Many people spend 45 minutes or more in the car travelling to and from work each day. My lot in life is not much different to theirs in that regard.

However, while they sit in traffic jams or take alternate routes to avoid them, my trip is far less stressful.

Ten minutes after leaving school, I leave the suburbs, the traffic lights and the traffic behind me. The outskirts of town fade into a patchwork of farmland. Cows graze in paddocks beside the road or walk lazily to the dairies where they will be milked for the second time today.
Trees along the roadside become more dense along the farm boundaries, which then give way to natural Australian bushland where graceful gum trees and bright yellow wattle trees congregate in silent beauty. It’s not unusual to see kangaroos or koalas here, especially in the early morning or at night.
The bush opens again into farmland, but the road is still lined with trees that were never cleared when the farms were established. The sun shines through them, giving them a warm amber glow.
I smile, reflecting on the fact that not many people have a drive to work that is as beautiful as mine.