Walking across the Outback

What about walking across Outback Australia? Not hitch hiking, but preparing and doing a trek across the country. What are some of the dangers i.e. animals & humans that one could encounter? Logistics: is it possible to have set area's for replenishing supplies? Or does it get too desolate?

thanks-
Shawn

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Walking across the Outback

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Crossing Australia on foot
by: Birgit

Hi Shawn,

If I understand you right you are talking about crossing the country from coast to coast, walking 4000 km across outback desert country.

You will die of thirst very quickly.

Australia isn't some tiny island. It's a continent, about the size of the US, only that it consists mostly of empty desert.

I suggest you change your plans to doing some longer bushwalks/wilderness walks in known areas near civilisation. Both the red centre and the tropical north offer many opportunities for that.

Information or trek notes are available for example from books, from visitor centres, from national park rangers or from bushwalking organisations and clubs.

across australia?
by: gavin

yeah but is it plausible to go from perth to say sydney by foot across the nullabor and if so what would you need to do so.Ive tried to find this info out online but is very hard to sort through the other mumbo jumbo.thanks

it has been done
by: Anonymous

People have walked across Australia, from west to east - it has been done! Of course there would be very long stretches with no ground water, and no civilisation. I know someone who biked across the nullabour - she had to prearrange caches of water and supplies to be left at certain locations along the way.

Walking across outback
by: Birgit

Many people cycle across the Nullarbor. There a couple of threads on this website talking about it. There is a perfectly good highway that connects Sydney and Perth, roadhouses every couple of hundred kilometres etc. Walking along that is a totally different story. You are following the coastline, you aren't crossing the continent.

That's not the same as "walking across the outback", totally self supported through wilderness only. That's what I understood that the reader who submitted the question intended.

From Shawn's question it is also obvious that at this stage he does not have much of an idea about Australia. And that's not a position to start from for a coast to coast trek.

perth to sydney
by: Anonymous

thanks for your reply and I understand to walk across our barron landscape would definately involve some serious planning but I was just curious as to whethher it would be easier to stick to the highways, thats all .I hopefully plan to do this one day as a personel achievement because we only live once hey?thanks again..

ps;come for a walk shawn

by: Birgit

I see. Sure, following the highway makes it easier, though not particularly attractive... However, if the motivation for the walk is the challenge and achievement, rather than the wilderness experience, then of course that's an option.

Obviously water will be your biggest problem, and I can't help you there with details.

Trekking Australia
by: Jye

Hey,

You could walk south to north like Jeff has. It would be great preparation for west to east. However it would be extremely hard and I'm sure you done heaps of research before embarking on the trip

Visit these websites

http://www.jeffswalk.com/

hikingtheflinders.webs.com/

A safer alternative than that proposed
by: Chris H.

Why not try something a little "safer" first. As others have said, Australia can be a dangerous place if you're not used to it (speaking as an ex-European - things are just different!).
I recommend the Great North Walk which has its challenges even though on paper it sounds easy. It's not (at least in parts). It's a 250 km bushwalk between Sydney and newcastle in NSW. Try it.
Chris H.