Road Trips: A Love Story PLUS! Big Announcement

Posted on 11. Nov, 2010 by in Destinations, Housekeeping, Oceania

My flight Monday night was absolutely hellish. An inexplicable FOUR hour delay lead to an unrestful night on a plane and a 5 am arrival at my hostel in Cairns. The flight itself was cramped and uncomfortable and the whole experience basically sucked.

Now you may say that this is just bad luck. Or that I deserve it for taking cheap-o Tiger Air. I’m choosing to look at things a different way. Air travel is just an inferior form of travel compared to the joy of going overland. In my opinon the best way to travel is by car.

My first experiences with travel were all road trips. Long family ones with my brother annoying me in the back seat. We weren’t just headed to visit Grandma or to the beach though. We were hardcore road trippers, battling across the United States for months on end in our old Tioga Arrow RV. I saw most of my home country through the back windows of that thing before I even turned 12. We rarely traveled internationally, but I learned so much traversing the interstates and I’m sure it was the fledgling root of my travel obsession.

Resting in the Sunset Light

photo credit: faungg


Now that I’m a grownup with a driver’s licence of my own, I still think that road trips are one of the most awesome ways to see a country. Sitting behind the wheel of a car gives you the allows you to choose your own route, to make new discoveries and to stop at the zaniest road side attractions. Yeah you have to worry about things like gas, and car maintance, but what you gain is pure freedom.

Which is why I’m so psyched to announce:

The Twenty-Something Travel Australian Roadtrip

When I started planning the Australia leg of my trip I really wanted to explore by car. Thanks to a generous sponsorship by Travellers Auto Barn, I will be able to do this: road tripping across Australia for roughly 6 weeks in one of their cool looking Chubbie camper van.

The plans are fluid, but here’s a rough sketch: I’ll be picking up the van in Cairns, far northern Queensland, then heading even further north, up to Port Arthur and the Daintree Rainforest. After that it will be time to go south: towards Brisbane, down to the Blue Mountains, across NSW to Adelaid and then eventually back to Melbourne. It’s going to be a busy itinerary, but should be a fun one!

It’s an awful long way to go along, and everyone knows that road trips are best when shared, so I’m bringing some company on my trip. My friend Liz, also known as my travel soul mate will be joining me. We’ve previously backpacked through the Balkans together, and driven around Iceland, but this trip is bigger, better and longer than anything we’ve tacked in the past.

Along the way I’ll be blogging about the many awesome roadside sights of Australia, and the (probably tragic and hilarious) hijinks Liz and I get up to attempting to travel and camp. My goal is to showcase the pure joys of a big road trip, and to see the major sites of Australia in the process!

Will I survive trying to drive a manual transmission car on the opposite side of the road?

Will Liz and I kill each other after 7 weeks of forced bonding?

Do Crocodiles eat backpackers in their sleep?

Stay tuned to find out…

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38 Responses to “Road Trips: A Love Story PLUS! Big Announcement”

  1. Tran

    11. Nov, 2010

    What a great way to see Australia! Congrats on the sponsorship and awesome you get to bring a friend. Looking forward to reading your posts from the road.

    Reply to this comment

  2. Jill - Jack and Jill Travel The World

    11. Nov, 2010

    Sounds like the beginning of an epic journey! Road trips are so much fun! Can’t wait to see your posts from the road…

    I went on a road trip with 5 guys once in a van for 6 weeks. The first 2 weeks, there were times when I wanted to sneak into the van alone and run the other guys over… But at the end, well.. let’s just say no one was killed, or maimed, we still talked to each other, and I ended up marrying one of them :p

    Reply to this comment

  3. Ashlea

    11. Nov, 2010

    This post makes me want to go get my license and go on a great Canadian road trip!

    Reply to this comment

  4. Rebecca

    11. Nov, 2010

    Love it! Can’t wait to read about it all I too, love a good road trip and almost always incorporate driving into most of my travels.

    But I never accepted the challenge of driving a manual on the “other” side of the road. I actually got into a rental car in NZ, discovered it was manual and said, NOPE! not gonna try it (I know how, but I am not very confident in it).

    Yay Daintree! Fraser Island is another MUST! Agh, the list can go forever:-)

    Reply to this comment

  5. Val

    11. Nov, 2010

    That’s amazing! I love road tripping and have always wanted to road trip Australia!

    Reply to this comment

  6. ayngelina

    11. Nov, 2010

    I love road trips, so much fun!

    Reply to this comment

  7. Michael Tyson

    11. Nov, 2010

    Nice! I’m really looking forward to seeing my home country through your eyes. My parents have travelled that region extensively so do let me know if you have any questions or would like some inspiration for where to go and what to do!

    Funny you should mention crocodiles eating backpackers. I once slept on the banks of a river in Queensland which I learnt the next morning was crocodile infested! So either they don’t eat backpackers or I just got lucky.

    Reply to this comment

  8. Amanda

    11. Nov, 2010

    Sounds amazing. I’ve always wanted to do an epic road trip of some sort. I can’t wait to read about all the adventures you two have across OZ!

