Modernity and the great outdoor in 14 days

2017 was the year of change for me. It was tiring, mentally and physically. So much to grasp and swallow. So I was really looking forward to our end of year break.

And we set our hearts to Australia. Starting in Sydney, all the way to Melbourne – a city where I lived for two years and where I believe has imprisoned my heart since then.

There were many routes to choose from. But after some debate and careful search, we settled on a combined route – mountains and small cities in New South Wales, then through the coast line of Victoria to Melbourne (which has always been the most favourite part of Victoria for me).

I will always remember the coastline of Victoria...

and the famous Twelve Apostles

 

Or Loch Ard Gorge and the story

 The general itinerary went like this:

• Sydney – 3 days
• The Blue Mountain range – 2 days
• Halls Gap – 1 day (this was a huge mistake, I’ll tell you why)
• Cape Otway – 3 days
• Melbourne – 4 days

It was an easy trip overall though very long. We did not experience any problems that anyone needed to be concerned about. Even for a lady driver, it was easy breezy.

If you want to do the same, then here are some tips: 

Do your homework, map out your whole trip, consider the hours and distance carefully, and plan out where you want to make stops.


Not only will you need to know what you may find, but most importantly if you can take in the distance.

We made a mistake by driving from The Blue Mountain to Halls Gap without planning to break it with a night stay in between. It was a 10 hours drive, which we thought would be fine because we often drive that many hours in Indonesia from town to town, without making a night stay in between. But, we miscalculated the fact that 10 hours drive in Australia, may mean the same distance that you cover by 13 - 14 hours drive in Indonesia due to their very empty roads, and speed limits!. 

So we ended up arriving at Halls Gap very late, ended up losing the afternoon that we were hoping we could enjoy, and was very tired. Luckily, the morning was glorious with so many kangaroos greeting me when I jogged (and very very cold too).  

With miles and miles of empty roads like these, but you cannot really go over the speed limits, it can be very tiring

 

With towns like these.. 

We were greeted by Halls Gap's local residents

And as I jogged in the chilly morning, the sun was glorious

The Balconies, at the Grampians. Halls Gap is the departure point to explore the Grampians, Victoria

Summer is a busy period, so rent your car well ahead of time or you’ll get very limited options.  

And check the rental if they allow you to take the car all over Australia, and if they allow dropping the car anywhere for them to pick it up so you don’t have to go back to the city where you departed from.

We rented ours from Sydney, and dropping it off in Melbourne. We rented it from Avis just to make it easy as they have an office everywhere in Australia. But if you are diligent enough to browse around, you’ll find plenty of options even from individuals from which you can do this too. Price wise, if you are renting it for a long period of time like us, you’ll get better price in general.

And, try to get a 4 wheel drive. Australia has lots of little villages and towns, also wildlife areas with rougher roads. A 4WD will get you a long way.

Always bring a jacket with you. Windproof is best. 

We came in the last week of December and stayed until the first week of January. It was summer. But it was breezy and cool in Sydney, and in the evening the wind can be a bit cold. In general however, New South Wales’s weather is far friendlier than it is in Victoria’s.

Victoria is unique. 4 seasons in a day is no joke. It is worse in winter time, but in summer it is also applicable. So don’t be surprised to get some rains here and there, and suddenly very hot in the mid-morning, to be cool again in the afternoon.

And especially if you are planning to roam around the coastline of Victoria, the wind can be harsh and cold.

The sun can fool you. The wind is chilly, and the sea is cold in Victoria (Loch Ard Gorge)

Bring a pair of good walking shoes. 

Australia is best explored on foot, if you ask me. And there are good signs everywhere so you will not get lost, nor will you get bitten by anything as long as you are careful and pay attention to these signs.

The Blue Mountain. Lots of tracks around and you are crazy if you do not try at least one

They are very generous with the tracks - very safe, with clear signs of where you have to be very careful at

Cape Otway's Lighthouse complex. There are plenty of options here. You can go up to the whale watching point, or the Aboriginal shack to listen to stories, or the little museum. And the complex is huge. Very nice to walk around though the wind is chilly

This sign is everywhere in Cape Otway's Lighthouse complex. I never met one, and I did stay on the designated tracks

You can easily find tracks like these everywhere you stop

Don’t just follow Google Maps blindly. Force it to find other alternative routes for you. Or best, also bring a physical map with you and use Google to find out what you can see and experience along the way, then set your course.

