Road trip to nowhere

I felt the need to find somewhere I'd not been, to head in a direction and drive without knowing where I was going or what I may find there...maybe something, maybe nothing but when I arrived I'd know, and whether I found something or nothing it'd be exactly where I needed to be at that given point in time and space.

I packed a picnic: An amazing artisan-made sourdough loaf, small assortment of cheeses, olives and cold cuts, a bunch of grapes, some of the reddest strawberries I've ever seen, cashew nuts, a lovely bottle of wine and some water; a simple meal but that suited me fine - it seemed like the sort of day to tear chunks off bread and combine with cheese and other assorted things and I knew just the place...well, I didn't actually know it...but I figured I'd find somewhere, and I did.

It was a couple of hours driving before we stopped at a lookout above the River Murray, Australia's longest river at over 2,500 kilometres long. The dirt road brought us to a lookout (above) and we made our way down what was a fairly steep cliff on foot to see what we could see at the bottom just to stretch our legs. As we walked I felt content that I'd satisfied my goal for the day - I'd not been in this exact spot before.

It was mid-morning and the day was warming up, a little breezy, but still pleasant, so after a half hour of walking we went back up to my truck and headed back along the dirt road to the blacktop and wherever we were going next - We didn't much care where that was, we had nowhere to go and all day to get there.

On our way to nowhere we made it to somewhere, a river ferry crossing. These things are pretty cool, cable-operated vehicle ferries that run back and forth at various locations along the entire length of the river (which actually runs through three Australian States) and as you can see above, I'm in the truck waiting for the ferry to make its way back to my side.

Here's a picture I took from the other side. As you can see the ferry is a simple thing, a floating platform that one drives onto, and you can see the two cables in front of it that keeps it from drifting. This crossing has two ferries as it's a busy crossing but some only have one.

Once docked snuggly up to the entry/exit ramp the operators raise the boom gate and the vehicles drive off and they usher on the waiting ones before they go back to the other side - A simple process really. These ferries operate twenty four hours a day year-round and are usually the only way to cross the river for many kilometres up or down river so are vital links to keep locals and visitors mobile.

We moved on to the next stage of the journey to nowhere and, as you might possibly guess, actually found somewhere which seemed like a very good place for lunch.

We found a lovely shaded spot with massive river redgum trees lining the river, their creaking and groaning and the rustle of their leaves in the breeze made a nice soundtrack to accompany lunch and while I unpacked it, got everything organised, my girl stretched out in her bikini on a towel laid upon the thick green grass beside the river to catch some sun.

A little while later, lunch was ready and we ate while listening to the sounds of the water lapping at the shore, the birds singing and trees moving. We didn't talk much at first, there was no need, but in the hour or so we were there we chatted a little, commented on how relaxed we felt and how lovely the day was.

After lunch we decided we had one more stop to make on the way home, but we didn't know where that was going to be.

We got back in the truck and made the decision to go whatever way felt right, which was left at the 'T' junction, not right, and managed to find ourselves in a riverside town which, once there, we decided was the final stop before we drove home we'd been seeking. Why? The answer is simple...ice cream.

We wandered around the town, pretty much a single high street with a few side streets running off it up the hill and the river below, and found a few little second-hand and curiosity shops to explore and then the main attraction (ice cream) was purchased and we went beside the river to see what we could see. Above is what we could see, houseboats moored on the opposite bank, along with ski boats and jet-skis plying the waters loudly, and fastly. (Fastly is not a word but I like it so it's staying.)

After a bit, the road trip to nowhere reached its final stage, the drive home, and we saddled up the truck (figuratively speaking) and headed home which took us just over two hours.

We had an awesome day. For us, being away from people is glorious and being with nature is even better - it's uncomplicated and has a way of soothing the soul - and the day was spent largely by ourselves, although the ferry-guy said hello and there were a few people to interact with in the antique and ice cream shops. Generally it was just the two of us though and that's just perfect.

I wonder if you've ever set out without any real clue about your destination, just the idea that you want to be somewhere you've not been before, to have an adventure of sorts and see what you can discover? Feel free to tell me about it, or generally comment below.