We gathered in Sydney, collected the convertibles at Port Botany, and pointed north for two long opening days to Mackay, with a pause on Brampton Island. From Mission Beach the road left the coast for the Savannah Way: Normanton, Hells Gate, Lorella Springs, and on to Kakadu, Darwin, and Katherine. Special stages brought real Outback—laterite, river crossings, tent nights, and long stretches without services—while a local guide and a sweep car kept support quiet but close.
The western arc crossed Kununurra and, weather permitting, Purnululu’s Bungle Bungle tracks, then ran the Tanami Desert Road via Rabbit Flat to Alice Springs. We continued to Uluru, dropped to Coober Pedy’s opal country, turned through the Flinders Ranges to Wilpena Pound, ferried to Kangaroo Island, and finished via the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne, Mansfield, and back to Sydney. Small group, clear briefings, and offline roadbook navigation kept the rhythm measured while the landscapes did the talking.