Several years ago I hitchhiked across the Nullarbor from Perth to Sydney, thumbing more than 4,000 kilometres. Last October and November I hitched from Airlie Beach to Perth via the top of Australia, and I ended up doing more than 8,100 kilometers along the way. This time, I'll be hitchhiking the Great Central Road, and doing at least 5,000 kilometers along the way. With roads leading into Western Australia (WA) along the top, middle, and bottom, these three journeys are what I call the "Triple Crown" of Australian hitchhiking. The Great Central Road, a very remote road of more than a thousand kilometres from Laverton to Yulara, will undoubtedly be the most difficult stretch.
My flight to Papua New Guinea is on 19 May, so I don't exactly have to hurry up and get to Brisbane. The other day I set out from Perth and had hoped to reach Kalgoorlie in a day. Due to a number of things I had to do before setting out, I got a rather late start. Only about 70 kilometers out of Perth I was dropped at a servo where I was told I could pitch my tent. After giving it some serious thought about calling it a day, I decided to put my thumb out. Not long after, an off-duty taxi driver picked me up, and he was heading to Kalgoorlie. Last month I CouchSurfed with a man named James in Kalgoorlie, and he let me stay again as I got some provisions and prepped for the journey. Stocking up on a thermal shirt, socks, coffee, instant noodles, and some camping meals, I made sure to be well stocked because I won't see a Kmart again until I'm in Alice Springs. The other day I was picked up by a bloke named Brenton. He lives in Perth but is out this way for work frequently. On his way to Laverton he was, so that meant I was in luck. We did a few quick stops for a geocache in the shires of Menzies and Leonora, and he got booked for speeding on our way. Sadly, he was $250 poorer.
By early afternoon, Brenton dropped me at the roadhouse in Laverton. There's nothing special about the place; it's really just another dusty, fly-blown Outback town with old car parts floating around and locals seemingly not doing much. This is what many cars out this way look like:
I couldn't imagine driving a car without a windscreen. Last night I was able to pitch my tent for free at the caravan park, and then I called in at the pub for a chicken parmy. I can't afford to be eating at pubs every night on this journey but there will be stretches where I won't be anywhere near a pub or any proper food.
Two geologists named Alex and Felix would pick me up this morning, and they would drop me at the turnoff to Warburton, an Indigenous community deep in the Outback, far in the back of beyond. Traffic was really light today, and I still have a long journey to go before I'll reach "civilization" again. When they dropped me off, they gave me something that would prove to be so useful today: a fly net.
If it weren't for the net, I'd be doing the "Aussie wave" all day. I was still in the same spot at 2:30 in the afternoon, and Alex and Felix picked me up and took me back to town. I'll try again tomorrow. They invited me to sleep in a shed where they work, and as we chatted over a beer they said "there isn't much in Laverton but there are some awesome sunsets."
Whilst I didn't have any luck today, I'm content with my progress so far. I'm going to give myself a week in Laverton to get a lift on the Great Central Road, and if I don't get one, I'm going to head south and hitchhike across the Nullarbor. At this point, who knows how long I'll be here...
