April 18 – we left Sydney in the morning. After asking advice of one of the Worldmark staff members, we decided to book a shuttle bus back to the airport where we were picking up the rental car. We wanted to get an early start as the drive to Lakes Entrance was approximately 9 1/2 hours so we booked the shuttle to pick us up at 7:45. It still hadn’t arrived at 8:05 so the front desk clerk called and was told that because of the “weather”, the shuttle was delayed and would be there in a few minutes. The first sign that it was going to be an interesting drive came when we saw the shuttle going the wrong direction down the street. Suddenly he stepped on the brakes and pulled across the 3 lanes of traffic into an alley and then backed up the road to pick us up. Great start and it didn’t get much better – unlike most of the people we’d met in Sydney, he was surly and quite rude to the next couple he picked up. There was still one more stop after that – and we were already wedged in like sardines. Luckily for us, he dropped us off at the first terminal to get our rental car. It didn’t take too long to complete the paperwork and we were on the road. The girl at the Hertz counter looked skeptical when we said we were driving to Lakes Entrance that day but she gave us directions out to the highway anyway.

The car is a

2007 Toyota Corolla and, for a small car, is quite comfortable – at least I have a lot of leg room in the passenger seat. It didn’t seem to take John long to get used to driving on the other side of the road – me, however, was a different matter.

I was quite nervous – especially in the city where the lanes were narrow and it seemed like I was really close to the other vehicles. Whenever we were turning a corner, I was reminding John what side to travel on – it probably drove him crazy but he was nice enough not to say so. I navigated us in the wrong direction when we first left the airport (probably because I was so nervous) but we realized we weren’t going the right way after about 20 blocks so we didn’t get too far off schedule.

Once we got out on the Princes Highway, it was a little easier (well, after we got through all the traffic lights).

It was raining heavily – and that continued sporadically for most of the trip. We didn’t stop much either – at a couple of viewpoints, a few rest areas, for lunch at Macca’s (McDonald’s to us Canadians & Americans), and for gas ($1.54 per litre!!!! – we’re really happy to have a small car). We really wanted to get through the State Forest areas before dark but that didn’t happen although it was close. We were concerned at one point because we smelled a lot of smoke while in one of the State Forests, but it turned out to be a controlled burn. The road was continually changing, both the scenery

and the type – straight and wide, narrow and twisty, wider and twisty, etc. – but John drove just the way he does at home. The speed limit was 100 km/hr and we probably exceeded that by 10% most of the time. At times, it seemed like we were the only ones on the road and then we’d see quite a bit of traffic for a short while and then no one again. And, of course, there was road construction – lots of small areas where the speed was reduced (even though there was no one working – sound familiar?)

We pulled into Lakes Entrance about 7:30 p.m., checked in to the condo and then went to dinner. We found a pizza place that was open, Mr. Pizza, and it was excellent – and cheap. We got a large Hawaiian for less than $10. Of course, the bottle shop (liquor store) we found made up for it with the price of beer *g*

On Saturday morning we woke up about 7 (well, I did – John was up earlier than that). We were just getting breakfast when the phone rang – I was happy to hear Lizz’s voice but then realized something was wrong. For those who don’t know – John’s younger brother, Owen, was killed in a work related accident – and for the family, we wish we were with you now but I know you all know we’re thinking of you. The thought crossed our minds that we should go home, but we had an email from one of John’s sisters telling us not to think about it, so we’re staying here as planned.

We had already planned on a “lazy” day today, after all the driving yesterday, so we went and got groceries – found a medium size grocery store where the prices were about the same as in Sydney and then discovered a Safeway. Strange – it even looks like our stores. I’ll be going there the next time we need to get a few things so that I can check out the prices in a larger grocery store.

We did a little walking – and spent a lot of time enjoying the sunshine (I sat on the balcony for 45 minutes and started to feel the burn – I can see why there are skin cancer clinics everywhere you go here). It was windy but this was the first day without rain. After lunch (and a powernap), we went to the Information Centre and then found a Seashell Museum which was fascinating. They had seashells

from all over the world – and a large quantity from the waters around this area too. There was a display of

coral under black lights that was beautiful. We spent quite a bit of time exploring and then talking to the owner of the shop about bush fires and controlled burns. She had some fantastic photos of last year’s brush fire which was close to Lakes Entrance and also a couple of photos of Lakes Entrance under flood waters. I also spent the day (and I do mean the entire day) doing laundry – no we didn’t have that much to do but the machine is very strange – it’s a combination washer/dryer that supposedly dries by evaporation (it’s the machine with the stickers on in the kitchen picture) but the clothes were just as wet when I took them out after 2 hours as they were right after washing. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ve done wrong or if the machine isn’t working correctly. Right now, the damp clothes are hanging in the bathroom under the heat lamp *s*

Temperature on Friday: not sure but it rained, lots.

Temperature on Saturday: 25 C, lots of sunshine