The stories on the map
All the stories
A year in Australia2017
Stage 1 · January 10, 2017Heart-wrenching goodbyes: the start of life abroad
The alarm went off at 8, and in the pitch-dark room we woke instantly. It was of course the big day, the one that would take us to a new…
Stage 3 · January 12, 2017First step on Australian soil
As I stepped off the plane, I couldn't help thinking about the first step I was about to take. I said goodbye to the captain and touched Australian soil. For…
Stage 4 · January 12, 2017A first sunburn on Sydney Harbour
After a good hour walking around the harbour, an inevitable wave of tiredness hit us. It was time to go home and rest after such a long journey. When it…
Stage 5 · January 22, 2017Our first friends at the other end of the world
After a long night's sleep, we went to the bank and gave the name of the adviser we had an appointment with. From the look on the young receptionist's face,…
Stage 6 · January 25, 2017Finding our place in Sydney
After two weeks of holiday and adjustment, it was time to think about the real purpose of this trip. We could very well have come to Australia on holiday, but…
Stage 7 · January 27, 2017The 5:27 bus
As for me, I started work on 13 February, almost a month to the day after we arrived in Australia. Alarm at 5:15. 324 steps, 220 metres' walk. The 5:27…
Stage 8 · March 12, 2017Wild weekends and a scare in the water at Newcastle
Settling into Sydney life didn't quench our thirst for discovery. Every weekend took us to the remotest corners of Sydney, and we were learning to be real little Sydneysiders immersed…
Stage 9 · April 1, 2017The day we handed in our notice
By the time March came around, we'd already settled into a little routine. We'd found an excellent, affordable Thai restaurant, Kao Yum, where we went regularly with our group of…
Stage 10 · April 6, 2017Skippy's backyard
Our first destination took us to West Head Lookout, where you could enjoy a different view of Palm Beach. Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is world-famous because its landscapes were the…
Stage 11 · April 11, 2017Friends we met on a Turkish boat
To tell the next part of this story, we have to go back a few years to a very hot Turkish spring. In 2015 we were in Turkey in the…
Stage 12 · April 17, 2017Our whole life in a car boot
The next morning we left Lionel and Christine, promising to drop in again whenever we were in that part of the country, and typed South West Rocks into the GPS,…
Stage 13 · April 29, 2017Brisbane, our first disappointment
Some things seem obvious in hindsight. You think back on them and can't understand why they didn't cross your mind sooner. In that vein, it was completely obvious that we'd…
Stage 14 · May 11, 2017Welcome to Texas, Queensland
We arrived in the late afternoon in the tiny town of Texas. We drove up the main street, which we found full of businesses. There was the inevitable pub, two…
Stage 15 · June 1, 2017The cattle farm, a certain idea of hell
Our favourite days were the ones spent cleaning the water troughs. We'd set off on foot with our brooms, cleaning powder and backpacks. We'd spend the day crossing pens full…
Stage 16 · June 18, 2017Back to the sea, all the way to Agnes Water
The next morning we were on the road as soon as we woke. We'd got the road-trip routine down pat. Keep a close eye on the fuel level, plan the…
Stage 17 · June 26, 2017Ever smaller towns
We visited Keppel Island and Blackdown Tableland National Park and drove through towns that became more and more insignificant. Outside the south-east coast — it's no legend — Australia was…
Stage 18 · June 28, 2017Wallaman Falls, falling from the sky
WWOOFing was an excellent idea to begin with. In exchange for a few hours' work, your host gave you food and board. It was the perfect compromise to buy time…
Stage 19 · July 15, 2017Wwoofing, such a good idea on paper
The following Monday we arrived in Tully Heads to start WWOOFing. We'd expected to live in a big house with the family we'd come to help, but disappointment greeted us…
Stage 20 · August 1, 2017A month among the potatoes
The town of Pentland was five hours' drive from where we were, and we arrived there on Sunday late afternoon to start work the next day. On arrival we met…
Stage 21 · August 21, 20172,600 kilometres of straight road
So it was with great relish that we tackled the road to Darwin. 2,600 kilometres and 25 hours of driving, mostly in a straight line through a lunar landscape where…
Stage 22 · August 21, 2017A short night and the Nitmiluk gorges
The night hadn't been as good as expected. Bad call on the choice of road. We'd thought it would be quiet, but from six in the morning it was a…
Stage 23 · August 23, 2017Swimming beneath Litchfield's waterfalls
We slept well and woke around seven with the daylight. A quick trip to the toilets and the supermarket and we were already off to the day's first destination. Edith…
Stage 24 · August 26, 2017Darwin, under a sun too close
It was another extremely hot day in Darwin. When we decided to go out around noon for lunch, the heat crushed us immediately. The sun beat down on our skin…
Stage 25 · October 2, 2017Landing at 4:50 am and heading for Kakadu
It was 4:50 am when our plane landed safely in Darwin. It was still pitch dark and the city seemed to be waiting for us. The airport was really tiny,…
Stage 26 · October 10, 2017Broome, in the middle of nowhere
We went to the reception of a backpackers' hotel and were given two dorm beds immediately despite the early hour. We dropped our meagre belongings and set off to explore.…
Stage 27 · October 13, 2017Red rock and turquoise water, down the west coast
Our first stop was the spot where we'd missed the sunset the night before. We'd thought it must be very beautiful by day with the red rock and the turquoise…
Stage 28 · October 20, 2017Rising with the sun, from Coral Bay to Perth
Our bodies were starting to adapt naturally; our body clocks ran like clockwork. We now woke with the sun around eight, and after a quick breakfast and a shower we…
Stage 29 · October 24, 2017Rottnest Island: the first ferry and a fall from the bike
The next morning we got up early to catch the first ferry to Rottnest Island. We went on a Tuesday because it was the only day of the week with…
Stage 30 · December 1, 2017Ten thousand hay bales in New Norcia
At nine we set off for the little village of New Norcia, arriving just under two hours later. We went to the plant's reception and Paul Mart introduced himself. He…
Stage 31 · December 18, 2017Three hundred and sixty hours later, the road to Melbourne
On 16 December, after working three hundred and sixty hours in less than two months, we finished our last day of work. We reckoned we'd handled around ten thousand bales…
Stage 32 · December 25, 2017Christmas in Adelaide, running on empty
We were already on the road at 7:30 when we realised we might not make the distance with the petrol we had left. We'd only gone five kilometres, and I…
Stage 33 · January 10, 2018Melbourne, on the last night of the year
We arrived in Melbourne on 30 December and threw ourselves headlong into the city. We'd heard so many good things about it that we couldn't wait to explore. Our first…