A five day discovery Trail- Intro.

Visiting the Greater Blue Mountains Range was the most enriching part of our trip to Australia.

 Although, we were without a credit card, all the three motels that we stayed in – The Active Holidays Big 4 Nepean River Park, The Lithgow Valley Motel and the Kurri Motor Inn held rooms for us, for which we had to pay on arrival. We were asked to arrive by 5pm at the Lithgow Valley motel as the cash facility would be closed post that.

Since this trip was on a budget, we managed to keep our costs low by surviving on Indian Ready to Eat packaged foods by Gits, MTR, ITC all of which were available at supermarkets like Woolworths, Coles and Aldi.

A tidbit on Woolworths or Woolies as it is more commonly referred to: F.W.Woolworths was started by Frank Woolworth in the US which became the first brand to go global, opening stores across the world. Infact, in its heyday, its shares were the gold standard of the New York and London Markets.  However, in the late 1900’s, this very company saw a massive fall and is now better known as the Foot Locker Incorporation. The Woolworths supermarkets in Australia have nothing to do with the Woolies of the US. The company in Australia was earlier known as “Wallworths Bazaar Limited”, however, in the 1920’s, when the entrepreneurs of this entity realized that the name Woolworths wasn’t registered or trademarked in Australia and, since they had no intentions of opening retail outlets beyond the shores of Australia, they changed their company name to “Woolworths” thereby capitalizing on this name of great renown. Bitter legal battles ensued between the two Woolies, but nothing could be done and the Australian Woolworths were to stay.

Besides, we also carried with us a microwavable bowl and the basic cutlery and crockery. Except for the Nepean River Park, the other motels had a microwave and a basic kitchenette facility within the room. The Nepean River Park had a separate well-equipped, clean kitchen for the studio rooms; the kitchen had a small dining area too.

Armed with basic information from the internet, some maps in hand and the GPS which Don so generously lent to us, we were ready to explore this beautiful place. However, what we were not prepared for was the empty roads and the nearly isolated points! There were times we drove for a couple of hours without another car in sight, most of the times, it felt wonderful to be alone on the roads amidst the greenery, but sometimes, it did feel eerie (blame it on the kind of scenes from movies that occur on isolated roads)!

Having said that, we were packed, excited and ready to embark on our ‘learning through exploration’ on the various driving Discovery Trails for the first time in a foreign country.

Nuts and Bolts of Travel in New South Wales (NSW)

Our visit to Australia was restricted to Sydney and the Greater Blue Mountains Region because much of our time was well spent on catching up with the girls.

We used both the family car, Land Cruiser, as well as, the public transport for our travels.

Public transport though expensive is very comfortable and convenient.

Roads – Most of the highways are broad and well-marked. The State roads could be narrower and two-laned, while the roads in the city and the residential areas could range from broad to narrow, most with very wide footpaths. Since Australia is a huge country with a low density of population, the roadways are not the best but most certainly much better than that of India.

Road works were a common sight, having said that, what stood out were the safety measures that were in place during the process.

Traffic is well regulated, with occasional miscreants breaking the rules. Honking is almost Nil. Peak hours could witness heavy traffic in the city, with moderate traffic in the towns and villages.
A couple of times, we spotted huge trucks tailgating cars; Don informed us that this was against the rules. We also witnessed a huge truck ahead of us travelling above its 20km/hr speed limit on a curvaceous downslope, which at a point veered much out its lane and missed crashing into an oncoming vehicle! Since much of the traffic is organized and under surveillance, a couple of these incidents really do stand out.

Taking the family car to the city was an expensive affair; the exorbitant parking charges ranging from $2 - $4 per hour, not to forget the limited parking spaces posing an even bigger problem! Also, when travelling in a private vehicle, arrangements need to be made for an e-TAG or a Visitor’s e-PASS as there are no toll booths like the ones we see in India. Ours was taken care of by the family.

Railways – Travelling in the trains of NSW has been a sheer joy. With elevators at every station that we came across, as well as, facilities for ramps such that the train is wheelchair accessible made us realise how friendly this nation is towards differently-abled people. Infact, we noticed a lovely lady in an electric wheel chair, all by herself, waiting for a downtown train to arrive. She seemed to have lost both her legs knees down, and yet, managed herself beautifully.

At stations where the platforms were curved, the gap between the train and the platform was not only bothersome but also dangerous. At a station called Katoomba, many of those in their golden years were pretty nervous to disembark the train because the gap between the train and the platform indeed seemed like a gaping chasm!

