A few weeks ago, Patrick Jones, Meg Ulman, and their 11-year-old son, Woody, were waking to icy cold winter mornings at their home in Daylesford, in central Victoria.
Ten days, seven lifts, two trains and three buses later, they were in humid Darwin, on what they described as a “magical” trip.
“The pleasure of hitchhiking is just meeting other people, and just the story sharing,” Mr Jones said.
In an age where giving lifts to strangers is mostly advised against, this family sees it as their preferred option to get to India, for environmental and social reasons.
Mr Jones and Ms Ulman do not own a car, have not been overseas in 20 years, and…