motorway (2012) with the CLEM7 section including the 5km city tunnel to be opened in 2010. Another project due for completion next year is the Go Between Bridge linking Southern Brisbane with Milton.

Tolls for the CLEM7 will be operated by flowcontrol.com.au and information on passes will be published closer to the opening of the service in 2010.

On the Logan and Gateway Motorways tolls can be paid using the viavideo pass system (govia.com.au). Passes can be purchased by credit card or cash.

Credit Card – once pre-registered your credit card will be debited with tolls incurred during your nominated travel period (1 to 30 days).  Alternatively you can pay up to 3 days after your trip.

Purchase via:

• govia.com.au
• phone 1300 046 842
• Customer Service Centres

Cash – a choice of viavideo passes allow you to pay for single, return or multi-travel journeys. Multi-travel passes come in pre-set denominations of $3, $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $30 and $50.  Unused credit on cash passes will expire if not used within 30 days and no refunds or transfers are available.

Purchase via:

• Participating go Via Retailers
• Customer Service Centres

Finally, if you are travelling in your own vehicle and have a e-tag from your home city it is likely that this will be accepted by Toll Operators in other Australian cities and therefore there is no need to purchase a pass. Visit the Operators’ websites to confirm this before travelling.

ChrisC
DriveNow Partner and sometime Blog Contributor

The great thing about cruising in a campervan to Coffs Harbour is that you can either do it from Brisbane or Sydney, therefore offering two very different journeys to enjoy. For us, we chose the Sydney option and while it would take about seven hours maximum with no stops, we spent five days negotiating the route along the Pacific Highway, a great option for some diverse stop-overs along the way.

Newcastle

First port of call was Newcastle after a leisurely two hour cruise. This city is one of extremes – a rougher element stemming from its early days as a shipping and commercial centre, with iron and steel mills built. While some parts of town are eyesores, the rest is beautiful, including some amazing beaches such as Stockton, Nobbies and Mereweather, while the Honeysuckle Boardwalk – an area that was a once derelict harbour area – now boasts funky restaurant-bars, a brewery and a great walk.

Forster

Second port of call the was Forster Beach Caravan Park, another two hour drive. (We find the two hour stints work best, especially if you have kids!). We caught an amazing sunset and also had the good fortune of witnessing some dolphins putting on a show after arriving. If you have time, take stroll along the Bicentennial Coastal Walk and providing your journey is around Spring you should be able to take in a whale watching cruise. Check out the Big Buzz Fun Park and car lovers will enjoy the car museum.

Coffs Harbour

Last but not least we arrived in Coffs Harbour, the highlight of our journey. This place has a to-die-for climate, sunny days most of the time (though locals told me it can get quite wet and sticky with high humidity). Though a little overrated, check out the Big Banana and slip behind this major tourist attraction for either a Harley ride or a big super slide adventure. While in Coffs there are loads of attractions but one that must be factored in is a visit to the Pet Porpoise Pool. Alone, it’s worth the drive in your campervan along the Pacific Highway from Sydney to Coffs Harbour. Dolphins, seals, whales, barbecue, gift shop, shady areas – this one has the lot for families.

SCOTT PODMORE

I’ve always preferred to drive to Melbourne than fly – I just like my independence, the freedom of the road and the convenience once I get there.

The direct route down the Hume (highway) can be a little tedious, mind you – just as well I’m comfortable behind the wheel! A new touring route has officially opened, however – the Sydney to Melbourne Touring Route. It’s not a new road, just a new slant on familiar territory, opening tourists’ eyes to what’s special in the states of NSW and Victoria.

Keen to try out the multi-day ‘Mega Drive’, I arranged campervan hire through DriveNow, picking up my camper in Sydney. After meandering through Sydney’s southern suburbs, we diverted through the gorgeous Royal National Park, emerging at Stanwell Tops and the start of the spectacular Grand Pacific Drive. This new road skirts the spectacular Wollongong escarpment, with a bridge hovering above the pounding ocean and offering spectacular views down the coastline.

I’m always blown away by the beauty of the south coast beaches, particularly where the emerald green countryside edges onto cliffs and beaches. Gerringong and Gerroa are particular favourites; and further south, I’m totally in love with the villages of Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba, famed for antiques, history and, of course, cheese!

As you edge towards the border, the beaches keep getting more and more enticing – Narooma, Merimbula and Pambula.

Eden, once centre of the whaling industry, is now a great place to spot these marine giants; and make sure you stop off at Ben Boyd pub for a real blast from the past.

Over the border, Lakes Entrance is a great place for boating, fishing and beachside recreation. After this, the drive heads inland, emerging onto the Great Alpine Road at Bairnsdale. As much enamoured with mountain scenery as we are with beaches, we deviated a little for the Alpine villages of Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham before heading to Anglers Rest for a stop off at our favourite pub, the Blue Duck. Up the road from there is The Willows, a lovely rural property featuring historic cottages and brilliant horse riding through spectacular High Country scenery.

The touring route then scouts north again, reaching the mighty Murray River and the historic towns of Echuca-Moama. Here we jumped on board a paddlesteamer, reliving the romance of colonial days.

Then it was south again through Bendigo, where more gold was found between 1850 and 1900 than anywhere else in the world. This history is all showcased at a family favourite, Sovereign Hill, our final stop before hitting the road to Melbourne.

It may have taken a little longer than the usual 10-hour haul, but the drive gave us new appreciation of some of the most fantastic parts of two great eastern states.

ANGELA DE LEON