This is a book for anyone thinking, planning or even just dreaming about driving off into the sunset on a road trip around Australia.

I'm a professional travel writer and photographer and last year my partner Bill and I spent 42 weeks driving 40,000 of the country's roughest, toughest and dustiest kilometres on a lap of mainland Australia. Towing a camper trailer, our road trip took us across some of the country's most iconic landscapes and destinations and into places where few other travellers roam.

From the wild, storm-lashed beaches of the southern coastline to the endless dunes of the remote western deserts, through the Red Centre and across the Top End from Broome to Cape York, it was the ultimate road trip.



Featuring hundreds of beautiful images, The Big Lap – a softcover 17 cm x 20cm book of 144 full-colour pages – is the pictorial diary of our journey with detailed captions telling the stories behind the images.


But this is not just another photobook, even though it showcases of some of Australia's most beautiful and wild places. What makes this book different to the rest is that it's full of helpful information to help you plan your own Big Lap.

But it's not just another guide book to doing 'the lap' either. It's the story of our lap. We went where many people don't go, and didn't go where many people do go. The best spots are off the tourist trail, and most aren't even on the map, but we'll tell you how to get there.


Everyone's hitching up a caravan or camper trailer and heading off on the big lap these days, and many are blogging about it. So what makes our trip worth reading about? We sought the road less travelled at every opportunity, spending the majority of our time in national parks or the bush, rather than towns and caravan parks.

While we had a 4WD and certainly used it on some pretty challenging tracks, it was more a tool to get off the beaten track rather than go hero off-roading. Anyone with a sense of adventure and a little preparation could replicate our trip, and because I've included 'how to get there' information in the text, you can use our trip as inspiration to plan your own.


Or give it as a gift to someone you know who's planning on hitting the road.


Why crowdfund?

I make my living taking photographs and writing about travel. The Big Lap will be my 13th book, but the first one I have ever self-published.

This book is different to all my other books: this one is personal.  By self publishing I can produce the book I want to produce, the book I think would be most useful – and enjoyable – for readers, rather than the book that my publishers (wonderful folk that they are) think will sell the most copies.  Producing this book is not about making money, it's about sharing all the wonder and adventure of a trip of a lifetime.


Self-publishing also means that I can get the book into the hands of readers much quicker than the traditional publishing route, where it can often take 12 months or more before a title hits the shelves.

But self-publishing is expensive and risky. Funding The Big Lap through Pozible means that readers can pre-order the book before it hits the presses, I know I am producing a book that people really want, and no trees will die in vain.

We did it!

Stretch goals

I've set a target of $6000, but that just covers the cost of printing and the fees charged by Pozible – all other expenses, such as editing, proof-reading, pre-press production, distribution and marketing, along with the expenses incurred during 10-months of on-the-road research, are self-funded. Any additional funds we raise through this campaign will go towards paying  a graphic designer and some added extras like better cover stock and spot varnish. (See stretch goals at the top of this page for more details.)

Everyone that pre-orders a copy of The Big Lap gets it at cost – I'm yet to finalise the retail price (you'll be able to buy it through www.leeatkinson.com.au and selected retail outlets once it has been published) but it will be around $35, plus postage.

Most of the hard work has already been done: we've driven the miles and taken the photos, penned the text and even started designing the pages. The real challenge is going to be spreading the word so that we can achieve our funding goal. You can help by pre-ordering a copy of the book (or two or three for your roadtripping friends and family) and spreading the word by sharing this page on Facebook or Twitter.