Cruising From Sydney To Melbourne

[Turboboy]

Hey guys and Gals.

I'm heading down to Melbourne at the end of the month for my Aunts 90th birthday.

Intend to stay with my sister up in the mountain country at Ferny Creek.

Yer, yer, yer, before I get any smart arse replies, NO we don't have humps on our backs or 4 legs or 3 eyes, OK!!!!

Have googled a few routes and was thinking:

Option A:

Fill up at Benalla. Caltex have 98 there.

Off the Hume to Mansfield via Bridge Creek.

Then cut across country to Yea.

Dixons Creek, Yarra Glen, Coldstream, Lilydale and then Ferny Creek.

Option B:

Fill up at Benalla.

Off the Hume to Mansfield.

At Yarck head to Alexandra, Buxton, Healesville, Coldsteam, etc....

Option C:

Fill up at Benalla.

Off the Hume to Mansfield.

Bigger cross counrty to Warbuton via Jamieson & Matlock.

then to Yarra Junction, Seville, Mt Evelyn and a few back streets to Ferny Creek.

There's probably a few other variances, so if a few of you can offer any advice, I would gladly accept it.

Each of the options above give me some mountain twisties etc...so it comes down to what's the best drive???

Thanks in anticipation.

Turboboy

[Sleeper6T]

Option A pretty much your standard route I think few good roads etc.

Option B more twistys good scenery probably my choice if it was me.

Option C alot more twistys alot tighter, if your not familiar with the area wouldnt recommend it as you will spend more time lookin at the melways and not enjoying the drive. Did a mini cruise up through seville, Mt Evelyn Silvan etc was real nice but hadn't been on a couple of roads and had to check melways plus can be frustrating with slow ass drivers too scared to take up both sides of the road coming around a hair pin corner lol

Enjoy the trip mate

Brad

Edited 05/01/09 11:51 AM by Sleeper6T

[Turboboy]

Had a pretty good trip guys & gals.

Boring Hume to Benalla. Plenty of road works as they duplicate the road, so in a year or so it will be safer and probably more boring.

After lunch at Benalla, I hit the back roads.

Yeehaa!

Took the Tatlong Tolmie Rd. Having a wow of a time then came to gravel!!!

So now it's 22klms of rallie driving , naahh kept her in 3rd and 60klms. Very windy and in the middle of nowhere, so last thing I needed was a puncture or crash.

Once I hit bitumen again, I hit the CB to see if the road to Matlock was gravel. I was told part of it was, so decided to go via the Marondah H'way, which I did.

The run through the mountains into Healesville was great. Lots of twisties.

Got to my sisters at Ferny Creek in one piece.

Drove down to Rye to see my uncle on Saturday. The new motorway was great. Goota hand it to the Vic's they put land away for future road development and do that rather than sell it off like they do here in NSW and condem us poor road users to motoring hell.

Sunday had a easy day and celebrated with my Aunt and family.

Left Ferny Creek at 7am Monday morning. Once again the road through the mountains at Healesville was a delight. Almost stopped in the middle of the road to take a photo. Tall stands of trees reaching upwards to the sun on either side of the road. What a fantastic sight it was.

Basically stayed on the Maroondah again, peeled off to Benalla an then back onto the Hume.

Hit the road works again but had the cruise control on and calmly made my way home.

was overtaken by numerous lesser power cars such as corolla, Vito van a Prius and worst of all a white hiace van with "EXPLOSIVES" signs on it! He was doing at least 130klms, so I was happy to see him pass by and disapear off into the distance.

Travelling time door to door including a top up of fuel at Yass, was 9 hours and 30mins.

All in all a great weekend for me, but the Benalla to Ferny Creek and back where the highlight.

Did see a number of T's and tried to get their plates down, was in the Nunawading, Ringwood area for a looky see Sunday morning but it was too hard.

Thanks for the feedback Brad.

[Sleeper6T]

Sounds like an awesome trip mate !! My next big trip will hopefully be the tassie cruise but in terms of km's im hoping to drive over to perth next year or at least part of the way and maybe on the train for a bit lol.

Here's hoping someone else can benefit from what you now know. Thanks for the feedback and all the details mate.

Cheers

Brad