all paths lead home . . .

Posted on by daleleelife101.blog
mud map
Our “mud map” hangs in the shed. The blue texta line is where we travelled to and from Victoria in March 2016. The green texta line is the route we’ve plotted that will join us up with the furthest point we got to.

Seven months have swiftly passed since the G.O. and I moved to Taylors Arm at the beginning of summer. Now it’s winter and the dry season in northern Australia, the optimum time for setting off on our “big trip”, the one we’ve been planning for about ten years, so we’re packing away the house and packing up our caravan & ute with necessities for three, four or maybe five months on the road, and all weathers & environments.

June 2007 - A beach somewhere... north of Broome, Western Australia
We said we’ll be back, and we will. A beach somewhere… north of Broome, Western Australia. June 2007

In 2007 we managed a taster trip: a fortnight holiday flying from Sydney to Broome to Darwin to Sydney, exploring driving a hire car -as much as you can in two weeks- The Kimberley and Top End. For this upcoming trip we have given ourselves the time we envied those travellers in vans and campers we saw in caravan parks and campgrounds as we whizzed by or made overnight stops.

NSW-Qld-NT-WA-SA-Vic-Trip
Getting there: Taylors Arm, NSW to Portland Victoria via Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia… indicative kilometres. Photo credit: Google Maps (source)

Our aim is to travel -as much as possible along the coast- from Taylors Arm, north up into tropical Queensland across to the Northern Territory, over to northern Western Australia, south to the bottom of Western Australia, across South Australia via the Nullabor to Portland – the most south-westerly location we got to during our Victoria roadtrip in March this year.

Vic-TA Trip
Getting back: Portland, Victoria to Taylors Arm, NSW… indicative kilometres. Photo credit: Google Maps (source)

After which we’ll figure out how to get home… route TBA dependent on time, money and travel ennui-enthusiasm.

all paths lead home
And though where the road takes us we cannot tell… the sticker on the rear of our caravan steers us.

I’ll be in touch… posting updates and visiting the blogging community as much as possible. For glimpses of our travels you can see my Instagram snapshots on the right and if you are an Instagrammer, you can find me at daleleelife101, and the G.O. at welshy055.

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.
~ John Steinbeck

33 thoughts on “all paths lead home . . .”

  1. We’re ready and waiting…. One question: how wide is the van at its widest point, and how wide is its wheelbase? We just want to be sure you’ll have comfortable space passing the bridge and gate!

    Safe travels:
    May the road rise up to meet you.
    May the wind be always at your back.
    May the sun shine warm upon your face
    Until we meet again

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    1. Thank you. Did you see I put a red cross over Biloela on the map? 🙂 Standard van so even narrow roads-bridges are ok. Won’t have the van on when we visit you, so no issue there either.

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      1. Even better! We were only concerned about the bridge over the storm drain out front perhaps being a bit narrow. The van could have stayed in the front yard if necessary. I did see the red cross! John thinks I’m too emphatic about avoiding the place, but I sat and watched my belongings disintegrate in torrential flooding rain for three days in that town, paying for the privilege because we couldn’t get out on any of the 5 roads in. It’s not a great place to get stuck if the weather’s bad :-/

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  3. I certainly agree with Steinbeck’s observations. Trips have a vibe and mind of their own–I hope yours is a friendly and fulfilling, not to mention safe, one. Buon Viaggio. xxx

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    1. Thank you 🙂 We’ve been very careful to manage our expectations and allow for the unexpected. It’s a long trip over a long time with many possibilities. The reality of the preparation alone is quite different than my office desk – arm chair holiday planning ruminations.

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    1. PS One of our best experiences in the NT was a day trip into Arnhem Land. The Land Council in Jabiru will organize a permit and an indigenous guide from the Injalik Art Centre at Gumblunya for very little cost. To see the ancient rock art up close and to have the images interpreted by a local man was absolutely fascinating. And to think we would have missed the whole experience if not for the advice of fellow travellers. 🙂

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  6. This looks so exciting D, I hope you have a fabulous time and look forward not just to the pics but to tales of adventures great and small (all safely navigated of course). I may have to venture into Instagram territory at last. For now – well, bon voyage, travel well and don’t let the camera boss you around! Mx

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    1. Thank you. I’m doing my usual photo diary but am not as attached to the camera as I was on the Vic trip when being on holiday was still very much a novelty.

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  7. lol – I’ll expect you for coffee and cake sometime around Christmas. :p Btw, on your way up through Queensland, take a shortish detour inland from Cairns to a place called the Undara Lava Tubes. I went there over ten years ago and it was incredible, like a lost world right there in the savanah.

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    1. Knowing how well you cook I’m looking forward to it. It’s more than likely our route home will be via Melbourne for that reason, and also to see my sister-sleep in a bed, do washing…
      We’re thinking to save Cairns and the northern tip of Australia for a future trip without the caravan ie with a rooftop camper, so have noted the Undara Lava Tubes… I ❤ travel tips.

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      1. -grin- I hope you guys do come this way coz I’ve got a little something for you. And yes, that top end is amazing. Only been once but it left me wanting to go again. Maybe one day.

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  9. Have a great trip, Dale. I’ll watch you on instagram. One of the great things about travelling this far is between Bris and Townsville there are fantastic internet hot-spots (because there are mines along the way). You can use this opportunity to post pictures, read the news on your phone etc while you’re driving (actually, in the passenger’s seat) 😉

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  13. This sounds like an amazing trip! I can’t wait to see updates. I love that quote–it is so true. 🙂

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