and the road opens up...

Mt Solitary, Katoomba

Wallaby!

With a short pause in stride, I've worked around the last dilemma of what to do and come to an exciting solution. My fellow hotel refugee, Luke and I have decided to hit the road. A great Australian road epic. Starting tomorrow morning we head out from Sydney and head west. Our prospective journey will take us two to three weeks and get us out to Adelaide up to Uluru aka Ayers Rock aka the huge red rock that everybody thinks of when they hear Australia and then either out to Cairns and down the coast or an even longer stretch across the outback. Eventually ending up in Brisbane where Luke is from. When mapping it out on google, depending on which route we take its going to be between 6,700 and 7,200 km (roughly 4,000 to 4,500 miles). Not exactly a trip to the grocery store. Our chariot, a 1997 Volkswagen Golf. Having previously owned an almost identical Golf (despite the steering wheel being on the wrong side) I couldn't be happier about the vehicle, it was more fun to drive than any other car I've even owned. For the past 6 months I've been quite dependent on public transportation and the thought of ripping free on the long dusty roads of the outback on our own agenda making as many stops as we feel is purely liberating. The plan is to drive until we find something worth stopping for or until we need a break, no pressure to be anywhere and no deadlines to keep. To experience the outback, the great vastness that is this country.
My last week in Katoomba was a good one, I checked in to a very laid back hostel called No. 14 in which I lucked out by having my own room for only $22 a night. It was clean and quiet and thats all that I needed, but it also had a great kitchen, cozy lounge areas and a sunny veranda perfect for a lazy afternoon read. After unwinding for a few days and doing some casual research for our road trip, we decided to squeeze in one last hike in Katoomba's beautiful Blue Mountains. We hiked up Mt. Solitary and spent the night up on the ridge line . It was a picturesque campsite with amazing views of the valley below, we stoked up a nice fire beside the overlook and decided to sleep out under the stars. I awoke to the most incredible sunrise I have ever seen, so enchanted by it I couldn't be bothered to get my camera. The hike back to town was no easy stroll but was full of wildlife. I have a lot more to explore in Katoomba and look forward to getting back after the road trip. That being said I don't think I've been more excited for anything on this journey as much as I am for this drive...

Echidna (would not pose for photo)