Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
If you'd like to read about hitchhiking in Australia or my favourite place on Earth you've come to the right place.
Why and how we should be trying to preserve our Oceans.
Having spent quite some time ranting about the refugee crisis, I wanted to write about something else close to my heart, incredibly
important, but not yet personal enough to make me shake with rage.
Covering almost three-quarters of the Earth, holding 97% of our water, producing almost half of our oxygen and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, I can't exactly overstate how important oceans
are to our planet's survival. Despite being vital to our economies and way of life, gone are the days when it was possible to believe the deep blue sea was simultaneously an infinite wealth
of resources and an invulnerable dumping ground.
Camping spots that make you wonder why we ever sleep indoors.
This collaboration of magical camping spots has taken an embarrassingly long time to put together, but I can't help but feel proud of the result. With some of my traveller idols, friends and even family involved, it's hard to decide if I'm more excited by the contributors or the places they have written about. If this doesn't persuade you that you don't always want to sleep with a roof over your head, then I'm happy to keep the wilderness for myself.
Backpacker highlights of Australia's East Coast...
English speaking, easy to get around and lined with long, sandy beaches, Australia's East Coast is perfect for inexperienced travellers. The distances should never be underestimated, but buses are simple and for the slightly more confident, it's perfectly possible to hitchhike. Big hostels often attract a young, party crowd though older travellers can always find smaller, independent accommodation or even better camp.
This post will focus on some of the East Coast's islands and backpacker highlights that I loved on my first trip to that side of the world. If you're trying to plan a gap year, this should be perfect for you. Hopefully, more experienced travellers will also appreciate the stunning coastal scenery, brilliant snorkelling opportunities and unique wildlife.
Hitchhiking the Great Ocean Road...
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| River by Allenvale Mile campsite. |
There are a variety of options if you want to see the Great Ocean Road. Obviously the ideal convenience choice would be to drive, but for those of us on the really frayed shoe-string budget, byeing or renting a car is pretty much out of the question. Hitchhiking on the other hand, is affordable (obviously) and unbelievably easy in this area- we barely had to wait more than ten minutes for a ride.
How to beg, borrow and steal* your way around Australia when all you have in your pocket is a collection of receipts and an old toothpick...
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| Watch out for these cheeky chappys... |
- Hitchhike- in case you hadn’t guessed I’m quite a fan…
- Make use of free campsites- you could pay $30 to stay in a crowded caravan park with a load of screaming kids OR you could pitch up in a nice, quiet spot by the beach for free. Admittedly some of the places we camped weren’t exactly designated spots, but if you are organised you could locate the legitimate ones on the internet, by asking in tourist offices or download the app ‘wiki camps’.
Sydney and its surroundings... a medley
So yes, it's been a bit manic, but we've found some fantastic places, all of which are fairly easily accessible from Sydney...
Hitchhiking in Australia- some Feathery tips...
These are obviously intended for novices and will probably otherwise come across as a bit patronising...
Melbourne, its Street Art and why it would be cool to live there…
Hitchhiking Sydney to Melbourne.
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| Night 1- a horse field |
We're pretty happy about that!
As you can imagine, this lead to a few interesting situations over the course of journey- have a look at our route on my carefully crafted map at the bottom of this post.
Dapto itself was not an encouraging place to begin; most people looked at us as if we were clinically insane, some gestured wildly and one even swore at us out the window. Nevertheless we were picked up within half an hour and our first friendly driver took us twenty kilometers down the road- not a monumental start, but after our faffing in Sydney, it was already quite late by the time we arrived in Kiama.
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| 6am, Kiama |
Debilitated by jetlag, heavy bags and indecisiveness, we trekked around and eventually out of the town until we were desperate enough to camp in an empty field, on a hill, right on top of a lumpy horse poo. With me being too cocky to bring a sleeping bag (it would be hot in Australia surely), Dan having lost his roll mat on the flight, a tent too short for him to lie flat in and both of us being to exhausted to get our stuff into any sort of organised state, that night was never going to go well. With the additional fear of being discovered and a river of condensation running freely off the sides of our tent, it was a disaster.
Consequently, we were up and packed by five am and on the road again by six. Unfortunately, we beat the cars and had to wait a while for our first ten kilometer lift down the road. The truck driver who finally picked us up did little to instill us with confidence...
Caqalai- my favourite place on Earth.
If you’re visiting Fiji on a budget, but want to escape the well-trodden, island-hopping backpacker trail, Caqalai (pronounced thang-a-lay) is a perfect alternative. This tiny island, situated just below Ovalau, has the relaxed feel of a tropical paradise without the hype.