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''I hitchhiked up and down the Stuart Highway and Kakadu National Park and bits and pieces of New South Wales, Tasmania and almost regularly on the remote Tanami Highway. Generally I found it easier to get lifts in remote areas. Especially in the outback and close to Aboriginal settlements. There might be two or three cars per hour on some roads. But chances that they pick you up are very high. There is a great sense of caring. Some Australians are truly paranoid about hitchhikers due to some events in the past. Tradies (craftsmen) are friendly quite often while tourists are certainly less likely to pick you up and Australia is a very individualistic country. Kakadu National Park was hard in the beginning but turned out allright. I just don't like it when there are too many tourists vans driving by. At stages I picked up 10 litres of water and just walked along the road. It seemed to have quite an effect on some people who gave me a lift to find me standing next to the road far away from anything else. In Kakadu you are supposed to stick to campsites for camping though. All in all it is not a walker/hitchhiker friendly national park. All in all Australia is a great country for hitchhiking because a lot of people are open and like to talk. You hear great stories on your way and can learn a lot. Hitchhiking can be truly adventurous here.''- Japanangka 14.09.16
I hitchhiked around the entire country with $1 in 2016 starting and ending in Melbourne passing every major city and lots of small towns in between during wet season which took about 7 weeks, including a day of not a single offer of a ride up in a tiny town Northern Territory (after 12 hours and sunburn on my hitchhiking arm a local I'd chatted to while getting a flat white and a pie at 6 a.m passed me at 6 p.m and took me home fed me watered me gave me internet, laundry and a lift to the same spot next morning where after 30 minutes I got a ride) and a week of being invited into a local's home. Hitchhiking is my lifestyle, and in Australia especially it is respected as such, even though now, in 2023 most drivers I meet tell me they hardly see any hitchhikers anymore
Hitchhikernick - I have visited nearly every nook and cranny of Australia. Pick up times have varied from seconds to 3 days. The longest wait was in Kununurra heading towards Catherine where I waited 3 days with my skis and had to follow the shade of the speed sign at edge of town in 35 centegrade heat, thankfully there were hospitable locals who helped me out until i finally got a lift.
I saw stunning places that I never envisaged in Australia. I never had issues with cops anywhere except for Queensland where they do actually enforce the law against hitching, so you gotta be careful and discreet in that territory.
Not had much luck with roadtrains, mostly just private cars. Never get on back of vehicle if going through desert unless you want a serious red dusting like I experienced when coming back to Halls Creek from Wolfe Creek crater.
Easy peasy to camp, just make sure you have a tent to stop the creepy crawlies and snakes getting you. Surprisingly the kangaroos never jumped on or kicked/boxed my tent whilst I was camping.
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