The Big Trip
A year the long way round โ London to Dubai, Australia, and back through Southeast Asia.
๐ London, United Kingdom
Itโs lights out and away we go, weโre on our way to Sydney with a quick pit stop in Dubai.
๐ Dubai, United Arab Emirates
To break up the journey (and save some money) we booked a flight with a 20 hour layover in Dubai. Through the Emirates Dubai Connect program we got a night in a hotel for free so we had a short nap and then got ready to explore a bit.
It was over 40c so even the short 8 minute walk to the Metro station was quite a challenge. We kept things fairly simple and went to the Dubai Mall to check out the aquarium, Burj Khalifa, fountain show and the air conditioning. The scale of everything in Dubai is pretty crazy and while we didnโt get to see much of it was nice to experience a new country and culture, albeit briefly.
๐ Sydney, Australia
Our first stop in Oz in sฬถuฬถnฬถnฬถyฬถ Sydney. Itโs not an exaggeration to say that it rained pretty much non-stop during our stay, so much so that we ran out of dry clothes. Between the rain and the jet lag we probably didnโt quite get the start to our trip we were expecting but we got out there and saw the main sights, safe in the knowledge we planned to return later in the year.
๐ Adelaide, Australia
Before we could get started on our real adventures we had quite a few things to sort out first. We flew into Adelaide and spent just over 3 weeks staying with Nicoleโs brother, Jim.
While we were there which purchased some of vital things you need for a trip, like a car, and of course, two tennis rackets.Our trusty Nissan X-Trail was christened as Nigel (after Nigel Mansell due to his moustache) and we kitted him out to be our home for the next few months including putting up a very make shift bed in the back.
Even though it was technically Winter the weather was still really nice most of the time we were there so we got to explore the city, did lots of walks along the beach, a few hikes and even saw our first Kangaroos of the trip ๐ฆ
James passed his upside down driving theory test and was let loose on the Adelaide suburbs to get some practice in for the long trip ahead.
๐ Mount Remarkable National Park, Australia
Stop number 1 of our great Australian road trip! A few hours out of Adelaide, we spent a couple of nights camping in a national park. We were greeted with Kangaroos, Emus and Kookaburras wandering around camp, and so many stars in the sky at night!
We did a nice walk through the park, up to a viewpoint, and enjoyed the peace and quiet after a month or so in cities.
๐ Spud's Roadhouse, Australia
Our first roadhouse and our first experience of quite how empty parts of the outback are. We met an interesting guy in the van parked next to us who showed us his opal collection, made some dinner on our stove and then had a few drinks inside to stay warm.
๐ Coober Pedy, Australia
One of the places we were most looking forward to visiting. It was once a busy opal mining town and can get so hot that many locals live in caves to stay cool. We got to have a look around some of the old mines and stayed underground!
๐ Marla, Australia
Another night on the road, another roadhouse stopover. To keep these balanced and not only containing the good stuff we were besieged by flies here and learnt to perfect the Aussie wave ๐๐ป
๐ Yulara, Australia
After pretty much a full days driving we finally made it into Yulara, the nearest town to Uluru (Ayers Rock). Thereโs some very fancy accommodation available but we didnโt want to leave Nigel alone we stayed with him in a camp site.
The town had a bit of a strange feel to it as itโs quite literally in the middle of nowhere but is full of tourists from all over the world giving it a bit of a Disneyland vibe but you donโt come here to visit Yulara itself..
The next day we drove into the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park which takes about 25 minutes and started to catch our first glimpses of Uluru along the way, the scale of it is quite breathtaking and no picture will really do it justice but as you can see I did try my best..
We visited the museum first to learn about some of the history behind the area and the significance it has to the local Aboriginal tribe, the Anangu. The following day we returned to take on 10km walk around the base of the rock (technically a sandstone monolith) which takes around 3 hours, thereโs only one water refill site along the route so we took plenty with us as it can get very hot depending on the time of year. We stayed for the sunset which sets behind the rock and something you really canโt take your eyes off.
