The legendary big lap is a route that circles the continent of Australia following highway 1. Since 85% of the Australian population live within 50km of the ocean this lap also leads through every major city except Alice Springs in the center of the continent.
From 2019 to 2021 we lived in a Toyota Coaster motorhome that we lovingly called Lil’ Beaut. We put over 40,000 kilometers on that bus as we explored the Big Lap with a little detour down to the center. It was definitely the trip of a lifetime.
Check out how much it cost and our favorite places below.
The Red Center of Australia is filled with miles of vast, dry land that stretch out to the horizon in an endless sea of red sand, spinifex, and scrub brush. We drove through flood planes, flat and dry, devoid of anything taller than my waist. We crossed riverbeds that spoke of raging streams that once […]
Five wonders of the Red Center, the heart of Australia Read More »
A cool wind is blowing softly, just enough to tamper down the heat of the relentless sun. The view before me is astounding. The largest sandstone monolith in the world* sits in front of me. It is alone on the golden grassy plains of spinifex. The deep blue of the sky surrounding it is a
“Can we see much in Kakadu with a 2WD?” I asked multiple people and googled the heck out of the question. Everyone with a 4WD said, “No, with a 2WD it’s Kakadon’t.” Another caravanner said she was convinced at the visitor center to just take a flight over Kakadu as she wouldn’t see much with
Litchfield National park is filled with plunge pools, spring-fed streams, waterfalls, and rock holes. The many hiking trails lead through rugged landscape, sandstone escarpments and monsoon rain forests. We spent two full days in the park. We *free camped just outside the park on our first morning to get an early start. Our first stop
Crocodiles and crystalline waters: Darwin to Litchfield Read More »
“There’s a baby croc over there,” said the lady sitting on a rock in the opening of the cave. She pointed to the far wall of the cave. I looked over and saw the slender, motionless body of a baby crocodile resting just below the surface of the water, his nose and eyes protruding above
Crocodiles in caves and gorges: Tunnel Creek & Windjana Gorge Read More »
I’m fascinated by the comfort that water brings. Its life-sustaining power is so simple, so soothing. Especially as I sit here by a slow-moving deep river in the middle of an arid desert just outside of Marble Bar. From Port Hedland we turned inland to see what we could see in Marble Bar. There did
Karijini National Park is one of Western Australia’s top tourist destinations. After seeing pictures of the narrow trails to hidden pools and scrambles through gorges I added it to our bucket list. Getting to Karijini Swimming with whale sharks along the Ningaloo reef was amazing, but it was time to move on. We pointed Lil’
I slid off the back of the boat and into the deep blue ocean water. During the first few moments as I plunged beneath the surface only the bubbles from my descent were visible. When they cleared I saw a large shape in front of me. Within seconds a mouth as wide as the length
From the boardwalk, I observed the strangest shoreline yet. Rounded mounds dotted the shallows breaking just above the waterline. As the lake grew deeper these mounds extended further under the water’s surface. What appeared to be perfectly shaped rocks were actually something alive. Australia has fascinated me since my first morning when I woke to
A little over two hours north of Perth is the Pinnacles desert, a desert unlike any other I have traversed. It is not just hot, dry, and sandy like many other deserts. There are spires that stand straight dotting the landscape like pins in a pincushion. The Pinnacles look like stalagmites without a cave. The