Using Gmaps, helps. But, it can also be a trap. There were once that it gave us a shortcut through the protected forest of Cape Otway on our way to Cape Otway’s lighthouse. We went through a dirt road that did not seem to be passed that often by cars. It was fine if it happened in broad daylight. That time, it was already 8.30pm, the sun was very low, the forest was a bit dark already, and we were very tired after 5 or 6 hours of driving.

The next morning we checked and apparently there was an easier route.

So it was a real learning for us, to force Gmaps via checking with another map for other routes. And as I always believe: technology still needs to be combined with common sense. 

The sun was ready to set, we were quite close to Cape Otway already...

Then we had to go through this kind of road, almost dark, no signs, dirt road. Well...we could only say we were glad when we finally got to the gate of Cape Otway Lighthouse!

Be open minded. Ready to even get lost. 

One thing that we love from doing road trips, is that you can always see and experience the unexpected. So be ready with foods and drinks so you can have a picnic anywhere you can stop. Get that camera ready to capture anything of interest. Make stops – don’t worry too much about getting somewhere on time. Talk to the locals.

Stop anywhere you want to...take in the scenery...feel the sand...the water..

enjoy the view of sheeps grazing in the fields

Take in the hills..

Suddenly there was a submarine! - HMS Otway

Stop by to check out an old theatre that is still used to play modern movies

When we passed Katoomba, we saw a sign that they have a complex of murals..so we decided to see it first before continuing our journey

Sometimes we just stop to take pictures of the seemingly trivial stuff, like this windmill..

...or a koala up the trees..

...or a mailbox out of a milk barrel

..or a hedgehog!..

...and of course kangaroos!

...or took a peek to a nearby small river

...or Christmas decor in the fields..

Find unusual places to stay – don’t just stay in regular hotels.

One of the highlights of this trip for us was our stay at Cape Otway’s Lighthouse complex. We found it accidentally in Booking.com, and did not regret a thing. It gave us access to explore the whole complex every day, which could be quite expensive  for a one-day trip.

So explore the unusual places especially if you are planning to stay outside the big cities. With the unique environment that Australia can offer, I think staying in a regular hotel kinda kills that spirit of adventure that this country is offering you to experience.

You can go up the lighthouse before tourists come in flocks

Explore this complex to your heart's content

Add caption

Enjoying the view at sunset. Also at sunrise

You can see the inside of the lighthouse. It is no longer in use as it becomes too expensive to operate

That little tower is now replacing the old lighthouse. Ironic to see that its replacement is much smaller :)

In certain months, the whales can be seen passing through the waters from the whale watching point in this complex

Lastly, just enjoy. Australia has a lot to offer if you love the combination of modernity, the great outdoor, as well as some vintage touch here and there. 

The horse stone, Blue Mountains

Melbourne tram

Old church, can't remember where this was anymore

I think this was in Geelong

The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains

Sunset at St. Kilda beach, Melbourne

One fine afternoon…

She was sitting alone in a café, facing her laptop. “The last work for the day, this has to be”, she murmured to herself, sipping her coffee slowly while trying to digest all the numbers in front of her.

She concentrated hard on this thing. The last thing that she wanted to look at, but for the sake of a peaceful tomorrow, she forced herself hard.

Then as she came to the very last page of the document, her two children came through the café’s door. They just finished with their music lessons in the music school nearby. The youngest daughter ran to her, hugging her. Her oldest, her teen daughter, walked slowly behind her little sister.

One quick look and she knew something was wrong with her teen daughter.

As both of her daughters sat down, she asked them, “Would you like something to drink or eat?”. The youngest wanted some hot chocolate, “And may I have a brownies too?”. She nodded and said, “Here’s the card, go and order by yourself there”.

“Could you also get me an iced chocolate?”, her teen daughter finally said something. Then the youngest ran to the counter to take her place in the queue and order.

