Nine valiant adventurers set off on a marathon bus journey this morning from Dublin - to Sydney, Australia, writes Fiona Gartland.
They will join 30 other people for a 13-week journey on OzBus, a playbus for backpacking types with plenty of money and their own tents.
The bus departed from Galway's Eyre Square early yesterday, stopping in Dublin last night.
It will collect the balance of its 39 passengers in London today, before they all set off on a 13-week trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The passengers, who paid €5,500 each for the one-way journey, will travel 22,000 km together on the bus which is equipped with a coffee machine, long-range fuel and water tanks, as well as a toilet.
The itinerary includes stops in Austria, Bulgaria, Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar and Malaysia. Over half the trip will involve camping. The travellers provided their own tents and sleeping bags.
They will also stay in hostels, guesthouses and budget hotels en route. One flight, from East Timor to Darwin, is included in the trip.
Kym Toland (27), ex-New Zealand army, is the OzBus driver and is making the journey for the second time, having driven on the company's inaugural London to Sydney trip last September.
She said last time there were some "personality conflicts", but there were a lot of friendships, too.
Duncan O'Connell (26), from Kilmacanogue in Wicklow gave up his job in Ulster Bank to go on the trip.
"I was visiting Australia anyway and I saw the bus trip on the internet, it seemed perfect," he said.
The bus is expected to arrive in Sydney on May 10th.
See www.oz-bus.com