Originally our plan was to put on our jet packs and get a bit of ground behind us. Past the places we could easily see another time as they were close enough to home.

Fast forward to where we are now, and we still haven’t even reached Adelaide (which is actually possible to get to in one day from our hometown!). But that’s ok, this is what this Ausventure is all about. Slowing the pace, being adaptable, spontaneous and easy going. This life will create itself as we go. We need only to be present in the moment.

Settling into our new life on the road, we’ve been casting up the Great Ocean Road towards South Australia, also know as the shipwreck coast, due to it tumultuous history with vessels and wreck dive spots. The limestone cliffs are magnificently terrifying, savaged by the forces of the Southern Ocean. While getting thrashed by some rough winds, we explored Cape Bridgewater, trekking 5kms past the petrified forests, and along the cliffs to the largest colony of Australian fur seals on the mainland. Down on the shores we could see seals basking in the sun, twisting and twirling in a game through the kelp, and two young pups swirling around in a large rock pool.

The wildlife on a whole has been incredible from day one. We are both such nature lovers that even if we see a wallaby every day of this trip, on day 365, we will still be excited! While plenty of wildlife has caught our eye, our focus has been on shore birds, due to our locations. With our new ‘Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds’ book in hand, we have been totally ‘bird nerd’-ing out! Quite quickly, however, we are realising that there are so many fine details to bird identification or twitching, but we’re relishing the challenge.

Further along the coast, we ventured onto the sand in the Jeep, easing our way into 4WDing along some casual tracks as Cassie’s 4WD apprenticeship began! Once we reached Robe, however, we were all revved up and ready for some thrills! This felt like the real deal; with tyre deflators, the trusty shovel and MaxTracks all out for their virgin use getting sandy on our wild ride. The first time we hit soft sand, and the shovel and MaxTracks came out, we were full of beans and excited by the task. Yet in the back our minds, we wondered how long that thrill would last in the hot midday sun, for the umpteenth time getting bogged…

Robe was a fantastic town. Not only some great tracks for 4WD, it was a trendy spot with some beautiful old homes and buildings, along with unique places to shop and eat. But, with our newfound addiction to the sand and dunes, we continued bumping our way along, through the Coorong National Park, up the Younghusband Peninsula, and eventually finding ourselves at Narrung Jetty. Just up the road from our camp, at Point McLeay, is the Raukkan Aboriginal community. This is the hometown of David Unaipon; a great author, inventor and Indigenous ambassador among many other talents and passions. In recognition of his work, David was the first Aborigine to feature on an Australian bank note, with sketches of one of his inventions, and the Raukkan mission church from the town depicted in the background.

And although still not through Adelaide, this spot will do just fine. So, we’re gonna let this Ausventure plant us on the jetty here, enjoying the peace, and watching Mr Percival catch the air-draughts; higher, and higher, and higher.