[robimahanta]

I travelled to Sydney for work and a had a couple of days holiday over the weekend, so decided to rent an LC300 and explore some areas around Barrington Tops National Park and Lambs Valley. Drove the car around 800kms and it was extremely capable as expected. Having said that, it is not worth the price for what it is sold in India, just like most Toyotas.

Let me share some pictures from the trip.

Taking off from the new Bangalore Terminal in a direct service to Sydney with Qantas


Landing in Sydney


Picking up the rental LC300 with Toyota branded off road bumpers








Drove out along M1 all the way to Polkobin and reached the lovely AirBnB in Lambs Valley




The 100 acre property had some lovely horses and was frequented by wallabies and tons of birds





Lorakeets


Horses




Mesmerising sunset


Kookabura sculpture en route


The real thing


The imposing LC

[robimahanta]

The next day did some trails in the LC and had a great time. The car was supremely comfortable and did every thing without any fuss. I wasn't even able to push it to 50% of its limits.

Dirt trails




Some slush and mud too


Narrow trails


Parked in the evening


Came across a Jimny


An old Jimny (Gypsy) in tatters


Stretch Limo


Parked next to an Endeavour


Solo tree


Boots Tree




Empty roads




Parked where it belongs


End of the road

[robimahanta]

The following day a common friend Rob came in with his Mazda and he took us wine and food tasting.

Rob in his Mazda CX9


The fantastic food we had during the trip


























A memorable restaurant called .EXP






Touring some quaint vineyards: Wombat crossing & Maccafrey Estate






A random whiskey distillery which started operations 5 years back, maturing the liquid in American Oak barrels




Hope estate brewery which makes some 80 unique beers

[robimahanta]

Finally some memories from Sydney

Iconic Opera House








A massive cruise ship


Navy ship


Took a early morning metro to the airport


Landing back in Bangalore


Thanks for your time. All images with the phone.

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Lovely crisp and concise travelogue as always robi .

[benbsb29]

Lovely to read, thanks for sharing. Good to see you got away from the hustle n bustle of the city to explore.

If I may ask, which company did you rent from? The first time I rented a Pajero from Thrifty many years ago (2015), the terms and conditions prohibited me from driving on unsealed roads, which kinda defeated the point of renting a 4x4. I was ok with it in that instance as I was using the trip as more of an extended test drive, before actually buying the vehicle a few months later. Link to thread, for those interested:
Link (Exploring New South Wales in a Pajero)

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Lovely to read, thanks for sharing. Good to see you got away from the hustle n bustle of the city to explore.

If I may ask, which company did you rent..

Thanks Benbsb. Nice thread with the Pajero.
I rented the car from Hertz and it didn’t have any restrictions. I am a little high up in their loyalty program so not sure if that helped. It was a brand new car and was quite affordable to rent as well. Hope that helps.

[visionrider]

Thank you very much sir for such a great thread. The pictures were fantastic, couldn't believe they were clicked with a phone.

[MaddyCrew]

Nice and crisp @Robi. Glad that you took time to travel around & out of the city.

Originally Posted by robimahanta

I rented the car from Hertz and it didn’t have any restrictions. I am a little high up in their loyalty program so not sure if that helped. It was a brand new car and was quite affordable to rent as well. Hope that helps.

You may want to confirm that assumption in the future. I am a fellow top tier member (President's Circle) with Hertz, but the following restrictions apply to me when I check the Premium Elite SUV 4WD (Group R1) class (i.e. Toyota Landcruiser or similar):

• the vehicle is driven on a beach or through a flooded road or otherwise through a body of water (including but not limited to a pothole, ditch or riverbed), or natural disaster which could be avoided including fire, storm or cyclone;
• the vehicle is driven in restricted areas, including airport service roads and associated areas, or on a road notified to you as prohibited by Hertz or off-road (eg on fire trails, tracks, fields or paddocks) (unless specified in writing by Hertz);