Sydney to Brisbane: Driving on the Left Side of the Road?

In the United States, you can’t even rent a car until you’re twenty-five. It seemed comical that the only question the receptionist asked before handing me the keys to our caravan was if I knew how to drive automatic. Five-hundred miles and seven days stood between us and Brisbane. We pulled out of the parking lot and onto the left side of the road. In case you forgot, Australia is one of those fun countries where they drive on the opposite side.

Before I dive into our amazing journey up the coast, let me back up a bit.

Countless difficult goodbyes in Kathmandu and many hours on a plane later, I touched down in Sydney, Australia. I couldn’t be more excited for the adventure ahead. At 10PM I arrived at my hostel in Potts Point and reunited with my friend Ella who had been studying abroad in New Zealand. Tired and jet lagged, we opted to stay in and recap our past few months abroad especially since I had a quad room to myself. I guess that’s one perk of checking in late.

The next day we walked over 14 miles.

My first few sips of the first cappuccino I’ve had in months was all the fuel I needed to get going in the morning. We walked to the opera house, around downtown, across the Sydney Bridge, along the wharf, and explored so many neighborhoods. When I looked down at my watch and it said 12 miles before we even crossed the bridge on the way back, I was surprised. Time had flown by and it didn’t even seem like we’d been walking that much (my calves disagreed).

That afternoon, we took advantage of Sydney’s great public transportation and headed to Bondi Beach. We rested and read in the sun before enjoying a beachside happy hour and dinner. The next morning, we took a short walk before making our way to pick up the caravan.

By noon, we had the keys, full tank of gas, fridge full of groceries, and enough anxiety about driving on the left side of the road. After thirty minutes of driving like my mom during a snowstorm, I got the whole everything being backwards thing under control. I never got over my dislike of roundabouts; I guess Australia disagrees that sometimes, a stoplight makes more sense. With the help of the giant green arrow on the dash that read “KEEP LEFT,” we made it safely to the Blue Mountains.

We explored down into the canyon, hiking along ridges, and jumping into any waterfall if we had the chance…maybe even backwards.

At sunset, we had pulled into our campsite and started cooking our first dinner in the caravan. The van was built out with a stove, fridge, sink, and plenty of cooking utensils. We made potato curry paired with a Bryon Bay Brewery Beer to celebrate a successful first day. The following day we hiked a bit more to witness some of the Blue Mountain’s most iconic views before heading back toward the coast.

The next five days followed a very similar routine: wake up, find somewhere to surf, surf all day, eat, surf more, find a campsite, eat, sleep, repeat. Some of the most notable spots we stopped included New Castle, Port Macquarie, and Byron Bay. Living off of instant coffee, granola, and almond milk until dinner, we were always ravenous when 6PM rolled around. Despite our exhaustion, we always whipped up something amazing such as Mexican, pasta, Mediterranean, or more curry. Served with with an amazing sunset, our meals never disappointed.

Ella and I agreed our favorite spot along the way was Byron Bay. The crystal clear water, warm sun, and perfect right hand point break at “The Pass” made me pinch myself to ensure this place was real. Eight hours of surfing and a few bad sunburns later, we indulged in some happy hour rooftop drinks downtown. The best part was we got to do it all again tomorrow. Finding a campsite was a bit harder than previous locations because of its popularity; however, we concluded that even with the countless mosquitos that snuck into our caravan, it was well worth it.

The seven days had flown by. Before we knew it, we were driving our last hour to Brisbane to drop off the van. The cloudy weather encouraged the sense of somber over this part of the adventure being over. We spent the final night with some of Ella’s family friends in the Sunshine Coast. It was a great opportunity to recap our incredible trip and rest before the next stop.

I thought I was in some sort of alternate universe when I woke up and there was a kangaroo eating right outside my window. I am used to deer and elk in Colorado, but this is a bit different. When I realized I was in fact not dreaming, simultaneously, we both jumped back. I ran to grab my camera while it hopped further away into the yard. So to answer my sister’s nagging question, no I did not box a kangaroo.

We took the train back to Brisbane early that morning and headed for the airport. A few baggage and bus debacles later, we boarded our six hour flight. While I could’ve spent weeks if not months in Australia, I am grateful for the snippets I got to see and new experiences gained (like trying Vegemite, which I guess I could’ve gone without).