Quick update from Jessica and Marc here.
We took Captain BlueBear (aka the blue VW Golf Wagon TDI) and headed out towards South Australia intending to get Impulse registered to drive on SA roads and scouting out the drive to Adelaide for the rest of the team.
The road out of Melbourne took us by a Costco and since we couldn’t resist “scouting” it out, we pulled into its parking lot. Long story short, it was no different from any other Costco back in the states, the layout was the same (photo centre on the right as you enter, bread in the back right, books/clothes in the center, and a food court behind the cashiers) and the food was the same too albiet a little pricier. But, we still grabbed some trail mix, meat and other supplies and headed back on the road.
The drive out was fairly straight forward, literally, long stretches of beautiful scenery only interpupted by small towns and one very, very large Koala. This was my first real time driving on the left side of the road, and minus a few incidents I thought I did alright (I was very grateful for the smooth handling and punchy TDI power of Captain BlueBear to get us through those “incidents” in one piece).
Jessica and I made it out to the town of Horsham by the time the sun had set. A lack of available campsites as well as a healthy fear of driving at night led us to a city park adjacent to a river where Jessica introduced me to the wonders of Australia’s free electric BBQs. Basically, these BBQs look like a flattened metal sink, and with the push of a button, they heat up enough to cook any and all food. In our case this was some delicious marinated chicken and pita bread.
We stayed overnight at the parking lot for the park. Being 6’2″ and picky about sleeping flat, I was very apprehensive about sleeping in a car depsite Jessica’s assurances. After making a few quick adjustments, mainly folding down the rear seats and making a head rest out of a water jug and box of Mac and Cheese, Jessica and I managed to make a flat space that was large enough to sleep two people (with thermarests) comfortably. On the following morning, I didn’t feel achy or sore at all (I am kind of liking this whole car camping thing).
Marc (and Jessica) with Captain BlueBear