Voice of Real Australia: The adventure in every day

I've always loved a good trip somewhere.

It goes without saying it's lots of fun to arrive at a new destination or a much loved favourite holiday spot.

But truthfully, for me, a huge part of the excitement is always the trip itself, the journey.

I remember when I was a kid we would take road trips up and down NSW to see family.

I loved it when we all squished into the car with our luggage for the drive ahead and hit the road.

We'd leave early in the morning, before sunrise. Sometimes I'd be the first to wake in that golden early daylight.

I'd see Dad's face in the rear view mirror watching the traffic flow around us.

"Good morning, Dad," I'd say as the others snored, shuffled, or slept silently in their seats.

Dad temporarily shifted his gaze from the traffic to me rubbing my eyes in the back seat, and smiled.

"Good morning, Beti, are you hungry?"

I'd see a big, yellow M not too far in the distance and announce I was in fact quite famished.

Maybe these trips are where my love of the journey started.

Car games, telling stories, arguing because you're all crammed into a tiny box for more than 10 hours, but getting over it after a short nap.

When borders began opening across Australia, I couldn't wait to go on a road trip to a place I'd never been, to see new Australian landscapes.

But also to look out the window along the drive and fall in love with our beautiful country again and again, kilometre after kilometre.

When I asked people to join my travels I had a variety of responses.

"Why don't you just fly when you can?"

"That's a lot of driving for two days at Alice Springs."

"That's too long in the car, it wouldn't be relaxing."

I see where they're coming from, but holidays aren't always about relaxing for me.

I want some adventure mixed in there as well.

For me, a long drive adds to the fun because it's part of the holiday, not the means of getting to it.

In life, it can be the same. We can be aiming for when we finish study, get a promotion, marry, buy a house; but there are so many amazing moments day to day.

There will always be a new milestone once we've passed through one.

It's important I know where I'm going, but I also want to have fun along the way.

I want to enjoy every seemingly simple, standard day because we have the most of those in between the celebrated ones.

And they can be the best gift of all.

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