Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This journey - 4850 miles or 7800km - began with a train trip.

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I call the 8.17am Bomaderry to Sydney service the travellers' train. That's because every time I use it I see fellow passengers with suitcases and backpacks setting off on new adventures. Just as I did the other day.

As we pass through the bucolic northern Shoalhaven, with its green meadows dotted with dairy cows, there's a shared but unspoken excitement. Also a chance to embed memories of home to take away with us.

Tags on some bags suggest cruise ships. Here, a Royal Caribbean tag; there a Carnival tag. The bags without tags will likely be loaded onto aircraft as their owners take to the sky for their trips. Or they might be wheeled from one platform at Central Station to another - to set out on an another leg of a longer train journey.

I could drive but choose the train because it's always a slow immersion into a week or two of travelling, a way of starting the adventure before the trip begins.

There's a frisson as the train approaches Wolli Creek, the station which connects the South Coast line to the airport line. A couple of days ahead of my departure, I stay on board and savour the slow crawl into central Sydney.

Echidnas love to roam and so do Australians. This was reflected in the results of ACM's comprehensive Heart of Australia survey which found 30 per cent of us are planning an overseas trip in the next 12 months while 60 per cent are considering a domestic holiday. The wanderlust is not restricted to our favourite monotremes.

As Kate Cox, head of Travel at ACM and publisher of Explore Travel, said: "What's clear from the Heartbeat data is that the desire to travel - near or far - has become part of our national DNA. Australians are planners; they're constantly thinking about their next escape."

I won't be travelling on this trip alone. That's because I'm inviting you to come along with me. I won't divulge the destination quite yet - we'll leave that for Monday. As I take a break from the news cycle, I'll send written postcards from the trip, which will take me - and hopefully you - to new places and fresh experiences. Who knows? You might be inspired to start planning your own journey.

But right now, I must be off. There's a plane to catch.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Are you planning a trip in the next 12 months? Will it be overseas or within Australia? What do you enjoy most about travel? What's the most memorable trip you've undertaken? Email us:

© Canberra Times