It’s f*u%king hot and humid and it’s snowing

Welcome to Australia. But riding in Australia is probably one of the best places in the world to be an adventure motorcycle rider. But it’s not for everyone. The reason we can have snow in one part of the country and bubbling sweating humidity in the other is because we are a continent, just one from Cape York, the most northern point on the Australian continent to South Point in Wilsons Promontory in Victoria. Now don’t get upset we call it “South Point” instead of some other funny name like Coonabararan, which is a real town, just nobody knows what it means, even the aboriginals. Simplicity in names became a thing early on because not many people had a good grasp of English in the early days. Not even the English convicts that came out here.

By the way “South Point” is not technically the southern point in Australia, just the continent. There’s another island south called Tasmania, which most of us often forget but has some of the best adventure riding roads in Australia. The southernmost point in Australia is South East Cape at the bottom of Tasmania.

Distance is everything

The distance between the South East Cape and Cape York is about 4400 kilometres and would take 45 hours consistent driving. Not to mention a fairly lengthy ferry crossing to get across the roughest sea crossing in the world Bass Strait. Getting back to my earlier title, Tasmania is near Antarctica and Cape York is close to the Equator.

What about across, glad you asked. Cape Byron at the famous Byron Bay is the furthest east as long as you don’t consider Norfolk Island, which most people don’t, its hard enough to remember Tasmania, is in the east, whereas the furthest west is Steep Point in a place called Shark Bay. This is why simple names are best, straight to the point, if you swim there, you’ll probably be eaten. The distance from Steep Point, which you guessed it is steep to Cape Byron is approximately 5000 kilometres and crosses nine deserts.

Life of a Swaggie

When the day waned and night was upon them, they would simply roll out their Swag (canvas bedroll) and drift off to sleep near the fire. The next day they would throw the billy on the fire and boil water for their billy tea. Then roll up their swag and move on. The Digital Swaggie is the modern incarnation of this concept. Free to travel Australia and New Zealand, free from the shackles of society, and free to bring the stories of the real Australia to you.

What’s on the site?

The purpose of the site is to encourage you to come down under and have an adventure. Do not be afraid of the poisonous animals and dangerous lizards (we have anti venom for that, you just have to get to a hospital, which we don’t have many of). The biggest threat to your safety is the long distance travel. When you are here, read my books, stop often and appreciate the beauty of the land. Be an adventurer who sees the real Australia, and not just the tourist sites. I want to promote our country to the world. To help you, I have put together a series of guides, travel books and stories. There is information on dangerous animals, dangerous places and things to do, and those that maybe you shouldn’t do.

So enjoy Exploring Australia – An inside perspective of the Outback, I hope you like my perspective on our country and the stories from the road. If you do, then consider buying my books, and merchandise and help me spread the word. “Australia is an awesome place for an adventure”. Don’t forget to leave a comment and sign up for my newsletter. If I don’t hear from you, have a great time in Australia.