After our Japan trip we landed back in Bali for a few days. A couple of amazing surf sessions and a cleanup of our stuff summarizes it well. It may be hard to believe, but even in a 65 liter backpack it’s possible to collect ‘one-day-I-may-need-it-but-you-never-do’ items over-time.

All packed and ready we said Asia goodbye and left for Down Under! A tiny culture shock. 😱 First of all, I had to survive driving an enormous car, since we received a couple of free upgrades on our rental and I was the one with an International Driving License. On the left side of the road, in the dark, in a new country, while I haven’t driven a car for a year and a half, let alone an automatic. But ok, apparently it’s true: you don’t forget how to drive. Next, we wanted to grab some food, which is never a problem in Asia, but in Darwin it’s somewhat impossible on a Sunday night and thus for the first time during our trip we ended up in, jawohl, the MacDonalds… 😖 And to make it worse, not much later we winded up in a bar full of drunk guys watching Rugby, while we preferred our bed. 😫 Our room was right above the party noise and if you can’t beat the noise you better join. Welcome in Darwin.

Darwin is ok, but the best draw are the surrounding National Parks. And to explore these parks you need four wheels. In fact, to explore Australia, you need four wheels. After a lot of research, thoughts, chats and deliberation we had no clue how to get out of Darwin. 🤔 No one seemed to be selling their air-con car – and with that our initial plan became pointless – and most vans were rented out, super expensive or impossible to fit Wouter in. To be honest, we were a bit desperate…

Luckily, not much later we met Roo. Roo manages one of the rental companies, where we chatted about our options. All of a sudden he said. “Well, if you guys can wait a few days? We’re finishing off a campervan at the back which we will be selling…”. A dream came true, a perfect campervan for us and after a wonderful trip to Litchfield National Park as a try-out, we became the proud owners of a new home! 😎

Let the road trip begin! The first night in our new property (weird feeling, I must say) we camped in Roo’s garden. How nice! 🙏🏻 Our next destination: Kakadu National Park. The biggest national park in Australia and famous for wild life, rock art, wetlands, waterfalls and lush rainforest. Although, the rainy season was not in the mood yet and thus the area was bone-dry. Dry riverbeds, floodway warning signs and heavy road drainage reminded us that this world looks pretty different when water floods the grounds.

After a night at a bush campsite – where we got creative to escape the many flies 🤺, wondered how to follow up the sign “stay safe, be croc aware” 🧐 and where a Wallaby came by to say good morning 🦘 – we set our eyes on to spot some wild salt water crocs. These so-called salties are the largest living crocodilians on the planet and we read the only scary Australian animals who actually attack humans on purpose. Not as self-defense or confusion but simply to eat. Luckily, most of the time they’re happy to eat fish. The group of salties we spotted in Kakadu takes eating fish very serious. Every day when the tide comes in, they line up behind a cross road and all they do next is: open their mouth and wait until unsuspecting fish drift in. Dinner time! A bizar event to witness. That sound of crushing fish in their yaws is so loud, you’re damn sure you never want to end up there.

Aboriginal rock art is another must see in the Northern Territory. We explored Ubirr which is even without the rock art a remarkable place. So beautiful. The view points, the red rock formations. Aboriginals painted these rocks 40.000 years ago and the oldest still visible drawings date back to 2.000 years. For them, the act of painting is more important than the outcome.

On our way to Katherine, we spent the night at a former horse race course, full of huge termite mounds. A place with history and a bit awkward. Almost like camping at an abandoned film set. Places like this makes the outback so cool. Expect the unexpected!

Like the next day, we parked in the bush, walked in the scorching sun, surrounded by bone-dry scenery (and flies… 🙄) and all of a sudden a surrealistic landscape with beautiful waterfalls and cooling water holes appeared. As if we visited another planet. The best part? We had it all to ourselves. Amazing.

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In Katherine we planned the groceries and all the boring paper work you need to do when buying a campervan. Luckily, Nitmuluk National Park, next to Katherine, hold another surprise for us. Multiple enormous gorges with spectacular red cliffs either side. Simply wow! And we thought the Northern Territory is no more than a dusty happening.

From Katherine to Uluru (that enormous red rock in the middle of Australia) it is pretty dusty though and, except one exit, straight on for 1.650km. Sure, along the way a few places disrupt the endless road: The Daly Waters pub which is crammed with decades of memorials of travellers. Devil Marbles, giant red boulders in the middle of nothing. Wycliffe Well, where people often spot UFOs. And of course, Alice Springs which psychological feels like you’re almost there, but you’re not. Uluru is “only” another 470km to go.

Uluru, a large sandstone rock formation, felt upfront to some extend as a tick in the box. I mean, it’s a red rock. So what? However, the grandeur of the rock, the slope structures and the changing colours made a deep impression. It’s just magical. You can imagine the cultural significance of Uluru to the aboriginal people. It’s sister Kata Tjuta, 50km away, is equally impressive. More fallen apart, which allows you to hike in between the formations (and flies… 🙄). At least, before 11:00, otherwise you will be cooked by the sun.

Controlled fire, to conserve nature.

<< 👉🏻 Quick Story of our NT adventures >>

The red heart of Australia beats and if we would not have missed the ocean we probably would have stayed around a little longer. But our bodies cry for water, cause, oh man, it’s so dry out there in the desert. Our hair, lips and feet showed the same cracks like the ground. Vamos a la playa, it is! A voyage of 2.800 km of straight roads ahead of us before we will arrive in Cairns. An adventure on it’s own.