...and thats the point of traveling long term. There is no rest, you are always on the move and you wont be able to process all the impressions. It is an overload of new and different impressions and it will take quite some time to process all of it. It may sound paradox, but even though life seems to move fast with all the new impressions and having no time to process them, traveling slows you down like nothing else. You will reach a point where you dont care anymore if its a 2h layover or 6h layover or if your bus comes in 2h or 6h. Traveling takes time and traveling slowly allows you to experience more of a country. Many times I choosed the long bus or train ride over the flight.
Australia is one of the countries where you find insane long drives to get from A to B. Distances are huge and the country is about 22 times the size of Germany. Aussies are used to long distances and they dont mind driving them. They enjoy it. Its not unusual to by a car down there already driven 400K kilometers. No one in Germany would ever imagine to by a car driven 400K kilometers. Traveling shows you a different world and not being stuck in your own little bubble. It expands your dimension of thinking. Traveling teaches you more than you can imagine.
Back to Australia, I touched down in Sydney and spent a couple days before leaving the city Melbourne bound. Sydney is life. You can feel the vibe, the happiness.
Day one in Australia was amazing. I went to shoot the sunset at the famous Harbor Bridge when a bunch of other photographers showed up. We started chatting, taking photos and once the last light of the day was gone, we ended up in a bar having loads of fun.
During the next weeks I made my way down to Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. There were plenty of adventures along the way. I met a local photographer near Kiama and spent some days to shoot sunrises and sunsets with him while I got to know his wonderful family. Between sunrise and sunset we mostly went to explore new places or had some naps.
In Bermagui I stayed with another family who invited me to stay with them as my credit card was blocked due to criminal abuse. That was my biggest and to be honest only mistake when planning and preparing for this trip. I left Germany with one credit card only. Lesson learned. I organised a new card which was sent from Germany by FedEx Express. That allowed me stay a little longer in beautiful Bermagui and while shooting all the sunrises and sunsets I also helped my hosts renovating the garage. We went on mountain bike tours and did Stand Up Paddle boarding. Our time together was amazing, especially with their two dogs Coco and Cookie. We had barbecue on the sundeck and also hit the winebar on sunday afternoon. I couldnt be more thankful for the people I met and the friends I made.
Did I mention the huntsman spider on (not in, luckily) my car? Fun story. I was checking up on another remote location late in the evening and when I was back in the car I was wondering whats that huge black spot on the bonnet. I thought it was a leaf from the tree I parked under. I thought so until the spot started moving while I started driving. Dude! Seriously? Nothing could stop it, not even the windscreen wiper. I had to stop and waited until I saw the spider stopped moving. I scared the beast away and left the scene as quick as possible. However, Australia made me way more comfortable with spiders. Its not like I am in love with them now, but I dont mind if there is one around.
The Great Ocean Road is a beautiful drive with amazing seascapes. Dont skip simply because everyone goes there. Planning Australia gave me a hard time. On the one hand I wanted to explore the more known and probably famous spots, basically known as the whole east coast. On the other hand there is the stunning and remote west coast not so many people get to see. Another reason to come back and explore more of the red continent.
I spent the last day in Melbourne before I left for New Zealands wild South Island.
peace and love
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