Camper Life (with Bobby) 🧭

Our first night was spent at a small park with a river, which became quite warm and sweaty due to the high temperatures. 🏕️ The next morning, we headed to the Gold Coast, where we could only explore in wind and rain. Nevertheless, we had a good view of Surfers Paradise from the Skypoint observation deck. 🏄🏼‍♀️🌤️ Our next stop was supposed to be a lookout point, which was surprisingly located in the mountains of Springbrook National Park. After a 2-hour rainy and foggy mountain drive with Bobby, we finally reached the viewpoint overlooking an incredibly beautiful waterfall. 🏞️🚐 The way back then became an endless search for an open campground, as they were all closed due to the rain. Eventually, we decided to go back to the coast and stay at Byron Bay, where we arrived around 10 PM due to overcrowded campsites. 🌜✨ After a relatively short night, we decided to visit a lighthouse on the cliffs of Byron Bay/Cape, which was definitely worth it! Not only were we fascinated by the view from the lighthouse, but our guide also spotted a huge pod of dolphins, which was the highlight of the visit. 🐬 After visiting the lighthouse, we decided to walk down the cliffs to the beach, and the pod of dolphins seemed to follow us :) At the beach, we took a leisurely stroll, watched numerous surfers, and enjoyed the best strawberry milkshake in the world. 🌅🍓 Our campground for the night was a farmstay on the edge of a national park, where we met 'Blueberrybucket-Traveler', who earn their money by picking blueberries. After an entertaining barbecue evening, a stormy and rainy night followed. 🐎🌲 Due to the severe weather, we decided to continue driving south the next morning and found a campground near New Castle. After a short rainy swim in the lake, we prepared our dinner and were visited by dingoes (freely roaming Australian dogs🐕). Our breakfast the next morning took place in the harbor of New Castle🥣, where we then visited a museum of a former coastal defense facility. Then we headed to Sydney. After navigating the traffic chaos of the big city with Bobby, we visited the famous Opera House and the Sydney Harbor in pouring rain.🏙️🌧️ Completely drenched, we then took a spectacular cliff road to our campground right on the beach. 🏖️🏕️ The next destination was Canberra (the capital of Australia 🇦🇺), where we arrived in the afternoon. When we visited the Australian War Memorial, we were once again in the right place at the right time to witness the daily ceremony (honoring an Australian soldier who died in World War I or II), which is broadcasted live throughout the country. ✝️✨ Afterwards, we made a short stop at the Australian Parliament and then continued to the next campground, which we reached after a detour through one of the national parks. Our adventurous drive was followed by a fun evening with card games and wine. 🃏🍷

The next morning, we continued driving down the east coast, passing through burnt forests the entire way, which once again shocked us with the impact of the fires! Trees, road signs, cars, animals, and houses, everything stood charred at the roadside. Accordingly, our search for a campground became even more complicated, as 3 of the places we visited had burned down/flooded... By chance, we then found a really cool campground with a pool and entertaining grandmas (who seem to really enjoy drinking wine :)). The next day, we also drove quite a long way south (following the sun 🎶🌞). During our daily lunch break, we met a man who volunteers to set up weather stations to support the firefighters during the fires. After refueling and receiving exciting updates, we continued to the sea. Upon arrival, we enjoyed the sunshine and fully dried Bobby (as he is no longer the youngest and leaks... 🌧️). The next morning, we got up extra early to finally leave the last kilometers behind us and reach Melbourne. But then we unfortunately realized that Bobby had sunk into the gravel during the night and got stuck...🆘 With the help of the waiters and delivery drivers working at the nearby restaurant, Bobby managed to get out of the deep ruts and we could continue our journey. ✔️🚐 We arrived in Melbourne in the afternoon under a bright blue sky and explored the city until the evening. Our tour took us through huge office skyscrapers, beautiful parks, museums, and shopping malls, and ended with a walk along the Yarra River, where we discovered the most delicious ice cream in the world. 🍨 The next day, we stayed in Melbourne and met up with Jojo's kindergarten friend Tim and his girlfriend Ann-Estelle to explore the city together. Somehow, time flew by with chatting and dining at the Indian restaurant, so we decided to continue traveling together :)