Does this trip from Syd to Mel make sense?

Old Jan 5th, 2005, 10:22 PM
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Does this trip from Syd to Mel make sense?

We are trying to find the best route from Sydney to Melbourne, and this one seemed to encompass horse farms, beautiful countryside, spa town etc., plus the Great Ocean Road. Does the route make sense? Are we seeing the best part of the Great Ocean? Is it much prettier driving on the coast from Syd to Mel than the route suggested here? Our starting point will be in the Blue Mountains. I'm concerned about distances and mountain roads. We aren't used to driving on the left side of the road either. Thanks for your help.
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Old Jan 5th, 2005, 10:24 PM
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Sorry I forgot to put in the names of towns we are planning to stop at. Canberra, Beechworth, Hepburn Springs, Lorne, Phillip Island (Cowes), Healesville, Melbourne (2 nights). Fly back to Sydney. Thank you.
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Old Jan 5th, 2005, 11:40 PM
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You have pinched one of my names....!
What you didn't say is what time of year you are doing this and that makes quite a difference.
I spent about 9 months in Beechworth and there are some wonderful areas near and around there but it does matter what season it is. It can also be the hottest, most uncomfortable place on earth at the wrong time.
Loved some of the close wineries around especially Rutherglen where I first had the pleasure of tasting Blackberry Nip.
Anyway I won't take up any more space as my memory of that area is too distant except to say that there are some wonderful little places en route to Canberra as well. Over to the Victoria experts.
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 03:37 AM
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Sorry about pinching the name, Elizabeth. Thanks for answering me. We arrive in Sydney on January 22, stay for 3 nights, then the Blue Mtns. for 1 night, then start the trip I spoke of. The wineries were another feature we were thinking of, so I'm glad you liked that part too. Is this a bad time of year for the trip? Are the roads hard to navigate?
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 11:37 AM
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You will be at the end of the school holiday season so there should be less people on the road but no they are not hard to navigate.
Summer in the south is not my favourite time of year for there, the grasses get browned off and its not the lush green with rolling hills that I know it can be so it will not be in its prime.
Even the beautiful areas of Mittagong & Bowral etc are not at their prime either and those are some of the best areas for lovely farms etc. However there is some interesting history to be found in and around the Beechworth area which you will encounter and that will make up for the fact that the countryside is not at its best. Have a great time en route and I am sure that you will not have any trouble driving on the other side - make sure that the passenger is always looking out for you when you turn a corner and keeps saying "stay on the left".
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 12:05 PM
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Take the Alpine Way from Canberra south over the australian alps into the upper Murray and on to Beechworth.

This is an intriguing and rather unique route away from the international tourist trail.

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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 12:21 PM
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Thank you for your advice everyone. Is the route through the Alps full of switchbacks? My husband really doesn't like harrowing mountain driving, but if the roads are good and not full of wild curves etc., it sounds like a beautiful way to go. It's too bad that it won't be lush green--we had thought the summer months would be good.
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 12:49 PM
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Read Hills in Australia for Mountains.
We don't have anything over 7,000 ft or so and there is nothing as spectacular as in the USA or Canada.
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 01:30 PM
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Hate to be such a trivia Nazi, but Australia's highest mountain is 7310 feet (Mt Kosciusko, in the Snowy Mts). Agreed, the mts in Australia are not your stereotypical ones. They're more like the Appalachians in the US, old and worn down.
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 06:05 PM
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Were you referring to me or the mountains Ralph? You are right on both counts though.
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 07:54 PM
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The native grasses turn yellow when summer arrives (not too different to what you see in much of the western USA). The trees, mostly eucalypts, and undergrowth stays much the same throughout the year - predominantly a grey-green colour.

I've only driven from Canberra as far as Thredbo/Mt Koziuszko, via Cooma and Jindabyne. It's a decent two-lane sealed road which winds in spots, especially between Jindabyne and Thredbo, but has no switchbacks that I remember and certainly couldn't be described as harrowing. That portion of the drive is very scenic but I agree they're better compared to the Appalachians than the Rockies.
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 08:15 PM
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Just some comments. When you are in Beethworth, DO NOT miss the Beechworth Bakery - be warned, you can put on weight just looking!
Make sure you visit Bright (nearby town, very pretty) and Brown Bros. winery at Milawa. (You can take the road from Beethworth to Bright, then through Milawa onto the Hume Freeway.)
Why Hepburn Springs? Not too much there. Ballarat would offer much more.
Are you taking the ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento? - much easier and shorter than driving through Melbourne. If you are visiting Philip Island just to see the penguins, you can also see penguins on a short boat trip from the Melbourne CBD.
Also some great wineries on the road between Healesville and Melbourne. I assume you are visiting Healesville for the Sanctuary?
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Old Jan 6th, 2005, 09:11 PM
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The Alpine Way is gorgeous and there is only an hour or so of really winding road.

The coast road from Sydney to Melbourne is nice in parts but also has some boring bits. Personally I think you've chose the best way - I love the Alpine area and Beechworth.

I assume you are planning overnight stops at the towns you mentioned. To really see some of the areas and visit wineries you really should allow a couple of nights so that you have the day in between to sightsee in that area - particularly around Beechworth - we spent a whole day just doing the wineries!

Phillip Island has good wildlife parks and a koala sanctuary, as well as the penguins. There is a boat trip from Cowes (2-3 hours) that takes you out to see the seals.

The famous part of the Great Ocean Road is near Port Campbell. This is about 150km from Lorne away from Melbourne.
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Old Jan 8th, 2005, 04:08 PM
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The Great Ocean Road really starts in about Lorne and goes west towards Warnambool - this is where the spectacular 12 apostles are in the sea, so this would be a bit out of your way. Takes about 5 1/2 hours to drive of very windy cliff-hugging roads where you can't go over about 60 kph, but has spectacular scenery (not difficult driving if you don't go fast). You could just go from Port Campbell to Lorne for the best bit. There are great B&B's and restaurants here and at Apollo Bay.

You could drive through Alpine Way (which is closed in winter)to Beechworth then Ballarat or Hepburn Springs then drive inland to Warnambool (maybe 3 to 4 hours) and back along the Great Ocean Road to Lorne. Take the car-ferry from Queenscliff to Mornington Peninsula (great wineries here too). I think there is a car-ferry to Phillip Island from here, otherwise loop up towards Melbourne to get down to Phillip Island. Healesville is north-east of Melb in the Yarra Valley which also has some famous wineries. Only about 2 hours drive (including time to get lost) from the centre of Melb.

How much time are you allowing here? There is quite a lot of driving involved!
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Old Jan 10th, 2005, 02:57 AM
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Thank you so much all of you for your really helpful responses. We will definitely go through the mountains, and will see more of the Ocean Road than we had originally planned. The whole portion from the Blue Mountains to Melbourne flight back to Sydney will be covered in 8-1/2 days (after seeing the Blue Mountains). I know it's a bit ambitious for that time period and we plan to change our route if that becomes necessary. This will almost certainly be our only time in Australia in our lives and we want to see as much as we can (staying away from the extremely hot north and west). We're both turning 60 this year. Thanks again to everyone. Take care.
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