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Category: Destinations

Holy Crap… I’m in Canberra!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Canberra!!!

I left the Snowy Mountains that didn’t have any snow yet and headed northeast through some really beautiful grassland until I reached the Australian Capital Territory. It’s a smallish territory created specifically to encompass Australia’s capital city, Canberra. I wanted to see the capital, of course, but I was most excited about all the museums. I started at the main one, the Australian National Museum. Right in the lobby was the Muttaburrasaurus, Australia’s own native dinosaur. They named it that…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Kosciuszko National Park!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Kosciuszko National Park!!!

Well, as I mentioned in the last post, I had a very long drive from Bendigo, about seven hours. I zipped across northern Victoria, crossed over into New South Wales, and drove the twisty turny roads up into Australia’s Snowy Mountains, specifically, the little ski resort town of Thredbo. I checked in, got dinner, and prepared for the next days activity. I came here for one thing and one thing only, to hike Australia’s highest peak, Mt Kosciuszko. The hike…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Bendigo!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Bendigo!!!

After Mungo National Park the next closest stop on my itinerary is clear on the other side of Victoria, a really really long drive. So I decided I needed to add a stop in between to break up that drive… and now I’m in Bendigo. I picked this place because I wanted to see the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion. Even though it’s a big modern construction, this place was pretty amazing. The main structure is modeled after the 15th…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Mungo National Park!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Mungo National Park!!!

I left Grampians and headed due north all the way to Victoria’s northern border. About half way there, I broke up my drive with a quick stop to see a pink lake, Lake Tyrell. Turns out, it’s a dry lake most of the time, but it did have a distinct pink hue. It’s part of an ancient basin that later became a salt lake when the ocean receded about a gazillion years ago. When it does get water, it quickly…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Grampians National Park!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Grampians National Park!!!

I now find myself out in western Victoria in Grampians National Park. Grampians got hit really hard by bush fires this past year and as a result a huge swath of the park is closed. Several of the trails I wanted to do are off limits due to the fire damage. Luckily, enough of the park is still open to make it worthwhile. Driving here from the coast I saw a lot of these signs. I have a good feeling…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Port Campbell National Park!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Port Campbell National Park!!!

Leaving from Apollo Bay, I made my way west along Australia’s unbelievable southern coast, specifically, a section known as Port Campbell National Park. It’s basically a long strip of the coast with lots of little hikes and viewpoints to enjoy nature’s handiwork. First up, was the Gibson Steps Beach. Down the cliff via some steps of doom and onto the beach. It was a pretty overwhelming location, in a good way, but it was just the beginning of my long…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Great Otway National Park!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Great Otway National Park!!!

I made it out of Melbourne and made my way southwest to my next official stop, Great Otway National Park. I took the long way here by making a huge loop around to the northwest so I could go visit Trentham Falls, but it turned out to just be a trickle, about a one on the gusher scale, and not really worth the effort. Oh well! From there it was due south for the rest of the day. My route…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Melbourne!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Melbourne!!!

Greetings from my latest adventure Down Under! That’s right, not only am I visiting the next country on my list, Australia (just in case you didn’t figure that out), but I’m also adding another continent to my tally. So let’s dive right in, since that’s pretty much what I had to do. After flying twentyish hours across the Pacific, my flight arrived into Melbourne at 8am. Which meant I had to try and stay awake all day so I could…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthrayuthaya Maha Dilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Maha Sathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthrayuthaya Maha Dilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Maha Sathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit!!!

Believe it or not, that whole long thing is the actual, official name of the city that we all know as Bangkok. It’s the longest city name in the entire world. There are different stories as to where the name ‘Bangkok’ (Village of the Wild Plum) came from, but no one is really sure. The locals refer to their city as just ‘Krung Thep’. Here’s a pic of the city’s official name on a monument outside of the city hall….

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Holy Crap… I’m in Phang Nga!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Phang Nga!!!

South from Khao Sok National Park is Phang Nga Province. Phang Nga is a really quick stop for me, but it was jam packed with some really awesome sites. Lucky for me there were a ton of waterfalls to stop at along my route on highway 4, so I had a waterfallapalooza on my way to the next hotel. First up was Sai Rung. The main tourist season is obviously kicking in and this southern part of Thailand is the…

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