We already spent a week in the Victorian bustling and multicultural capital city, Melbourne, just before leaving for New Zealand, so it was time to pick up our parked van and start to hit the road on the conquer of Australia East Coast. We decided to proceed along the Princes Hwy (A1) which carves its way through the 1100 kilometres of coastline that separates Melbourne to Sydney, the two largest cities in Australia. We were not on a hurry but it was getting chilly down here and our desire to reach the hot Tropical North was growing anxiously inside us. So, decision was made to leave behind Philip Island, home to the famous nightly penguin parades, besides we already admired them in the Kiwi land.

We set off over verdant rolling hills, rural roads, forests and rugged coastline until we reached the Gippsland lakes district, the largest inland water system in Australia. We carried on northeast, past the popular seaside town of Mallaccota, across the imaginary border to temperate New South Wales and smaller charming villages like Eden, Merimbula, Tilba Tilba until we reached the unspoilt Illawarra region and the breathtaking Jervis Bay, a sheltered bay with a squeaky-white stretch of sand, (supposedly the whitest in the world) and crystal clear waters.

This was exactly what we were looking for from our roadtrip, a dreamy landscape coming true. We based camp within the tranquil bushes of the Booderee National Park. We enjoyed silence days strolling along the spectacular beaches within the park, bushwalking among it while, by night, we enjoy the free show put up by the local wildlife such possums and kangaroos which would roamed curiously around our van or even sneaked in it scaring the hell out of me.

We were craving to see more of these natural wonders, we had to keep going, but not before having spend some time in the dazzling, much acclaimed Sydney, our next stop.

The amazing view of Sydney Harbour and Opera House from the Harbour Bridge

On our way back from Sydney to Melbourne, we would avoided the coastal road and eventually fast-tracking through the Hume Hwy detouring only for a quick stop to Australia's National Capital – Canberra which, surprisingly, we found it to be a very quiet and a bit boring city. Mussolini would have probably like it, with its geometrical grand appear, but to us it didn't say much, maybe just not our cup of tea.