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:

1. Darwin – Kakadu – Tennant Creek – Binns Track – Alice Springs (with my old school mate, Bruce Croft)
2. Alice Springs – West MacDonnell Ranges – Kings Canyon – Uluru – Olgas – Alice Springs (with my brother, Peter)
3. Alice Springs – Tanami Road – Halls Gaps – Bungle Bungles (Purnululu) – El Questro (Gibb River Road) – Parry Creek Lagoon – Kununurra (with my brother, Robert)
4. 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!