Talking about doing a Grand Tour...

My brother and I loaded ourselves into my old Volkswagon beetle back in about 1967 and drove out of Perth on the western seaboard of Australia, heading east.

The plan was to drive across the vast Nullabor Desert to reach Sydney on the east coast. After leaving the populated city, we drove through the sparsely settled rural areas of WA (Western Australia), through the Gold Fields of Kalgoorlie and environs, then reached the edge of the desert.

There was just one 2-lane road across the desert, mostly made of limestone if I recall correctly. Limestone and dust.

We drove from sun-up to the end of the day... still on the desert road, meeting the very occasional other traveler. The big cattle trucks were the real worry. "Road trains" they were called, with several carriages all linked together.

Our Grand Tour came to an end in the Blue Mountains when the engine needed to be replaced. Happily my Dad forwarded money, and we arrived back in Perth some time later in the old VeeDub with the new engine block.

Never again!

Gary

PS: Thanks, Kate. You made me think. And isn't that what all authors want?