Pre-cruise driving tour of NSW

[John Bull]

Thanks for all the continuing help.:)

 

The car:

We're happy with small cars, cheaper to rent, cheaper to run, easier to park, & we're comfy enough in them. And I generally return small cars with their full complement of wing mirrors. :rolleyes:

Krunch is our luggage - since we're touring we need a car which will take two large cases in the trunk cos we don't want to tempt providence.

So we chose the smallest which would take two large cases.

Julie (girlfriend) booked the car, a Hertz car but via an intermediary. I thought she'd booked a Corolla (which Hertz claim takes two large suitcases) but her paperwork actually says a Toyota Aurion - (a bigger car?) which the intermediary's website says also takes two large suitcases.

So if the car, whatever it is, takes our two moderately-large cases that's fine. If it doesn't, heads will roll. Possibly Julie's.:D

If I'd had the brains to ask on here much earlier we could perhaps have done better, but I don't want to re-jig at this late stage. I've now had to ask the Sydney Toyota dealer to set aside for me wing-mirrors for both Corolla and Aurion, and it's already complicated enough for Chester to have to look out for both Corollas & Aurions going in the opposite direction. :D

 

SatNav rental is silly money, as is adding Aus to our own. We plan to call into a Target, there's one on our route not far from the airport, AUD120 or less. We will then spend most of our time on the ship trying to sell it on at half-price. :rolleyes:

Yes, Ozkiwi, we have equally-mischievous SatNavs in the UK. I never trusted them when driving coaches cos it's not so funny when you're 2.5mtrs wide & 14 metres long. But getting lost down the occasional lane on vacation is part of the fun.

Can't find Aus road maps in the UK, & a cheap one that I bought blind on Amazon was a waste of money. I'm sure we'll find a good one in an Aus shop in the first day or two.

 

Many many thanks for he extra sight-seeing & route advice, especially re Blue Mountains.

 

Re chewing the fat (without using the word cricket LOL) over a beer or a coffee. Prospects of being in the same place at the same time are slim, but who knows. Those who care to, can leave their phone numbers at chris@cneal6.wanadoo.co.uk

 

 

We leave the UK on 10th Feb, that's Monday-week.

 

JB :)

Edited January 29, 2014 by John Bull

[Vader1111]

Aurion is a much bigger car than the Corolla. You would struggle to get two large suitcases in the boot of a Corolla without folding the back seats down. The Aurion should swallow them with room to spare.

[cassamanda]

JB. "cos it's not so funny when you're 2.5mtrs wide & 14 metres long. But getting lost down the occasional lane on vacation is part of the fun."

As you are familiar with driving large coaches, you will have no problems negotiating the Toyota on all the roads suggested.

I too drive a 14.5 metre but the Jenolan Caves rd is limited to 12.5 metres. The Edith rd is a no go for us as there is one tight turn with a dip which will suspend anything larger than a mini bus in mid air.

When you exit the caves area you actually drive through a cave which was one of the old river courses some 400 million years ago. Fun in a large coach with about 6 inches to spare all round:eek:

Hugh

[MicCanberra]

Thanks for all the continuing help.

 

The car:

We're happy with small cars, cheaper to rent, cheaper to run, easier to park, & we're comfy enough in them. And I generally return small cars with their full complement of wing mirrors.

Krunch is our luggage - since we're touring we need a car which will take two large cases in the trunk cos we don't want to tempt providence.

So we chose the smallest which would take two large cases.

Julie (girlfriend) booked the car, a Hertz car but via an intermediary. I thought she'd booked a Corolla (which Hertz claim takes two large suitcases) but her paperwork actually says a Toyota Aurion - (a bigger car?) which the intermediary's website says also takes two large suitcases.

So if the car, whatever it is, takes our two moderately-large cases that's fine. If it doesn't, heads will roll. Possibly Julie's.:D

If I'd had the brains to ask on here much earlier we could perhaps have done better, but I don't want to re-jig at this late stage. I've now had to ask the Sydney Toyota dealer to set aside for me wing-mirrors for both Corolla and Aurion, and it's already complicated enough for Chester to have to look out for both Corollas & Aurions going in the opposite direction. :D

 

SatNav rental is silly money, as is adding Aus to our own. We plan to call into a Target, there's one on our route not far from the airport, AUD120 or less. We will then spend most of our time on the ship trying to sell it on at half-price. :rolleyes:

Yes, Ozkiwi, we have equally-mischievous SatNavs in the UK. I never trusted them when driving coaches cos it's not so funny when you're 2.5mtrs wide & 14 metres long. But getting lost down the occasional lane on vacation is part of the fun.

