2018 – Vagabonding – Year 1

The journey so far.

As British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli once said: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” As those who know me know I like statistics and have been collecting some as we travelled. Here is the raw data of 2018 and our first year Vagabonding.

There was some debate as to whether this “End of Year Review” should be on the anniversary of the start of our journey or the end of the calendar year. I thought, it’s almost the same thing. We started 5 weeks into 2018 so I reckoned I’d do a 47 week summary this year then next year it’ll be a 12 month summary. So…here goes.

We left on the 5th February 2018.

Days Vagabonding – 330 from the day we left to the end of 2018.

Where did we start? – Brisbane, Queensland

Where did we see the new year in? – Lilydale, Tasmania

Where have we been so far? Our route map (approximately) of Australia visited so far is below. I say approximately as Google Maps will allow 10 stopping points to demonstrate a route. We have stopped in around 250 places, some places 2 or 3 times.

Distance Travelled so far – 26,500 Kilometres and counting, despite what the map says.

Litres of fuel consumed – 1,854

Average Fuel Consumption – 7.1 litres per 100 kms or about 40 mpg in old money

Most expensive fuel – Coober Pedy $1.67 per litre

Least expensive fuel – Adelaide $1.30 per litre

Average distance travelled per day – 88 kilometres

Longest distance between fill ups – 661 kilometres

Longest drive in a single day – 730 Kilometres 2nd June 2018 – Coober Pedy to Clare Valley. A drive we nicknamed the Winnie Blues Drive. Read the blog for an explanation.

Shortest time between fill ups – 0 days. On the drive from Coober Pedy we filled up the car before we left and had to fill it up again before we got to Clare Valley.

Longest time between fill ups – 18 days in Port Noarlunga

Volume of CO2 created to date – 4 tonnes

Carbon offset with Carbon Neutral – $150 for offsetting 7 tonnes of CO2 investing in Biodiverse Reforestation Carbon Offsets in the northern wheat belt of Western Australia

RACQ callouts – 1 – Huonville- I let the battery run down

Tyres replaced – 4

Car serviced – Once

Time spent in each state:

TAS	104 Days	46%
NSW	90 Days	40%
SA	61 Days	27%
VIC	48 Days	21%
QLD	27 Days	12%

Longest contiguous time in one place – 14 days – Aberfoyle Park – Adelaide

Number of Blog Posts since we started- 35. Blog number, Title and Date/Time posted below.

