Australia 1999-2003
Red Earth Expedition
The longest camel expedition in Australian history
In the footsteps of the great explorers
Terra Australis, as the Europeans called Australia – even before the legendary navigator James Cook came across its east coast on his way back from Tahiti in 1770. Australia is synonymous with adventure, with hair-raising pioneer stories, with the legendary Aboriginal people, with inexhaustible natural treasures, lush vegetation, desolate, soon endless deserts, idiosyncratic and interesting animals such as kangaroos, koalas, cockatoos, crocodiles and camels. Devastating bushfires, long periods of drought, cyclones, tornadoes, extreme rainfall, torrential floods, temperatures of over 50 degrees in the shade and a merciless sun are just some of the inhospitable living conditions on this continent – the smallest continent on our planet. Australia is also home to numerous venomous animals, of which spiders, scorpions and snakes in particular can be very dangerous, and not just to humans.
Australia is a country whose indigenous people introduced us to the “Dreamtime”. This and much more is exactly why I want to experience and explore this legendary, strange and literally boundless part of our Mother Earth.
Over the past four years, we have been crossing the endless expanses of the Australian outback as part of our great journey. 7,000 kilometers on foot and with our own camels, we crossed the continent from south to north and from the west coast to the east coast. It was a bold undertaking, the outcome of which was uncertain from the outset. An adventure of superlatives, a journey into the still unknown interior of a mystical and mysterious country. An expedition that pushed us beyond the limits of our physical and mental capabilities.
Our narrative is intended to give you an unadulterated, exciting and informative introduction to a country whose beauty and size are almost incomprehensible to the mind.
For us, it was often a march through heaven and hell, through highs and lows, where we sometimes thought we wouldn’t live to see the next day. But it was also a time when we became one with the red earth of Australia and with Mother Nature. It was a time that we would never want to miss again. A time when eternity became tangible. This never-ending march was a huge challenge for us. The aim was to live in the moment. So we shared one of the highest feelings given to people on this earth. It is both the greatest gift and the highest goal and means nothing more to us than feeling life and inhaling it with every breath.
Join us on our adventurous journey. Experience an expedition through mystical Australia and feel with us through our current reporting in the section “Diaries Australia”.
Crossing the Sinai Desert, wild Pakistan, the Desert of Death in western China, the Gobi in Mongolia and Australia in all directions, we covered almost 12,000 kilometers by camel. A world record in the history of human expeditions.
We are not only interested in traveling, but also in bringing other cultural and philosophical values and views closer to the western world. And, of course, it is also about breaking out of a society that is governed by laws, rules and regulations. For us, it is one of life’s journeys in which the search for one’s own self, one’s roots and the conscious living of the moment play an irreplaceable role.
In four books – Preparation, Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 – I have reported in detail on our often dramatic and also uniquely beautiful expedition life on 1,200 pages – you can read them in the Diaries Australia section.
Australia 1999-2003
Longest camel expedition in Australian history. As part of their great journey, Tanja & Denis Katzer crossed the endless expanses of the Australian outback in four years. They traveled 7,000 km on foot and with their own camels across the continent from south to north and from the west coast to the east coast.
