It is 2,800km from Adelaide to Perth but with the 10 day tour we have taken it is more like 4,000km - this trip is what is called "crossing the Nullarbor". This is an area I have never traveled to before, so for both of Julie and I it's a new experience. I was particularly keen to go camping in the outback, sleep under the stars and get away from the major backpacking trail and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. We headed out with the Nullarbor Traveler tour company and we got all that and more.

Nullarbor is bad Latin for no trees and as with many things in Oz it isn't what it appears. The Nullarbor section only constitutes about 40km of the road trip for a start, go figure. And there is the odd tree as well and people have dressed them. There is a kitchen tree, where people have hung up everything from toasters to rubber gloves, there is a bra tree and one that was started by our excellent guide, Richard, called "the mug tree". He had us write our names and a message on mugs and put them on branches. You will find mine at the very top should you ever pass that way.

The scenery is striking at times, you would move between the Mad Max desert, into thick Crocodile Dundee bush, burnt out heathland and then out towards the coast where we would be the only people on the beach or cliff tops. We would very often be traveling for over a hundred kilometers before we saw a township or a roadhouse, you will see useful signs such as "Last stop for 112km" and "Best Coffee for 100km" (of course that last one was in humour, being the only place you get a coffee for 100km). In fact this part of the Australia is particularly known for its 'interesting signs'. There is the Camel, Kangaroo and Wombat sign that warns you that they may jump out onto the road to attack you over the next 96km (this sign is often seen on postcards), another ushers you into "Australia's longest straightest road" and another exclaims "Half way across Australia", near a town called Kimba (again we were told that this isn't accurate either, but who cares).

On the trip we did all sorts. We rode camels into the outback, learned to surf (badly), sand boarded, fished for squid (unsuccessfully) and gone animal spotting during the day and at night, hiked to the tops of small mountains, we've seen kangaroos, lizards, red foxes, dingos, eagles, kookaburras and much more. But by far the best thing we have done though is swim with wild dolphins and sea lions at Baird's Bay, it is an unforgettable experience. The dolphins live on one side of the bay and the sea lions on the other. Our boat took us out to the dolphins first who followed us towards the mouth of the bay. On stepping into the water they immediately start to dart around you, swim through your legs and play chicken. Some had little babies as young as just a week old, it was amazing. The guy who took us had to wear a shark shield emitter as there has been attacks in this area down the year's, a few of the dolphins bare the scars from a few altercations. Perhaps even better was the sea lions, when we got out to play with them they would mirror our actions under the water. If you twisted, they would, if you somersaulted so would they. One even let me pet it and it kissed me, I could tell Julie was jealous. These things are huge too, may be 8 feet long with bodies like barrels, beautiful creatures.

On our last day of the tour near the beautiful Margaret River area we visited an Wudinna Aboriginal Culture Centre to gain a better about the bush and the Aboriginal way of life. We learned how they make weapons, fire and housing, as well as initiations and punishments, including spears through the thighs and hands for stealing, and how to get food and medicine from the trees and fauna. We got to have a go with making music and to have a go with the different styles of boomerangs, it was an insightful few hours.

One of the best things about traveling is the people you meet and on this tour we have some characters. There is Urs, a 46 year old Swiss guy, who is the most unintentionally funny bloke you could meet, he is really generous and kind, or so we thought until he told us of his days as a football hooligan more than 20 years before. We have two Irish brothers who have are busy drinking their way from Sydney to Perth and whose accent is so strong that I have had to interpret for the rest of the group, and it gets worst after numerous beers. We have also got 3 girls from Holland who have taken to wearing black everyday, despite the heat, some sort of goth thing going on 15 years too late but they have a wicked sense of humour. They left after a few days to head onto another tour, which left just 5 of us plus another 2 girls who joined the tour for a couple of days on their way from one farm to another working. We plan to meet up in Perth for some beers as one of the Irish lads celebrates his 30th whilst we are there, it is going to be huge.