How feasible is hitch-hiking across Australia?

I want to set myself a challenge and wanted to know (honestly) if you think it's feasible... I want to hitchhike by myself around Australia! I think it'll be challenging...but fanastic! But that may be me being my foolish self :) Any thoughts?

Answer:

I can't tell you specifically about hitchhiking in Australia but generally... it's not the safest way to travel but a lot of women do it (more than you'd think) and emerge unscathed. Once in awhile you do hear a horror story - kidnap, rape, murder, but you don't hear about safe arrivals, friendships made and wonderful travel experiences. I personally prefer not to hitchhike, but I have done it when I've absolutely needed to. I've had mild trouble once (the driver was drunk and I didn't know it before getting in) but managed to get out before damage was done, courtesy of an alert police car. Other than that I've been fine. Others haven't been as fortunate.

If you do decide to go ahead, make sure that you at least put luck on your side by observing some basic safety advice: never hitchhike at night; never get into a car with a man alone or worse, a group of men; stick to single women or families with children; don't hesitate to change your mind if you don't like the look of the car once it stops...

Have a look at my page on female hitchhikers for additional tips and some good web resources for female hitchhikers and stories of women who have stuck their thumbs out and loved it - and others who would never do it again. Stay safe!

Comments for
How feasible is hitch-hiking across Australia?

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Hitchhiking gives me the willies
by: gwen@algarveexperiences.com

Hiya

I have to admit that the thought of anyone hitchhiking gives me the willies. But I know that a lot of people use that mode of travel and have a wonderful time.

I'm a Canadian who has spent some time in Australia. Not sure where home is for you, but keep in mind that the distances in Oz, like Canada, can be mind-boggling. And much of that land is uninhabited and extremely hostile due to heat, lack of water, poisonous snakes & spiders and challenging terrain. To be totally honest, I think it would take a skilled veteran hiker & naturalist to be able to truly get around Australia on their thumb.

Now, is you mean exploring the East and South coasts your job won't be quite a challenging, but there are still vast stretches of largely vacant land between major centres even in those much more populated areas.

So you might want to consider a combination of hitchhiking and getting a ticket on one of the 'traveler' buses they have that take you to out-of-the-way places on a hop on and off basis.

Whatever you do, plan, plan, plan this type of trip. It can be extremely exciting ...and it can kill you just as easily. Remember, the Australian landscape has more poisonous snakes and spiders than anywhere else in the world. If you aren't from there, who knows what you'll find on the side of an isolated road, besides killer heat & sun!!

Like the other commentor said, make certain you practice safe hitch-hiking. To that, I'd ask how good your camping/outdoor survival/wild outdoors skills are.

Sure hope you let us know what you decide ...and how your trip turns out.
Don't even think about hitchhiking!
by: Anonymous

I'm an Australian and i would not even consider it as there have been many misfortunes that happened that way to Australians and to non-Australians. Hitch a ride with fellow backpackers who have a car.
Addition to original post on hitchhiking around Australia
by: Anonymous

Well basically, you have to know me as a person to understand what I'm on about... but in short sometime in the near future I plan on travelling around Australia (I live in Sydney) by myself. In all honesty I will probably end up hitching a ride somewhere along the way as, being 18 and having not much money, I assume I'll get to the point where I wont have a choice!! So I don't really have a question in particular, but do you have any essential pointers (aside from trying to persuade me not to go!!). I want to try and "break down the walls" that surround my life, by not being attached or defined by things in my life like my job, school or attend etc... I just want to learn about my country and people!
Options to hitchhiking in Australia?
by: Leyla Giray

My 'answer' at the start of this post stands... but since you're asking for pointers I would suggest that you can discover your country and its people cheaply in many ways. Hitchhiking is indeed an option, although in my opinion not the best one. If you want to save money, as Gwen suggests do a bit of research and find travel companions who are driving from one place to the next. At least you'll get a chance to vet your co-travelers first. You can also save money by couchsurfing (visit couchsurfing.com) in people's homes along the way. And if the money really becomes tight, there's also the odd job to pick up along the way just to pay for a bus ride. I would never try to discourage any woman from traveling solo, but I would definitely caution you, especially as this sounds like your first major trip, to be careful and think of your safety as well as your adventure.
You have options
by: Wilna Wilkinson

When reading your question and then the well-thought out answers to you, I could not help but smile and think -- this is not the advice she asked for! I also thought to myself: I will not write an answer to her, because mine would be the same.

Australia is simply not a place for anyone -- no matter the age or gender or experience, to hitch hike -- for all the very founded reasons already given and many more. In fact, even in a vehicle on your own would not be a good idea.

And then you added to your original post"I want to try and "break down the walls" that surround my life, by not being attached or defined by things in my life like my job, school or attend etc..."

The moment I saw that, it confirmed what I had decided for myself your motivation probably was.

If this is your reason for wanting to start this mammoth undertaking, then Australia is not the place for you. You will be battling with the heat, the dangers, the risks -- so busy surviving that you will have no time or energy to break down any walls. Every person who will pick you up will be giving you a lecture of why yu should not be on your own -- in fact, if ever you are going to be defined by your job, your school, your age, your gender, it will be on a hitch-hiking trip through your own country!

My strong suggestion and speaking from the experience of someone who has been exactly where you are now, is that you borrow the money for a cheap ticket to Spain and that you go walk the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago de Compostella. Walking this pilgrimage route -- on your own -- will be the best thing you will ever done in your life. You will find the answers you are looking for -- and many you did not even know you had. You will break down the walls in your life and discover the real you. You will find that on the way you are never defined by anything other than you, yourself. Nowhere will you ever be allowed to be just exactly who you are like on the Camino. And although you will be on your own, there will be other fellow pilgrims -- meaning people who are there exactly for the same reasons, -- who understand why you are there without having to ask, who will listen when you need to talk and be silent when you feel you want to be alone. And don't worry about it being a 'pilgrimage' -- it was a pilgrim's route to Finisterre -- 'the end of the earth' -- thousands of years ago -- long before religions were even thought of. It is a spiritual experience -- an 850 kilometre meditation.
Hitchhiking in Australia
by: Dianne Sharma Winter

Hello there! I felt moved to make this post, having been a hitchhiker for many years across NZ. PLEASE DO NOT HITCHHIKE IN AUSTRALIA.

I really do not believe that it is safe, based on stories I have heard and the vast distances between places...A better option is to log onto a site like Gumtree where you will find heaps of backpackers looking for rides and people willing to share rides. This gives you an opportunity to check out the people before you commit to the ride!

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