There are many car rental Sydney and car rental Melbourne options and that’s definitely the most favourable way to experience the coast. Car rental companies are more than willing to help you arrange the tour of your dreams. I found a great deal traveling from Sydney to Melbourne just by doing a quick search online.

After finalising my car hire, I drove down south from Sydney through Royal National Park. The Grand Pacific Drive is breathtaking. I took my time exploring coastal villages and spent a few hours in the busy city of Wollongong before stopping for the night at Jervis Bay.

I boarded a cruise the next day to see the dolphins that Jervis Bay is famous for. I fell in love with the beaches and had a hard time deciding whether to stay or go. Further south I managed to buy some great, high quality craft items in the historic villages of Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba.

Mimosa Rocks National Park was lovely, I even got a chance to swim in the lagoon. I drove a little further to watch surfers at Tathra Beach. That evening I lodged in the trendy village of Metung and had a fantastic seafood platter in one of the lakeside eateries.

Wilsons Promontory National Park is home to amazing scenery and an abundance of wildlife such as emus, wombats and kangaroos. The place is filled with activities to keep you busy, I spent an entire day hiking through forests, exploring beaches and climbing on granite mountains.

Next checkpoint was Fish Creek, a tiny, quirky and thriving town with arts and crafts, books and cafes. I took the bridge over to Phillip Island, a popular family stop. At Nobbies Centre you can watch the penquins strutting up and down the beach and see one of Australia’s largest fur seal colonies.

I ended my trip in Melbourne making my last stop at the working heritage farm on Churchill Island. Renting a car was the single best decision I have made, taking the coastal drive from Sydney to Melbourne at my own pace was truly an experience that I will not forget. Next time I may get a car rental in Melbourne and do this trip the other direction!

You might think that I’m a bit of a sticky beak but how the environment and the people who live in it all fit together has always fascinated me. But in all those years of looking around I’ve been missing something.

You see, when I go out ‘exploring’ I’m either on foot, in a car or in a train. I’m at ground level and that’s the view that I’ve been getting of the places where I’ve lived or stayed. For a long time I’ve thought that it was quite an adequate way to see the world too but lately I’ve realized that I’ve been missing something. There’s a view of the places I’m at that I’ve missed out on.

Sure, in the past I’ve often caught a plane to somewhere I’m going and I get a quick glimpse of the area I’m living in from the cabin window but it’s always just a glimpse. The plane is in a hurry to get to it’s destination so it doesn’t hang about while I have a good look at what’s going on below.

On my last plane trip down to the state capital it dawned on me that I could really see so much more of the area I’ve been living in if I could see it from the air at a much more leisurely pace than on a shuttle flight. I realized that, from the air, I could get an overview (no pun intended) of the area where I lived but how was I to do that.

Well, in the area where I currently live. there are a couple of options that I hadn’t thought of until then. There are some limited ultra-light flights but I like something a little more substantial to take me into the air other than a couple of seats bolted to a metal frame that’s powered by an old car engine.

There are some light planes around that I could charter but in a busy city they’re flight paths are limited and they’re speeds are relatively high. And then an old friend called me to tell me about a new job he had and the light bulb came on.

He now works for the Sydney helicopter charter specialists – Skyward Helicopters – and even though I’m not near Sydney it dawned on me that a helicopter is the perfect platform to get a great overview of where I live. I’ve tried my first helicopter charter and it’s been great so if you want to get a bird’s eye view of the town where you live then think about a helicopter … and take your camera along too.

Christopher Reich has come out with his newest espionage tale. In his latest spy thriller, Reich takes us into the intriguing world of Jonathan Ransom, who works for the charitable organization called Doctors Without Borders. Jonathan is also a mountain climbing aficionado who goes up into an alp with his wife, Emma, where he witnesses his wife being mysteriously swept by an avalanche. Here is where the intrigue and deception enter Jonathan’s life as he tries to uncover the truth behind his wife’s disappearance.

Reich describes his hero as an honest and courageous doctor. And this is what keeps Jonathan alive as he tries to weave through all the lies and deceit that comes his way.

As the story moves from one exotic location to another, Jonathan is led to think that his wife is leading a double life. He also realizes that his otherwise ordinary life was not what he thought it was.

Reich’s storytelling escalates with every page you turn. He writes with such passion and intensity. At the beginning, though, the story won’t be as exciting, but Reich is a master at building suspense and momentum, and once you get through to the first chapter and are introduced to Jonathan, the mystery and suspense won’t fail you!

This ingeniously crafted suspense thriller will pump up your adrenaline. So if you plan to read it, start early or you’ll have to stay up through the night to finish the whole book!

Keep up with the latest news on the Newsmixer.

KKR Head of Global Public Affairs Ken Mehlman talks about how KKR has saved companies $16 million through environmental initiatives.

USA Today has reported on how Ken Mehlman and KKR have helped companies save money while protecting the environment.