Fifteen story beds are travelling community to community across the centre of Australia. Scroll to travel the route with them.
Stop 1 of 15You are here·June
Home base. The beds are built, the story kit is packed, and the relay begins with an eastern hop before the long loop.
15 beds aboard
⟶ Flight to Townsville and the ferry across; back to Meanjin after
Stop 2 of 15·15 to 17 June
The relay begins on Bwgcolman country: two days, out and back, the first consent conversations of the journey.
✈ The Mparntwe reset before the Utopia Homelands return
Stop 3 of 15·29 June to 1 July
The loop begins. Two nights to load, reset, and confirm the Utopia door, then north.
⟶ ~270 km · est 3.5 h drive · East from Mparntwe; local road condition to confirm
Stop 4 of 15·1 to 3 July
Two nights for stories to go home first: printed returns, consent clearances, and the relay question held through the community door.
⟶ ~500 km · est 6 h drive · From Utopia Homelands; route and timing need local confirmation
Stop 5 of 15·3 to 4 July
Four beds land on Warumungu country, with a full day to do it properly: doorsteps, yarning, the story going down the way the community wants it told.
4 beds
⟶ ~670 km · est 7.5 h drive · Long northbound day from Tennant Creek
Stop 6 of 15·4 to 6 July
Two nights at Katherine and Nitmiluk make space for the gorge, rest, and any warm-path story contact that should happen here.
⟶ ~520 km · est 6 h drive · Katherine to Lake Argyle on the Victoria Highway
Stop 7 of 15·6 to 13 July
The loop turns west into Miriwoong country, Lake Argyle, Kununurra, and the domes of Purnululu.
⟶ Down the Great Northern Highway through Fitzroy Crossing
Stop 8 of 15·13 to 17 July
Four days where the desert meets the sea: Cable Beach, Gantheaume Point, the markets. The mid-journey rest before the longest road of the loop.
⟶ The coast highway south, three days of it
Stop 9 of 15·17 to 22 July
South down the Pilbara coast: Port Hedland, Karratha, then the reef. Whale sharks swim the Ningaloo in July, and the family swims with them.
⟶ Down the coast from Ningaloo through the Mid West
Stop 10 of 15·22 to 26 JulyRecovery and logistics buffer
The route reaches Boorloo/Perth for a real reset before turning inland: laundry, freight checks, story uploads, repairs, rest, and the decision to keep moving with enough time.
⟶ ~595 km · est 6.5 h drive · Perth to Kalgoorlie via Southern Cross
Stop 11 of 15·26 to 28 July
Kalgoorlie becomes the Goldfields hinge before the central return. Any story work here stays warm-path only; the route then prepares for permit-country movement east.
⟶ Kalgoorlie to Laverton, then the Great Central Road to Yulara
Stop 12 of 15·28 July to 1 August
East from Kalgoorlie through Laverton and the long unsealed road through Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Permit country, crossed with permission, roadhouse to roadhouse, then a Yulara transit base before APY.
⟶ Entry and internal movement set by APY permit and community guidance
Stop 13 of 15·1 to 4 AugustProvisional, permit-gated
Three days for the art-centre thread, as many studios as the permit and the communities allow. Two beds travel this way by freight. Permit lead-time keeps this leg provisional.
2 beds
⟶ ~550 km · est 6.5 h drive · Back from APY via the approved exit and Lasseter Highway
Stop 14 of 15·4 to 5 AugustReturn window; the community decides
The route returns to Mutitjulu after APY. Four beds are set aside, travelling by freight to meet the route. The door opens by nomination, never by a knock: if no warm path opens, the beds wait.
4 beds
⟶ ~465 km · est 5 h drive · Back from Mutitjulu/Yulara to Alice Springs
Stop 15 of 15·5 to 10 AugustCan extend into mid-August if needed
The loop returns to Mparntwe/Alice Springs for the final reset, story-return buffer, freight checks and an open home base. Five beds are still unallocated: each community on the route chooses where they go.
5 beds, community nominated
1 consented chapter on the trail so far.
Every story pin on this map was shared with consent, and the story went home first. The route is indicative until it is set with the communities on it.
The relay moves at the speed of trust. Get a dispatch when a new chapter clears.
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