While slightly lesser known the other site in the park that Uluru shares the title with is Kata Tjuta. Itโs a combination of rock formations spread over about 20km that to be fair are equally impressive. We scrambled across lots of the rock in our slightly inadequate footwear where quite often we were completely along, it was a bit of a surreal experience at times as it felt like being on another planet.
One our final day we headed into the national park one more time to catch the sunrise, one of the rare occasions where getting up at 5am is justified. At that time of day it was actually really cold so we put every layer we had and sat there admiring the view, really quite something.
๐ Erldunda Roadhouse, Australia
Not too much to say about this, it was an overnight stop in Nigel on our way to Alice Springs. They had a camel.
๐ Alice Springs, Australia
๐ Glen Helen, Australia
๐ Devil’s Marbles, Australia
๐ Banka Banka, Australia
A great little camp at a farm homestead. They had an Indian food truck which did a great paneer curry and roti, and music around the camp fire.
๐ Daly Waters, Australia
The Famous Daly Waters pub. We spent 2 nights here in one of the motel rooms to refresh and get a chance to wash off some of the red dust thatโs accumulating.
Itโs a small but fascinating little town with the main attraction being the pub which had some great garlic bread and happy hour deals ๐บ
๐ Mataranka, Australia
๐ Katherine, Australia
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๐ Rum Jungle, Australia
๐ Wangi Falls, Australia
๐ Tumbling Waters, Australia
Bit of an emergency stop, it was so hot the night before at the camp site we both had a literal meltdown and decided we needed somewhere with air conditioning for the night so we could get some sleep!
๐ Darwin, Australia
๐ Daly Waters, Australia
Since we were passing Daly Waters again on our way back down we decided to stop in for more garlic bread and $5 wines. This time we were treated to the eccentric owner on his mobility scooter telling us the history of the pub accompanied by his menagerie of animals.
It was up to 35 degrees during the day which made for a sweaty nightโs sleep. We went to bed to news of the Queenโs deteriorating health and woke up to news of her death. A very strange place to be hearing the news.
๐ Barkly Homestead, Australia
A roadhouse in the middle of the outback. Happy hour wasnโt as good as Daly Waters but we enjoyed a few stubbies whilst watching the news coverage about the Queen.
๐ Cloncurry, Australia
Another night on the road. We pulled up in town with no booking and managed to get an unpowered patch of dirt at a caravan park. It had a pool and a decent kitchen though so we swam, showered, ate, and got an early night ready for more driving in the morning.
๐ Karumba, Australia
We started the day with no plans as to where to spend the night. On the drive James found a holiday park with a caravan to rent available for the night, so we booked it and headed there. Turned out to be a very picturesque spot. We grabbed some fish and chips and watched the sunset before stopping in for a quick drink at the pub.
๐ Mount Surprise, Australia
SURPRISE! We spent a couple of nights in the forest here. The park had a nice train-themed bar/restaurant and a pool surrounded by the local resident kangaroos. We hiked around an old volcanic crater and spotted our first snake of the year! A little red-bellied black snake crossed the path right in front of us.
๐ Port Douglas, Australia
After a full on week of driving we finally hit the east coast and now have a few days chilling in port Douglas. Itโs much more of a holiday resort type town than the places weโve been recently, lots of fancy hotels and restaurants we canโt afford!
We went on a few walks to viewpoints, ate pizza watching the sunset, visited the wildlife park, and Nicole did yoga on the beach one morning.
๐ Cape Tribulation, Australia
๐ Cairns, Australia
๐ Babinda, Australia
As boulders go these are right up there.
๐ Mission Beach, Australia
๐ Balgal Beach, Australia
๐ Townsville, Australia
๐ Airlie Beach, Australia
๐ Mackay, Australia
Not too much to say about this one, we arrived in town fairly late and stayed in a motel then hit the road early the next morning.
