We walk into what Australians call scrub. The track looks like it starts through a thick tangle of bushes. We’ve poured out of the small, comfortable bus on our first day walking the Aussie Camino with Raw Travel. In fact, it’s our first hour, our first moment of walking. We’ve escaped the city or cities, our hometowns. Meeting in Melbourne this morning as the sun rose, we sat on the bus as pairs of strangers for hours all the way to Portland. Now to stretch our legs, do what we came to do. Sunshine on our faces delights us then we gasp at the vast, blue ocean of Nelson Bay. Salty sea air atop a cliff stops us on the track. We smell it, taking long deep breaths, and feel the lightness, a sense of freedom and camaraderie. Let the adventure begin.