She looked into her teen daughter’s eyes, who suddenly ran into tears. “Darling, what’s happened?. Something wrong?. At school?”. Her teen shook her head. “At the music school?”. She nodded. “Would you like to talk to me about it?”.

Her teen took a deep breath, wiped her tears, “Mom, you know this guy who used to help us whenever we had a concert?”. “Yes I do, something wrong with him?”. Her teen nodded, and sobbed a lot more. “What’s wrong with him honey?, is he sick?”. Shaking her head, sobbing even harder.

She decided not to ask questions and just let her teen daughter cried.

Her youngest daughter came with all the drinks and food, she nicely asked her to, “Please sit in that table nearby will you?, so your sister and I can talk?. Is it OK?”. She nodded and moved.

Finally, her teen daughter wiped her tears, took a deep breath, “He will undergo an operation to become a woman”.

As a woman, a mother, she was shocked to know what her daughter knew. But she kept a straight face.

“He has been trying to be normal, but he finally knew he couldn’t. So he decided to just do it”.

“What do you feel about it”. “I don’t know. Shocked, I guess. I always thought of him as a nice guy. He was very kind to us all. But he is, you know, a guy”.

She took a deep breath, held her teen daughter’s hands, “Honey, please know this. He is not going to change who he is just because he will turn into a woman. He, or later she, will still be that nice person you’ve known since you were three. He will still be the talented musician you’ve always known him to be. Don’t change how you look at him though later his appearance is different”.

Her teen daughter nodded while looking deep into her mom’s eyes, which she knew that meant her teen was really looking for an anchor, answer, something to calm her soul.

“There are people like those in this world. They are struggling too. Struggling to accept who they are. Struggling in the society. Struggling with all the judgments. It is not easy to be like them, you know. And sometimes, it’s not like they want to be like that. Sometimes it’s physical, something that they were born with. Who can control that?. They are different, but they are also the same like us. With achievements. With talents. Just because they are different, doesn’t mean they should be treated differently. Do you understand that?”.

Her daughter nodded.

“Please promise me you will not change your behaviour to that guy if you see him, whatever his appearance may be. Respect him just like you’ve been respecting him till now”.

“Mom, he has a son. His son is having a serious relationship with a girl. What if they want to get married. How will his son tell her how his father is?”, asked her daughter.

Deep inside, she was shocked. “Oh my God. My daughter is thinking that far already”.

She looked into her daughter’s eyes, “Honey, I am proud that you thought that far. But you know what, they should be able to solve that themselves. It is not for you to worry about. What you should be worried about is how you treat these people. That’s more important. If you want to be respected, then learn to respect others the way you want to be respected. There is no other way. Respect that they will have their own ways of solving their life issues. He’s been trying to be a husband, a father, but that’s not who he is. It’s not easy to make that decision, right?”.

Her daughter nodded.

“So let’s respect his decision. Support him by not judging him. Support him by acknowledging how helpful he has been to you. He’s been very supportive to you, especially in the last concert. He believed in you. And helped you. When you finished your song that day, he was very proud of you, you know. I could see it, how he clapped his hands. He was relieved too. He was happy for you. So now, be happy for him for his decision just like he was happy seeing you being able to sing well. Don’t fret about how his future may be. Just believe that everything is going to be OK for him. Pray for him that way”.

She nodded. Squeezed her hands, “OK mom, I understand”. “Are you OK now, really OK?”. She nodded. “If you still want to talk about it, you know you can, anything, anytime”. “I know mom”.

Her teen daughter walked to her sister’s table, and they started chatting and the usual little cute debates that they usually do.

She looked at them. Thinking to herself while smiling to her daughters, “Turns out the last work that I had to do today was even more difficult than looking at some numbers. I wonder how life gets complicated even at her age. My life at her age was a lot easier”.

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One fine afternoon was still a one fine afternoon even with the tears she wished she would never see from her daughter’s eyes. She was happy that she was there for her daughter in times of need. She was relieved that her daughter could talk about it openly. She knew, that the growing pains, may also be, the growing delights.

But she also knew, that she would have to deal with a lot more complicated issues in the future. That one day, she may need to tell her daughter how to deal with how cruel the society may have been to differences.

