Melbourne to Sydney Road Trip | Part Three

It rained through the night. It wasn’t my best sleep – the noise of the rain was both comforting and disturbing. When I woke in the morning, it was still coming down in sheets. The world was still grey. 

Again, however, this wouldn’t stop me swimming. I had camped by the beach and so I was going to appreciate it. Wearing my swimsuit and crocs, I waded through where the river had risen up and swallowed the road, holding onto tree branches to prevent being swept away. Down at the beach, the ocean was brown… I dipped in just for a moment, a little concerned about what else was lurking beneath the waves. I soaked in the atmosphere though, the salt water and the fresh rain, the cool wake up on an early morning. 

I treated myself to a hot shower again, threw on some clothes, ate some food in the comfort of the car, and got myself on the road. I wanted to head to the iconic Hyams Beach – aware that it was also likely to be in a similar way to where I’d just been. As I approached, it became clear that this beach had even more severe conditions. I found a pretty looking cafe nearby to hide out in for a little while and play around with my plans for the day. I sat on the covered front porch out front with a blanket over my knees, journaling and drinking coffee for a couple of hours. The rain didn’t stop. 

I decided to drive to Wollongong. I’d wanted to visit the city for a while, and it was on the way to Sydney. I listened to the radio when I found a static-free channel. When I wasn't too far from Wollongong, I heard that there were severe flood warnings out for the Illawarra region. That sounds familiar, I thought. When I pulled over to use a bathroom and break up my drive, I did a quick Google search. I was in the Illawarra region. As is Wollongong. 

So my plans changed. I was perhaps a couple of hours from Sydney at this point. I still had two days until I needed to drop the car off, but the thought of getting stuck somewhere between here and there was not ideal, and more than that, concerning. So I decided I would just keep driving, and at least be a safe distance from the city (and out of the major warning area!). 

The drive was fine – turning from coastal treats to larger motorway roads. Late afternoon I arrived at a campsite in a suburb on the outskirts of Sydney. It was nothing special, but it was a safe – and dry – place to set up for the night. Antsy after quite a sedentary day, I went for a run as the sun set. 

That night, two dear friends of mine were also arriving in Sydney for an overnight stay on their huge drive from Perth to Brisbane. They arrived a fair while after dark and we stayed up a while catching up and laughing. We hadn’t seen each other for months and it was magic to be able to share a space together again. They’d been camping in a tent, which was drenched from the night before, so we brought their airbed into my car and the three of us stashed ourselves away for the night. 

We woke up to a beautiful day – what a treat! I still had a full day with the car, so I was keen to get out and soak up the sunshine. We weren’t far from Cronulla, and so we headed down to the beach to get a good dip in the water. The beach had several large rock pools for swimming. I was grateful for these, especially as the waves I could see were surfers’ waves, large and intimidating. We were safe in the rock pool, having only the cold to contend with. All three of us swam, and I loved every second of it. To warm up, we headed to find a nice cafe and sat on the street with hot coffees. We saw beautiful dogs pass by and one particular good boy that watched my friend Orla’s breakfast with huge puppy eyes.

After our swim and coffee, time on our parking was running out and the girls had to get back on their way to Brisbane. We said goodbye with the agreement that we’d likely reunite in January, if I return to Australia for the festival circuit again. It still hadn't quite set in that I was living the country in a few days...

I spent the rest of the day exploring areas nearby. There was a dog beach with pretty shells, and another stretch further down with a protected swimming area. I had my second swim of the day here, before heading to the neighbouring national park. I ate lunch there, out the back of the car, and then drove between the different sites. There were lots of different coastal treats, beautiful coloured cliff rocks and views of the ocean. I took a few short strolls and lots of photographs. It was all very pretty and I was glad to be there, but I noticed much of the landscape was very similar to walks I used to take along the coast when I lived in Sydney last year. Paying to do so here felt a little odd, but I understood why there was an entrance fee. 

That night I camped near the airport, which was close to where I needed to drop off the car the following day. This meant I could have several hours doing some light exploring before I washed and returned the vehicle. 

This exploring was formed of a day similar to the one before: two swims with a coffee in the middle. I swam first at Sydney’s Brighton Le Sands Beach, which had a protected swimming area but still warned of sharks in the water which I did find a little unsettling. It was a bittersweet swim as I wasn’t sure whether it would be my last swim in Australia for the year, and I was watching planes fly overhead thinking about my upcoming journey. 

My second swim of the day was at Little Bay Beach, an absolute gem of a beach, again not far from the airport. It was small, secluded, with golden sand and stunning turquoise waters. I had one of my favourite ever swims there. It was chilly to get into but once I was in I felt so comfortable, dipping and diving for ages, soaking in the feeling of my body in the salt water. Protected by rocks in the water, it was almost still, and I felt so safe and happy in the ocean’s grasp. 

The afternoon slipped away as I returned to the car, made lunch, and then headed to the carwash. I cleaned the vehicle inside and out as my rental contract demanded, and then dropped it off just in time at the depot. The timing was hilarious, too, as as I hauled my backpack over my shoulders and took the straps of my other bags in my hands and made my way to the bus stop, the rain started again, in earnest.