A few weeks ago I had to drive my car from one side of Australia to the other, after recently deciding to move back to my hometown of Perth, Western Australia.
Although I was living in a remote area of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory at the time, my car was in Melbourne, Victoria, having been looked after by my friend for the past two years. But now it was time for the two of us to head home!
Australia is a pretty vast land, being around 4000kms (2480mi) wide at its horizontal extremities. Melbourne to Perth is 3400km (same distance from Tennessee to LA) and would definitely be the longest drive I’ve had to undertake in my lil, black Toyota Yaris, whom I affectionately call Bruce.
Making the most of it, I decided to drive down the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, through Mount Gambier in South Australia to Adelaide and then cross the Nullarbor into Western Australia, stopping in Kalgoorlie to visit some family.
Driving all this distance by myself didn’t seem appealing so I picked up a German backpacker from Gumtree.com.au and we set off, hoping to make it to Perth within a week.
While a great holiday, the opportunity also allowed me to get in some genealogy research! Continue reading
The Genetic Arborist 