The Adventures of the Wombat Wagon
The first leg of our campervan life from Sydney to Hunter Valley
✒️ Written by: Abbie
We flew from Perth to Sydney overnight, leaving behind our base with family in Fremantle and ready to take on a whole new adventure: eight weeks in a campervan. While we saved one night of accommodation costs by travelling overnight across the entire country, we ultimately paid for it over the next three days in Sydney as we walked around feeling like zombies. Neither of us slept on that hot, uncomfortable Jetstar plane, and we arrived in Australia's largest city a couple of sleep deprived, feverish messes. It didn't help that I picked up a cold somewhere along the way.
It was 6am when we landed, and after sitting on a bench contemplating life in the airport for a while, we gathered our heavy suitcases and rucksacks and found our way to the train. Sidenote: they have double decker trains in Sydney! This amazed us.
A moment I will never forget is stepping off that train and onto the platform, only to see Sydney's famous Harbour Bridge standing larger than life right in front of us. A train sped past us, and in the gap it left behind, there sat the Opera House. That first glimpse was incredible. A true 'yes, I am really in Australia' moment for me, as someone who has always dreamed of visiting this country.
Photo Hallie Evans on Pexels
And just like that, our adventure began. We spent a few days in the Sydney Harbour YHA Hostel before collecting our campervan, which was quickly dubbed the Wombat Wagon. With eight weeks and a long journey to Cairns ahead of us, the trip made for many blog posts. Stick around over the coming weeks as we gradually tell our tales, starting with Sydney to Hunter Valley.
SYDNEY!
We truly did spend our first day in Sydney walking round like zombies, and fangirling over the Opera House.
After we received a new lease of life from changing into our fineries, we couldn't resist doing what everyone else was doing: enjoying spritzes by the Opera House.
Despite how perpetually busy this place is, it's incredible. The bridge is huge, and we could have sat staring at the Opera House for hours. The crowds of people give it a buzz and an excitement that we were overjoyed to be part of.
We swung by the iconic bird cages hanging in Angel Place. We bought groceries for cooking meals at the hostel over the next few days. Then we strolled to the cinema and caught the new Devil Wears Prada 2. It was a great film, but the sleepless night on the plane caught up to me and I may have fallen asleep...
The next morning it was James who wouldn't wake up, so I went down to the communal area in the hostel and filled out some of my travel journal. Later in the day, we took the bus to Bondi Beach and sat on the sand for all of ten minutes, quickly realising it was too cold and windy to swim in the sea. We walked the first part of the iconic Bondi to Coogee coastline trail, and stopped at Bronte Beach as the last of the day's sun broke out from behind clouds and shone across the golden sand. We took the quickest dip in the sea here, before hopping into the stunning Bronte Baths ocean pool, which wasn't even that cold. It felt amazing to be swimming in saltwater, knowing we'd be tracing this coastline in our campervan for the next eight weeks. We took the bus back to the hostel and settled in for a cosy evening at the hostel's movie night, where Ratatouille was showing.
To take further advantage of the hostel's free activities, we started the next day with a yoga class, before mooching around Sydney's free art galleries and botanic gardens for the day.
An arty shot James took with the use of a mirror outside a gallery
We finished the night on the hostel's rooftop staring down at the Opera House.
On our final full day in Sydney, I couldn't resist dragging James to the city's Jellycat shop, before enjoying the sun in Hyde Park. We strolled round the city's highlights once more and stopped for one last drink by the Opera House.
Back at the hostel, we realised we should probably start planning the first few days of our next adventure: campervan life. We sat on our bunk bed, whispering so as not to disturb our roommates, and put some plans in place.
Another arty shot by James, created by zooming in while taking a long exposure
The next morning, we once again packed our suitcases, and hobbled like two fully-laden donkeys through the city to catch a train and a bus to the Camperman depot. And just like that, we were introduced to our home for the next few weeks. And gosh, how we would fall in love.
First stop was Bunnings, to pick up the essentials...
Next stop Woolies, where we stocked the fridge and cupboards. After that, we drove inland to our first campsite. We climbed up into the hills, and arrived in the Blue Mountains after dark. Of course, no one had warned us about the intense temperature drop impossible not to notice when traveling inland in Australia. It was like being back in the UK. We cooked our first meal in the Wombat Wagon and settled in for a cold first night on the road.
Blue Mountains
As exciting as it was to wake up for our first morning in the Wombat Wagon, we quickly learned that lie-ins would be scarce when campsites require check-out at 10am and it takes a good chunk of time preparing the van for driving once more. We scrambled to get ready, eat breakfast, and put everything back away and be gone on time. I tentatively tried out driving the big vehicle for the first time and screamed going over the first speed bump. After stopping to give myself a pep talk, I drove on and we parked on a residential road nearby in Katoomba: home of the Three Sisters.
The Three Sisters are an incredible sight to see. The viewpoint was swarming with tourists and we almost froze to death in the morning chill as we spent a few minutes staring down at these incredible rock formations which each stand over 900m tall. We made our way onto one of the many walking trails in the area, and started a 7km walk which skirted the wall of the cliff, took us down into the valley below, and back up via over 1000 steps. It was a brilliant bush walk; highlights included seeing a lyrebird, and realising we were actually scaling one of the Three Sisters on the way back up.