๐ Rockhampton City, Australia
๐ Great Keppel Island, Australia
๐ Agnes Water, Australia
๐ Bargara, Australia
๐ Hervey Bay, Australia
There was a jetty apparently, canโt remember much else. Iโm writing this 6 months on, cut me some slack.
๐ Ubud, Indonesia
๐ Gili Air, Indonesia
๐ Nusa Dua, Indonesia
๐ Canggu, Indonesia
๐ Seminyak, Indonesia
๐ Uluwatu, Indonesia
๐ Brisbane, Australia
๐ Killarney, Australia
๐ Gold Coast, Australia
๐ Byron Bay, Australia
๐ Coffs Harbour, Australia
๐ Port Macquarie, Australia
๐ Port Stephens, Australia
๐ Sydney, Australia
๐ Katoomba, Australia
๐ Oberon, Australia
๐ Bundanoon, Australia
๐ Carrington Falls, Australia
๐ Fairy Meadow, Australia
๐ Goulburn, Australia
๐ Canberra, Australia
๐ Jindabyne, Australia
๐ Buckenderra, Australia
๐ Genoa, Australia
๐ Bairnsdale, Australia
๐ Walkerville, Australia
๐ Corinella, Australia
๐ง
๐ Melbourne, Australia
๐ Warrandyte, Australia
๐ Melton, Australia
๐ Elwood, Australia
๐ North Melbourne, Australia
๐ Doncaster, Australia
๐ Melbourne, Australia
๐ South Yarra, Australia
Another house sit, just a short one this weekend with a very lazy goldendoodle called Penny. We dragged (quite literally sometimes) her out for a few walks and played some tennis. Explored South Yarra a little, probably one of the nicest Melbourne suburbs weโve seen so far!
๐ Lynbrook, Australia
We had a couple of days to fill in-between house sits and managed to find a very reasonably priced BnB south east of Melbourne, it even came with two cats which was a nice bonus.
The main thing we did was visit the royal botanic gardens in Cranbourne which were very impressive.
๐ Black Rock, Australia
We had a very chilled week doing a house sit and looking after a very excitable young toy poodle called Jasper. We stayed in a really nice apartment that was literally on beach road on the coast south east of Melbourne.
We took Jasper out for lots of walks along the beach, did a bit of work and tried to plan where we were going next!
๐ Lynbrook, Australia
Back in lynbrook at the same b&b again since it was cheap and very nice. Didnโt do much this time since it was just a quick overnighted before heading out into the mountains tomorrow.
๐ Halls Gap, Australia
๐ Ararat, Australia
We had a couple of nights until we needed to be back in the city and found a cheap holiday cabin in this little town. Turned out to be a great stop - lovely park, nice tennis courts for a hit, and we did a cellar tour at a local winery that was really interesting! They claimed to be the birthplace of sparkling red wine.
๐ St Kilda, Australia
Quick stop back in Melbourne to watch Maisie Peters in St Kilda, and see a woman about some cats. We spent a morning wandering Albert park where theyโre currently building the track for next monthโs Grand Prix. Thatโs the next time weโll be back in the city!
๐ Torquay, Australia
๐ Jamieson Creek, Australia
Just one night at a bush campsite but we caught a lovely sunset and watched the wallabies hop around camp. Woke up to one of Nicoleโs sandals halfway across the site and all chewed up - maybe a possum?
๐ Apollo Bay, Australia
๐ Colac, Australia
๐ Gellibrand, Australia
๐ Cape Otway, Australia
๐ Warrnambool, Australia
๐ Dartmoor, Australia
Just a quick overnight stop in Dartmoor in a free camping spot. The town is very small but had a nice pub and some interesting tree sculptures.
๐ Mount Gambier, Australia
๐ Robe, Australia
Beautiful little beach town on the limestone coast in south SA. Spent a few days relaxing and recharging after the great ocean road. The highlight of Robe was probably long beach (aptly named at around 12km long) where you can drive right along the sand and bag yourself a quiet spot with no one else around. Sunset over the water was spectacular.