Having said that, the stations are kept very clean with good seating arrangements. Announcements about the trains arriving, departing and the stations at which they would halt at kept playing. The trains too are very clean, most of them being air-conditioned, however, we did travel on an older train which did not have an air-conditioner. We also travelled in a train which had reversible seats. Announcements about the upcoming stations keep running in the train too.

Ferries – It was a dizzy kind of feeling walking over their very well maintained wharfs. The ferries are wonderfully clean. Within the Ferry, there are comfortable seats on two decks, most of which are sheltered while the others are in the open. It was indeed a thrill sitting on the upper deck with the wind blowing hard and the sun beating down, both in completion as to who could strike harder! The sun won and we had to go inside!

Travel can be expensive, however, the “Opal Card” does help on saving some precious bucks. At the time of our travel, a maximum of $15 were deducted from the Opal card, per day per head, even if the cost of our journey totaled to about $45 per head. We were not charged more than $60 per week. This includes travel by public transport, that is, by local trains, light rail, public buses and Government operated ferry’s in NSW. On a Sunday, any or all of these services together are capped at $2.50 per head for the whole day.

Enthusiastic and warm staff made our journeys even more sprightly. On a couple of occasions, we were greeted with a “Namaste” and a broad smile. At the end of it all, we had got accustomed to the regular greeting, “Hey, how are you doing?” and “Have a good day mate.”

When it comes to driving within the National Parks, it is better to avail of a National Park Pass if one decides to travel to seven or more National parks or the vehicle entry fees would simply add up.
Leaving aside the travel part, it was only when we reached Australia that we realized that the sockets there use flat pins in a V shape unlike the round pins used in India. Thankfully, Alvi and Don had spare plug converters!

For our travels, we took the Lebara mobile facility which had free calling to India and within Australia, which also doubled up as a data card.

At the time of our travel, as a trial phase, Telstra was offering free Wi-Fi at certain hotspots, a 30 minute session.

When it came to accommodation, we were very fortunate to be living with Alvi and Don, else, accommodation could be very pricey, especially so, during the peak season which includes the School Holidays. Dining in Restaurants too is an expensive affair and hence, our eat outs were much restricted to take-away foods and cafes, except for, on two occasions, one, which was a treat from Don. Thank you Don!

Since Gluten Free foods were easily available, I managed to gobble up on loads of bread, pizzas and biscuits!

To sum up our core travel experience in a nutshell - it was great seeing such a mix of people of various nationalities living together in a given area. It really did widen our own concept of the meaning of brotherhood. At one point, geographical boundaries didn’t seem to hold any meaning. I not only began questioning myself about so called nationalism and its meaning in today’s context, but it also made me ponder on the truth behind the words, “Unity in Diversity”! Travel does opens up one’s mind and makes one question one’s own beliefs, it certainly has questioned many of mine….

-Aarina

P.S. : In NSW driving is permitted on Indian driving licence for three months, as long as the licence is in English. Hence I only had to brush up on the local rules, some test drives with Don and we were all set to go. -Delson

Planning the Goa- Mumbai trip

It is exciting to think of a trip, but planning it is quite a mundane job. All such labour intensive tasks are handled by Aari and she is pretty good at it. We have a new car- Zeita and with her we will be doing a drive, we have done many times before; the fabled Goa- Mumbai drive.  In summers we have driven from Goa to Mumbai in about 12 hours straight. But monsoons in India is a different tale altogether. The roads compete with the lunar landscape and drivers drive as if they have a death wish. Being the safety conscious travellers that we are, we have decided to complete the trip in 3 days. We will have 2 pit stops, which should cover all eventualities, contingencies and exigencies.

Aari is a meticulous planner and has a checklist manifesto. She has an exhaustive checklist, refined over a period of many years and drives. The checklist has become so comprehensive that there is an item called checklist in the checklist- so as not to forget to carry the checklist. Now that is what I call the epitome of comprehensiveness.

Above: Aari, preparing the fabled checklist...

Bookings are done- First pit stop at Hotel Maratha Regency at Kholapur- A distance of 200 Kms from our home. The next stop is Hotel Ginger at Pune, about 250 Kms from Kholapur and then finally to Vasai , 173 kms from Pune. We intend to do a relaxed drive, enjoying the monsoons and savouring the green-scapes on the way.   

An interesting development; Maratha regency says they can’t accept my reservation!! When I asked why, I was told that they accept only Indian customers and not foreign national’s!! Duh. When did I become a foreigner in India?? When I patiently explained that my nationality is and will be Indian, he seemed satisfied but still sceptical. I have been asked to prove my nationality when I check in, with Pan card, driver’s license and passport- later with an afterthought they wanted my voter’s ID too!!

We are excited about the trip!! Hope our reviews will help fellow travellers plan their trip too.