One day, which she hoped it would still be another one fine afternoon, or maybe morning, or evening. A time to talk about how beautiful life is, because of those differences...

 

 (Anakku…hidup memang penuh dengan ironi dan kejutan. Kamu akan selalu bertemu dengan segudang perbedaan. Yang kadang jadi pembatas, padahal kita seharusnya bisa membangun jembatan. Doaku hanya ini: semoga kelak kamu akan selalu bisa menjadi jembatan dari setiap perbedaan yang kau temui dalam hidupmu. Seperti doa yang kami patri lewat namamu...)

Catatan akhir tahun 2018: Keriangan di balik kesulitan.

Saya diingatkan Fesbuk kalau saya pernah melayangkan kata-kata di atas itu di laman saya, tepat di tanggal yang sama, 20 Desember, tahun lalu. Dan kok ya pas, hari ini saya sedang ingin menuliskan catatan akhir tahun, seperti tahun-tahun sebelumnya. Dan tulisan itu pas dengan apa yang saya pelajari tahun ini.

Waktu tahun lalu saya lontarkan postingan itu, jujur saya cuma berpegang pada kata-kata yang terakhir, bahwa semua yang terjadi dalam hidup pasti ada maknanya. Tapi bahwa you can smile through the tears, itu bikin saya membatin yo opo, piye carane. 

Tapi tahun ini, terutama tahun ini, entah kenapa, saya merasa saya sedang sangat diajarkan buat mengerti arti itu semua.

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Tahun 2018 dimulai dengan kehilangan yang beruntun.

Februari: kehilangan kolega dengan siapa saya sudah kerja bareng selama hampir 10 tahun – and a brilliant talent too yang sudah di plot untuk jadi generasi kedua di perusahaan!. Wedew mak. Rasanya.

Belum lagi sembuh dari kehilangan yang pertama, di bulan April ada dua kejadian: kehilangan uang – dalam jumlah yang lumayan untuk ukuran perusahaan semungil kami, lalu kehilangan Bapak mertua yang mendadak.

Pembuka tahun yang bikin nyesek.

Tentunya ya rasanya campur aduk. Kesal. Sebal. Sedih. Nelongso. Dan ada kekosongan yang tertinggal terutama dengan ketidakberadaan kolega saya, dan kepergian Bapak.

Tapi, setelah semuanya berlalu, saya sadar bahwa it was not all that bad. Tiap kejadian itu memberikan kesempatan untuk kejadian lainnya terjadi. In a good way.

Dan tiga itu justru bikin saya lebih siap menghadapi yang lainnya di tahun ini. Dan memaknai dengan lebih baik kehilangan-kehilangan lain di tahun sebelumnya. 

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Kehilangan sering bikin kita merasa sedih. Ya kan?. Dan kadang jadi tergoda sekali untuk melihat bahwa kejadian-kejadian apes atau menyebalkan itu ya memang cuma bikin sebal. Tapi tiga kejadian di awal tahun ini cukup bikin saya sadar, bahwa di balik hal yang bikin mewek, atau jengkel, selalu ada yang bikin senyum. You really can smile through your tears!.

Sesuatu yang lumrah ya?. Tapi dalam kenyataannya, kan susah ya sebetulnya untuk bisa kita akui. Mewek ya mewek aja, gimana bisa senyum! #nyolot

Tapi betul sih, it was not all that bad.

Gara-gara kehilangan uang, tim kami tidak jadi pergi di bulan April. Alhasil, saya ada di Jakarta dan bukan beribu kilometer dari kota ini, saat kami menerima kabar tentang Bapak. Dan kami sekeluarga bisa mengikuti semua prosesi pemakaman Bapak di Pudak Payung. Buat saya yang sudah mengalami kehilangan Papa dengan mendadak juga tapi di saat saya bermil-mil jauhnya dari rumah, rasanya memang sudah cukup mengalami itu sekali saja seumur hidup. Jadi ada kelegaan saya hadir saat itu.

Saat saya menangis kehilangan Bapak mertua yang amat sangat baik pada kami anak-anaknya, saya tersenyum karena bisa mengucapkan selamat tinggal pada beliau.

Kehilangan rekan kerja yang handal, juga memberikan kesempatan lain.

