A Luxurious Camping at Cosy Tents

Cosy Tents Enlightened

If you are planning for a romantic outdoors , I bet Cozy Tents is the best place to be . Luxurious , Romantic , Picturesque Camping Site .

HOW TO REACH THIS PLACE :
Address : 935 Telegraph Road, Sailors Falls VIC 3461, Australia
Phone : 0411 322 937
Route  : http://www.cosytents.com.au/locationdaylesford/
Website : http://www.cosytents.com.au/
Checkin : 3:00 p.m , Checkout : 12:00 pm

HOW MUCH TIME WOULD IT TAKE : It took us less than 2 hours to reach the cozy tents .

BEST TIME TO VISIT : You can visit the camping site all year long . I had a short chat with the owners and they are planning to install special tent heaters for winter season .


Small WaterBody inside the Camping Site

HOW MUCH WOULD THE TRIP COST : The 2 day 1 night trip for two of us cost 257 AUD .

1) Petrol - 25 AUD
2) Cosy Tents - 185 AUD /per night / per tent
3) Meal as per preference  or can be brought from home - 35 AUD
4) Coffee @ during drive break * 3 - 3.95/Cup .


HOW WAS THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE : Awesome place for camping , warm hospitality and less than 2 hour drive from Melbourne is the USP of this place .A refreshing break from hustle and tussle of life .

Day 1:-
11:30 p.m - Started off from home after Brunch .
01:30 p.m - Reached Cozy Tents. Picked up the keys and had a brief from Jarek(Owner).
02:00 p.m - Went to Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens .Took the Scenic Drive .
03:00 p.m - Went to Jubilee lake .
04:00 p.m - Came back to Cosy Tents .
# Rested for a while in lovely tents .
# Had our evening tea .
# Sat outside watching Kangaroos passing by .
# Started with our evening Wine , chit chat and photography .


07:00 p.m - It started getting cold and Jarek lit us a Camp Fire .
I am new to camping outdoors and I was loving every bit of it .
08:00 p.m - We started preparing our Dinner . There are all equipment present in the common kitchen including vegetable oil . We brought all our food marinated from home in an Ice box .
10:00 p.m - Watched a lovely movie on our Ipad .

Breaky Box

Day 2:-
08:00 a.m - Got up Late .Prepared our morning Tea .
09:00 a.m - Usually the breakfast is arranged in the beautiful common kitchen area .
However it was raining that day and we got a lovely Breaky Box .
10:00 a.m - Did some photo-session .
11:00 a.m - Checked Out from Cosy Tents .
11:15 a.m - Reached Sailor Falls .
11:30 a.m - Reached Daylesford Lake which is just 5 km from Sailor Falls .Parked in front of Central Springs .Did some fishing , Lake circuit Walk , photo-ops.
01:30 p.m - Reached Daylesford Market .Had a Sumptuous Lunch .Plenty of options there to dine .
03:30 p.m - Set out for Melbourne
05:30 p.m - Reached home .

Interesting Facts :-
1) Refrigerator is not available in Tents(After all its camping) .However 26L Eski is available .Handy to know what all is included  http://www.cosytents.com.au/glampingwhatsincluded/
2) From Placement perspective The best Tent is bwthyn .Tea ,Sugar ,Coffee , Cutlery ,Breakfast is provided with all tents .
3) CosyTents have clean, hygienic common toilets and kitchen with lovely cutlery .Oil,Salt for cooking ,Utensils, Drinking and Cooking Water is provided .
4) Plenty of places for nature walks and photography like - Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens , Jubilee Lake , Lake Daylesford , Sailor Falls.
5) Daylesford Market is just 4.5 km from Cosy Tents .You can even skip cooking at camps .
Coles and other Grocery Stores can also be found in Daylesford Market .
6) Bring your self enough warm clothes as it may get cooler than Melbourne at night .

A Day Trip in Melbourne City

City Circle - Free Tourist Tram

Melbourne is one of the most spectacular cities in the world . It has been crowned as the world's most livable cities several times .If you are planning for a Day trip in Melbourne , I can offer you some tips to plan your Melbourne's Day Out .

BEST TIME TO VISIT MELBOURNE :-
Though Melbourne can be visited all round the year . However summer months (November - April)are usually the best with long days .
February-March is the best time to visit Melbourne from perspective of cultural festivals .
Melbourne hosts a lot of spectacular festivals during this time ranging from "White Night" , "Moomba Festival" , "Australian Grand Prix - F1" etc.

