The World By Road

After a first attempt at driving on the left side of the road things turned out pretty well despite a slightly adverse crew and a nervous Steve (or two).  After almost sideswiping a sign and knocking a few items over in the van as I got feel for the loose steering, it was basically smooth sailing from there. Apparently many others have some of their first experiences on the other side of the road here as the Australians have taken the liberty of installing signs along the Great Ocean Road reminding all of the tourists of which side they need to stay on.

As the only female on the trip to take on some of the driving burden, I expected some nervous glances and maybe even some criticism, but the guys don’t know about my love for driving.  Ever since I can remember, getting behind the wheel has been a passion. As a kid I would tag along with my dad when he went golfing just to drive the cart and I had a permanent place reserved on his lap to practice steering our family van home after school. Once, I even "borrowed" my mom’s old Buick when I was about 12-years-old for a joy ride around the block. My seventeenth birthday (the legal driving age in NJ) couldn’t come fast enough for me or my parents.

Even with a background and love for piloting a car, I still was thrown into a section of road that certainly was not the easiest to start on.  For several days, from Sydney to Melbourne, we had been driving through nice wide-open country roads which helped build up my confidence, but when my turn behind the wheel arrived, the Great Ocean Road became a great winding road. I had to tackle one of the toughest parts of the drive with hairpin turns and steep cliffs around every turn.

Other than Shoppman crying out “whoa, whoa, whoa” (when I almost hit the sign) there were no other comments about my first day as a campervan driver and only time will tell if I get handed the keys again.