Changes to the Great Aussie Adventure
Ok, I’ve been thinking about it overnight, and I realised I wasn’t particularly happy at doing such a ‘lightning’ trip around Australia in just 40 days. There are quite a few long stretches I’d need to do in order to make it around the country according to schedule, and there’ll be a lot of places and sights that I wouldn’t be able to see.
So I changed my mind. Instead, I’m splitting the trip into two. The eastern half this year, and the western half next year.
I’ll do Victoria and eastern Sth Australia first, which will take about 9 days, ending up back in Canberra:
After resting a day or two in Canberra, I’ll then set out for the 2nd part of the trip:
More on the adventure
I think this is going to be the focus of quite a few posts this year, leading up to it, and likely beyond it. I’ve been refining my travel plans the past couple of days, working out where I’ll be sleeping and how much it’s likely to cost. That, plus the expected petrol costs, food and miscellaneous costs, and tours here and there, is going to cost a lot of money. But now I know how much I need to save.
I realised tonight that this is more than ‘a road trip’. It’s a spiritual adventure.
I’ve never been on such a journey before. 40 days by myself around an inhospitable country. Very few people undertake such an adventure in their lifetime. When I see myself traveling the highways and enjoying the sights and experiences, I get a strong feeling of exhilaration and excitement.
The Great Aussie Adventure
I’ve worked out my ‘great Australian adventure’. Here’s an image of the route:
Over 18,000km, taking me 40 days. Here’s how I’ve planned it out:
- HOME
- Leave Canberra, head to the east coast.
- VICTORIA
- Follow the coastline down to south of Melbourne.
- Head across to Ballarat, enjoy some tourist attractions I remember from my childhood.
- Head south to the coastline.
- SOUTH AUSTRALIA
- Follow the coastline to Adelaide.
- Head north to Pt Augusta.
- Head southwest to the Great Australian Bight.
- WESTERN AUSTRALIA
- Follow the coastline across the Nullarbor Plain, do some whale spotting.
- Head north to Kalgoorlie.
- Explore some gold mines.
- Head west to Perth.
- Rest, spend a few days with my friend Mel.
- Head north, do some National Park tours (The Pinnacles, etc).
- Continue north, feed some dolphins (Monkey Mia).
Plans for 2009
I hope you all had a merry xmas and a great new year. Did you do anything special or interesting for xmas?
I travelled to Adelaide, catching up with my own family and Deidre’s. It was good. It involved lots of driving, though, but oddly, that was also good.
When I’ve driven in the recent past, I’ve usually ended up with stiff and sore shoulders, where they held the tension while driving. I really don’t know what was different, but I had none of that this time around. And if you knew my shoulders, you’d be as surprised as me…
I can only imagine that I was a lot more relaxed than I have been in the past, holding less tension inside of me. I think that had a lot to do with it.