Flinders Street Station

HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST :85 AUD/person :-
Since I have selected most of the places where there is no ticket charges .
Yara River Cruise  : 23 AUD/person
Skydeck : 30 AUD /person
Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner : 10 AUD /meal/person
This does not include your shopping , drinks and Crown Casino gambling .

Glimpse of Melbourne City

PLAN YOUR DAY IN MELBOURNE CITY :-

At 8:30 a.m : Federation Square
Take your time to click some nice shots of "(1) Flinders Street Station" ,"(F16)St. Paul Cathedral" , "(F18)Princess Bridge" , "Federation Square" , "(F15)Explore Swanston Street ".

At 9:15 a.m :Get on to the City Circle Tram (Walking Distance)and get down  at the next stop number : 2 named as "Market Street".Take Tram 55 going towards Market Street  which would take you to "Victoria Market" which is Stop 9.

Queen Victoria Market

At 10:00 a.m :Victoria Market - This is the best place to buy yourself some Souvenirs for friends and family back home .Market is closed on Monday , Wednesday and Public Holidays . To know more on timings please refer to the following link .
http://www.qvm.com.au/contact-us/

At 11:30 :
Option 1 :There are some good restaurant near Victoria Market. Have your Lunch . Get on to the Tram 55 , get down at Latrobe Street Stop number = 7 . Take on the City Circle .Get down at Parliament

Option 2 : Get on to the Tram 55 , get down at Latrobe Street Stop number = 7 . Take on the City Circle .Get down at Parliament . There are pretty good restaurants on Bourke Street which is righ opposite to Parliament . Have a nice lunch overlooking parliament .



Parliament House - Victoria

At 12:55 p.m : Free Guided Tour Inside Parliament of Victoria .If you want to take a free guided tour inside parliament . Make sure to reach the top of parliament by 12:55 .For more information : http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/visit/public-tours

Yara River Cruise Boarding Point and Eureka Sky deck Location

 

At 1:30 p.m : Take the Tram City Circle and get down at Flinders Street Station .
Take a quick 7-min walk onto to the other side of the bridge .Yarra River Cruise Boarding Point

South Bank DFO Waterfront

 

At 1:50 p.m : Yarra River Cruise.
Queue up at the Southgate Promenade, Berth 5 . There are a number of options .
I found the 1-hour Cruise B : River Gardens the most picturesque .
Rate : 23 AUD/person
For Bookings :  https://www.melbcruises.com.au/index.php/cruises/?tab=sightseeing

At 3:00 p.m : Eureka Skydeck
I would recommend to buy Edge Tickets along with general Entry .
Rate : 18 AUD + 12 AUD = 30 AUD/person
For Bookings : http://eurekaskydeck.com.au/buy-tickets/


At 4:45 p.m: Federation Square Tram Stop
Get on to any Tram towards St. Kilda Road(3,3a,5,6,6,16,64,67,72) .Get down at Stop number 19 - Shrine of Remembrance .

Royal Botanical Gardens

At 5:05 p.m : Royal Botanical Garden
Royal Botanical garden is located just behind the Shrine of Remembrance .Take a tour with some beautiful clicks .For More Info : http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/visit-Melbourne

Shrine Of Remembrance

At 6:00 p.m : Shrine of Remembrance
Spend some time and get down to the tram stop whenever  you wish .
Take Tram 16 to St. Kilda Beach .

St. Kilda Esplanade - Penguin Point

At 6:45 p.m: The Esplanade - St. Kilda Sea Baths (Stop 136) 
Get down at Stop 136 . Cross the road to reach the Esplanade .Keep on walking the esplanade until you reach the Penguin Point . At sunset Little Penguins comes to the shore daily which is a treat to watch .Please remember there is a Instant fine on Flash Photography and drinking .

At 8:00  : There are plenty of place to dine in and around St. Kilda .



