After making the tough decision to leave Frank (our car) behind in Tasmania, we then flew to Brisbane where we found our next adventuremobile. We were initially set on finding a campervan, however when we really considered what we wanted to do, it became clear that we actually wanted something with four wheel drive. Insert - the Mitsubishi Pajero!

The car came pretty much ready to go with a rooftop tent, a foldable solar panel, a kitchen & storage organisation setup in the back, which was essential for us as we didn’t have access to many “DIY” resources in Brisbane, as we were just living in a hostel at the time. So, off we went ready to take on the world. Where were we going? Couldn’t tell ya! But that didn’t matter. We were back on the road, and we were wild & free again.

The first thing we did was a complete overhaul of everything that came with the car - so many utensils?! We found a local “Opshop” and donated a bunch of stuff, leaving us a lot lighter. Next, we drove to Noosa and signed up for a stint on Workaway while we waited for some news from the mechanic about fixing the 4x4. While there, we also gave the car a bit of a makeover, painting the back and changing a few knobs to make everything look a little cleaner, and feel like it was truly ours.

Slowly making our way up the East Coast of Australia, we stopped in at a few places along the way such as Noosa, Hervey Bay, K’gari (Fraser Island), Rockhampton, Keppel Island, Townsville, Magnetic Island, Wallaman Waterfalls, Whitsunday Islands/Airlie Beach and Cairns. We free-camped in the tent on the roof of our car almost every night, and whenever we needed to catch up on laundry, or stop somewhere to wait for the mechanic, we’d use Workaway, to connect with hosts who would offer us free food & lodging in exchange for a few hours of work each day (like gardening, cleaning, etc). What we loved about Workaway was that it also allowed us to not only meet, but also to spend extended amounts of time with locals, which we feel is a really crucial part of the way we like to travel.

In Cairns, we met up with some friends that we had met in Tasmania, went snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, and then ventured further up the coast to the Daintree area where we chased waterfalls, explored water holes, went on an alligator river cruise, and maybe ate one too many $5 meals from the hostel :) 

After about 3 months on the road, we were feeling ready to work again and make some travel money. So, we ended up in Atherton, Queensland working at not one, but two Avocado farms at the same time (after 2 days on a Banana Farm- never again!) both picking and packing Avocados. We say it a lot, but we really do feel so lucky with where we ended up; two family-run farms that showed us another side of the Australian way of life. While working here, we learned that being in a higher altitude doesn’t go well with trying to live in a rooftop tent, and leaving for work at 5am… why you ask? Morning fog. It’s already difficult packing up the tent at 5 in the morning when it’s cold outside, but when it’s also wet, it's not a good idea. If there’s one thing you learn very quickly when living in a rooftop tent, is that you never pack up while the tent is wet! And if you do, you must stop as soon as you can to dry it out. Well, that wasn’t an option when we left and arrived back home (at the campsite) while it was still dark out. Work hard, play harder.

So we bought a tent. Yes, another one. But this one felt like a mansion to us, space for 5 people - we could leave our stuff there while we drove to work for the day. In the small town of Atherton, there weren’t any places where we could camp for free, so we found the next best cheapest option for $50/week, which was a campsite that had hot showers, an outdoor kitchen and electricity. We didn’t pay for a spot with electricity, but we’d charge everything up when we used the camp kitchen.

After about 2 months of working almost 6-7 days a week, we were itching to get back on the road. The plan was to drive over to Darwin (just 30 hours away), and then down the centre of Australia to Uluru. This time, we had a friend joining us - or so we thought. Our roommate from Tasmania had also bought a Pajero with a rooftop tent, and was on route up the East coast to join us on our journey. Though when he did finally arrive in Cairns, he had some issues with his car that he wanted to fix before getting on the road, and he also wanted to stay in Cairns to work a bit before going on a long journey. So, he told us he wasn’t coming, and we spent a few “last” days together, that included going out for drinks on our last night in Cairns.. And at the very last moment before we headed to bed, good ol’ Alexis changed his mind. US: ARE YOU KIDDING ALEXIS!

So the next morning, after a complete change of plans (Alexis!!!!), we headed off in search of road snacks, gas (or-petrol as they say in the land down unda), miscellaneous supplies, and walkie talkies.. Because what’s the point of a convoy without Walkie Talkies, am I right?

Next stop? The great open road. Heading towards Mt Isa, Queensland and after many hours on the road passing many road trains (giant tractor trailers towing 4 trailers), we eventually made one right turn and drove another few days that lead to an area called “Threeways”. From there, if you head South it takes you to the middle of Australia (Uluru). We headed North towards the top of Australia, to a city called Darwin.

