After the amazing feeling I had at the end of my Tasmania trip, I knew I had to keep going. So I booked another camper van trip, this time with a friend I’d met in Australia, to make the next dream on the list happen: driving the Great Ocean Road, one of the most beautiful drives in the world. A little over 124 miles (200 km) of insane driving, wild beaches and crazy-shaped rocks all along the coastline.
The road that’s actually a memorial
For anyone who doesn’t know: the Great Ocean Road is a 151-mile (243 km) road along the coast of Victoria, between the towns of Torquay and Allansford. It was built by more than 3,000 soldiers who came back from World War I. Work started in 1919 and took 13 years, and the whole road was dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who died in the war, which is why it’s considered the largest war memorial in the world. Yep, we drove on a memorial.
The most famous stop along the way is the Twelve Apostles: giant rock pillars rising out of the sea. We stopped there, and I remember not believing I was actually seeing it. It felt like a dream: what I’d once seen in a magazine was now right in front of my eyes, and it was even more beautiful.
And despite the name, only about eight are left today, because the sea keeps eating away at them, and in 2005 one of them simply collapsed. Not far from there is London Arch, which until 1990 was called London Bridge, until the arch connecting it to the mainland collapsed into the sea. In other words, this landscape keeps changing all the time.
A little secret: social anxiety
Now let me tell you a secret: I have mild social anxiety. Yes, me. It developed mostly because I was bullied and shut out as a kid in elementary school, and in general, over the years I got burned by kids a lot. They called me names, took advantage of me, and mostly I learned that if I’m not there for myself, no one will be. And it sucks, because I’m a really social person, but I always felt like the black sheep who didn’t fit in anywhere.
The first time I felt like I belonged somewhere was when I wore a uniform. No dress code to keep up with, no going-out style you had to love. We were all the same, and all in the same mud (literally).
A week in a sardine can
So going on a trip with someone, with both of us stuck in a sardine can for a whole week? For me, that was a real test. And in the end, the friendship actually got stronger, and we had a crazy amount of fun together.
We did the whole Great Ocean Road route, and even took a boat trip to see seals in the caves. And because she really loved riding, we also went horseback riding. It was just perfect.
Canberra, and a field full of kangaroos
After we finished that part, we drove on to Canberra, the capital. At least back then, it felt like the most pointless thing in the world. Such a boring city. But on the way we passed through beautiful nature, and suddenly fields with dozens, if not hundreds, of kangaroos appeared.
And speaking of which: Canberra isn’t just any kangaroo city. The local government actually calls it Australia’s “kangaroo capital,” and it has more than 30 nature reserves, most of them home to hundreds of eastern grey kangaroos.
And in between all that driving, we got into some seriously deep conversations. I realized I could open up, and that not everyone is that bad.
Sydney and the Opera House
From there we got to Sydney, and I’ll never forget the moment I saw the Opera House for the first time. Such an iconic building, and there I was, almost on the other side of the world from home, standing and looking at the Sydney Opera House. It was just amazing, a moment I’ll never forget. And it was a dream I had without even knowing it. We all have dreams like that, lots of them. So maybe it’s worth stopping for a second and asking: what place would you love to see with your own eyes, even if you’ve never written it on any list?
And the Opera House has a crazy story of its own. Jørn Utzon, the Danish architect who designed it, left the project in 1966, seven years before the building opened in 1973. As the story goes, he never returned to Australia and never saw the finished building with his own eyes. Today the Opera House is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We spent a few more nights in a hostel and explored the city on foot, on rollerblades and on bikes. And I have to tell you about the rollerblades. She rented a skateboard, and I rented rollerblades. The only problem was I hadn’t rolled on a pair since I was 16. I started rolling and it was really fun, it felt like I’d put them on just yesterday. And then came the downhill. And stopping? I’d forgotten how.
At some point I realized I had two options: either get seriously hurt, or bump into someone “by accident.” I saw a couple walking ahead of us, backs to us, and the guy was big and sturdy. So I jumped at the chance and crashed into him. And stopped. My friend was choking with laughter, and honestly, so was the couple.
It was just perfect, until we went our separate ways. I decided to head on to Hawaii, a place I’d always wanted to go, and she continued her trip along Australia’s east coast, to make her own dreams happen.
What she taught me
I think one of the most amazing things she taught me is that it’s okay to want things for yourself. Back then she had a boyfriend, but they did the trip separately. He stayed home, and she went. Why? Because she’d always dreamed of being in Australia, learning to surf and exploring the east coast.
I remember hearing their phone calls, and it was just amazing to see from the sidelines the love, the missing each other, and the fact that they each respected the other’s dreams. By the way, today they’re married with kids.
I remember telling myself: I hope I have a relationship like that one day. I still haven’t found it.
So after a crazy, amazing trip in Australia, it was time to move on, to Hawaii, and make a few more things from my little list happen there, a list that kept swelling and growing like crazy.