Can't find Aus road maps in the UK, & a cheap one that I bought blind on Amazon was a waste of money. I'm sure we'll find a good one in an Aus shop in the first day or two.

 

Many many thanks for he extra sight-seeing & route advice, especially re Blue Mountains.

 

Re chewing the fat (without using the word cricket LOL) over a beer or a coffee. Prospects of being in the same place at the same time are slim, but who knows. Those who care to, can leave their phone numbers at chris@cneal6.wanadoo.co.uk

 

 

We leave the UK on 10th Feb, that's Monday-week.

 

JB :)

Sorry but with 10 Feb as your start date, it sounds like I will be away so the beer in Canberra will have to be solo. :D

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks for all the continuing help.:)

 

The car:

 

Julie (girlfriend) booked the car, a Hertz car but via an intermediary. I thought she'd booked a Corolla (which Hertz claim takes two large suitcases) but her paperwork actually says a Toyota Aurion - (a bigger car?) which the intermediary's website says also takes two large suitcases.

So if the car, whatever it is, takes our two moderately-large cases that's fine. If it doesn't, heads will roll. Possibly Julie's.:D

The Aurion should be fine assuming that's what Hertz gives you. The agreement usually says something like "Toyota Aurion or similar" and "similar" doesn't always mean the same amount of boot space as we found in Scotland. I've never had a problem in Australia with Hertz but if something like that does happen insist on a vehicle that complies with their luggage claims.

 

 

Yes, Ozkiwi, we have equally-mischievous SatNavs in the UK. I never trusted them when driving coaches cos it's not so funny when you're 2.5mtrs wide & 14 metres long. But getting lost down the occasional lane on vacation is part of the fun.

 

I think it's the UK maps that are mischievious! Actually, we loved the little lane detours, we saw some beautiful countryside that we would have missed if we'd stuck to major roads. And the beauty of SatNav is that you don't actually get lost. If you go off in a wrong direction it just recalculates and gets you back on track.

 

Hope you have a wonderful trip :)

[Flipper133]

Hi JB

 

There are actually two Corolla models.... 1 is a little hatch back, very stylish, but limited boot space. The other is a sedan, which would probably cater (just) for your luggage.

 

I think that Julie's "paperwork" has done you a favour. The Toyota Aurion is generally regarded in Aust. as a medium sized car, being 4835cm long and 1825cm wide. It is however a 3.5 litre V6 that pushes out 200kws of power and a significant torque of 336 NM @ 4700rpm. They claim fuel consumption is about 9.3ltrs/100klm...although I am always sceptical of such things.

 

Interestingly however, is that the Hertz Aust website does not feature this car...instead they offer the Camry...same overall size, but is a 2.5l 4 cylinder putting out 133kws and 231 NM. Claimed fuel is 7.8l/100klms.

 

The web site indicates for your 8 days the difference between a Corolla sedan and a Camry would be only A$21... so irrespective of your fears of losing rear view mirrors (you wont be driving down Hampshire back roads down under) you will be so much better off with the larger vehicle.

 

Whatever you end up with (Aurion or Camry) you will have plenty of boot space...with the real advantage of having plenty of grunt to get round some of Australia's challenging roads - esp. in the Blue Mtns.

 

Some higher spec'd Toyotas have built in Sat Nav (I had one in a Camry Hybrid for a while) but I think the range is limited outside the capital city areas.

 

cheers

Edited January 30, 2014 by Flipper133

[chester32]

Well I have to say JB this is going to get difficult for me Corolla/Aurion which one? and I don't even know what colour

Also don't worry about the wing mirrors just fold them in

We are not sure exactly what day we leave Narooma but probably the 18th so I will send my number to your email but if we miss you I hope you guys have a great time in oz and on your cruise

Cheers

By the way you sail out of Sydney on the 21st we sail out of perth on the 21st so I will have a beer for you (maybe 2)

Take care

[John Bull]

Pretty-well sorted, just a week to go. :)

 

Jenolan Caves definitely added to the list, Cassamanda, and I've found a fun route to get there.