After many hours without phone service, we eventually stopped to gas up just outside of Kakadu National Park in Northern Territory when we kind of sensed a buzz in the air… Something was definitely up. We asked around and finally figured out that Darwin had just gone into a snap lockdown for 7 days. Oh dear.

Well, when life gives you lemons… you buy a 7 day National Parks pass to Kakadu National Park! Why the heck not. And off we went. To be honest it’s actually quite difficult to put it into words the absolutely incredible time that we had exploring the park, and at some point we will finally get a video up that sort of gives you an idea. But for now, picture this: barefoot, off-roading, campfires, mosquitos, 40,000+ year old Aboriginal rock art, living in our rooftop tent.

After 7 days it was time to finally check out Darwin. We ended up staying in a caravan park because there were no free-camp spots close to the city, and we figured that the gas we’d spend driving back and fourth would almost add up to the cost of an unpowered campsite just outside of the city. And, it was time to do some laundry.

Next up? Uluru: The Heart of Australia. Twenty three hours later, we arrived. And yes, we were fooled by the first “Fool-uru'”, Mount Connor. Alas, we did eventually make it to the real Uluru, one of the 7 wonders of Oceania. -Fun fact, the centre of Australia used to be covered by ocean millions of years ago. We even found a free camp site just a 10 minute drive from the entrance to the National Park which made our decision to stay for 3 days a no-brainer. We had been planning to head over to New Zealand within a few weeks, but this was abruptly put to a halt when the NZ government announced that they had just closed the travel bubble between Australia-NZ. Huge. Bummer.

It was time to keep going and we figured we’d for sure be continuing our journey down South towards Adelaide when it happened again: snap lockdown, but this time the entire state of South Australia. Where were we headed? South Australia. So, running low on supplies, we had no other option but to backtrack up to Alice Springs where we waited a week for the state borders to re-open. During this time, we were really resistant of paying to stay somewhere again, so after much research we found some Crown land not too far out from the city where it felt like we had hundreds of acres to ourselves. It was cold at night in the desert, but it was beautiful.

Finally, after a week of waiting, the inter-state borders re-opened. This time, our favourite ‘third wheel’ Alexis would not be continuing on with us. A short 17 hours later, we made it to chilly Adelaide where unsurprisingly it was not the easiest to find a spot to free camp in the middle of a city. So, we chose the next best option: a caravan park within 20 minutes walk to downtown. The plan was essentially to check out the “big city life”, and then head on over to Western Australia since our NZ plan had gone down the drain.

But? You guessed it. Snap lockdown: South Australia - Western Australia (WA). Reverse Uno! What now? After splurging on a few nights in an Airbnb down by the ocean, and after an off-chance conversation with a friend back in Tassie, we were in touch with the hiring manager for a sheep station about 8 hours North of Adelaide. Yes, right back in the direction we had just come from. Though - we figured if we were stuck waiting for the border to re-open, we might as well be stuck while also making some money.

Off to Bulgunnia Station we went. We arrived in the dark, after narrowly dodging a few dozen kangaroo on the way in on the dirt roads. We lived and worked there for 4 weeks, and it truly was an experience like no other. We always say that it would make for great reality television to film life on a station. We will get a video of our time there up at some point, so keep an eye out for that, but for now you can check out some of our pictures here. We were offered to stay on longer, but after hearing that the WA border had re-opened, we knew we had to keep going if we wanted to make it home in time for Christmas. That was quite a journey.

Back down through Port Augusta, over to Esperance (a mere 19 hours) passing through the "90 Mile Straight" - the longest straight highway in Australia, at 146.6 kilometres (91.1 mi) without turning. Esperance to Perth (8 hours), and then after a slightly sketchy and unsuccessful attempt at selling the car in Perth, we decided to keep going North (13 hours) to check out the Ningaloo Reef in Exmouth, WA. Here, we went swimming with whale sharks and to our surprise - we sold our car! We had posted it for sale in Perth, Exmouth and Broome, and we had a few messages from people who were interested. But after just getting back from a long day on the water, we both wanted to cancel the meeting scheduled for that evening with a potential buyer. Spoiler Alert: We didn’t cancel the meeting, and later that evening we were emptying out the contents of our car onto the floor of our shared hostel room. We met with the buyer the next day at a pub, where he bought us each a beer, signed over the papers, and said goodbye to our home for the past eight months.