Snowy Mountains to South and Sapphire Coast (NSW, Australia) road trip.
We are always keen to get away from the rat race of Sydney and venture out to quieter places in nature. So this holidays we decided to do something different. Instead of doing the usual planned trips, staying in hotels and visiting popular places, we decided get off the beaten path (challenge our 4wd), visit remote areas and camp…with our toddler!! We were warned it wasn’t a good idea, we did it anyway.
We were glad we did as a great adventure was had by all three of us. We visited many national parks, countless remote beaches, found ourselves in company of no one many times, had visits from wild animals (some that spooked the hell out me), met interesting people and even climbed Australia’s highest mountain peak carrying our little one (happens to be the easiest mountain to climb). None of which was planned.
We did have our challenges which became good learning for the next trip. It reminded us to be open and flexible when things don’t go as expected like bad weather, booked out camp sites (Xmas time not a good idea!!) or wild animals getting to close for comfort.
The aim was to travel cheap (although buying all the initial camping gear and 4wd accessories did cost a fair bit but we saw it as a good investment for future adventures). We ended up spending a lot more by staying in hotels during thunderstorms, eating out more then we intended etc (had to try the local cuisine). The trip also pushed us to tackle our own inner issues as well as learn to work more as a team.
It definitely wasn’t easy with a toddler, but it proved you can go out, have unique adventures and fun even with a toddler (she happens to have the same passion for outdoors like her parents which made it easier).
I thought I’d seen enough of this country and needed to venture overseas to experience unique and beautiful places. This trip however taught me that there are incredible places to visit right in our own backyard and a cheaper way to travel (one that allows greater freedom as well).
As with all travels, there is always interesting tales to tell. The following events took place at different camp sites (we also got bitten by blood sucking March flies everywhere we went):
Day 1 – running away from big goannas raiding the campsite (up to 2 mitre lizards) p.s – not cool when you have serious reptile phobia.
Day 2 – running away from red belly black snake living near the tent.
Day 3 – camp being raided by pack of wild horses in the middle of the night!! No sleep that night.
Day 4 – running away from each other!
Day 5 – running from massive Thunderstorms while travelling the coast. In spirit of making most of bad weather, we managed to see a nice sunset, take good photos, try good local seafood amongst other things.
The photos below captured the highlights of our trip. I’ve included a map of the roads we traveled. I’d encourage you to find your own paths as well. That’s part of the adventure.
Have you spent time enough in nature lately? What are you doing to live your life fully? Go out and do what makes your soul smile!! Life’s too precious to not enjoy it or wait for things to happen to then enjoy. Make every moment count now!
P.S – A lot of places we visited were unspoilt and beautiful. We want it to remain that way so please be mindful to take care and not leave rubbish etc behind. That goes for anywhere you travel. Enjoy!!
