On The Road Journals - Week 1

The Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island, Movie Nights with the Wagners & Kitten Visits.

Confession time:

It’s been 5+ months of full time work (while still living in the van), but we are finally back on the road. Gary is practically jumping out of his skin he’s so eager to leave (he’s been this way for the last 2 months in fact).

But for me personally, I find I’ve got mixed feelings about heading off again into the great unknown. More so than the first time we left in fact. Maybe because I know now that life as drifters is so much harder and more complicated than social media makes it out to be, or maybe because I’m aware of just how fast those hard-earned savings can disappear. But it’s only a tiny thought in the back of my mind, and the rest of me can’t wait to begin.

So we decide that the best way to ease back into nomadic life is with a few days round our home territory of the Mornington Peninsula (or The Pen as we locals have dubbed it.)

Water and fridge stocked, we wound up at nearby Safety Beach to soak up some sunshine and try to shake the last of the 9-5 grind from our bones. Here you can pull up just a metre or two from the sand, and whilst overnight stays are not allowed, it is one of the most beautiful places on The Pen to just chill - away from the tourist crowds.

We then journeyed up into the hills and out to the ocean side of the peninsula to check out Cairns Bay in Flinders.

Despite living in the area for 20+ years, we had never visited this spot before (craaaaaazy) and we wish we had found it earlier:

It’s gorgeous, especially round sunset. After a quick scout of the hills and cliff top we ran back to the van, grabbed the camera gear, a change of clothes and a few other necessities (ahem, wine) and ran back down the trail to grab some photos at golden hour.

The sky put on an absolute show, and our first day back on the road ended in spectacular fashion.

WHERE WE STAYED:

There are NO official free camp spots on The Pen. Yep, it sucks, but you make do.

That night we parked at Shoreham Beach, about 10 minutes drive from Cairns Bay.

There are “no camping” signs here, so you are taking a risk. We’ve used it for a night here and there on more than one occasion now, have never seen a ranger and never had any problems, but there’s always a chance you could be unlucky. Just a heads up...

The next day we met up with Canadian couple and fellow van travellers Joe and Kristin Wagner. We heart the Wagners. We actually met them at the start of our Vanlife journey almost a year before through Insta, had an instant connection and have been mates ever since.

Our morning meetup soon turned into an afternoon, and afternoon became evening, chatting away the whole time. Our day ended with us all piled into the van together to watch A Quiet Place, complete with mega bowels of popcorn and wine refills.

WHERE WE STAYED:

Devils Bend Reservoir, Tuerong.

This spot is a good one and we’ve stayed there a few times. There aren’t any “no camping signs” (yay!) and we’ve never felt on edge parking there for the night. There’s even a couple of nice walking trails and the water reservoir is supposedly good for fishing and kayaking. Just get in before 9pm, as the automatic entry gate closes then.

After saying farewell to the Wagners the next day we headed east towards Phillip Island.

We packed a bunch into our Phillip Island day trip; walks on the beach, visiting the Nobbies for some penguin and wildlife spotting, coastal scenery drives and finally a sunset walk to The Pinnacles.

There’s so much going on we’ve made a seperate post about it, which you can find here

WHERE WE STAYED: After our Phillip Island adventures we parked at Bore Beach for the night.

After that we continued on to the Gippsland area.

Due to a public holiday it was a long weekend and we thought rather than fighting the masses at popular spots, we’d just bunker down for a couple of nights, have some chill-out time and catch up with some blog writing and photo editing.

WHERE WE STAYED:

The Franklin River Reserve Ground, Toora.

Well rested but eager to get going again, we headed to Yarram to visit Garys Dad and his partner PLUS their two newest family members, Charlie and Boots.

Oh my word… Needless to say, we had to bring the into the van to explore a bit…

WEEK 1 BEST OF MOMENTS -

Sitting on a picnic rug at Cairns Bay, sipping moscato with a vivid, violet-coloured sky above us, knowing we have months (hopefully) of travels ahead of us.
Squeezing 4 grown adults into a bed and giggling about it like school kids the whole time.
Seeing my first blue bottle at Phillip Island (yeah I was excited!)
Taking the “alternative road” at The Nobbies and discovering it takes you right along the spectacular coastline. Photography heaven.
Kittens. Enough said.

WEEK 1 LESS-THAN-AWESOME MOMENTS -

Seeing our last pay go in to our bank accounts and knowing that we’ll be tightening the purse strings from now on. (Bye bye shopping addiction…)
Waking up throughout the night as we free camped at Shoreham Beach, picturing a ranger knocking on the van any moment.
Saying goodbye to the kittens. I almost cried.