First 10 Years of Solo Adventures in Australia

10 Years of solo Adventures in Australia

2014 marked ten years of solo travels in Australia. In 10 years, I have experienced Land Down Under in different ways and have developed my way of travelling alone around the country.

On my first solo trips in 2004 and 2008, I was a bit afraid of being alone on the road and preferred travelling by bus and joining short tours rather than hiring a car myself and driving alone. A few years later, in 2011, I started road tripping around Australia and liked it.

On my Australia Trip in 2013, I covered about 2000 km by car, entirely on my own! In 2014 I made more amazing solo road trips in Australia.

Here is a recap of the best memories and adventures of my Australia Trip 2014-2014.

How I conquered the fear of travelling alone at night

I am a day-traveller. I’m not particularly eager to travel at night, even when I am in the company of someone. At the beginning of my solo visits to Australia, I did not feel comfortable with the idea of travelling alone at night and in Australia, it’s not uncommon to travel at night.

On my first trip to Uluru, I went with Greyhound and had to wait for a bus connection in Erldunda in the middle of the night. Likewise, I was dropped off at 3.30 in the night on the bus when I reached my hostel in Lakes Entrance and waited for a train connection at 4.00 am in Queensland’s railway station.

Thanks to the friendly Aussies, I never felt unsafe, and this is what made me build confidence and feel comfortable when travelling alone at night.

Places on my solo adventures in Australia, I felt at home

Australia is a great country to travel alone, especially for women. Some time ago, I wrote about why I love Australia with the special moments I treasure. On my solo travels in Australia, I have discovered beautiful places that at times had been hard to leave. Areas that were somehow familiar to me and where I immediately felt at home.

Here are a few places that I can call home in Australia.

Melbourne

Melbourne has got something special. I loved it on my first trip. What I liked most is how relaxed people are in the city. You can tell that people love their town and are happy with it. Of course, there is always something that needs to improve. But I would dare say that this Australian city is no. 1 in Australia for making travellers feeling like at home.

And I was not making the city CBD too expensive to get around and stay. The Melbourne free trams in the CBD highlight the many free and cheap things to do in Melbourne.

Darwin

I love Darwin. This is a place I felt at home straight away after my arrival. I love the relaxed atmosphere, the wide-open view over the harbour. I love Darwin’s isolated beaches and phenomenal sunsets. On my first visit, I remember walking into a Church on a Sunday morning and sitting with locals made me feel part of the community.

Darwin can be tricky, though. It’s very much centred on the local lifestyle, and to first-time travellers to Australia may not seem so tourist-friendly. You need to ask around and find your way as the city’s infrastructures are not focused on travellers.

Adelaide

Adelaide is a city with an evolving story. I have been there four times on my travels in Australia. While my feelings were neutral in the beginning, my excitement started to grow over the years as I have seen Adelaide showing its distinctly twofold character.

A quiet place to live in but at the same time a dynamic personality with lots of events and exciting things to do. I love biking, and Adelaide, with its parklands, is an excellent place for cycling to the beach. No wonder Adelaide entered the Top 10 cities of the world to visit in 2014.

Margaret River

Margaret River was a massive surprise to me. In 2008, when I first travelled to Western Australia, my idea of the South West was pretty ignorant. I thought there were only forests and surf beaches. When I started my solo road trip to South Western Australia, I was in awe of the beauty, the richness and the diversity of this region. I  really could think of settling there for a while and making it to my home for a while 🙂

Places of Australia I love and have been to several times

Uluru

I have been twice to Uluru and hope to go back a third time in the next years. There are many places in Australia where you can feel the energy and a deep peacefulness emerging from the earth. Sighting the Uluru from the road is the unique and unprecedented feeling that goes deep under my skin. Next time I’d love to take a scenic flight over the Uluru and see it from the air as well as to sleep under the stars.

Great Ocean Road

I have been twice on a road trip along the Great Ocean Road. Once on an organised small tour and once a road trip on my own. I loved the freedom of discovering it at my own pace and making wildlife encounters along my way. I want to return and do more of the walks, maybe walk tracks of the 90km Great Ocean Road walk.

South Western Australia

Margaret River great food hooked me to the point that I changed my initial plans and extended my stay by 2 more days. I am keen to see more of the beautiful South Western Australia and visit Denmark, Albany, and further Cape Esperance. Again on a road trip. Here you can read about my recent solo trip by car down south.

North Tropical Queensland

North Tropical Queensland is a region of Australia. I like it very much for its distinctly Australian character: The rainforest and the wealth of tropical vegetation with its incredible native tastes and local produce. I travelled around by bus on my first trip.

On the second trip, I hired a to Cape Tribulation and around Cairns. Fortunately, this time  I have been travelling in September with good dry weather, one of the best months for discovering North Tropical Queensland.

Special Places of Australia

This is a list of places in Australia I discovered later.

Western Australia – the Kimberley and Shark Bay

I have been to Kununurra and visited the Eastern Kimberley on a scenic flight over the Ord River to the Bungle Bungles. This area is imposing because of its geological formations and the second-largest water system that makes it an exciting and unique ecosystem.

The region spreads over 1000km. I hope I can go back soon, as I’d like to discover the western and northern areas of Kimberley Australia too. The Shark Bay with Coral Bay, Shell Beach, Monkey Mia on a short road tour would love to discover more of this remote and ancient Western Australia.

My picks for the best places to Travel Alone in Australia

In over a decade of solo travels, I have been to hundreds of places. Although I don’t have a favourite one, there are many places to travel alone in Australia and different ways of getting around that made me fall in love with Australia. I hope this blog post and recap of my favourite places will inspire you to take the plunge and leave on your solo adventure.

In this blog post, you can keep reading about my solo travel adventures in Australia in 2014 and 2015.