1. Walligans Travels – It’s started, we’re on our way – Feb 8, 2018 7:08 PM
2. Vagabonding – Minnie Water, Wingham & Newcastle – Feb 11, 2018 5:29 PM
3. Vagabonding – Wingham, Newcastle & Sydney – Feb 18, 2018 11:43 PM
4. Vagabonding – Sydney, Byong & Albury – Feb 25, 2018 8:06 PM
5. Vagabonding – Albury, Bendigo, Heathcote and Ocean Grove – Mar 4, 2018 9:56 PM
6. Vagabonding – Lilydale Tasmania – Mar 8, 2018 11:38 PM
7. Panama Festival – Tasmania – Mar 15, 2018 7:03 AM
8. Vagabonding – Hobart – Mar 18, 2018 10:31 PM
9. Vagabonding – Falmouth and Mole Creek, Tasmania – Mar 25, 2018 11:40 PM
10. Vagabonding – Ballaarat – Apr 1, 2018 9:21 PM
11. Vagabonding – Adelaide – Apr 8, 2018 11:51 PM
12. Vagabonding – South Australia – Apr 19, 2018 11:25 PM
13. Vagabonding – Kangaroo Island and Sea Lake – Apr 28, 2018 11:24 PM
14. Vagabonding – Castlemaine to Eden and Narooma – May 11, 2018 11:49 PM
15. Vagabonding – The Hawkesbury and Pittwater experience – May 18, 2018 5:00 PM
16. Katoomba to Broken Hill – May 26, 2018 12:26 AM
17. Broken Hill to Coober Pedy – Jun 3, 2018 11:39 PM
18. Coober Pedy to Port Noarlunga – Jun 11, 2018 7:49 PM
19. Port Noarlunga and Happy Valley – Jul 1, 2018 10:29 PM
20. Albury/Wodonga – Jul 14, 2018 11:21 PM
21. Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane and Rainbow Beach – Jul 30, 2018 11:00 PM
22. Hervey Bay & Toogoom – Aug 7, 2018 10:51 PM
23. Uralba and Brisbane – Aug 26, 2018 11:10 AM
24. Uralba to Kianga via Sydney – Sep 9, 2018 9:49 AM
25. Kianga to Melbourne (via Brisbane) – Sep 19, 2018 11:09 PM
26. St Kilda, Williamstown and Yarraville – Oct 13, 2018 12:37 AM
27. Great Ocean Road Trip – Oct 15, 2018 9:37 PM
28. Launceston and Bridport – Oct 30, 2018 11:02 PM
29. Burnie and Sheffield, Echidnas and Crackpots – Nov 3, 2018 7:29 PM
30. The Procrastitorium and the Platypus – Nov 17, 2018 11:10 PM
31. Huon Valley Camping – Nov 21, 2018 1:08 AM
32. Huonville and Hastings Caves – Nov 30, 2018 10:21 PM
33. Hobart and Penguin and Strahan – Dec 8, 2018 10:26 PM
34. Camping in a storm – what we have learned so far.- Dec 14, 2018 11:13 PM
35. The Edge of the World and Beyond – Dec 24, 2018 11:30pm

Tallest mountain climbed – Mount Ohlssen-Bagge – 923 metres

Deepest underground – Hasting Caves – Several metres, they didn’t tell us how deep it goes.

Longest Walk – Ballina to Lennox Heads and back – 14 kms

Number of animals spotted in the wild – too many to accurately remember them all. Koalas, Euros, Pademelons, Wallabys, Echidnas, Platypus, Kangaroos, Crickets, Cicadas, Emus, Sting Rays, Seals, Dolphins, Whales, Rakali, Fairy Penguins, Superb Fairy Wrens, Pelicans, Starfish, Sea Urchins, Wattle Birds, Herons, Rozellas, Kookaburras, Cockatoos, Oyster Catchers, Arctic Terns, Wedge Tailed Eagles, Black Swans, Ducks, Geese, Duckling, Cygnets, Chick, Cows and Calves, Tree Snakes and Tiger Snakes not to mention goats (wild and farmed) sheep and hundreds of chickens.

Australia’s Big Things – a few but not too many photographed. Big Banana, Coffs Harbour, Big Penguin, Penguin, Big Prawn, Ballina, Big Lobster, Stanley.

Number of TARDIS’s spotted – One. There is only one TARDIS, it just jumps around through space and time for me to find it in many different places. (Thank you Dr. Judy Kratz for pointing this wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey fact out). I also see mini Tardis’s as post boxes as we zoom past but have not yet stopped to take a picture. Maybe I’ll make this a 2019 goal.

Oddest Airbnb’s stayed in – A Presbyterian Church in Broken Hill, a Dugout in Coober Pedy, a tiny converted one car garage in Byron Bay, an old farm dairy in Castlemaine, an old State School in Melbourne, an old stone cottage in Ross, a little barn in Lilydale and a vineyard in Byong.

Best camping sites – pretty much all of them. Huon Valley was an immaculate camp site and we saw Platypus. Wye River was on the beach and on the Great Ocean Road. Bridport, also on the beach and beautiful and empty as we were off season. Stanley, the views and the penguins and the food. We’ve researched our camp sites well and have also been very lucky.

Best day so far – Every day!

Looking forward to 2019 and further adventures. From Jenni and Jim. Happy New Year everyone.