I was in Australia on a year-long working holiday visa. That allowed me the time to explore this huge country – as I planned to travel as much as possible, only to stopping to work and save money to travel again. Even a year wasn’t long enough to see as much as I’d have liked, as there are so many attractions in Australia. This epic, once-in-a-lifetime, six-week road trip was definitely one of the highlights.

What I hadn’t planned, while fruitpicking in Southwest Australia, was to fall from a tree when reaching for an apple. As I lay in the hospital that day, crocked and no longer able to work, with very little money to sustain myself, I feared my entire trip was over.

Unexpectedly, I received a weekly payout for the next six weeks from the farm’s insurance. Fortunately, I had a relative who had put me in touch with a reputable orchard – not every employer would cover an injury like this. Inevitably, I took the opportunity to travel – until my money ran out and/ or I was fit to work again.

Before my stint on the farm, I had been on a two-week road trip around the Southwest. That inspired me to see more of this huge state. It is far less populated than Victoria and New South Wales, but no less beautiful. This second trip started from the deep Southwest, all the way up the lengthy Western coast of Australia, before heading inland to the Outback and the Northern Territory, ending in Darwin.