After three weeks heading from Sydney all the way up to the Daintree, we’re ready to see what’s going on “out the back.” It should be a marked contrast from the well-heeled towns along the east coast, even as far north as Cairns, and the lush vegetation and tropical beaches.

Our plan is to head back to Townsville, then aim towards the middle, stopping at Mt. Isa before making our way to Alice Springs. We’re looking forward to huge horizons, impossible amounts of stars at night, and hopefully encountering some outback characters, or at the very least having a few beers at a dusty outpost. We’ve got some serious distance to cover, but it’s all part of experiencing first-hand just how vast and empty Australia really is.