Cirrus@Austlit

'This is not a travel guide. This is a story about travelling around Australia trying to avoid strangulation by strangers while attempting amateur burglary. No, really. It is.

'John Card was a high-school science teacher with a good job and promising prospects. However, he was also burned out, bored out of his mind and lacking real direction in his life. Like most people at some point, he dreamed of packing it all in and running away from home. However, unlike most people, he actually did. After asking his mum to help him pack his backpack that is…

'This is one man’s very funny account of his time hitchhiking 15000 kilometres around Australia in search of adventure and new way of thinking about life. Along the way he encounters nude walkers, has abuse hurled at him from passing cars, is introduced to the thrills of riding on the roof of a ute at 120km an hour, drinks a lot of beer, eats a lot of bananas (going cheap in QLD), sees a lot of road signs and antagonises a lot of people. He also discovers that the enormous generosity of ordinary Australians, and reignites his own passion and meaning for life.' (Publication summary)