Well a bit more preparation has been undertaken for the trip. The car has had a suspension check over, and got a clean bill of health. Even the wheel alignment was still spot on from the last time it was done. The transmission has been serviced, and again there were no problems. It actually feels like it shifts a bit quicker now too, as a bonus. Recently the engine developed a bit of an oil leak, and so that was attended to at its 120,000km service. They also noticed a leak from the power steering pump, which I might get replaced.

Next up is to get a new spare tyre, possibly replace the power steering pump (and a final check to make sure the oil leak was fixed) and put the stone guards back on the headlights and bonnet. I’ll also grab a tent from my folk’s place (just in case we can’t get accommodation somewhere) and put some tools together. A water container would be good too.

As for the trip plan, this is where we are going, courtesy of Google maps. Just under 8000km, with about 21 days to do it in. There looks to be roughly sixteen driving days, with the remainder being the odd rest day, and a few days in Perth for sightseeing and recuperation.

Next up is to actually book some accommodation -  there’s only a month to go!