    Reply to this comment

  9. Allison

    11. Nov, 2010

    I remember being so envious of your RV-based cross-country travels (so much better than our tent-trailer!) And now I get to be jealous of your Australian road trip — sounds like SOOO much fun, and such a different way to see things, you’ll get to stumble your way into the little hidden treasures of the country!
    Happy-trails!

    Reply to this comment

  10. grace b

    11. Nov, 2010

    Steph this is fabulous news! I look forward to reading about your adventures for when I plan my own in Australia!

    I have to second you about the road trip, I think it’s a very American thing and I’m looking forward to road tripping more often!

    Reply to this comment

  11. Andi

    11. Nov, 2010

    Congrats and have the best time! My roadtrip across Oz was one of the best trips I’ve EVER taken!!!

    Reply to this comment

  12. Ali

    11. Nov, 2010

    Sounds like a fun trip! I’d love to go back to Australia someday & do a road trip. Driving a manual on the opposite side of the road makes me nervous too though. Have fun!

    Reply to this comment

  13. ehalvey

    11. Nov, 2010

    I applaud your bravery to drive in another country. Despite 5 trips to Ireland, I have no desire to drive a manual on the opposite side of the road! Bravo to you!!

    Reply to this comment

  14. aelle

    11. Nov, 2010

    Amazing! I look forward to your tales, your pictures and your random words of wisdom that tend to come up when ones drives for long hours…

    Reply to this comment

  15. Brooke, WhyGo Australia

    11. Nov, 2010

    Good luck, ladies! It is a long, long ride – but 6 weeks is a great amount of time to do it ;) I said “no” to the manual transmission, though… it’s definitely a problem in Oz. sigh.

    Reply to this comment

  16. Michael

    11. Nov, 2010

    Can it drive to China?

    Reply to this comment

  17. Lauren

    12. Nov, 2010

    Awesome news–congrats! Hope I can meet you when you make it down to Sydney.

    Reply to this comment

  18. Eurotrip Tips

    12. Nov, 2010

    I can’t wait to follow your journey. You’re so lucky to have a sponsor for this. Good luck with the whole living-in-a-car-24h-a-day thing ;)

    Reply to this comment

  19. Gray

    12. Nov, 2010

    OMG, this sounds like so much fun, Steph! What a great way to see Australia. That van kind of reminds me of the Mystery Machine on Scooby Doo. ;-)

    Reply to this comment

  20. Jaime

    12. Nov, 2010

    Steph, gotta be honest with ya I AM SUPER JEALOUS of this!!! Why you may ask???
    1) I LOVE ROAD TRIPS
    2) MY DREAM IS TO DRIVE ALL OVER AUSTRALIA & ALSO LIVE THERE (you are doing the 1st part…lol)!!!

    I would so you are so lucky but well you aren’t you have worked so hard to be where you are at so congrats again and enjoy this ROAD TRIP!!!

    PS: Jot down your music playlist (I always like to know what people listen too during there road trip) It really says alot about a person!!!

    Reply to this comment

  21. Nick M

    13. Nov, 2010

    Awesome! I look forward to hearing about it.

    Reply to this comment

  22. AdventureRob

    13. Nov, 2010

    Cool plan Steph, nice work on getting the free campervan too. I just wrote a post on whether people should buy or rent, with a conclusive answer too. I have a few other posts on campervanning in Oz too so you might want to check them out :-)

    I’m not the biggest fan of Australia, but doing a road trip there was my favourite part ^_^

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      17. Nov, 2010

      Will definitely have a look at your posts! The campervan wasn’t free, but I got a good enough deal to make it very worthwhile!

      Reply to this comment

  23. Verity

    14. Nov, 2010

    Have fun! That sounds like an awesome plan. Roadtripping around Australia is the best. I’m looking forward to seeing what you guys think.

    Reply to this comment

  24. Matt

    14. Nov, 2010

    You’ll have a blast – my campervan was the perfect way to see NZ and I suspect Australia will be the same. Safe travels – good luck driving on the other side of the road; it becomes natural quicker than you’d expect!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      17. Nov, 2010

      Thanks Matt, if it goes well I want to replicate it in NZ someday!

      Reply to this comment

  25. Katie

    16. Nov, 2010

    Sounds great! About when do you think you’ll get to Sydney?

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      17. Nov, 2010

      Planning to get to Sydney around December 20th, so still some ways away! Will shoot you an emails to find out your plans.

      Reply to this comment

  26. Hogga aka @ _thetraveller_

    21. Nov, 2010

    Road trips are KEY! I realized this a week ago touring around the South Island in New Zealand. There were SOOO many things I would have missed if I had taken the bus and travelled to only the main cities. You get those little spots not as many people know about.
    Great deal getting a sponsor! I hope it’s warmer in Cairns than NZ…

    Reply to this comment

  27. Kaydee

    03. Jun, 2011

    I met your cousin Allison in Portland,ME on my road trip around America! Great blog, I’m looking forward to following you on your blog(s)!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      03. Jun, 2011

      Oh awesome! She is a cool lady, and I’m glad to have you as a follower.

      Reply to this comment

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