I wonder if Hertz would mind? :D

 

JB :)

[cassamanda]

Pretty-well sorted, just a week to go. :)

 

Jenolan Caves definitely added to the list, Cassamanda, and I've found a fun route to get there.

I wonder if Hertz would mind? :D

 

JB :)

 

Think they might have a slight objection to that one:)

Hugh

[NSWP]

Stone the crows ! Us Aussies are confusing John Bull re choice of jalopys. Just hire a Roller and be done with it. LOL.

 

To be serious, hire a 4 cylinder - Ford Focus, Hyundai i30, Toyota Corolla etc and fold the back seats down to fit thy cases in. Like we have rented a Ford Focus in England for 3 weeks in April/May via Hertz @ £18 a day (AU$35.)

 

As has been said on here, you rent a group vehicle and god only knows what vehicle you will actually receive.

 

You don't need a big powerful car here, the speed cameras are growing with the heat and humidity.

Edited February 3, 2014 by NSWP

[John Bull]

Home from our little tour & cruise down-under, and dropping back onto this thread to thank everyone for their help & suggestions, especially the mentions of Huskisson, Pebbly Beach, Tilba, Goulburn, Jenolan Caves.

 

Chester - sorry to confuse you with which car to look out for. In the end we were given a Holden Commodore, which is probably why you didn't spot us. ;)

It easily swallowed our luggage and had the grunt for the hills. And I didn't rip off a single mirror.

 

Yes, the roads are quite rudimentary, similar to our A & B roads as NSWP mentioned. But such light traffic - which made them much quicker than our A & B roads.

 

From the airport we headed south - Botany Bay, Royal Nat Forest, Sea Cliff Bridge, Kiama, overnight Gerringong.

Jamberoo, Illawarra Fly, Kangaroo Valley, Berry, Seven-Mile Beach, Huskisson, Ulladulla, overnite Bateman's Bay.

Backtrack a little early-morning to Pebbly Beach (wallabies & kookaburras), then Moruya, Narooma, Tilba, Merimbula, Eden, then across the Snowy Mountains via Cooma to Canberra (2 nights).

Sunday in Canberra, very very easy on a sunday, fabulous War Memorial/Museum, old Parliament building, etc.

Goulburn, Jenolan Caves, overnite near Katoomba.

Bathurst (more to it than the race track, but of course did the obligatory couple of laps). Surprised by the big gradient and the tightness of the track, not appreciated on TV. Back-track to Lithgow, Three Sisters & the Putty Road across to Singleton. Saw our first kangas on this road, more later. Overnight Branxton (Cessnock would've been better).

Toured the vineyard area, past the enorrrrrrmous quarry to overnite Newcastle - our afternoon plans washed out by the only significant rain of the trip, so we added another night in Newcastle.

The central coast from Newcastle down through the Entrance, as far as Bobbin Head & back to Newcastle.

That day, our only car-related "incident". Parked on the seafront at The Entrance. There was one empty space, under a lamp-post - I was about to find out why. "Wow, look at that huge pelican up on the lamp-post" says I - just as we were dive-bombed. Missed me by a whisker - but didn't miss the car.:eek:

Covered the entire windscreen & half the bonnet - and oh my, didn't it stink. :D

Next morning drove down to Sydney on the motorway, over Harbour Bridge, to Hertz down-town. Returned the car & taxi'd to the ship.

(Had a day-and-a-half in Sydney post-cruise)

 

Thanks again for all your help

 

JB :)

[goodycruising]

Glad you came back and updated how it went John. I was interested even as a NSW person on what recommendations you got. A little bit of research goes a long way. :)

[cassamanda]

Glad you enjoyed your trip John. The Holden obviously made it through Jenolan Caves without a scratch.

Didn't know you were travelling up the Putty Road - could have dropped in for lunch and cooked that Kanga up on the BBQ.

 

He He those Pelicans sure can make a mess:D

 

Hugh