๐ Haddon, Australia
Just a quick overnighter on the way back to Melbourne. Free camping in a park in a tiny town. Windy and Cold, but we got a nice sunset, cooked up a curry and did I mention it was FREE?!
๐ South Melbourne, Australia
Back in the city! 2 weeks house sitting, Grand Prix, Jamesโ family visiting, then weโll say goodbye to Melbourne for good (for this trip anyway!)
๐ Glen Iris, Australia
๐ Queenscliff, Australia
๐ Bass Strait,
๐ Narawntapu National Park, Australia
๐ Hadspen, Australia
๐ Bay of Fires, Australia
๐ Bicheno, Australia
๐ Friendly Beaches, Australia
๐ Coles Bay, Australia
๐ Spring Beach, Australia
We splashed out on an Airbnb with a tennis court for Jamesโ birthday, no regrets, it was amazing.
๐ Port Arthur, Australia
๐ Hobart, Australia
๐ Ouse, Australia
An overnight stop in a lakeside free camp as we made our way to Western Tas. It was just us, one other van.. and the local feral kitties.
๐ Queenstown, Australia
An unscheduled but very picturesque overnight stop. Nigel gave us a bit of a scare during the day so we got him a check up and a few new spark plugs. At first we were sceptical when parts of Australia were referred to as being โalpineโ but this really did feel like a mountain town.
๐ Cradle Mountain, Australia
๐ Stanley, Australia
๐ Ulverstone, Australia
Not the most exciting stop, we caught up on some life admin and had a wander around the town and along the beach.
๐ Bass Strait,
After an amazing couple of weeks in Tasmania we set sail back to the mainland.
๐ Kingston SE, Australia
One of our longest days of driving, all the way from Geelong after getting off the boat at 7am across to Kingston in SA to stay in the cheapest cabin around, straight from the 1970โs. The beach was covered in a 30cm thick carpet of seaweed, but the sunset was still pretty good. Visited Larry the big lobster on our way out the next morning.
๐ Coorong, Australia
One final night bush camping in Nigel. We had the entire camp site to ourselves, got to see a lovely sunset while we cooked dinner and in the morning it poured with rain, a fitting send off.
๐ Adelaide, Australia
Just under a year later and weโre back to where our road trip began. We had one final stay in a holiday park before a short flat share / pet sit with Alfie the cat. We sold or donated as much of our stuff as we could, including Nigel and did our best to prepare for living out of backpacks again.
๐ Perth, Australia
Our final stop in Australia. We werenโt planning to visit WA initially and this definitely wasnโt enough time but it was nice to see some of it. Freemantle seemed like it would be a nice place to live with the convenience of a big city nearby but a more laid back feel.
๐ Singapore, Singapore
๐ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We got a coach up from Singapore for a very hot and sweaty 3 nights in KL. We did our best to get out and explore but it did feel a bit like we were mostly filling time between trips to one of the many shopping centres to cool down ๐ฅต. The highlight has to be this amazing bar we found on top of a building which used to be a helipad, incredible views.
๐ George Town, Malaysia
๐ Karon, Thailand
๐ Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
We didnโt know how much time weโd end up spending on Phi Phi since weโd heard it was a bit of a party Island. But in the end we spent a week and didnโt party at all! It was nice being somewhere you could walk everywhere, no taxis or mopeds, and relaxed Island life.
๐ Rawai, Thailand
Not the most eventful week as we were both sick for most of it. We had a nice Airbnb apartment with a pool though and just relaxed and when we could manage it went out for breakfast or dinner. It seemed like a really nice area so itโs a shame we couldnโt see more of it.
๐ Bangkok, Thailand
๐ Hong Kong, Hong Kong S.A.R.
๐ Bangkok, Thailand
๐ London, United Kingdom
378 days later and weโre back ๐
