The first OzBus left London for Sydney on Sunday. For the next twelve weeks its passengers will pretty much follow the route I took in my book The Wrong Way Home. Except in the company of 35 other people.
The Reverend Simon Rumble emailed and alerted me to a question on the company’s FAQ page. It asked whether it was possible to do the journey independently.
‘Whilst there’s nothing to stop you,’ it said, ‘the answer is probably no! London to Sydney overland is a journey of epic proportion having been undertaken by only a few people.’
Cool. I’m one of only a few people. But I’m still envious of the maiden OzBus passengers. It’s an amazing journey no matter how you do it.
I might have to find out when and where the next one is leaving from and stick out my thumb!
Wow, what an exciting, if rather gruelling, trip! It would be interesting to see how they might deal with the final hurdle of Indonesia to Australia overland.
And at 84 days, it’s much quicker than the journey you took in The Wrong Way Home – maybe the company should recommend reading it while undertaking the journey, so people know what they’re missing en route.
Unless it’s changed since I looked at the itinerary, they fly the last bit, but their bus goes on a ship.
The logistics of moving 36 people from place to place would be a nightmare in itself. They have the bus, but accomodation in some of those places is pretty low-rent, unless they’re sleeping on the bus too?
Low-rent accommodations are part of the fun! Or maybe they camp like the overland trucks.
oh i know, i meant that being low-rent-y kinda places, they’re less likely to be able to accomodate 36 people at once.
84 days @ $9000 is more than $100 per day. Not only are these jokers charging an absolute fortune, they have the audacity of assigning you chores at the beginning of the trip.
As for their response to doing the trip independently “the answer is probably no†it’s like they’re laying down a challenge, I hope it inspires a lot of people to prove them wrong.
Peter if I see Ozbus on the return leg my thumb won’t be the digit I’ll be extending.
Hey Kieran,
I know what you mean. I was hard pressed to spend $100 the entire time I was in Iran. I guess it was the idea of doing the trip again that appealed. I’d probably ‘disappear’ myself at the first petrol station though!
I do hope you’re right about it inspiring people to try and do it themselves. There’s nothing particularly difficult about travelling overland. Nor is their any special skills required. Just the time and inclination to do it. It ain’t rocket science!