The end of this ultimate adventure is rapidly approaching… how can we slow it down?
We left the beautiful Byron Bay with our heads hanging and we had no real destination in mind. We hit the road and just decided to see how far we would go. Kylie’s brother lives in Newcastle and after a few hours on the road we decided that it might be possible to make it there in a day and make up few miles allowing us to stay for 2 nights.
We arrived under the cover of darkness and were shocked when we rolled out of the car and were hit by the cold. It only seemed like a couple of days ago we were further north and basking in sunlight and tropical weather. Where was it disappearing to? I think we were just disappearing too far south.
We took the opportunity to explore what Newie had to offer. The kids loved Speers Point. What a great place to let the kids unwind for a few hours with a huge play ground, slide and miles of bike tracks. Our tribe wore themselves out pretty well. The sun managed to show its self in all its splendour for the day and treated us to one last day of warmth. Apparently it was unusually warm for late July. For us Tasmanians, we weren’t complaining.
Soon enough, it was time to keep moving and we waved good bye to Newie. Our destination was the surrounds of Ulladulla. We have some beautiful family friends just a couple of minutes out of town at Burrill Lake. What an awesome spot to spend a few nights. We were treated to lakeside walks, fishing and the kids had a blast exploring the bush literally at their back door step. Al and Julie’s amazing home lends itself to nature. As we enjoyed a coffee in the morning sun the on the back deck, we watched a couple of kangaroos wrestling and trying to earn bragging rights, and an assortment of birdlife came and played in the trees, almost within touching distance. I think a few of these birds are regular visitors and even nibbled on a piece of bread right out of your hand.
We indulged in a bit of home life, something that we have not had much of in the last few months. It’s the simple things that we enjoyed like staying up chatting over a beer while the footy was on, seated in the comfy recliner with the heater on and enjoying company outside of just myself and Kye. We ate like a king and queen and I desperately needed to do a few kilometers on the tredley to burn some of it off.
It was time to leave and pile back into the Hilux one of the last stretches of tarmac before we had to cross that bit of water separating Australia from that Island we call home. Our plan was to spend a few nights in Melbourne, but things don’t always go to plan. We made it to Yass and struck a little bit of car trouble. We had to stop for the day until it could be sorted out. It didn’t take too long to have a look around Yass but man was it cold. Extra layers were needed! We were not blessed with good weather so a few movies in the van were in order and the kids kept busy with a splash of painting.
Our plan on the return trek was only to travel every second day, pumping out some longer days on the road and then set up camp for at least 2 nights at each place. It had been working pretty well thus far. Hopefully we can still make it to Melbourne on time. Home is only a stones through away.
-The Cunliffes
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