Life

We are currently on Kangaroo Island and are really getting to know our van. The last 3 weeks have not been without their trials. Potentially dangerous mishaps such as overheating of our 2 new house batteries which needed replacing again, the anderson plug connection in tatters leaving exposed wires dragging along the road and now wheel bearing grease evident on one van wheel, which we can’t fix until we get to the mainland. However, we are blessed that no harm has come to us, and daily find gratitude in our surroundings and circumstances.

Vivone Bay, Kangaroo Is. SA.

We enjoyed a very long walk, along the beach, found a cache here at Castle Rock, the weather changed and we got drenched in light rain.

Great Ocean Road, Victoria

The road is known as “Great” for many reasons. But, for us the biggest one was Great scenery once we turned west after Cape Otway, and followed the limestone formations off the coast, unfortunately named Shipwreck Coast, with over 500 wrecks laying on limestone reefs in 5-10m of water, some within 100m of the shore. We have come across so many sad stories, and small cemetries where the crews and passengers from the wrecked ships are burried.

We are currently enjoying an extended stay in delightful Port Fairy, enjoying the cool ocean on a blistering 39degree day, after finding it hard to move on from Port Campbell where we explored as many walking trails as we could. We have a few more days along this southern coast before we head north into South Australia.

We have had a great week, dodged many tourist buses in Apollo Bay and at the Twelve Apostles, and found heaps of out the way tracks and scenic vantage points. Getting on great, getting use to where we packed everything in the van, and getting better at not checking what time it is.  

So we are including some “Great” but less iconic photos here.

The road from Teddys Lookout, Aireys Inlet


Californian Redwood Forest in Cape Otway NP

View of the southern coast line cliffs from the beach at Gibsons Steps (ie beach access at 12 Apostles)


This photo shows the section of cliffs where I was stood in the photo above





yep, we saw a mighty long dark brown snake


Named after the shipwreck, only 2 survivors made it to the small beach


London Arch, main part collapsed January 1990

Our van, and home for 2 nights


The Grotto




Near Point Halliday

Sad Farewell....Project Oz has launched

Some sad goodbyes and tears as we left Family and Finley after a week of preparation, packing the van, final grocery shop and a weight check of our rig at a weigh bridge. It is hard to believe it is time for us to “fly the nest” and see where this Adventure takes us, I know it can be great but it isn’t an easy step to take. Jess likened us to a snail....moving at a slow pace with our home on our back (or in tow).

We drove to the outer southern rim of where we have been so far in Victoria..that is Ballaratt.  It was 4 1/2 hours, and we hope that will be the longest drive we do in a day from now on.  So tomorrow we head to the Great Ocean Road, and over the next 10 weeks follow it to South Australia, to take in Whyalla (where we lived when we first immigrated to Australia), Flinders Ranges, Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.  We have a very loose itinery planned, and want to stay true to our Slow Road Ahead  mantra.

Tonnes of Bras at Mathoura, and old Wesleyan Church in the old Goldmining town of Tarnagulla - something like what you see in ruins in England.

Our view for tonight, we are the only ones here as far as we know at Lake Barrumbeet, nr Ballaratt.

Points of Interest - Finley to Melb

It is 3 hours to Melbourne from Finley, and we always seem to scoot down the highway on a mission. The van needed a replacement ensuite door, so once again a dash to the manufacturer, this time with caravan in tow. But on the way back we decided to stop in at Nagambie, a small town 2 km from the highway, on a lake, and the birth place of Black Cavier.

Who is Black Cavier?  Black Caviar born 2006,is Australia’s most successful racehorse ever. She has been in 21 races and won them all. This is not just a record for Australia but for anywhere in the world. To put this in context, the most consecutive races won by another Australian horse is 9. She never won the Melbourne Cup because she is a sprinter.

Only 46 degrees Centigrade this day, so a nice stop for an icecream.

Countdown 7,6....

Six more sleeps to Project Oz.

After a lot of planning, and help from the app Asana to track our “to do lists”, we are almost ready to leave our rental home and move full time into the van.

All our major items of furniture has sold, and our garage sale yesterday was a huge success.

Yay, we survived the decluttering process.  Try watching Marie Kondo on Netflix or Youtube if you need a boost to get started.  It’s all about finding ‘the joy’ in letting go.

Melbourne CBD

We have taken quite a few flights in and out of Melbourne now, but never stayed long enough to explore the CBD. Easy drive in, quick park, explored Federation Square, the Yarra River, then as much as we could in the following 4 hours. We found ourselves in China Town for dinner. Our impressions of Melbourne were great, it didn’t feel like it was all about retail fashion stores as there were tons of eating places, but not alfresco like Brisbane, lots of quirky shops, and felt as though there was much more still to see.

The architecture was very interesting too.

The city was buzzing with the Aussie Open being on.

Aussie Open Tennis

It was great to finally spend a few nights in Melbourne and catch the Tennis live for the first time.  Timing was perfect, as we had just returned from 10 fun filled days in Cairns - one on one time with Ayla is such a joy. Our car was already at the airport, and we shared an Air BnB with the J’s, out in the suburbs.  Great atmosphere, great crowds, great cool sunny weather, great entertainment.  Highly recommend the experience. Melbourne city centre is so easy to get around, free trams, cheap parking and easy access to all the events.

Melbourne Stadium ...great seats for day and night sessions.

Legends Doubles and Womens singles and also mens singles.

The only Aussie we saw was Sam Stosur on an outer court in doubles with L Paes...great match...they won

Project Oz - 2019

I thought we had done well “down sizing” when we made the decision to sell up on the Sunshine Coast and move to Finley NSW to be closer to family and have a base for visiting southern Australia.....almost 2 years ago. But, with the overwhelming decision now made to travel full time, “down sizing” has new meaning. We are giving up the home we are renting, selling almost all our furniture and keeping only a few keep-sakes and sentimental things in storage.  Minimilism doesn’t sit too well with me, but I am trying very hard to see it all as just “stuff”.  Clothes, shoes, furnishing, books, craft, kitchenware, these are the hardest things for me to part with.  Derek is much more realistic, but is still being very kind to me when it comes to not being able to let go of something.

We have given ourselves 2 months to sort ourselves out before we do our first smaller trip at the end of February. We are not doing a Big Lap of Australia as we want more flexibility to fit in visiting family and friends and with the Aussie seasons. 

I am calling this year Project Oz. I am more able to prioritise myself if I feel I am working on a project, much as I did when I worked fulltime. I approach it with a more organised and “make it happen” attitude rather than just thinking of it as “this is life” , the reality is just too overwhelming.  Derek assures me I will feel differently once we are on the Slow Road Ahead permanently.

Merry Christmas

The beautiful photo is from our Christmas Tree, the grand kids did a great job.

Fun Fact #2 Dead Strange Names

Australia has a very turbulent heritage and it is recalled in many of its place names - “Murdering Point”,  “Skull Hole” both in Qld and “Murder Dog” in NSW to name just a few - you can see where I am going with this!

We wonder whether this one would make the short list in 2018.

Just before the township of Coolah NSW