Published May 29, 2022
It was a wonderful day today (May 26, 2022) – sunny, bright, and chilling. Winter is just around the corner and autumn is about to finish. And as such, I had to make a deal. But before I get into the details let me tell you about some of my personal quirks. Room-heater is not an option for me because I feel sweaty and hot. Instead, the heavy blanket that I have been putting on lately keeps me warm, but the trouble occurs when I have to put it aside to get up. So, after the morning wrestle with the cold was over, and when I finally jumped out of the bed, I had precisely two thoughts in my mind; should I stay home or go for a drive? A long drive – well, semi long – only hundred kilometers away from where I live. This dilemma continued until 7am.
Finishing my household chores, putting on some cloths and a pair of loafers, having a little breakfast with some cereal and nuts, grabbing my backpack and packing up my cameras, cleaning the morning mist that has hazed the windshield, starting my car and going up to the gas station – waiting at the signal for about ten minutes and finally filling up my tank with a whopping seventy-dollar bill, when I was able to hit the road the clock was ticking at quarter past eight (8).
When I think about long drive, I think about driving fast – really fast. I heard the vehicles have no speed limit in some parts of Europe, but I have never been there. Instead, here in Australia, the fastest I have travelled is one hundred and ten (110) km per hour. So, it’s not really that fast but relatively fast – especially when compared to the speed you are used to, driving around the city or even worse when you’re stuck in the traffic jam. So, to get to that speed now I have to crawl through the traffic – the morning rush hour traffic on a weekday at 8am – congestion, horn, flashing lights at school-zones, trailer trucks, ambulances, hard-breaks, infinite number of signals – you name it!
So, when I set my destination to Matcham, Central Coast the google maps automated voice spoke loud and clear – “You will reach you destination by 10.36am” – yes, very precise time calculations accurate to the nearest minute.
The highlight of this trip was a few things: driving in the motorway at 110, stopping every couple of minutes to find some cool spot, taking photos here and there with squat postures – mostly, invading into private properties for the photo – in one particular case, and finally feeling very hungry and exhausted.
However, the biggest highlight, or surprise may I say, was still to be discovered – not until the next day – the muscle pain. My thighs and my back were sore, so sore that I am feeling the pain rather badly – right now – as I am writing this two days later. Despite all these, I would definitely suggest visiting this place during the autumn. Not too far, fairly accessible by car and of course, wonderfully colored with vibrant autumn leaves with lots of places to create some memories.
