Crossing the Nullarbor on foot must have been insane. I did the same route but with camping gear and a car in the 90ies, and had the time of my life. The scale of the distances between points on the map are not comprehensible (to a kid from Europe at least). I wanted to do a day trip to Monkey Mia right after getting off the plane and started planning out my journey from Perth. I didn't believe (understand) that there is often nothing between 2 points on the map. A map entry would often just be a literal petrol station (that is also a pub and a shop and a farm) and nothing else. I had to learn the hard way that when they say "there's f*k all there mate" that they really mean it.
I guess the reason for him cutting short the Kimberley's and Northern tip of Queensland, was that it must have been inaccessible or too dangerous back then. Anyway it seems like travelers have already been advised 100 years ago to stay clear of these places.
There is an Ed Stafford "Marooned" episode where he tries to survive in the Kimberley's. (much endorse).
edit: If you have visited Australia (or plan to go) don't miss out on Bill Bryson's "Down Under" (must read if you like travel literature that is also hilarious) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Under_(book)
> I didn't believe (understand) that there is often nothing between 2 points on the map.
I drove around Namibia once. Just the same. One set of directions was little more than "drive 120km North of [small town whose name I can't remember] and you'll see a signpost to our Lodge on your left". There was literally nothing else between the two points.
One day a car overtook us (in the middle of nowhere) and then stopped and waved us down. They were lost and wanted directions. They were headed in the right direction (east to west) but the road they should have been on was a parallel one about 50km to the north. They'd turned too early.
It turned out that there is a tourist loop that kinda tracks the perimeter of the country. On one particularly busy day we counted more than 30 vehicles. In the whole day. If you drove clockwise around the loop, most days at around midday you'd encounter the traffic coming anticlockwise. They'd left their accommodation in the morning and were driving to their next place.
In addition to being “nothing”, even the side of the road is often not suitable for an overnight tent. The vegetation may be dense. There may be dingos too (had some around my tent, not pleasing) and worse, humans (stories of barfights on restareas are common).
>'I guess the reason for him cutting short the Kimberley's and Northern tip of Queensland, was that it must have been inaccessible or too dangerous back then. Anyway it seems like travelers have already been advised 100 years ago to stay clear of these places."
What are the specific issues in the Northern tip of Queensland exactly? Crocs? Also is the issue the the Kimberley's the same as the usual interior/outback? I didn't realize Bryson has an Australia book I will definitely look for that. Thanks for the tip.
yes wildlife (crocs, box jelly fish, snakes, scorpions, ...) but more annoyingly sand flies that will feed on the puss from infected mosquito bites and lay their eggs into them. ability for the most benign scratches to heal is much reduced in this place which is perpetually wet.
Wikipedia notes that the first time somebody made the trip wasn't that long before our protagonist in this post decided to skip the peninsular:
> The tip of the peninsula (Cape York) was finally reached by Europeans in 1864 when the brothers Francis Lascelles (Frank) and Alexander William Jardine, along with eight companions, drove a mob of cattle from Rockhampton to the new settlement of Somerset (on Cape York) where the Jardines' father was commander. En route they lost most of their horses, many of their stores and fought pitched battles with Aboriginal people, finally arriving in March 1865.
Disclaimer, I have spent a bit of time north of Daintree rainforest in my childhood/teens.
Poisonous plants, poisonous animals, crocs, snakes, spiders, Scrub so thick you'd wear out a knife cutting through it, local aboriginals that may also hunt you. Mosquitos with Dengue Fever, the daintree ulcer, the list goes on.
Definitely crocs up that way. But there if bugger all on the northern tip even today. It would have been more than 1000km in tropical conditions and not sure if they even had tracks up there back in the day, let Lone shops to fill supplies, and no coastal road around the Cape even today. Have a look at Google maps of the towns up there. Its hardly a town, a lot of traditional owners and tourism support as it's popular to 4WD to the tip these days as an adventure experience.
Thanks, yeah it's amazing the number of perils an unprepared adventurer could encounter on that continent. I would be curious to hear any of your thoughts on how difficult or foolhardy trying to do an Adelaide to Darwin road trip would be solo.
Adelaide to Darwin is a cakewalk in comparison. The Stuart Highway is fully paved, excellently maintained, and has roadhouses every 100 km or so. It's completely doable by a regular sedan or campervan, and if you run into any trouble, there's enough traffic that you won't be left in a lurch.
That said, there is still a whole lotta nothing along the way, and you still need to keep your eyes peeled or you'll run into wildlife or get flattened by a road train. It'll also be extra tedious if you can't alternate driving with somebody else.
Thanks yeah I think there's some interesting points(Flinders Range, Coober Peddy, Uluru) along the way there just not on or directly off the highway correct? I was unaware of a road train, is that where the train track do not have a proper crossing signals?
road trains are very long trucks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train#Australia going through the dusty red center (the dust from them often takes very long time to settle so no fun driving behind one :)).
the road to coober peddy, uluru etc should be maintained will enough today and provided you don't make shortcuts (or "go exploring" off the main road) but you still need to watch for large kangaroos, emus and dingos crossing. Dead or alive, they're no fun to crash into - although a road train will not stop for them (they probably couldn't even if they wanted to stop).
I guess the reason for him cutting short the Kimberley's and Northern tip of Queensland, was that it must have been inaccessible or too dangerous back then. Anyway it seems like travelers have already been advised 100 years ago to stay clear of these places.
There is an Ed Stafford "Marooned" episode where he tries to survive in the Kimberley's. (much endorse).
edit: If you have visited Australia (or plan to go) don't miss out on Bill Bryson's "Down Under" (must read if you like travel literature that is also hilarious) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Under_(book)