We spend ten days on the road in our camper, driving from Melbourne to Sydney. We drive some of the most scenic roads along the coast and visit beautiful spots with fantastic nature and animals.
Some of the highlights were:
...being woken up every morning by the parrots and cockatoos in the trees next to our van.
...spotting wombats right on the campground at night.
...having a pack of kangaroos graze around our camper.
...walking in the rainforest of the Wilson's Promotory Nature Reserve.
...playing on the beautiful beach of the Wilson Nature Reserve.
...jogging in the early morning along a mangroves creek.
...spotting stingrays and octopuses in the shallow water of Narooma.
...watching the seals play on the rocks right below us in Narooma.
...a walk through the forest on Phillips' Island spotting many koalas.
...driving through countless rural towns with charming little buildings and shops.
...beautiful walk through forest, headlands and along the beach in Malacoota.
...emerging safe and sound from the forest path in Malacotta in absolute darkness.
...spotting a kangaroo in the dark after our emergence from the forest path.
...the jumping pillows at various campsites (Rafael's favorite).
...the camper itself (Rafael sometimes refused to leave the camper - which frustrated his parents eager to experience the outdoors).
And some of the downside:
...rattling in the camper kitchen while driving over rough surface, which was almost always.
...getting the timing wrong on a late afternoon walk and ending up on a narrow forest trail in complete darkness after sunset - aided only by the light of an iPhone shining on the dark path. We opted for the shortcut through the dense wood instead of a roundabout way along a dimly lit road. A decision we shortly after classified as a mistake, specifically when we realized we could not even retrace our steps in the dark forest as the path frequently branched off. Statistics about Australia having the most deadly animals - especially nocturnal snakes and spiders - came to mind every time we stumbled over some root in the dark. And for the first time I used so-called inappropriate language (four letter words) in Rafaels presence. But in the situation, those words seemed actually quite appropriate.