A rare lyrebird
The physical exertion of the hike made us feel more accomplished than ever upon reaching the top. We left the tourists clambering back onto their tour buses behind, and walked back to the Wombat Wagon, ready for our first night in a free camp. It was a scenic drive along the edge of the Blue Mountains valley to reach the camp, which was nestled in a rural car park, and hosted designated overnight parking spaces. A few other vans were already there when we arrived, and once night fell the access gate was closed. Aside from being parked sideways on a slight hill, it did the job and we couldn't complain. This would be the first of many free camps over the next couple months, so we adjusted ourselves to this new way of living and embraced being in the Australian bush.
Central Coast
After our inland adventures at the Blue Mountains, we drove back towards Sydney and started the trek up the east coast of Australia. Our next stop was Central Coast, where we stayed for two nights in Toowoon Bay. Here, we had a cheeky morning on the beach and a swim in the sea, before an afternoon well-spent at the weekly free pelican feeding session.
Pelican Time at The Entrance is a free event where the Marine Wildlife Rescue get the chance to check all the local pelicans for illnesses and injuries, while the public get to enjoy these huge, wild birds up close. The pelicans join willingly, knowing they will be fed, and not minding at all that there is a crowd of humans sitting round watching them. We got a good spot thanks to arriving early (but some people had clearly been waiting all day!) and enjoyed ice creams while waiting for the event to start. It was very entertaining watching these birds threaten and intimidate the small handful of annoying, disruptive children who were only half their size!
The pelican talk was incredibly interesting and taught us a lot about these beautiful birds. We watched them enjoying their fish and learned who was who, as the volunteers easily recognised each bird. They attempted to catch one which appeared to have an injury—looking out for its welfare above all else. We walked back to Toowoon Bay afterwards, and settled in for another cosy evening before heading further north the next day.
Newcastle
Newy, as the locals call it, is a must-stop place on the east coast north of Sydney. We only had one day in the city, so we knew we had to make the most of it and catch as many highlights as possible. Thus, we ended up completing the longest walk of our NZ and AUS adventures so far, at a whopping 12.3km. We started out on the memorial walk along the Anzac Bridge, which remembers fallen soldiers from Australia and New Zealand in World War One.
Next up, we strolled through King Edward Park and stopped for a scenic picnic overlooking the sea. After that, we continued walking along the coastline and made it to the Bogey Hole, one of Newcastle's most iconic spots. This is an ocean pool crafted by convicts out of the cliff face and made into a swimming spot in the nineteenth century. The waves on the day we visited were huge—breaking over the wall into the pool. Even though it was a cloudy, blustery day, we braved a swim here as it felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity. We braved the cold, got undressed on the steps down to the hole, left our bags just out of reach of the waves, and slipped into the water. It was surprisingly warm. The waves continued to splash into the pool and a few times we were almost overturned by them. It was great fun and worth the faff of getting dried and dressed on the side of the footpath in public afterwards.
We continued our coastal walk and ambled through the convict lumber yard, before arriving at the headland where we explored Nobbys Lighthouse and walked right to the end of Newcastle breakwater. We saw a seal on the rocks and breathed in the salty air, with the immense scenery.
By this point we were tired from walking and still had a long trek back, so we turned round and followed the coastal path all the way back to the carpark where the Wombat Wagon waited for us.
Newcastle, you were brilliant!
Hunter Valley
After a long day exploring Newcastle, it was late by the time we arrived at our campsite in the famous Hunter Valley wine region. Exhausted, we slept well knowing we had a fun day of wine tasting coming up.
Making use of the local iHop bus which safely delivers drunken wine tasters from winery to winery, we had an early start and were picked up right by the campsite entrance. Our first stop was Wild Wren winery, which ended up being our favourite. The ladies who served us and described each wine to us were incredibly kind and informative; one of them even being the wife of the business owner. We enjoyed our wine tasting in the most gorgeously beamed barn and made a purchase at the end, which sat comfortably cold in the iHop's cooler for the rest of the day.
The second winery was Mercer, where we sat outside on the veranda looking out across vineyards and peaceful, rolling hills. The wines weren't quite as impressive as those at Wren, but the scenery made it.
Our third stop was at Pokolbin village, where we frequented a chocolate shop before walking over to Vamp By Lisa McGuigan. This was an insanely cool, medieval church-like building decorated inside to be fit for only a vampire. Dark colours dominated the gothic barn, and we were given a tour by Lisa McGuigan herself, who showed us a stunning dining room with a full set of knight's armour on display, along with numerous other devilish knickknacks she'd collected over the years. Lisa and one of her recently-hired employees took us through the wine tasting and introduced us to some bold, new flavours. This was by far one of the more interesting wine tasting experiences we've had, and we enjoyed making conversation with the woman who had crafted this entire world herself.
After a picnic lunch on the grass in Pokolbin, we were once again collected and driven this time to Tempus Two. Another stunning place, which opened up into a huge building housing a bar, hundreds of barrels, and thousands of bottles lining the walls. We sat at the bar and were guided through the wine tasting by a very chatty woman who told us a lot about her own life, and less about the wines. Nevertheless, the wines were great and we were a little too drunk to care about anything at this point anyway!
Our final stop was to Fat Cow, for a wine and cheese tasting which did not disappoint. The cheese was delicious: the perfect snack for soaking up all the wine we'd been drinking all day. The memories are faint by this point, it being our fifth winery of the day. All I know is we had the true Hunter Valley experience and made it back to the campsite safely via the iHop bus.
The next morning, we stopped at Binnorie Dairy on the way out of the valley, at the recommendation of the first winery the day before. We tried a handful of cheeses and selected our favourite to purchase, before heading back to the coast for the next leg of our journey.
Keep your eyes peeled for our next blog post to see where we ended up next in our Sydney to Cairns adventure.
