Melbourne to Sydney

One thing this trip has certainly given me, is an appreciation of the sheer vastness of Australia. We drove from Melbourne to Street via the coastal route and I can tell you now… it is a flippin’ long way! The scenery along the 1,000km route is stunning. Coastal vistas, rainforest and sleepy villages line the road but there is very little “life” in between the two cities. In the UK you could drive between two cities within a couple of hours and see a number of things along the route. In Australia you can drive for days and see very little and certainly not another city.

We started our journey in the Yarra Valley, about an hour outside of Melbourne and another wine region. We found their reds weren't to our taste as the area is known more for its whites but it's a pretty place all the same.

Our first overnight stop was at Lakes Entrance, which is really where the prettiest part of the drive begins. Make sure you have accommodation booked though as choice is very limited, especially in school holidays. Lakes Entrance was a sleepy place but a good point to stop ready to tackle the rest of the drive.

On day two we had a mammoth drive of 8 hours and 640 kilometres from Lakes Entrance to Wollongong. How did we survive this with a baby? Well, a bit if luck and a bit of good planning. We got up early and left Lakes Entrance at 7am. The early start meant that Thomas, not yet ready to wake up, slept for the first two hours of our two and a half hour drive to our first stop, Eden. Eden is an old whaling town steeped in history, with beautiful beaches. Although not the right time of year to see whales, we were lucky enough to spot dolphins in the bay when we stopped for a picnic breakfast.

We continued to make stops along the route that worked around Thomas' naps and took turns driving or sitting in the back to entertain him. We also invested in a new small toy when we stopped in Eden which bought us a good deal of happy time! We were incredibly lucky that he slept a lot that day.

We particularly liked our stops in Batemans Bay and Huskisson (on Jervis Bay) as pit stops. Jervis Bay had lovely white sand beaches and would also be possible as a day trip from Sydney.

Staying the last night in Wollongong meant we were just an hour from our stop in Sydney the last day. We are glad we did the journey as it is very pretty but I think, now done, next time we would fly!