


Link to first blogpost of 2019 trip
And, so, it begins again. I head down under for another three month adventure, and I am super-excited. This year my travels will focus on the Centre of Australia. My planned route is shown below, essentially a clockwise loop from Darwin returning to Darwin, with highlights noted in red text. I expect to cover around 7,000kms this time. (Note: In fact, I covered 13,500kms!)
The route comprises 4 main chunks:
- Darwin – Kakadu – Tennant Creek – Binns Track – Alice Springs (with my old school mate, Bruce Croft)
- Alice Springs – West MacDonnell Ranges – Kings Canyon – Uluru – Olgas – Alice Springs (with my brother, Peter)
- Alice Springs – Tanami Road – Halls Gaps – Bungle Bungles (Purnululu) – El Questro (Gibb River Road) – Parry Creek Lagoon – Kununurra (with my brother, Robert)
- Lake Argyle – Gibb River Road – Judbarra/Gregory National Park – Katherine – Litchfield N.P – Darwin (with my son, Duncan)
The observant among you will notice that I am repeating part of last year’s trip.
I am amazed how surprisingly high the mountains are in the MacDonnell Ranges; the highest peak being Mount Zeil (1,531 metres, 5,023 ft). Parts of the trip will be in very remote areas, and I am very glad to have company. I may have to invest in a satellite phone simcard. I have a sat phone, courtesy of Dave Ellis, who originally purchased it (them) as part of Y2K preparations. (Note: Decided against the satphone; I did have an emergency position-indicating radio beacon, an EPIRB).
Anyway, I look forward to having you along on my journey. Keep reading and commenting on my posts; no, not you Hamish! And, finally, if you have suggestions for places to visit etc, please let me know before I get there!
