Would you travel across Australia in a Defender 90? I'm back home from a 12,000km round trip covering Queensland to Tasmania in just over 5 weeks!
We spent 37 days on the road and in that time we covered almost 12,000km, averaging 320km per day whilst camping in a tent and taking backroads as much as possible.
From sea level to 1846m, we crossed four Australian states (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT, if it counts).
Though I would much rather still be on holiday, I'm glad to be in the same place for more than one night again - and the experience was one I won't soon forget.
I also took something in the region of 5,000 photos - so consider this just a sneak peek.
I pushed through a big list of preventative maintenance before we went - cooling system, bearings, brake rotors and pads, oils, belt, bushes and new tyres from Bob Jane T-Marts.
The preparation paid off, as the trip was smooth sailing with only a small hiccup when my transfer started leaking (quickly sorted thanks to the kindness of the Land Rover community) and my wipers playing up near the end.
We only had a week to travel 2000km to Geelong from Queensland to ensure we arrived in time to catch the Spirt of Tasmania - but you bet we used every spare minute we could to explore.
Along the way, we took the Condamine River Road and stopped at Girraween National Park near the Queensland border - a spot we've definitely pinned for a return trip in the future.
After an obligatory tourist stop at the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, we made for Cooma (any Land Rover fanatics will understand) and crossed into the Victorian High Country via Kosciuszko and the Tom Groggin track.
I hadn't been to Australia's alpine regions before, so quickly found myself planning ways to head back to Mt Hotham in winter to gain an entirely new perspective of the area in snow.
Though I've always been a fan of minimalist travel, I'm not sure our current camping set up - a ground tent and compact hiking gear - would be overly enjoyable in conditions beyond autumn (watch this space).
Choosing 4WD tracks wherever possible, we quickly learned that steep has an entirely new definition when you're travelling up and down (and then back up) the tracks of the Victorian High Country.
I've never spent quite so much time with my bum puckered to the seat - thinking about how steep it is, the sheer unfenced drops or the narrow roads with blind corners (but loved it all the same).
Being a photographer at heart, I had also been looking forward to visiting Black Spur Drive and some of the Redwood plantations in Victoria for an especially long time.
It's hard to show the true size of these forests, but hopefully including the 90 helps to show their towering scale in some sense.
Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to drive the full length of the Great Ocean Road, but we did make it as far as Lorne - does that still count? I know, we'll try again next time.
With the 90 tucked away in the Level 2 cargo area on the Spirit of Tasmania, we made our way up to Level 8 (of the 10 total levels, accessible via elevator or escalator) on the ship and settled in for the night.
We opted to take an overnight trip, sleeping (if you can call it that) in the complimentary lounge area with allocated recliner seats.
A bonus of taking the overnight slot was waking up to a sunrise over the ocean before we disembarked in Devonport - through groggy eyes, albeit.
Upon arrival, we chose to lap the island in a clockwise direction - meaning we would head down the east coast towards Hobart before making our way to the rugged western wilderness and eventually back to Devonport.
There was some serious Aussie animal bingo happening too - we saw just about everything except an echidna... and spent a questionable amount of time asking 'wombat or rock?'Â along the way.
It would be amiss to talk about the wildlife without mentioning the white wallabies on Bruny Island too - this small population can be found near Adventure Bay, best spotted in the early morning or late afternoon.
I was also grateful to chat to Geoff, as well as catch up briefly with Damon from Seriously Series in Tasmania - who both kindly provided me with lots of local tips and insights for the trip.
We were able to track each day's route, plan our camps and find points of interest along the way using our Hema Maps HX2.
I've included our Tasmania travel in the screenshot below - over 4000km covered (when I say we adventure to the fullest, I'm not kidding!).
After a few days spent exploring forests, lakes and waterfalls we ventured west via the Lyell Highway to the small settlement of Queenstown.
This region is marred by historic mining smelters and logging, making the drive into town a captivating contrast to the adjacent wilderness. Otherworldly, even.
Nearby is the port town of Strahan and beyond that Ocean Beach, a 15km stretch of coastline where you can drive between towering dunes and the roaring Southern Ocean - just watch out for quicksand.
The good weather was short lived though, and we soon found the west coast of Tasmania living up to its reputation - wild, windy and wet.
I still loved every second of it, including a dabble on the Climies Track until the weather turned and we chose to turn around before it was too late (the problem with going solo, I suppose).
Making our way north, we passed through Zeehan, Trial Harbour, Corinna (taking the iconic Fatman Barge across the Pieman River), a whole lot of not much and ultimately ended up in Stanley.
I admit Stanley wasn't overly high on my list of 'must see' spots in Tasmania, but it's now one of the areas I was most fond of.
Visiting 'The Nut' (an ancient volcanic plug), driving the quaint cottage lined streets and seeing Fairy Penguins were all definite highlights alongside the seafood.
We also visited Montezuma Falls, Cradle Mountain (of course), Mole Creek Caves and a few other 'must-see' Tasmania destinations before our time on the island was up.
Three weeks passed in the blink of an eye and we boarded the Spirit of Tasmania bound for the mainland again, promptly heading north back through the high country again.
Driving through Walhalla and Woods Point revealed preserved buildings and abandoned relics from a bygone era, remnants of the boom and bust mining cycles.
Speaking of service stations, I kept track of our spendings and counted 50 fuel stops in total for the trip.
The math? Well... it came in at just over $3,000. Not too bad for a fully loaded car and some steep/unforgiving driving (though sometimes I'd rather not know).
With only a few days before we needed to return home, we passed hastily through Sydney and continued up the coast of New South Wales.
The next few days were plagued by severe thunderstorms and poor weather whilst attempting to visit the Dorrigo area.
After getting caught in hail at roadworks and narrowly avoiding an accident when another driver overtook on a single lane road, we admitted defeat and drove into Coffs Harbour on the tail of a massive lightning show.
On the plus side, this view from the headland was a great way to end the adventure.
Home unscathed, I can say we've covered from Cape York to the southernmost road in Tassie now... so I guess I'll have to start planning the next trip soon!
If you'd like to follow along with my future adventures or see more from my past trips, please check out Lady in a Landy on Instagram and Facebook as well.
P.S. A much deserved shout out to my partner Josh, who is a quiet but unwavering supporter of my Lady in a Landy ventures. He encourages me in so many ways, including helping to capture some of the content you see here.
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