Destination: Australia

Itinerary: Across the Continent

ONE TO TWO MONTHS/CAIRNS TO PERTH

Those who prefer solitude and travelling rough will love the Australian outback, which is crisscrossed with innumerable roads and tracks, some sealed and others little more than a pair of dirty ruts. There are many potential hazards in heading off the beaten track, so wherever you go, make sure you're well informed and fully prepared.

The following is a long, difficult route from the tropics to the Indian Ocean. Start in Cairns, gateway to the arduous Peninsula Development Rd that (in case you're interested) snakes towards the tip of Cape York. Head west to Normanton, the biggest town in the Gulf of Carpentaria region, then south down the Matilda Hwy to the mining roughhouse of Mt Isa.

To the southwest is the frontier outback town of Urandangi, after which you run into the Plenty Hwy, a monotonous - or to some, gloriously desolate - road with plenty of bone-jolting challenges (4WD recommended). Over 500km later you'll hit the Stuart Hwy and then the dead-centre city of Alice Springs.

The Lasseter Hwy turn-off takes you to weighty Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the captivating Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) rock formations, beyond which is the beginning of the Great Central Rd. This lonely trail, suitable for well-prepared 2WDs and lined with saltbush, spinifex and desert oaks, stretches 750km to the tiny gold-mining town of Laverton, from where it's another 400km to the gold-mining concern of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Finally, the ocean beckons from behind the beaches of Scarborough and Cottesloe in Perth.