South Coast

After I got back from Ettalong, I had one more day of work and then I packed up and moved out of my apartment in Newtown. Tamsin, Kat, and her fiancé Adam had rented a Jucy Van to drive down to Melbourne and I decided to tag along. Neither Kat nor Adam has their license yet, so it was up to Tamsin and I to get us there. That meant I had to drive on the right side of the car and the left side of the road. For the first time in my life I was actually driving under the speed limit because I was so nervous! I think by the end of the trip I had the hang of it, I’m just happy I was driving mostly on the highway and not in the city. It was an absolutely beautiful drive down the south coast; tons of ocean views, farmland, and vineyards.

This wasn't my first time living in a Green Machine...

Our first stop of the trip was in Kiama to see a blow hole. The blow hole turned out to be a let down, but no one seemed to mind too much because Kiama was so beautiful!

Apparently the water and wind weren't working in our favor that day, so this was the biggest "blow" we saw.

Everyone in front of the blow hole (the picture is more exciting if you imagine a big splash of water behind us).

The second stop of the day was for Seven Mile Beach in Wollongong. It's a popular place to learn how to surf because the waves are relatively calm.

I loved watching this kite surfer.

Adam found a hermit crab on the beach.

Some people stop to smell the roses, I stop to feed the horses.

The first night we stayed in Nowra in a wildlife park, we arrived just in time to catch the most beautiful sunset!

Everyone unloading the van for the night. Kat is standing on a latter about to go into the "penthouse" where she and Adam sleep.

The thing about sleeping in a wildlife park is you wake up and find peacocks chillaxin' nearby.

We got a tad bit lost (sans GPS system it happens quite frequently...) and asked a local for directions to Murrays beach. He suggested Green Beach instead, which we liked much more. And I have to admit, I felt pretty cool going to a local not even mentioned in my lonely planet!

The nice thing about driving/living/eating out of a car is that you can choose whenever you'd like to stop, rest or eat.

Shortly after crossing over into Victoria the "empty" light went on. We drove for as long as we could and ended up in Mallacoota, a town where the gas stations close before 8pm.

Fortunately, we met the nicest-- not to mention tallest-- police officer named Trigger (it was like he was destined to be a cop) who was more than happy to let us spend the night in the police parking lot. There was just one small condition...

We had to cook him dinner. Yup, not only did we drive all day and sleep all night in the green machine, but we cooked dinner in it too!

The back of the van serves as a passenger seats during the day, dinner table in the evening...

and Tamsin and my bedroom at night. Pretty impressive, huh?

Thankfully, we made it to our final destination the next day without any problems.