CAMPSITE # 6 - Roadside Hell !!!

Enough of the rain, enough of the cold, enough of the miserable wet!!! After having a drought for 4 years in outback Oz – you would have thought that it could have at least held off for another 4 weeks just for us to have some fun (yes – narrow-mindedness & selfishness will get you everywhere in life!!!). No more of this – waiting for the rains to settle and driving around in the crappy weather. We decided we needed (deserved) a sea change. When I thought sea change – I initially pictured ourselves basking on a white sandy beach in the beaming sunshine with a slight tingle on our skin from the touch of the sun in the 30deg heat... that one thought gave us the inspiration to just keep on driving. If we actually calculated how far of a drive it was actually going to be – we never would have locked ourselves in to speed through it all in one day but hey – when you have that fire in your belly (and the beach was calling) sometimes, you just have to drive.

And drive we did...

And drive...

And drive a bit more...

And drive a lot more.

Until midnight rocked around having driven through the glorious Hunter Valley (while pitch black without even realising it)... we were so glad to finally arrive seaside. Only to then let the next challenge hit us.

We were so blinded by the smell of the sea air that we never even considered the dilemma ahead of us upon our arrival.. where the bloody hell were we going to stay? Of course, no campsites would be open to let us in at that time of the night and those that would were $40 a night (RIDICULOUS!!!). We considered staying in a backpackers but summed that up to just be a complete waste of coin. So, as tired and completely over it we were – we decided to drive on to the closest rest stop (45mins away) for our first not-so-peaceful night’s snooze set amongst the not-distant-enough moan of the semi trucks hooning 110kms+ down the highway.

One of the most commonly asked questions when friends & family ask us how we’re going is “How many fights have you had?” ... while I often argue “Tom & I never fight, we just calmly discuss the situation and together agree on the most beneficially outcome” ... this night well let’s just say – there wasn’t much negotiating or agreeing on beneficially outcomes.. we both had just had a gut full and both just needed some sleep so bad and we were sooooooo over it.

After many grunts and moans, we made it to the Rest Stop A La Highway . As we lay in bed that night – what else can you do after such a tediously long tension filled drive like we’d just had but.. laugh. And laugh we did, at the fact we just drove 558km at an average of 60km/hr (with thanks to the steep & winding roads through the Hunter) only to arrive and sleep next to the bloody highway!!

Funnily enough...  we both agreed the next day that it was the easiest and smoothest night’s sleep we’ve had since we left.