'Beryl goes to Byron' - Off we go!

Coming to you this week from Cowell in South Australia.

I started the week with a full day of VA'ing and on Tuesday I had some friends come and place some crystals thru the 'cockpit' and 'sage' the bus to instill some good travel juju into it. Then it was full on pack mode ready for departure on Wednesday. I also fulfilled a promise to myself to buy my first pair of 'real' ugg boots before my first BIG trip in Beryl.

2,551km travelled so far.

I managed to miss the big storm that went through but still got some wet & windy weather.

I spent the first 4 nights free camping, thankyou wikicamps (best app ever), and have settled into a caravan park for a couple of nights so I can get a days work done tomorrow (& a couple of showers & some washing)

Random sites included a hovercraft in a yard in Munglinup and the obligatory rusty wreck in the bush.

Hazel has been an absolute legend, happily curling up on the passenger seat gazing out the front window or snoozing (mostly snoozing). We had a bit of a windy & noisy night on Friday when we camped along the Bight which had her a bit spooked and unsettled. I came up with a genius hack of putting my bluetooth speaker headband on her with my Deep Sleep playlist playing hoping it would distract her enough to not notice the wind howling outside.... AND IT WORKED!!! Within a minute she was curled up on the bed, comfy, calm and snoring. Yay for her, me not so much. Not only did I not have my sleepytime tunes in my ears, I now had a howling wind AND a snoring dog.

I'm amazed at how much I loved driving across the Nullabor. It's been over 20 years since I did it last & I recall proclaiming "If I never have to do that again I'll be very happy". Oh how things have changed. What a difference travelling in your tiny home makes. Travelling at around 95km per hour, it's a slow trip but the time is passing at perfect speed. I'm loving the beautiful big skies, cloud chasing, star gazing & ever changing landscapes. The sunsets & sunrises have been stunning and I'm embracing my inner gypsy. So far not a kangaroo in sight (other than a couple of dead ones on the side of the road but surprisingly not as many as I would've thought) but I have seen 2 live snakes on the road, 1 bobtail & a bird that didn't quite get out of the way of my windscreen.

I've discovered that you can actually stop at a roadhouse and NOT buy a chiko roll or a can of coke (who would've thought), podcasts and audiobooks are a solo travellers best friend, the song 'Wide Open Spaces' by the Dixie Chicks will play constantly in your head even if you haven't heard it in ages and emptying a porta-loo isn't exactly a fun job but it's nowhere near as gross as I thought and totally worth not having to dig a hole & squat in the bush.

A few stops along the way included getting windblown at the the Great Australian Bight (pic above), checking out Australia biggest Windmill at Penong, some jettys in Streaky Bay & Elliston and I braved a gravel road to check out Woolshed Cave.

But for now.... it's time to hit the hay coz I've got work tomorrow and I can't wait to put some Beryl magic into my VA jobs. My little big dream is coming true.