Melbourne - woes of the old and infirm

We strolled (Bex hobbled) in to United Backpackers in Melbourne city centre around mid-afternoon with high hopes for the hostel, the online reviews raving about the place; I was somewhat perplexed from the off...

We'd stayed in all sorts of dives around Malaysia and Indonesia and I suppose the place was clean, but aside from that I couldn't work out what had got the gap year travelers so excited.  My online review reads a little some thing like this:

Pros:
Large clean bathrooms with great showers.
Great city centre location.
Helpful friendly staff.

Cons:
No one has ever used the showers; every dorm smells worse than any I've ever experienced before, horrifically so.
Ample kitchen area, food storage, dining and social area for about 15 people... In a hostel than houses ~400.
Zero privacy or quiet areas.

It wasn't even cheap!!

I must be getting old, like I said, the gap year kids seemed to be loving it - we had dinner (which involved washing up everything you needed before and after), drank a load of wine and crashed early; we wanted to get Bex to A&E before the Sunday morning rush....

We made a complete arse of the journey to the hospital.  The trams didn't really work out too well and Bex ended up walking a good 30mins more on her injured feet.  When we did arrive I'd expected the same as Broomfield A&E on a Sunday; a waiting room littered with Saturday night woes and early morning sports mishaps.  The place was basically empty.  Bex filled in some paperwork and was whizzed off straight away.

I watched the news, read my book and 45mins later Bex strolled back in, fitted out with a fetching new moon booty whilst clutching armfuls of pills and iodine bottles.

Our self diagnosis / fears had been spot on; hairline fracture of the fifth metatarsal and infection in the wounds on the other foot (from kicking the Manly ferry).  At least we now knew for certain the full extent of the injuries and that further treatment not required, "Just" 6-8 weeks rest.  This would be tricky.

We did some essential shopping and then spent the rest of this brief visit to Melbourne rehashing our plans; we were due to fly to Tasmania for two and a half weeks cycling the next morning...

 Retail therapy will cure all...

...as does $1 frozen Coke

Budget camper van capers!!

Across larger countries such as North America, Canada, NZ and (helpfully) Australia, vehicle rental companies utilise relocation agents to redistribute their fleets.  It was via this budget method that we would be able to travel, in a fully outfitted camper, for 3 days and 2 nights all the way to Melbourne via Kosciuszko national park [or any route you might fancy].  Not only that but, via a very odd set of fees and calculations, they would actually pay us the princely sum of $10! (Though, we would, of course, have to pay for fuel).

We signed huge swathes of paperwork, watched instructional videos, loaded up the van and promptly got hopelessly lost due my smartphone based GPS having no knowledge of Sydney's one way roads.  Helpful.

I then completely failed to bypass the toll road and spent the rest of the day switching on the wipers instead of the indicators (switched sides on Japanese vehicles apparently), swearing to myself each and every time.

There wasn't too much time to spare in the day by this point but we successfully made it to the national park before dark and got to park up in a great spot where wallabies and kangaroos were larking about, result!!!

Aside from meeting a possum on the way to the toilet in the night (the surprise almost rendering the walk as needless) the night in the camper was pleasant and restful, I instantly decided I must buy one as soon as I return to England.

One of the main reasons for the route through Kosciuszko national park, aside from chance wildlife meetings, was to summit Australia's highest mountain.  This was the task for the morning and, although a simple low gradient return trip, the task was actually met with some trepidation due to Bex carrying an injury...

She'd managed to kick the Manly ferry a few days previously and then, while compensating for that injury, made the other foot sore.  This seemingly minor injury proved hellish for her, but sheer will and stubbornness got her to the top and back.  What should have been a simple walk made us reassess the extent of the foot injury and we would have to get it looked at once back to civilisation.  Nonetheless, we had a great walk, the views and scenery were both unexpected and spectacular.

We got some more miles under the belt after the walk and spent the night parked by a babbling river in a sheltered valley.  I got to see some new ducks, I love ducks, happy times.

On the final morning we set off early, we had left far to many km to cover by 3pm drop off but we still made it to the Melbourne drop off with a little time to spare.  Our little camper van adventure had been short but sweet, we'd both have loved to continue in this manner for both Australia and NZ in the new year, but it costs crazy money in summer months.  We grabbed the the tube from (oddly) Tottenham to the city centre and went in search of our Melbourne accommodation...

Sydney, civilisation and financial ruin!

We had spent 2 months forking out less than a total of £20 a day on food and accommodation, for both of us.  We spent the same getting from Sydney airport to our hostel in The Rocks.

This was all to be expected, it's all just hard to take when previously traveling for so little, this was exacerbated by then handing over the best part of £300 for 4 days in a couple of dorm beds!!

We both needed a little air and a reality check, we strolled outside and were soon enjoying the sights and sounds of Sydney.  In no time at all I fell for the city's charms, I've never understood the infatuation people have tried to convey to me, I'm not sure I can put my finger on it either to be honest... In fact I'm going to abstain from trying, suffice to say I could totally imagine living and working there.

Days passed, we did classic ferry rides, wandered the city's streets, shops and beaches, spent little, drank little and honed budget food shopping and hostel cooking skills.

Despite all our best efforts and wishes, our strict budgeting would not allow us to linger in the city any longer.  Our first big money saver would be on our long trip south to Melbourne...