Drives | Rose Harbour

Dud Mercedes Adventure

Natalie Rose — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The car’s air conditioning wasn’t working so I set off at 3am in an attempt to evade the summer heat. The car ending up on a tow truck was due to the car’s drive belt failing. I got rid of the car shortly thereafter.

Melbourne to Newcastle

Natalie Rose — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

My first time driving Claire over a long distance and - thanks to a fluke in the timing - I managed to get 1000 km’s on a tank. This is a feat that I’ve only managed a handful of times since.

Newcastle to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Was very tired on this drive. If you’re reading this, remind me to tell the story of how I thought I’d locked myself out of the car in the middle of nowhere.

Boonah Beaudesert Trip

Natalie Rose — Thu, 02 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Nice afternoon out of the house while sick with a flu/cold thing.

Brisbane to West Wyalong

Natalie Rose — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Driving to Melbourne for Web Directions Code 2024! This was my first time driving the Newell Hwy myself after an entire childhood of traveling the road for family events multiple times a year. It was really fun recognising landmarks from the past and putting it all together in a new way! Throughout the drive I felt like my energy levels were increasing rather than decreasing. I was glad to arrive and stop for the night but could have continued, for forever perhaps.

West Wyalong to Melbourne

Natalie Rose — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Finishing the drive to Melbourne for Web Directions Code 2024

Melbourne to Blue Mountains

Natalie Rose — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Driving to the Blue Mountains for a bit of time alone. For the next week I made music and hiked and slept! Along the way I couldn’t resist stopping in at the Mount Panaroma Circuit in Bathurst. It’s open to the public most of the year so I took a few laps.

Blue Mountains to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Heading home after a nice break.

Mt Nebo, Esk, and Toowoomba

Natalie Rose — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Notes:

Stopped at Lake Somerset spit
Kilkoy food break
Harlin, Esk, Toowoomba

Brisbane to Melbourne

Natalie Rose — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Stopped at Nerrandera for about 30 minutes to watch the sunset and chill (was very pretty)

This was my first time driving between the two cities in one day so I took photos of Claire with each city backdrop.

Brisbane (4:00am):

And Melbourne (11:30pm):

Melbourne to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Sun, 15 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Driving home after a nice time in Melbourne. It was Sunday and all the road works were closed so I had an extremely smooth run along the Newell.

Scenic Rim and Over the Queensland Border

Natalie Rose — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Lismore -> Casino -> Kyogle -> Woodenbong -> Rathdowney -> Boonah? (I think I joined with the Cunningham and then went home, if memory serves)

Gatton to Warwick

Natalie Rose — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Some very pretty scenery on Gatton-Clifton Rd.

Brisbane to Melbourne

Natalie Rose — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

This one felt loooooong. Also had a strange and unusual time at a McDonald’s in regional Victoria.

Dandenong Ranges

Natalie Rose — Sat, 02 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Checking out some shops and views in the Dandenon Mountain Ranges.

Great Ocean Road

Natalie Rose — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The day after Trump won the election. I needed something to clear my head.

Melbourne to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

By far my craziest drive, deserves a whole blog post. I bought a car in Melbourne that didn’t run very well and needed to get it home. Towing the car 1800 km’s wasn’t the easiest way of getting the job done, but it was the most fun.

Brisbane to Yass

Natalie Rose — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Exhausted, but with time ticking on an expansive trailer booking, I set off back to Melbourne.

Yass to Melbourne

Natalie Rose — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The longest 600 km I think I’ve ever experienced.

Melbourne to West Wyalong

Natalie Rose — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Finally back with Claire and heading home from Melbourne for real. There was an accident on the highway on the north side of Melbourne. Traffic was crawling and I almost ran out of fuel because of a missed turn. After refueling, the traffic took an eternity to subside. It was truly miserable. Managed to get some nice photos though!

West Wyalong to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The final drive to get home after my week of insanity pinging between capital cities.

Lions Road

Natalie Rose — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Probably my worst mountain drive. Mentally, I was just in the wrong headspace and wasn’t focussed.

Somerset Dam

Natalie Rose — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

One of my favourite drives ever. I took a wrong turn and ended up driving to Esk by going the other way around the dam and it was gorgeous. By coincidence, this drive contains the moment that Claire became the car I’ve driven the furthest. The scenery and sunset felt very appropriate for the occasion :3

Bribie Island Sunrise

Natalie Rose — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Occasionally, I stay up all night just for fun. I enjoy the quiet and the feeling that I’m experiencing something that nobody else is. In this case however, it was accidental. Late in the evening, I’d gotten a decaf coffee from a local cafe and it turned out to not be decaf! After lying in bed for an hour I gave up on the idea of sleeping and hit the road. I chose Bribie cause I’d never been before… and it was beautiful. Back to Brisbane via Mt Mee was gorgeous too.

Brisbane to Melbourne

Natalie Rose — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Drove to Melbourne for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

Melbourne to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Heading home after seeing the F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Gatton to Warwick

Natalie Rose — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Round 2 of the Gatton-Clifton Rd.

Bunya Mountains Day Trip

Natalie Rose — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Needed to clear my head. The scenery was gorgeous and I had a great time but the distance was perhaps slightly long.

Brisbane to Sydney

Natalie Rose — Sat, 17 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Driving my parents to Sydney!

Sydney to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Tue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Heading home after a Sydney trip with parents. I was exhausted from working 14 hours the previous day and so rushed through the preparation for the drive. I decided to take the inland route through Tamworth however it ended up being a terrible time. It rained almost the whole day and there were a few car issues that I was distracted by and mentally I struggled to maintain focus/presence. I was feeling desperate for it to be over, the whole time. My worst executed drive by a long shot.

Melbourne to Brisbane

Natalie Rose — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Did one of those cheap hire car relocation deals (companies need cars moved around for various reasons and so they offer deals instead of paying for the car to be driven/transported). The car was bad, so the act of dragging it home against its will was quite satisfying. And I enjoyed being out on the road. But overall I just wanted to be driving my Mercedes instead.