At 10:00 : Crown plaza
Try your luck in Crown Casino .Entry to Casino is free .
Retire your day with a Taxi to Hotel .
number : 132227 , http://www.13cabs.com.au

Map with markings relevant to the Blog

There are some more Options that you can explore in case you plan to stay longer :-
1) Melbourne Aquarium
2) Melbourne Cricket Ground
3) There are plenty of shopping centers namely :Southbank DFO  , Harbor Town , Crown Plaza Shopping Centre , Bourke Street Shopping Mall , Chapel Street .
4) Royal Exhibition Building

 

Plan Your Self Drive Australia Trip

The Great Alpine Road

An Australian road trip is one of the best ways to experience the magnificent scenery .From short trips to long stays and 4WD adventures, Australian road trips cover every length and landscape. Not only it comes to be cheaper but also they give you a liberty to spend more time at the places you like .

Mount Hotham

 

Common road rules in Australia :-
-The Road rules in Australia are important to understand before taking off your self drive holiday .
-Most of the Fatal Car Accidents across australia happens because of Ignorance to traffic rules.
-Following Videos would make you aware of the common road rules across Australia .
Do look all the animated videos :-
http://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs5qn0CxqDldzFkpACwgYXkVu9jO7ReIq
Note - Australia follows Right Hand Drive, which means Car Steering is on the right hand side for the Driver and driver must drive in left lane .

Common Mistakes an New/Overseas Drivers make :-
1) Drive on wrong lane - Fatal Error
Expectation - Be aware of your lane directions .
2) Impatience while making turns .
Expectation - You must Give way on turns .
3) On a Highway with a Speed Limit of 80 and above ,Driving slow on right lane .
Expectation - You  must use the right lane only case of overtaking .
4) Driving Slow .
Expectation - You must always drive approximately at the same speed as indicated by speed signs
5) Driving on High Beam at night , with other cars infront with a distance of 2-8 sec ahead .
Expectation :-
a) You must use the high beam on freeways only when there is no car ahead of you .
b) You must change the beam to Low as courtesy when another car from opposite direction approaches you .
6) Driving without GPS mounted stand on windscreen .

Great Ocean Drive

Self Drive Sight Seeing Ideas:-
1) Great Ocean Drive : http://www.visitgreatoceanroad.org.au/
2) Tasmania : http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/
3) Cairns : http://www.cairns-greatbarrierreef.org.au/
4) Grampians National Park :-
Beautiful Place for Trekking Enthusiasts - http://www.grampianstourism.com.au/
5) Gold Coast : www.visitgoldcoast.com.au
6) http://www.australia.com/explore/itineraries-ideas/holiday-ideas.aspx

Car/Caravan hire in Australia :-
Best Car Hire Companies in Australia :-
1) Thrifty - (http://www.thrifty.com.au)
2) Europcar - ( www.europcar.com.au)
3) Hertz - ( https://www.hertz.com.au/)
4) Avis - ( www.avis.com.au)

Budget Campervans or Caravans :-
1) JUCY - http://www.jucy.com.au/

Way to Mount Buller

Car Pick Up / Returns Tips :-

1) Trading Hours - Its important to know the Trading hours of the Car Hire Outlet .
You must check out the opening and closing hours of the exact outlet from where you plan to pick up and drop your rental vehicle .Its important for 2 reasons :-
     a) Cost of the trip might get affected due to this .
     b) Also the timing is important in case you have connecting flights
Note - Very Rare Outlets have After Hour Dropping Service. Just checkout the exact steps ,just in case you get late .

2) You Should carry Optimum Documents while hiring a Car .
     a) Valid Passport in Original .
     b) Hotel Booking Confirmations(only for overseas visitor)
     c) Proof Of address

Vaccum Clean->Soap->HighPressureRinse->FullTank
 

 

Rental Retrurn Policy :-
1) Clean Car - Usually Its expected to return your rental vehicle in a fairly clean condition .
Its common to find Car Wash in Gas Stations .Most of the Manual Car Wash charge 1$ for 1 min of Vaccum / Soap Wash / Rinse . So It would not take more than 3-4 dollars to have your car cleaned up properly.

2) Tank Full while Return - Its is mandartory to fill in the Tank full while returning the car .
If not , it will attract a penalty and a service charge .Make sure to checkout the nearest petrol/gas station while returning the car .

Petrol/Gas Filling Stations :-
Important Note - You need to Fill in Petrol by yourself . Then Pay inside the counter by yourself .
Its important to keep your petrol or gas levels moderate at all times.
Sometimes ,In Country Sides it becomes hard to find a petrol/gas station.