Mungarannie is a great spot to camp, alongside a creek, cold beers at the pub, excellent showers and an eclectic mix of other

campers on their way to Birdsville. Some I don’t think actually made it to the races! Birdsville Races – what an experience!

 

I had never been before and it was astounding, the amount of people and variety of camping setups. The Explorer Motorhome got lots of admiring looks as she handled the deep ruts in the ground left from last year’s mud as well as the big butch 4WDs towing camper trailers. As they spent hours it seemed, scratching their heads setting up poles and such, I parked and put out the table and chair, poured a G&T and watched! Nothing more for me to do in Dora! It was a great few days of camping, campfires and sausages.

 

From Birdsville, I was on my own towards Nambour, while the others headed back to Adelaide. The dirt road from Birdsville to Windorah was rough and long, about 8 hours. I was passed by idiots ripping along at stupid speeds only to come across them later on the side of the road with blown or flat tyres. The trip across to Nambour took me 3 long driving days, there I joined the 40 Explorer motorhomes gathered for the three day rally. I met some fabulous people including solo travellers who gave me such good advice, made me envious of their trips, and shared many laughs. Was the best – what a club to belong to! Out of that, I am planning a couple of big trips together with other solos over the next year.

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So, by the time Dirty Dora got back to Adelaide, I had driven 5,000 Kms over gibber and dust, through some big storms, overflowed the toilet twice, met some real characters, never once felt any fear, only exhilaration that I can go travelling on my own and enjoy it all!

 

Another solo owner, Hilary, still works as a doctor in Perth but often takes her motorhome “Hils Spirit” on solo adventures all over the country. She explains her experiences as a solo traveller.

 

I am a GP who came to Australia from the Old South Wales in 1988 in my late twenties on a working holiday. I fell in love with the outback camping experience with my own “Crocodile Dundee” in a twice rolled Mitsubishi Sigma Wagon, swag and a box of camp gear. We settled in Perth, Western Australia. Many wonderful family camping adventures followed, kids grew up and left home.

 

I was looking for a new challenge and I needed to find the right vehicle for my future years of adventures (had to be 4WD and comfortable). In August 2017 after a bit of research and a lot of soul searching, I proudly drove my brand new gorgeous Explorer “Spirit” from her factory birthing unit in Brisbane to Perth .

 

I had an open map, wikki camps downloaded on my phone and I followed any road in the approximate right direction which led to a National Park. That also included the Australian Alpine Parks via the snow fields to pamper my other passion, skiing. I proudly carried my skis hanging safely and silently where the “boys in the factory” had custom made a rack in my shower recess.

 

Perfect .I was nervous at first. Big vehicle compared to my other car, strange mirrors and so many manuals to read . The learning curve was exhilarating, the scenery and wildlife sublime and I just enjoy the travelling, always something new around the corner.

 

Time frame was my own in every aspect of the travels. I was never lonely, and I felt very free. It’s hard to know what the highlight of this maiden voyage was; probably the strange natural rock formations in the middle of nowhere. I renewed my appreciation of the vastness of this country and its weather patterns and the birdsong in the morning after the best sleeps ever.

 

This is the advantage of traveling on your own via motorhome, compared to going on a group tour. You will be able to have complete control over your schedule and you can choose the bucket-list experiences throughout Australia that you want to have.