Finding your place in the world is not nearly as complicated and/or intimidating as most people will make you believe...
The truth of the matter is I have several right places in the world... one of them is Australia... Partly because I have spent a considerable amount of time there... but it's more than that... Australia felt like home to me the first time I visited... and my love for the country, the people and the overall vibe has only grown more and more over the years.
Today I'm going to outline one of the most amazing road trips I've ever experienced... a drive from Sydney to Melbourne or vice versa... known as The Grand Pacific Drive. But before we dive in I want to go back to something from last time from Life Lessons...
It took me a long time to really be fully present for my own life and to the people who deserved my full attention... but I finally did learn some of the most important lessons...When you work... work, When you rest...rest... when you train... train... when you eat... fully enjoy your food and what and who is with you at the table... put your phone away and focus on what is important in this moment in time, because you'll never get it back... Too many people spend too much of their working hours thinking about how they are going to relax and spend their vacation and down time being dominated by work thoughts and responsibilities. You are robbing yourself of living in the moment by being half focused on almost everything and fully enjoying anything. Give everything you do your full attention... by doing so you'll get more out of your career, your relationships... and more out of life itself. Be where you are and give it everything... Then move on... I really should have finished last month's entry with "Choose the people who choose you"... The end.
In my travels I've been lucky enough to spend time with amazing people, but people who really were not the right fit as travel companions... and a couple that were outrageously horrible... one of those trips I nipped it in the bud and flew home on my own... you have to learn to make decisions sometimes that life is too short for certain people and experiences so let's end this fiasco now.
But on this particular road trip in Australia... I had my favorite traveling companions... and despite that once or twice the more difficult aspects of life and traveling... and some temporary setbacks were woven in to the experience... but all in all... it was one of the most perfect trips of my life.
The Drive from Sydney to Melbourne known as the Grand Pacific Drive or Princess Highway Route will take you on probably one of the most beautiful and scenic coastline drives in the world... We took this trip in September which is springtime and spent seven days exploring the charming towns and meeting new people along the way... We took this trip sort of by the seat of our pants and did not have reservations for accommodations planned along the way (except staying with what turned into friends)...it worked out fine for us... but this trip and one of the Route 66 road trips taught me to preplan... Without the constraints or deadlines or having any schedules or reservations to meet was a big part of the charm of this trip.
The first day we drove from Sydney to Jervis Bay that took about 3 hours (actual drive time) through Royal National Park and continued over Sea Cliff Bridge...
We continued on to Wollongong for a coffee and a snack we took to the beach...
We drove on to Jervis Bay and stayed near Hyams Beach we explored the town and had a sumptuous dinner and spent the night...
We spent some time exploring Ulldulla...
and Batemans Bay
We left Batemans bay and headed for Narooma...
Narooma is has extraordinarily beautiful coastlines and excellent surfing conditions... we did not surf on this trip... I went back and can tell you from firsthand experience.... it's outstanding...
They also have an Oyster Festival in early May... we missed it on this trip... but I went back for that too... one of my culinary weakness' are fresh oysters and Champagne.
The coastal rock formations are amazing when you consider that they are a result of millions of years of tectonic activity and costal erosion.
The thing that I always remember about this trip is these seaside villages and towns have the most laid back and relaxing vibes I've ever experienced... One of my favorite places is Tilba.
From here we headed to Merimbula and crossed back into Victoria...
Here I learned a great deal about the local whaling history... we took a whale watching boat trip...(May through November)
If you are lucky enough to be there on Australia Day (26, January)... Join in or watch the Merimbula Day Float where you drift down Merimbula Lake on inflatables or paddle boards.
From here you explore the Gippsland Coast with stops in several charming villages like Port Albert
and heading to Squeaky Beach... one of the most beautiful in the world.
