3994.2km. 12 days. Three states. The trip was a blast. Each day was full of lots of different activities. Time was slow and fast at the same time. We did a lot of walking, lots of exploring the places we were in, and even managed to get a fair amount of indoor bouldering done.
Podcasts downloaded onto the phone, we pulled out of our driveway at 5:00am and headed on our way south. Our journey took us through the following route:
- New England National Park (Thungutti campground) – one night
- Sydney – one night
- Nowra – one night
- Bega – one night
- Traralgon – two nights
- Melbourne – four nights
- Sydney – one night
- Brisbane
Here comes the rain
We were keen to try some outdoor bouldering on our journey. We made plans for an early morning start on the outskirt of Sydney. We went to bed and woke up to drizzle. That turned out to be one of the themes for the trip. The morning drizzle followed us on our journey so the boulder pads stayed in the car. Not that it damped (pun intended) the experience for us.
We were able to adapt. The trip wasn’t predicated on us having to climb outdoor, nor was it the sole reason. That make it easy for us. Wet rocks? Good. We’ll go on lots of walks and explore the towns.
There was a bouldering gym a few minutes drive from our accomodation in Melbourne that offered a two week membership, so we did get a lot of climbing in regardless.
Harry Potter
The main reason for our drive to Melbourne was to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was incredible. The story was deep, the set design was amazing, it all came together really well (apart from the fact I have read the books once a while ago and forgot who Ginny was). I highly recommend it to everyone.
Extending the experience
The road trip grew organically following our decision to see Harry Potter. We purchased the tickets a while ago and arranged accomodation for two nights. Our original plan was to fly down although airfares proved to be quite expensive. Instead we decided to take some extra leave and do a road trip. We thought we would do some bouldering on the way, see the show, and then head back.
A few days on the road though, we were having a blast so we decided to extend our stay in Melbourne. We didn’t have to be back immediately, so we decided to stay on a few extra days. It was a great idea and it’s one of those great experiences that comes about by being on a trip that you are enjoying and having flexibility in your plans.
A campground to read at
We were very excited to head to New England National Park. The photos on the website looks great and there were three seperate trails that appeared to offer different views that we thought we could add together for a bigger walk.
Randomly, as we started getting closer in our drive, I found it harder to breathe and started getting pain in my chest at the apex of each breathe, and my throat became sore (so discount heart attack). It did mean that once we got our tent set up, I wasn’t able to walk anywhere without being in pain. Instead, I laid in the tent and had a great afternoon reading fantasy books. Not quite the afternoon we were expecting and it was still fun. Sometimes you’ve just got to roll with a random illness when it comes your way and have the timing not work out. Things will not always go to plan.
Exploring Melbourne
In some respects, we were very lucky with the weather. It was cool. We could walk all day. In particular this made exploring Melbourne an active activity. Our best day was 25,000 steps! There were a lot of great places to visit in the small area we explored.
The flagship Dymocks store was a delight to find. It’s at least twice the size of our Brisbane store and I lost track of time walking down the aisles. There were entire shelves dedicated to Dungeons and Dragons, and even Blizzard’s products such as Diablo and World of Warcraft.
My favourite find was Fortress, the Home of Games. The fantasy themed tavern was a delight and with my imagination you could begin to see yourself in a fantasy game or anime. The food was great. There was a large selection of board games. We even had a quick PC session and learnt the ropes of Valheim. It’s an amazing place and would be my local if we lived in Melbourne.
We also say the museum, visited the library, walked around the shopping centres, looked at an anime store and had a delicious breakfast at the Hatter and the Hare, an Alice in Wonderland inspired cafe.
Drives are great for podcasts and thinking
We had hours of time on the road. Apart from listening to podcasts (in particular, interviews with Jocko), it was a great space for us to discuss and explore ideas. For me, the driving time was instrumental in getting a clearer picture on what I want to do with my own podcast, what I want to write about and explore, and how I want to build my own business.
There is always a lot of clarity that can be gained through uninterrupted thinking and reflection time.
3994.2km
We got home Sunday afternoon after having travelled just shy of 4000km. It was a great experience and we are looking forward to the next trip, wherever it takes us.
***turns engine off***