Saya jadi bisa melihat dengan lebih jelas apa yang sebetulnya tim kami butuhkan. Jadi lebih bisa mencari kesempatan-kesempatan yang lain untuk mengisi kekosongan talenta. Ya tentunya bukan sesuatu yang mudah, tapi ternyata kami bisa melaluinya. Dan malah terasa makin kompak, sayapun jadi punya ruang buat memahami orang-orang lain di tim kami, dan mencari kombinasi-kombinasi yang terbaik.

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Buat saya yang derajat sabarnya sangat tipis, melalui tiga kejadian itu tidak mudah. Maunya, rasa kehilangannya langsung pupus. Maunya, kekesalan yang ada karena kehilangan uang ya cepat pupus juga. Maunya, saya dapat pengganti kolega keren saya itu secepat mungkin.

Tapi hidup kan tidak begitu.

Dan akhirnya ada satu titik dimana saya merasa bahwa tidak ada salahnya melambat sesekali. Kelelahan mental obatnya bukan dengan terus berlari dan mengabaikan apa yang saya rasa, tapi justru saya harus diam sejenak.

Hening. Breathe in breathe out. Seperti dasar laut yang teraduk, dan bikin pandangan jadi kabur, kita butuh memberikan waktu agar air itu tenang. Menunggu pasirnya pelan-pelan mulai mengendap, supaya kita bisa melihat dengan lebih jernih.

Saat saya di titik lelah, dan memilih dengan sadar untuk hening dan berhenti untuk berdebat terutama dengan diri saya sendiri (ini yang paling susah!), di saat itulah saya bisa tersenyum dan melihat dengan jelas bahwa yang apes itu tidak selalu apes. Bahwa yang apes atau menyebalkan atau bikin sedih itu justru membuka jalan buat saya menyadari ada keriangan atau kesempatan yang lain. Bijak ya? #toyor

Tapi memang kita kadang sering lupa memberikan keheningan pada diri sendiri. Kita sibuk dengan debat di kepala, juga suara dari luar, tanpa sadar bahwa semua itu mengaburkan penilaian kita, mengaburkan suara yang paling jujur dari semua yang kita dengar: suara hati.

Saya percaya bahwa suara hati adalah bisikan Sang Maha buat kita. Dan di saat kita lelah, all that you need is some silence to search for that voice, listen to your heart, to what makes sense. To see that the horizon right in front of you, offers a clear view of what’s still and will be good in your life.

Dan setelah keheningan itu, yang ada adalah kejernihan. Dan juga, kesiapan buat menghadapi apapun yang lain yang akan terjadi.

Setelah merasa capek dan babak belur rasanya seperti ditabrak an invisible fast train berkali-kali, dan beberapa kali menyadarkan diri saya buat hening dan ‘merasa’ apa yang saya rasa, akhirnya malah bikin saya menghadapi tahun ini dengan, “OK deh. You want to mess with me?. You think I can’t face them?. Fine. BRING THEM ON!!”. 

Yaiya. Ada lagi lah kejadian-kejadian lain yang bikin kaget, melongo, dan tetap ada kehilangan-kehilangan lain. Tapi at least, saya bisa menghadapinya dengan kejernihan: ada keriangan di balik tiap kesulitan. Jadi, buat apa susah? #nyanyik

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Bukan pelajaran yang heboh gimana gitu ya, tapi entah kenapa kok ya saya ‘kena’ kali ini dengan apa yang sudah dikirim ke jalan saya.

Dan semoga saja dengan itu, jalan ke tahun depan bisa lebih mudah karena saya sudah belajar buat melambatkan diri dan memberikan waktu bagi saya sendiri untuk menemukan kejernihan yang saya butuhkan. Life is never going to be easier nor simpler, but, I can make myself better in facing whatever challenges there are.

Mari sambut 2019 dengan kesiapan untuk sesekali melambat dan hening, supaya kita temukan lagi suara hati yang memberikan kejernihan. 

 

Dan, biarkan saya menghimbau karena 2019 juga akan ada kejadian penting di negeri ini: #Jokowi1periodelagi #tetapJokowi #Jokowiajalah #pesansponsor #jangankomennyampah