We headed out of Sydney on a bright orange camper van with 4 days to get to Melbourne. Rather than take the main highway (which would have taken just 9 hours), we clung as close to the coast as possible on Princes Highway, the scenic route, with plenty of stops in between.
The scenery was breathtaking. Maybe we'd been in cities for too long, but we were marveling at it every day on the road. We drove through lush green hills and stopped at perfect sandy beaches, which were mostly empty. I always imagined Australia to be a desert land, but on the east coast, it's far from it. We saw some amazing wildlife, cooked some awesome food on our little stove, and walked some lovely trails. We stopped whenever we saw anything remotely interesting-- a whale museum, a winery, a koala conservatory.
Our first day on the road happened to be Valentine's Day. We didn't have any plans, but it couldn't have turned out more romantic. We found a lovely campground to park our van overnight. Not expecting much, we took a trail from the campground and it led us to an amazing white sandy beach! That night we cooked a delicious dinner in the woods and dined on a picnic table surrounded by hungry possums (I think). After dinner we took a bottle of wine and dessert to the beach and laid under the stars. The moon was full, as if it knew we were coming. It was beautiful and I will remember it as long as I live.
More to come.
- Julia
The beaches were incredible and we couldn't figure out why they weren't crawling with people!
Our Valentine's Day dinner!
Yum! Food always tastes better out in nature.
Wow, this is such an amazing idea! Something different, I love it :)
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Jenna
lovely shots and your valentines day sounds amazing! We did the roadtrip from melbourne to sydney in december and I loved it... and I think there are simply too many beaches to all be full... one beauty after the other, right? loved it!
ReplyDeleteKristina - Way too many beaches. It's not fair for the rest of us.
Deletei love when things turn out unexpectedly perfect. so lovely...
ReplyDeleteSounds like my kind of Valentine's Day! The beaches DO look amazing. What a find! I love the kangaroo crossing sign. We just have plenty of deer crossing signs here in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteKelly J. R. - Yep, those are the signs we're used to seeing (deer... sometimes cows). The kangaroo signs looked bizarre!
DeleteToo beautiful! Seems like such a dreamy place :)
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend! xxx
Fantastic photos! Sounds like a great trip. So sweet that Valentine's day turned out so perfectly unplanned!
ReplyDeleteSeriously Julia, how do you manage to look so cute and put together while traveling for so long? lol. I always have cute outfits planned out for trips and I end up looking wrinkled and frumpy. haha
ReplyDeleteJody Peterson - You don't get to see photos from the days I look scary... that's why. :) Thank you, though.
Deletewhat a lovely way to spend valentines together and those beaches are beautiful
ReplyDeleteI would love to jump into this post.
ReplyDeleteWow. That sounds and looks amazing. What an amazing way to spend Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeleteYour Australia posts are getting me so exciting for a trip I have planned for August. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteJulia:) i just discovered your blog, and am in a lovely awe. you and your husband are delightful, so much inspiration and love. my husband and i are fellow wanderers...what a treasure to meander the maps of this blog. truly, your posts on meeting your family in ukraine were so tender and i seriously was captivated by the spirit of return. my father's family came to the US from Sweden, and every time we go back, there is such a connection to a land that is not my own, but is in my blood. thank you for living so gracefully and documenting it so well. can't wait to begin following you:) love Katie
ReplyDeleteKatie Cook - Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice note. It's so encouraging when we hear that people connected with our posts about returning to Ukraine. It's a feeling that's hard to describe. Happy travels to you and your husband!
Delete* Julia
Ah! These pictures are toooo good :)
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