Location: ///invited.genius.benefactor

We could barely contain our joy at finally being able to travel again.

Ripley was fully loaded and ready to roll this morning, and after the inevitable last-minute faffing around (like 10 minutes looking for Ripley’s spare keys. Forgetting to pack extra masks. etc etc) we were away.

A beautiful morning to be on the road. Kelly took the wheel whilst Juno and I face-sponged the window watching the countryside roll by. After being pretty much tied down to our local neighbourhood for the last few months the usually familiar route out of Canberra seemed extra vibrant and interesting. Reminds me of when sailors make landfall after a long passage and are overwhelmed by the smells and colour of the land.

Down to Cooma, we stopped for a takeaway coffee (eww, it was bad) and then down again, Brown mountain zig-zagged around us and spun our GPS like a top. The descent building a compound enthusiastic momentum that carried us all the way down to Bega.

As a slightly morbid aside, just before the coast I spotted a dead platypus, belly up on the side of the road. This is the first time I have ever seen platypus roadkill in all my years. Kelly didnt believe me….until a short time later she expleted: THERE! another dead platypus!

No Kelly…..that was a wombat.

Tonight we are nestled into a small van park in Pambula. It is nothing special but the owner is friendly and it is clean and quiet. Come to think of it…these days that is a bit special after all.
After situating ourselves we went for a short walk to check out a local brewery (it was closing time) and then worked our way back through town looking for a potential breakfast destination for tomorrow.

So now it’s all beer and gin and stuffed supermarket olives (Brian & Rhonda, if you read this: we miss your homemade olives!). It’s barely 7 pm, yet we are twilight shagged and ready for an early night.