The Great Aussie Roadtrip

Living in Australia since 2011, I’ve always dreamed of doing an ultimate Aussie road trip. Australia isn’t a small country, so this is quite an undertaking. When my job ended last month, my fiancée and I decided to take this opportunity and make the dream a reality. Currently at a beach campsite in Exmouth, Western Australia after 23 days on the road, I can wholeheartedly say that this road trip was one of the best decisions we have ever made. I have done a lot of travelling, but this is something completely different. 

The freedom, the laid-back nature and feeling of being on such a huge trip is extremely invigorating. So far, we’ve covered 4500km from Esperance in the South Eastern corner of Western Australia to Exmouth in the North West. There has been a lot of time behind the wheel but it has been worth it. Small towns have been further spread apart as we have travelled North. Travelling 500-600km between destinations is not uncommon.

For one of the world’s ultimate road trips, a little planning is required. For us it was; Budget, Vehicle Choice and Time. We bought a small van, which means we have everything on board. We bought an empty commercial Van with low mileage and fitted it out ourselves, much cheaper than buying a ready-made camper. We have a proper bed with comfortable mattress, lots of storage area. A ‘kitchen’ area at the back and a power supply to charge camera batteries and the laptop for my photography! She’s called Vanessa, and we love her to bits. 

Travelling on a shoe string budget teaches you to be less fussy. Food in Australia is not cheap, so rather than eating out, we eat tinned food and dry storage items. Something I have always taken for granted is Water. Australia is a very dry place, and travelling north into the drier regions means less water available. We carry 50L with us, lasting multiple days on strict rations, drinking plenty and using only a little for washing dishes, not much else. The quest for showers becomes another treat, once every 3 or 4 days so far has worked out, using baby wipes in between. We probably smell. But a dip in the ocean freshens us up. 

For me, the trip is about photography, hiking and relaxing. In terms of photography, it’s a dream trip to do. As a landscape and travel photographer travelling around the whole country is like a golden ticket to all the awesome locations to shoot around the country. Walking around locations in the day helps scout out cool shots. Editing and uploading photos has been more of a challenge, laptops use a lot of power and in remote areas just trying to charge while driving is difficult. Being off the grid with no phone reception for several days is probably a good thing, since my use of social media is at an unhealthy level.

This is only the start of a huge trip, should the money last and our sanity holds out. In my next blogs I’ll go into more detail of the places we have visited and things we have seen in this mammoth country, so stay tuned.

Written by Tom Jesset

Tom is a thisworldexists Adventure Ambassador. See more of his road trip and other adventures on Instagram: @trexphotography