Charlie, we took a week to drive from Sydney to Healesville, via Gundagai, Tumut, across the Snowies through Kiandra to Cooma, down through Bombala to Lake's Entrance, then across South Gippsland past all the places John writes about in "Pithead and the Fern" and up to Healesville.

Coming back, we drove the aforementioned Hume Highway from Melbourne all the way to Gouldburn (home of The Big Merino) in one day - we never stopped at Wagga, for we'd Sydney in our eye... We made it the rest of the way to Sydney the next morning in time to return our little rental Holden and catch our 3:30 flight Auckland!

If you're interested in natural history, Danny and Gael met us just outside Melbourne to the NE at a wonderful zoo, called the Healesville Sanctuary. A part of the Melbourne Zoo system, it's a zoo/sanctuary exclusively for Australian critters. In parts, the animals just roam amidst the people - I was thrilled to be able to pet a wallaby! They also have the one and only Platypusery, where they raise platypi in captivity... Here's the website:

http://www.zoo.org.au/healesville/

If you've the time while under Danny's wing, go see Sovereign Hill - it's the Australian goldrush equivalent of Plymouth Plantation/Colonial Williamsburg. The town of Ballarat is fascinating, too. And you MUST drive the Great Ocean Highway to see at least Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve (oops, more like 7 now) Apostles. And stop in Apollo Bay to dip your toes in the wild Bass Strait...

Oh, how I wish we could go again!