After weeks of searching we finally found a ship to take us to Oz....But not to Darwin or Fremantle. The P&O Nedlloyd Tauranga was heading direct for Brisbane, leaving us a slightly shorter ride to Sydney than expected......
We left Brisbane behind us and climbed over the Queensland / NSW dividing range on the Lions Road. Continuing south we arrived in the town of Grafton for a night of hotel luxury after 4 nights in the tent. From Grafton we took a part dirt / part tarmac road over the Great Dividing range through Ebor and on to Armidale. We then turned South East once more to Walcha. After a couple of days rest we continued down the recently paved (and quite stunning) Nowendoc/Gloucester road and arrived in Newcastle three days later.
From Newcastle we took the stunning (and, in places, completely car-free) Old Pacific Highway south to our final destination - Sydney!