Highway One: Travellers along the Big Lap

By Catherine Lawson November 7, 2013
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Some travellers are so enthusiastic about Highway One that they lap it again and again.

Catherine Lawson and David Bristow, along with baby Maya, are doing a lap of Highway One, the road that circles Australia.

OTHER TRAVELLERS OFTEN HAVE great tips to share about unknown destinations, great camps and the best travelling routes.

But few that I’ve met have enthused as much about their travels as self-confessed gypsy Helen Grose, who with husband Paul, has spent the past six years travelling around Australia.

Apart from time spent with family in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, Helen and Paul live permanently on the road, without the security of a home base.

At the age of 46, Helen set out on her very first solo road trip, crossing  Australia in a Ford Laser and overnighting at caravan parks en route before finding work running a boarding house in Kalgoorlie.

After that she started house-sitting, caretaking properties all around the country before hitting the road for good six years ago with husband Paul.

Helen says she’s a big fan of South Australia, recommending Mount Remarkable National Park for its wildlife and walking trails, and Piccaninny Ponds on the SA/Victorian border, as two of the best destinations in the state.

We’d have to agree with Helen on Piccaninny Ponds. This superb series of spring-fed ponds linked by shallow swim-throughs is one of the most fascinating spots to snorkel away from the sea. 

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