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…from Halls Creek via Darwin back to Halls Creek
The road west of Halls Creek was officially closed. Feeling rather uncertain, we carried on anyway; it would probably be fine – the information we’d received was very contradictory. With a touch of nervousness, we continued eastwards. Up to the border between Western Australia and the Northern Territory, the route took us over many hills, and with every change of direction came a new view of the landscape stretching into the distance or down into the next valley. Read More

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…and stopped by Cyclone Narelle!
After our stopover in south-western Western Australia and another visit to the BackpackerCars workshop in Perth, we set off for Darwin for the second time. Our Toyota had to go back to the garage again because the ball joints in the steering had significant play. Although you could drive around Australia like that, the car’s straight-line stability was anything but reliable. And, as is often the case, the car was in the garage for one technical problem, which was sorted out, but it ended up with two new problems. No idea what went wrong during that repair. Perhaps it has something to do with the age of the Toyota; as soon as you tinker with something, the next problem crops up. Read More

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…and back in a holding pattern
After having our car serviced at Backpacker Cars in Perth, we set off northwards with renewed vigour. Although the list of faults on our Toyota was a bit longer again, we trusted the mechanic’s assurance that everything would be fine for the next 10,000 km and that the minor issues were of little consequence. We checked the weather forecasts and hoped it wouldn’t get as hot as the two-week forecast suggested. Read More

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…from Albany to Perth
The repairs in Albany took a little longer than we had planned, and in the end we were somewhat disappointed with the garage. Or was it more our “mechanic warranty”, which we had purchased for a lot of money from our car supplier in Sydney? I still don’t fully understand the warranty system, which excludes pretty much everything. Oil seals and electrical connections are excluded, and we soon wondered whether this insurance was just window dressing for the customer. Read More

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…from Esperance via Kalgoorlie-Boulder to Albany
“Yes, we too wanted to take a look into the deep hole, and perhaps we would have been as lucky as those men who triggered a gold rush north of Esperance over a hundred years ago.”
But here too, the distances were long; very long. Read More

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…via Coober Pedy
Port Augusta was already many kilometres behind us. We were excited to see what awaited us in Coober Pedy – in the middle of the Australian outback – where people dig for opal stones and hope for a certain amount of success. For us, this detour into the outback meant a detour of almost 1,000 kilometres on the Stuart Highway. There were no other, less travelled roads or paths that would have taken us away from the huge road trains (lorries with up to 5 trailers and a length of 65 metres). Read More

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From Mount Kosciuszko to the incubator
The return journey eastwards came at just the right time. Warm air was pushing southwards from the north, and our return to Kosciuszko Alpine National Park fitted in perfectly with our plans. It was supposed to be a little cooler in the mountains and, to our surprise, there were vacancies again at the national park campsites. Read More

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The summary of the last 19 days of the year that is coming to an end can be told in a few words. Warm temperatures greeted us as we entered the harbour and we were able to enjoy the warming morning sun on deck. But even in Victoria, we were soon caught up by what we had experienced so far… Read More

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…a tour of the island…
…or at the end of the Australian roads.
For a long time, Tasmania was not a destination for us, nor did we express any interest in this southern island. It was only on the tour to Cape York/Queensland that the desire to travel there grew. So we added this adventure to our Australia trip. We were also told that the ferry crossings would be booked up well in advance and that during the peak holiday season – December/January – it would be almost impossible to get a booking. So we immediately booked our two crossings (they were the last places available until the end of March!) and were suddenly convinced that this part of Australia should not be missed. Other travellers told us that it was always cold and rainy on this island surrounded by the Southern Ocean, which made us a little sceptical again. But the travel season should be right; in any case, we were excited, and my travel guide (Tom) also says that Tasmania should not be missed on a trip to Australia. Read More