Summary

As well as recording our journey each day with tracking using HEMA maps and also with the SPOT tracker, we also recorded our mileage each time that we unhooked the van so that we could keep a record of the van's mileage. Unfortunately there were a couple of times where we had omitted to do this so we had to estimate and or calculate the distances. We also recorded the mileage each time we refueled so that we could work out the cost and the fuel consumption. In hindsight we should have kept all these figures in the one place so that they were easier to corollate. 

I was hoping to be able to upload my spreadsheets with the data but haven't worked out how to.

Basically we drove10,081 Kms with 8,794.9 Kms towing the van.

We spent $4,417.85 on fuel!!!!

We had started out with a plan of where we were going to travel. The main aim being to head for Ceduna and to follow the coastline from there, back to Brisbane. The reason for this plan was because when we did our round Australia trip in 2018 we only got as far as Ceduna before we ran out of time and headed home.

Although in this trip we did reach Ceduna unfortunately because, due to the flooding at the start and having to reverse the direction of our travel there were areas that we didn’t reach or were unable to travel to. 

The HEMA map of our travels shows the overall route of our journey and highlights the areas that sadly we never made it to, such as Hebel, Mungo, Menindee Lakes, Yorke Peninsula, Mornington Peninsula and the South East Coastline of Australia. Instead we ended up retracing our route that we had had to take at the start of our journey. It turned out that this was the only route available to us to get back home due to the increased flooding. However we were relieved and thankful that we did get back home when we did, avoiding many of the flooded areas. 

I was certainly disappointed that we didn’t get to the places that we had planned and that a lot of the route covered was where we had in fact travelled on our 2018 trip and also at the start of this trip but in hindsight we were able to travel through some amazing countryside in Australia and were also able to reminisce with the areas that we had already seen. We were fortunate to have reached and enjoyed the places we did get to considering the inclement weather.

Hopefully we will be able to get out again soon with the van, in better weather conditions to visit those areas that we missed.

This is the initial outline of where we had planned to travel..

First night at Glenore Grove with Paula and Kev
Next night Millmerran
Then Dirranbandi via Goondiwindi
Then over the border into NSW  to Hebel then Goodooga
Then to Menindee via Brewarrina, Bourke, Cobar, Wilcannia
Then to Lake Mungo and Mungo National Park
From there into Victoria to Mildura and Red Cliffs
Then to McCabe Corner – The historical Landmark corner of Vic, SA, NSW
Then across the border into SA to Renmark
From there to Port Augusta via Burra and Peterborough
Then to St Ive Station via Iron Knob
Next into The Gawler Ranges
Finishing in Ceduna via Koolgera and Wirrulla
Returning via the Flinders Highway through Smoky Bay, Streaky Bay, Elliston and Coffin Bay
Next to Port Lincoln and Lincoln National Park
Then up the Lincoln Highway to Whyalla, back through Port Augusta and up to the Flinders Ranges if we felt there was time at this point as there were still so many places we had planned to visit.
From there, back down to Mt Remarkable National Park
Down south onto the Yorke Peninsula
Then back up to Adelaide via Gawler
Next down the Fleurieu Peninsula
And across to Kangaroo Island to spend a few days on there
Leaving the Fleurieu Peninsula via Victor Harbour and Goolwa
From there, following the coast road south to Mt Gambier
Then north again to Naracoorte
From there over the border into Victoria again across to the Grampians
From there back south to Port Fairy
and then following the coast road to The Otways via the Great Ocean Road
Then still following the coast road up to Geelong via Lorne and Torquay
From there north up to Echuca
Back south down to Melbourne, and the Dandenong Ranges
Down the Mornington Peninsula and then across to Wilsons Promontory and to Phillip Island
Then following the coastline around to Orboost through Lakes Entrance
Then across the border into NSW following the coastline, stopping off at towns along the way in the south east corner such as Eden and Bermagui
Stopping off and visiting family in Sydney
Before heading back home along the new highway

Maybe for our next trip we make sure we are not travelling when there is flooding and we start by heading south along the coast to Sydney, continuing around the south east corner of the country and then covering Wilsons Promontory, Phillip Island and Mornington Peninsula continuing up to Melbourne then heading back home through Mungo, Menindee Lakes, Hebel etc.

Have to start planning now