Well after the Mongol Rally and the Rickshaw Run one needs another challenge. By comparison though, this is a lightweight undertaking. We have the comfort of a pop top camper (think cooker, fridge, sink, double bed, dinning table… finally I’m a home owner) albeit 26 years old, and a mere eleven thousand kilometres to cover on well paved roads… Easy.

Australia is big. Very big. Take a look at the picture below to see just how big it is compared to Europe. We will not be trying to cover it all as we have a very limited time here. What I would like to do is a loop from Sydney via Cairns, Darwin, Alice Springs and Melbourne.

We picked up our 1980 camper on Tuesday 10th July. We’d seen several and this was the best for the money. After lots of problems trying to access my funds the cash was handed over and we drove the beast back to Dan’s. The very friendly sellers even invited us back for dinner when we return to Sydney.

This post originally started as a day by day diary, but having read over the first few days scribblings I’ve ditched it as it was just too boring. Here instead are the condensed highlights (check the maps page for some nerdy details).

We got off to a late start on Wednesday 11th after running round sorting the paper work for the van and getting some last minute shopping done. We appropriately left Sydney crossing over the harbour bridge managing at least two hours before our first breakdown… simply a flat battery (I’d purchased a spare / auxiliary that day but hadn’t fitted it. Upon doing so I couldn’t get a good connection as the cables were so oxidised).

Over the first few days I’ve been amazed by the beautiful beaches we’ve seen up the east coast. So long, clear, clean and empty. Then there are the waves that on occasions have been huge. Also very striking is how friendly people are, often just approaching us for a chat at the rest areas and camp sites, which as it happens is a great way to get tips and advice for our journey. A week in and we’ve seen a lot of the stereotypical Aussie things including possums, wallabies (albeit dead at the side of the road), boomerangs and surfers. Despite the road signs, though, I’m yet to see that elusive Koala.

The true highlight of the the New South Wales stretch of the trip however has to be Byron Bay. Here is the original entry from my day by day post:

Day 5

Byron Bay, dolphins and whales. Everything else is insignificant. We drove up to Cape Byron Cape before 8 am and were treated to the sight of a pod of dolphins swimming not far away from the rocks. Very much enthused by this we were amazed to spot a humpback whale breaching several kilometres out to sea. This was what we’d come here to see but couldn’t believe our luck after only 15 minutes. The whale was so far out that this cropped photo can do little other than confirm what it was.

Later went for a walk around the cape and once again up near the lighthouse we were treated to this spectacular display by a huge pod of dolphins playing in the surf. Incredible stuff: