History:
The outstanding facts of Australia is single in more than one way. there are summarized rapidly to understand the reality of today.

I Origins:
At the beginning after the big-bang:
---- Two hundred million years ago only one landmass called Pangaea emerged from the sea,
---- One hundred million years ago Pangaea separated in two masses, Laurasia in the north and Gondwanaland in the south,
---- Fifty million years ago Gondwanaland divided into several parts of which Australia attached to the Antarctic,
---- Forty million years ago Australia separated from the Antarctic,
---- Today Australia is moving northwards towards the equator at a rate of 8cm a year.

The poverty of its ground and the roughness of its climate are the result of its evolution different from the other continents. It was too flat, too hot and too dry to have glaciers mainly at the origin of the fertile grounds. Fauna and flora adapted to such conditions.

Australia has been the oldest continent inhabited for more than 60.000 years by the Aboriginals. At the time of the arrival of the British settlers they were approximately 750.000 divided into 300 groups of languages. They are nomads hunters gatherers inhabitants in temporary huts. Their art is expressed with painting on the walls of the caves representing their vision of the earth's creation –Dreamtime or Dreaming– and their life style, as in various objects of the everyday life. In 19th and beginning of the 20th century they were killed per thousands. In the Fifties their rights were gradually recognized and the Supreme Court abolished the doctrines of Terra Nullius in 1992. Today they are approximately 1,6% of the population in Australia.

As of the 15th century the Portuguese undertook the circumnavigation of the world. The first map of Australia was carried out in Dieppe, France, between 1540 and 1566, describing Australia as Java La Grande in the south of Indonesia.

In the 17th century the Dutchmen took the control of Indonesia, Dutch East Indies. Abel Tasman realized, between 1642 and 1644, maps of Australia with Tasmania as well as New Zealand.

In 1688 William Dampier landed in Australia and published New Voyage Round The World in 1697. In 1768 Captain James Cook arrived on the East coast of Australia which was proclaimed in 1770 possession of the crown of England by George III, was called, New South Wales. In 1788 the First Fleet with nine ships and with 210 marines, 750 convicts, 40 women and children arrived in Sydney Cove. The colonization of Australia started. Tasmania became a colony in 1825, Western Australia in 1829, Victoria in 1851, Queensland in 1859 and South Australia in 1836.

The Gold Rush began in the years 1850 by the discovery from gold in Bathurst, NSW, in Ballarat and Bendigo, Vic. In 1880 Australia was a prosperous country with the construction of many buildings of which some were it by convicts. At the end of the 19th century Australia knew a deep depression.

On January 1st, 1901 the Federation of the first six colonies was proclaimed. The first act was the White Australia Policy, a law of restriction of immigration with a test of dictation in obscure languages as Gaelic!

In 1902 Australia was the first country in the world to grant women's suffrage.

In 1915 Australia entered war to defend the motherland with a disastrous landing at Gallipoli in Turkey. 64% of the Australian task force, 331.781 soldiers, were killed or wounded. The Anzac Day –Australia & New-Zealand Army Corps– are recognized by the Australians as being the national festival.

During the interval wars Australia knew one boom with construction in particular the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The crisis of 1929 reached it until 1933. But the advertisement of the war in Europe in 1939 had unexpected repercussions.

In 1942 Imperial Japanese Army bombarded Darwin, Broome and Townsville and Japanese submarines entered Sydney Cove. England required troops from Australia which refused asserting the Pacific war. It was the first engagement of the Australian army alongside the American army. General D. MacArthur establishes his headquarters in Australia for the reconquest of the Pacific: “I shall return”.

In 1951 the treaty of the ANZUS –Australia, New-Zealand & United State– was signed. The Australian government became aware that the safety of the country was dependant on a strong economy with a large population. In the twenty years which followed the end of the war nearly two million immigrants arrived of which more than 40% was from Continental Europe. Today the population is approximately 22 million inhabitants.

II Facts:
The after World War Two is dominated by the economic boom and alignment over the USA with engagement in Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam then in Iraq. In 1986 the Proclamation Australia Act broke any legal tie with England although the referendum in 1999 showed that the population with 55% recognized the English monarchy which is represented by the General Governor. The federal government is conscious that the future of Australia is in Asia. Lately the election of the Federal Parliament in August 2010 did not release from majority by repudiating the Labour party from power.

Australia is a young nation with a strong national identity and a great tolerance have regard to the multiculturalism inherent in the immigration policy after WWII. The standard of living is very high, prices are almost identical to those in Europe except fuels. In spite of the efforts of the federal government the integration of Aboriginals remains to become about it, they tend to preserve their ancestral practices. Awaited the restitution of the grounds –traditional owners– and the payment of rents by the States they perceive incomes. In North and East cities is not rare to see them inactive sitting on ground or even sometimes staggering in spite of the prohibition of the alcohol sale in the Aboriginal territories.

The Australian economy is still very dependant on export on gross products, ores, sea salt and wool for lack of labour. I was amazed to see giant boats transporting sea salt towards Japan. It will have to develop the industrial sector of transformation. Admittedly it has companies of world size such as BHP Billiton about which one speaks regularly in projects about fusion with Rio Tinto. Moreover an operation of purchase by BHP Billiton was in hand in August 2010.

I Team:
No change, truck MAN and its Guy's driver.

II Journey:
The trip consisted in heading from Darwin to Brisbane with the objective to ship my truck to New-Zealand. This circumnavigation is explained by the concentration of the population on the coasts and more particularly on the East coast. The red centre is a desert where I made incursions.
2.1 the trip: The plan of road was studied in Rawang, Malaysia, is put in prospect with lived reality. The trip evolved little. On the other hand the planning was several times adapted have regard to the servicing of my truck in Perth and the waiting of administrative documents in Sydney. I traversed +49,500 kilometres on average 140 kilometres a day.
2.2 the road network: The road network is not very dense in the outback, it especially consists of gravel roads, surfaced overland route whose quality is very variable from excellent to execrable. The coastal roads are of good quality with sometimes surfaces degraded by the road trains and long vehicles. There is little motorway except in Melbourne and Sydney where they are toll road. Vertical signposts in cities and at junctions are informative, I did not encounter any difficulty of orientation. Police is very discrete, at the time of passing it greeted me with the traditional raised index of the right hand. I was never controlled.
2.3 Australian drivers: The speed limits are 40/50 downtown and 100/110 and 130 on roads in open country. Downtown the motorists are very careful on the other hand in the countryside they drive very fast. Road trains and long vehicles travel at the speed limits and I though sometimes beyond. I noticed that they have no possibility to stop in the event of incident. Due to an electronically speed limit of my truck, 85km, I was to be very vigilant. There are very few motorcyclists, especially bikers as Harley Davidson with the ad hoc look! Mainly in the outback the camper-drivers greet themselves while a raising index of the right hand without leaving the wheel.
2.4 The insurance of the vehicle: My truck had a third party personal insurance.

III Bivouacs:
With the Camps 5 Australia Wide guidebook as with the luxurious booklets of Visitor Centres, there was no difficulty knowing that the wild camp-site is almost impossible, Private Property. I adopted the rhythm of a caravan park in the weekend for water and laundry, the remainder of the week I stationed on the free rest areas. All bivouac spots are given with the GPS co-ordinates, cf campsite position.

V Supply of food:
Supermarkets, Woolworth, Coles and in small cities, IGA and Foodland, are present in all Australia. The two first give a voucher A$6  of purchase 150 litres of fuel for A$30 of food purchase. Sometimes I made several outward and returns with a basket of A$30. Restaurants are expensive and food is often unspecified. I went sometimes to MacDo because Wifi Internet access is free, but not very fast. Some prices are given by the Information page.

IV Fluids:
Woolworth voucher are valid at Caltex and those of Coles at Shell. Diesel price slightly varied with the rate of the US$ and the remote from supply harbour.

VI Money:
HSBC bank is in the all capitals of State where HSBC Premier Card is a red wire to withdraw a large sum. In this country the bank card is very much used. Visa Premier card was accepted everywhere even in caravan parks.

VII Guide books:
As before I used Lonely Planet, Lp, with a critical eye considering its ill-considered tendency to the panegyric as well as Eyewitness Travel. The tourist booklets very abundant and are very well documented. Visitor Centres are a true mine of information and the team, often volunteer, was very obliging and attentive with my language.

VIII Passport, visa, border crossing:
I would not take again the saga for obtaining a one year Australian visa nor setting in conformity of my truck with the regulation of the AQIS. It is necessary to consult the pages of the travelog in Dili, East Timor. The entry in Australia and the continuation of the trip of the combatant for obtaining the right to drive in Australia are told by the travelog and the Information page in Australia. This lived financially painful as well as advice given by Australians encouraged me not to go to New Zealand with my truck but as backpacker.

IX My appreciation:
9.1 I liked:
-- I adored parks, landscapes and long walks. Assigned time, the number of parks as well as the climate did not enable me to visit all of them. It is impossible during one year to be at the right place according to the rhythm of the seasons, moreover the country is very vast and the distance very great.
-- I discovered, superficially, the Aboriginal civilization by visiting parks and museums, but the access to the Aboriginal reserves is very regulated.
-- I observed British colonial architecture everywhere where the administration was present to take taxes. I was often amazed by ostentatious splendour at these Victorian buildings.
-- In Tasmania, more than elsewhere, criticisms of the colonial administration as well in museums as on sites are sometimes virulent.
-- Museums of the capitals of State gather items with a setting in very didactic scene visiting their highly advisable.
9.2 I hated:
-- I don't find anything with saying because I didn't hate anything. The country is splendid and the population is accessible and helpful.
9.3 I regretted:
-- Not to have been in spring in the south of the WA,
-- In the future not to moreover trek and to moreover bivouac in eucalypt forests.

X Relevance of the trip by camper :
In Australia there would be more than 60.000 caravans of any kind. Any camper can travel in Australia, no special equipment is necessary. I used my truck in 4x4 only on Birdsville Track. Admittedly the gravel roads require sometimes a good vertical clearance, but corrugated road was breakable for my truck. Its size, wide and high, did not authorize me for going in the deep bush by tracks such as Canning which were cut by 4x4 such as Toy. Moreover Australians used either a 4x4 with a trailer or with equipment on the back plate. Have regard to the cost of entry with a vehicle in Australia it can be planned to buy a camper for a long stay, the cost of hiring would be propitiatory. French met in working holiday had bought second-hand small vans for their one year stay.