Thumbs Up Australia
by Tom Parry (9781857883909)

On the Road meets Down Under in this really rough guide to the adventures of an English hitchhiker and his reluctant French girlfriend in the Australian outback.

Their 8000 mile loop around the outback starts at the beginning of the 'Woop-Woop' and follows in the steps of great explorers. Going from South to North before 'Going Troppo' in Australia's infamous Top End around Darwin, down through Burke's 'Great Bugger All' through some of the most breathtakingly beautiful and unvisited parts of the Northern Territory, and finally completing the loop in Adelaide - where his newly converted girlfriend is the one to suggest hitchhiking to the airport!

As they thumb their way around the near-empty highways they encounter as wide a cross-section of Aussie society as you could ever hope to meet: from a yarn-spinning opal miner turned mechanic, to a Vietnam veteran; from the grizzled Aboriginal elder with his tales of Dreamtime, to an amphetamine-swallowing roadtrain driver.

The Australian outback leaves an indelible mark on both their souls. They discover a country of opportunity and uninhibited freedoms, mountains, beaches and thousands of miles of wilderness, populated by some of the kindest people whose pioneer spirit is still very much alive. This is an amusing and offbeat narrative of hitchhiking into the Outback that will charm and beguile both outback aficionados and those dreaming of seeing the woop-woop for themselves.

USD $18.50

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