Mawlers’ Big Adventure ’09:

Lea Ann & Stuart Go Down Under

Alice Springs to Adelaide sign at the end of Ernest Giles Road on the Stuart Highway

How a simple wedding invitation can lead to the Outback.

the little boxes
five seven five, they're haikus
for your enjoyment

One day we checked the mail and were pleasantly surprised to find a "save-the-date" card for the wedding of two friends. On closer inspection, we noted the location... Adelaide, South Australia.

And, with even less planning than previous Mawler AdventuresTM, the latest adventure was born.

Some have expressed the opinion that little could top the preparation for the Great White North Trip. It is true. Before the Great White North, we out-did ourselves by including a bathroom remodel as part of our plans and preparations for vacation. So this time, we simply declined to try.

Instead, we did absolutely nothing. Well... that is not entirely true. We bought several guides to Australia and placed them under something. Probably holding a table level, supporting a cell phone, or providing a slightly higher perch for a pampered cat.

Let us impress upon you: with just two days to go before boarding a flight to the other side of the world we had neither a rental car nor a place to stay in Adelaide. (And that does not even begin to address the "plans" for what we would do once in Adelaide.)

In truth, there was a twinge of panic in the air.

And did we mention we have a school habit? Both of us were in classes during this trip. Lea Ann actually took all of her books with her to Australia. Both Lea Ann and Stuart tried to skype into their class sessions, though this only worked for Stuart. (Which, by the way, proves that the internet is not everywhere.)

The final tallies are what really interest some of you, so here they are:

  • 4965 total km
  • 4706.7 km in the two weeks outside of Adelaide
  • 514.27 litres of petrol purchased
  • 6867 pictures in Australia (more on that later)
  • One kangaroo stunned (more on that later)
  • Zero tan in Australia (more on that later)
  • One wedding attended
  • Numerous Australian friends made
  • Mountains of helpful advice received (and most of it given consideration)
  • Innumerable looks given at car (more on that later)
  • Eight individual jets taken
  • One propeller plane taken
  • Zero flat tyres ("tires" for you Northerners)
  • Almost no utterances of "g-day, mate" by an Actual AussieTM

The more involved story and pictures are below.


 

The first installment:
Complete Route Map


Table of Contents

Complete Route Map Posted 11 May 2009
Informative Signage Posted 11 May 2009
We Made It! Posted 13 May 2009
Wallabies, Wombats, & Koalas, Oh My! Posted 19 May 2009
We Like Weddings! Posted 19 May 2009
Vacation with the Newlyweds Posted 21 May 2009
On the Road Again... Posted 23 May 2009
The Internet Doesn't Reach Here Posted 30 May 2009
To Stun a 'Roo Posted 2 June 2009
The Pit of... Posted 22 June 2009
Hitchcock was Right! Posted 1 July 2009
An Unexpected Flight Posted 2 July 2009
A Late Start to Messy Business Posted 31 August 2009
Making Up for Lost Time Posted 31 August 2009
The Outback Rocks Posted 8 September 2009


 

The first installment:
Complete Route Map


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All materials © 2009 Lea Ann Mawler & Stuart Mawler