30/06/2022
1 year ago today we left on our adventure of a lifetime with no anticipated return dateโฆ
6 months living on the road, just shy of 20,000km (19,865.88km), 175 nights away (25 weeks), 1 x tooth extract, 1 x car issue, 1 x drone breakdown, 1 x water tank leaking, 1 x phone carked it lost everything, a couple of mullet haircuts and chopper handle bar moustaches, a handful of bruises + burnt feet AND 1 mental breakdown.
Pete worked 2 jobs in six months, 6 days at a cattle station in Australiaโs hottest town, Marble Bar and 4 weeks at a truck company in Perth.
* 44 nights of free camps
* 94 nights paid (thanks NT & WA you killed us) most expensive being the underground mine in Coober Pedy at $180 for a night.
* 37 nights staying with family & friends
In six months we only got stuck in one lockdown in SA, originally for 3 days extended to 7. Due to no caravan park willing to take us during the lockdown we forked out $160 P/N + $50 cleaning fee for an air bnb. The lockdown threw a spanner in the works + redirected our entire route due to WA shutting their borders to SA, forcing us to go up the guts of Oz and travel the outback leaving the coast sooner than anticipated.
81 crashes/burnt out cars, countless buses, car engines, chassis, mini trucks, caravans, trailers and 1 burnt out road train on the side of the roads or some even stuck in the river.
Our Collection grew of 30 stubbie holders, 31 stickers + 15 layers of the earth from different locations.
$5982.87 total diesel (most expensive $2.04 P/L in NT & SA ) for comparison diesel price at the time in VIC was $1.33 P/L
$16.47 boat fuel
1 x 80L tank free diesel
73 times we setup the RTT
11 nights spent off the grid
Best sunsets: โ๏ธ
Rapid Bay, SA
Yulara Uluแนu, NT
Fitzroy River, WA
Cable Beach, WA
Pete almost got out of doing the dishes thanks to a wild dingo licking them clean for us, a wild cat also visited and decided to rifle through our rubbish one night.
Our wild animal encounters didnโt stop there;
5 donkeys, 9 wild camels, 1 dead snake, 11 sea turtles, 4 fresh water crocodiles, 6 salt water crocs, plus 30,000 fresh water crocs in Lake Argyle, 2 x seals, 13 wild emus, 1 fox, 1 c huntsman, countless brumbys, cows, cane toads, hermit crabs, kangaroos, eagles, and 1 x all white peacock.
The most surprising part of our trip (besides our mental break down in Broome), was witnessing local aboriginals steal a fellow campers car in the middle of the night whilst the owners were sleeping.
Our best meal was freshly caught Barra by our man himself, at 72cm long, Barra popcorn you were a dream.
We lived through all the highs and lows together, meeting the most amazing people who will always hold places in our hearts, surprised family in WA and special family + friends in VIC coming home.
We grew as a couple, got to experience things we never would have imagined, freezed our assโ off and barely slept in the heat. Most of all we grew independently + learnt how minuscule we are in comparison to the size of this beautiful land.
Our favourite bucket list places were:
Coral Bay, WA
Barred Creek, WA
Margaret River, WA
Bullara station, WA
Riding bikes around Uluru, NT
Dundee Beach, NT
Daly Waters Pub, NT
Bitter Springs, NT
Bunds Cliffs, SA
Venus Bay, SA
Rapid Bay, SA
Coodlie Park, SA
There will always be more, and close runner ups, but either these places we experienced amazing opportunities or they hold a special place in our hearts.
With our least favourite being a road side camp in SA camping next to dead sheep. ๐
Chief met every animal we did, tried playing with birds, pulling fish out of the tub to play with (disclaimer: no fish or animal was ever injured from Chief trying to play ๐), kissing noses with bulls, camels, donkeys, kangaroos, juggled a green tree frog on his head and a croc tried striking at Chief with him being non the wiser. He ended up liking all other animals and being scared of dogs by the end of the trip.
We may have missed out on most of the National Parks by bringing our best mate along but we wouldnโt change it for the world, as we got to show him Oz.
