Day 1 - Sydney to Port Stephens.

In the morning I noticed the sun was way to bright and my alarm wasn’t going off.  I checked my phone and noticed that it was 7:04!  My alarm had been put on silent and I grabbed my phone and texted Hari telling him my alarm didn’t go off and that I was so sorry.  He texted back minutes later saying he had had the same problem and would be at the hostel at 8.  This gave me just enough time to get done what I needed to do.

Hari arrived at the hostel a few minutes after 8, time to start my next adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He took me to in the opposite direction of Brisbane for our first stop to a place called Kiama.  It was already super hot outside by the time we arrived and I managed to sleep the whole 2 hours there.  He brought me here to show me a blowhole and to take me for a quick hike up the giant black rocks around.  When we got out of the car and started walking he mentioned cautiously that I NEED to be wearing sunglasses all the time in Australia.  I nodded with a childish smile.  The walk was killer up the rocks but I loved every second of it and the view of the water at the end was perfect.

Big blowhole.

Looking back.

Heading forward.

A pic of the coast.

Anyone dare me to jump?

Ta-Da!

Water birdie!

Little blowhole.

Waiting for a refreshing spray.

Time for a cool down!

Ahh... so cool.

Next stop was the little blowhole nearby, which you can stand right next to and get sprayed.  Hari likes to take random photos and was happy to take many pictures.  The water was super refreshing and I was so happy to cool down.  Back in the car Hari mentioned he was disappointed because my ad on Gumtree said that I loved to jam to music and talk… I slept the moment I entered the car.  In a playfully stern voice I told him to give me the AUX cord so I could play my music.  He looked at me, laughed and said, “No, no, no I’m just kidding, I’m sorry.”  I told him he has now started something and that is that. 

Funny as it was he liked most of my music and said that I have a beautiful singing voice… beautiful?  I love Australia because most people here have said that my voice is nice, I think travelling has changed my voice.  I love to sing, this change is for the best.

After Kiama we headed back to Sydney for lunch but not before we stopped at Mt. Keira in Wollongong for a view of the coast and city.  I enjoyed the view but it was still so hot outside that I started sweating the moment we stepped out of the car.  So when we got back in and headed for Sydney it was lights out for me.

The view.

I woke just in time for parking and lunch!  Hari insisted on paying and I only objected a few times before in gave in.  We ate at the little shop called Vegetarian that cooks… you guessed it… vegetarian food.  Oh my goodness was it good!  Took me a short time to eat my food because it was so incredibly tasty; it is Thai food.

When we got back to the car I was ready for sleep again, I felt so bad but Hari said it was no problem and that I should sleep.

I woke up a while later when we got to Mooney Mooney.  Hari told me that he has camped here before and done the hike that goes all the way across the mountains, it takes a full day to do it and at the end you camp.  We chilled out here for a while and as a joke Hari dared me to stick my finger into the muddy water that flowed through the mountains.  I laughed and pretended something bit my finger when I bent down and dipped it in.  I dared him to take his shoes off because he seems so against anything like that; he did and thanked me later for it.

Can you spot the water droplet on my lens?

Takes a full day to hike along the mountain ridge.

We stopped at The Entrance, a beach town, to walk around on the sand and watch a pelican feeding.  I had already seem one but this was really cool to see so close.  The pelicans were sitting in the crowd and some of the kids were getting so scared, I couldn’t help but laugh.  I walked back to the car barefoot and did my best to stay awake the whole time to our next destination.

Shoes off at the beach.

They make their wings shiver when they are excited.

Almost more pelicans than people.

Once we got off the populated roads Hari let me drive the car to our next destination… an experience that I will never forget.  Didn’t take me long to figure out what was what, Hari said that I am surprisingly a very good driver.

The next place Hari took me was too a farm near Bellbird, high in the mountains.  The farm is called Hare Krishna farm and I fell in love with it the moment I stepped out of the car.  There are peacocks that roam around freely, cows and huge Indian bulls.  Hari comes here often to meditate and be at peace when he needs it.  The people that work here do it for free and they are the most interesting and calm people I have met.  They all seemed to radiate a happy glow about them.  He took me for a walk through the field and introduced my to the cows that live here, one of the females holds a grudge against him.  She followed us for a while and Hari was genuinely scared of her. We ate dinner here that was mostly prepared from homegrown food.  I learned a new Indian custom; not to put more food on your plate once you have started eating, it is considered rude and dirty.  The heat was almost unbearable here and I had to splash water on myself.  The thunder and lightning was magnificent and everyone said it was out of the ordinary for it to be like this.  The clouds were making so much noise Hari said that when they talk too much it means it wont rain; I needed it to rain.  Just when dinner was finished the rain began slowly but surely.  It started pouring finally!  I stood in the rain with face to the sky, smiling the whole time with my eyes closed.  This felt like heaven and Hari stood out in the rain with me smiling.  We went and visited a black bull that Hari introduced me to, Hari told the bull my name and told it to be nice.  The bull walked over to me, I put my hand out and he rubbed his nose against it and then started licking me.  It is said that if a cow licks you, you won’t get any skin diseases; I was licked by a bull not a cow.

Here we go!!!!

When bowing in prayer on the floor you always do it with your left side facing the God.

Cow!

Male and female peacock... male is in the front.

An Indian bull... he is my favourite.

He poses too!

Sun is starting to come out again.

This is the main building.

Baby passionfruit.

Hari, my new travel buddy.

I was sad to leave the farm but it was time to continue on, if I come back to Australia this is one of the places I will for sure revisit.  I got to drive back to the highway and not 5 minutes after leaving the farm I slammed on the breaks to help a turtle on the other side of the road.  I almost gave Hari a heart attack because I stopped so suddenly.  I jumped out of the car and grabbed the turtle; there wasn’t any water around so we took it with us for a drive in search of water.  We did end of finding some not to far away and released the turtle there.  I was very happy to have saved a turtle from becoming road kill.

Turtle!

Be free my new friend!

Back on the highway Hari and I switched spots and I became the passenger once again.  Not sure how long I drove for but it was more than an hour and I enjoyed every second of it.

We headed straight for Port Stephens after we switched spots on the highway.

The weather was insane on the drive there!  Tons of wind and rain that was so strong it blurred our vision, and the lightning was crazy gorgeous; I tried getting a photo but failed miserably.  Hari had to pull over at one point to get fresh air so he wouldn’t fall asleep.  We stopped right by the ocean, which was roaring with white caps.  The wind and rain was so strong the both of us were getting whipped around and pelted with warm rain and then chilled by the wind.  Here in Australia they say you can get all four seasons in one day and believe them.

The wind is so strong you can feel it moving the car.

My best attempt at photographing lightning.

And then there was darkness.

I was so happy to get to our spot in Port Stephens and prepare for bed.  I used the public washroom for a shower … the only temperature was cold.  I was so desperate to get clean though I didn’t care, clean I would be even if I had to be cold.

After my shower, which wasn’t too bad, we went to the car and prepared the back seat for sleep.  We folded the seats down, unfolded the yoga mats and went to bed.  I used my very thin sleeping bag for extra cushion and the neck pillow you use on planes for an actual pillow.  I honestly thought I wasn’t going to get to sleep because the surface was so hard; I did eventually though.

I woke up throughout the night to reposition and listen to Hari snore.  The up side to my sleep was that I had all these wild dreams, I can’t really remember them but all I know is that they got crazy.  Just to give you an idea of my dreams, they consist of random things like sky blue fish that swim through the air and funny looking animals.  What will you dream about tonight?