LET THE RUBBER HIT THE ROAD

TWENTY-FIVE DAYS, MORE THAN 16,000 KM DRIVE THROUGH AUSTRALIA HIGHWAY 1

- Suresh Joseph

A SEARCH on Google as to which is the longest highway in the world will bring up the Pan-American Highway. That is not surprising because it is technically over 22,000km, from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Ushuaia in Argentina. The Pan-American Highway is not really a single network of highways, though, and the infamous, yet mystical, Darien Gap—a 106km stretch of impenetrable jungle and swamp in Colombia — derails its claim to be the world's longest highway. The Darien Gap is full of rare plants and wildlife, indigenous people, smugglers and sinister paramilitary groups and has been largely untouched by the modern world. Thus, the distinction of the world's longest highway belongs to Australia Highway 1, which runs across the Australian continent connecting all its state capitals and covering 16,725km.

I had arranged car hire with Apex Car Rentals. A week before the journey, I emailed the company that I would require a car in good condition with tires that could withstand the entire length of Australia Highway 1. I was astounded when I was told that Apex Car Rentals had geographical restrictions that applied to Tasmania, Western Australia, Northern Territory and some parts of Queensland. I had not read the fine print! In a couple of days, a former schoolmate who lived in Perth, suggested Hertz, an international car rental company that had just one restriction — that of taking their car on the ferry to Tasmania.

SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE (1,060km; two days)