Camel Trek 2018-2020

Solo Expedition across Australia

In Late 2017 I decided to I wanted to head across Australia, with one problem, I had no idea how!  I didn’t want to drive across, there was way too much traffic.  So after careful consideration, I decided that I would take a motorbike across the Nullarbor, and just make it up as I went along from there.  But I wanted to get off the road as much as possible taking tracks instead. This idea was surrounded by massive obstacles, the biggest of which was my mother telling me that motorbikes are dangerous.

I was at dinner with a friend from the UK, talking about this trip and its challenges and she mentioned to me about a book she had read of a girl in the 70’s that took Camels across Australia.  As I had had a few reds I immediately convinced myself that camels were my solution.  I called my mother immediately, telling her she had nothing to worry about, I was taking safe camels now, not dangerous motorbikes.  She was relieved, however, what both of these ladies did not realise is they had somehow just steered me towards undertaking the biggest challenge in my life.  A 6,000km journey across Australia.

My journey, starting 11th April 2019, was set to commence from Elliott Heads in Queensland, however, following so much help, support and friendship from the locals south of Elliott Heads at Coonar the departure point was changed to Coonar Beach in appreciation for great people there.  The residents of Coonar have moved a 1-tonne rock to the coastline which contains the first marker for the expedition as well as a special plaque to the residents of Coonar saying thanks.

The trip from there takes me to Coral Bay in Western Australia.  It will take me across 6 amazing Australian Deserts, The Simpson, Painted, Tanami, Gibson, Great Sandy and the Little Sandy Desert.  It will take me across 5 states, Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.  It will take me through some incredible national parks, too many to count, past salt lakes, gorges, desert oasis’s, Uluru, the Karijini and many other amazing Australian landmarks.  However it will also take me into 50 degree days, nights as cold as -10 degrees, isolation from mankind, and through some of the deadliest country in the world.

At the peak of isolation, I will be over 150km from a track or road,over 400km from any aboriginal communities and over 1,000km from any town making me one of the most isolated humans on the planet.

Since February 2018 I have been travelling the country training myself to get ready for this expedition.  I have done over 50,000 kms (most in the car with a couple of flights up north West Australia) in order to prepare myself for 6,000kms.  I have now been mentored by some of Australia’s leading cameleers and survival experts including Russell Osbourne (Cameleer) and Bob Cooper (Survival Expert). Having no previous experience in anything like this, it will be interesting to see how I go, if I make it all the way across, and what challenges will present themselves along the way.  My website here helps you follow me even though I will only have Internet when I get into towns along the way, I am able to update a journal here and there is a live GPS tracker on me so you can follow where I am right now here.

Intended Journey

Camel
Map GPS tracker
John image

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