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 Child was stopped in Broken Hill, New South Wales, having seemingly driven across the entire state from Kendall near Port Macquarie 
 
 A 12-year-old boy was stopped by police after attempting to drive solo across Australia, having already covered 1,300 kilometres of his journey. 
 
 The boy was stopped in Broken Hill, an isolated mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, on Saturday morning. He had already driven across the entire state of NSW from Kendall, on the east coast, and was heading for Perth. Police believe he intended to complete the 4,000km journey alone. 
 
 Broken Hill highway patrol officers stopped the 12-year-old’s vehicle around 11am on Saturday when they noticed its bumper dragging on the ground. 
 
 
 
 Girl, 12, arrested for driving at 122km/h in Tasmania Read more 
 
 “Officers from Broken Hill Highway Patrol stopped a motor vehicle on the Barrier Highway due to defects which made the vehicle hazardous,” the spokesperson said. 
 
 “Checks revealed the driver to be a 12-year-old boy travelling from Kendall NSW on his way to Perth.” 
 
 
 
 The gruelling journey between Kendall and Perth takes around 40 hours by car and involves driving through the arid desert of Nullarbor plain. 
 
 
 
 Australia’s official tourism site advises visitors to take a full six days just to cross Nullarbor, on a motorway famous for its unbending trajectory through the barren scrubland. 
 
 Questions remain over how the boy travelled thousands of miles, and refuelled the car, without being noticed. Drivers taking the route are advised by the tourism board to take caution and “carry extra petrol and plenty of water and food”. 
 
 Police confirmed the boy was arrested and taken to Broken Hill police station. Inquiries were continuing. ||||| The distance between there and Perth, on the far western end of the country, is around 4,300 kilometers, or 2,700 miles. 
 
 AUSTRALIA Kendall Broken Hill Perth NEW SOUTH WALES Great Australian Bight Canberra Melbourne Indian Ocean 500 Miles AUSTRALIA Kendall Broken Hill NEW SOUTH WALES Canberra Melbourne Indian Ocean 500 Miles 
 
 How far is that? It’s similar to the drive from New York to Los Angeles, which is a little more than 2,800 miles, or from Ottawa to Edmonton. 
 
 A quick reminder: The boy is 12. And while it’s common for young people in Australia and all over the world to drive tractors or other vehicles at young ages, this boy managed to drive on major roads for an entire day without being found out or being harmed. The police said he was stopped at 11 a.m. Saturday, which means he spent a night alone on the road. 
 
 So how far did he really go? 
 
 The distance traveled doesn’t look like much on a map, particularly given Australia’s size, but the 800 miles that he drove — again, alone, as a 12-year-old — is about the equivalent of making the long and annoying drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles, back and forth, with a few dozen more miles thrown in for rest stops and food. 
 
 Or, for our non-American readers, it’s like driving from Paris to Prague, deciding that’s not far enough, then deciding to head for Vienna. 
 
 Averting Danger 
 
 Road trips in Australia are a little different than road trips in many other places. The police said the boy had clear and specific plans, but to complete his intended journey, he would have had to drive through the Nullarbor Plain, a flat, desolate, hot and largely empty stretch in the south that is about four times the size of Belgium. 
 
 Those who have made the drive warn people to pack extra gasoline and car parts — in addition to ample food and water — because gas stations are so far apart from each other. 
 
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 The tourism board advises that people take six days just to get across the Nullarbor. Driving at night is not advised because of the risk of hitting stray emus, kangaroos, wombats or camels. Yes, camels: About 100,000 wild ones are there, the descendants of animals imported to help build inland railroads. 
 
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 Online, just a mere mention of the drive across Australia often elicits references to something even more frightening: “Wolf Creek,” a well-known Australian horror film about murders in the outback. 
 
 Lingering Questions 
 
 It should be noted that the boy is safe. He was released into the care of his parents on Sunday, and the police said they hoped to speak with the boy and his parents on Monday. An investigation into the incident is continuing, and the police have not said much beyond that. 
 
 “It’s pretty unusual,” a spokeswoman for the police said in an interview Monday. “It’s not something that occurs every day.” 
 
 Online, Australians reacted with awe and inquiries. Several people seemed impressed that the boy managed to avoid getting a speeding ticket and that he would even take on such an expedition. Others raised a series of questions, some of which various reporters are also sharing, including: 
 
 • How did he pay for gas? 
 
 • Who taught him how to drive? 
 
 • What compels a 12-year-old to do something that drastic? 
 
 • Did his parents report him missing, and if so, when? 
 
 • What kind of punishment does the boy face from the police or his parents? 
 
 • Is anything deeper or darker going on with this story that we’re unaware of? ||||| Police search uncovers fourth body after discovery of two adults and a child in central Australia 
 
 Child found dead near three other bodies and broken-down vehicle in outback 
 
 Northern Territory Police searching for a missing 12-year-old boy in remote central Australia say they have found the body of a child. 
 
 The body was found 120 metres from three other bodies, all from the one family, were found near their broken-down vehicle on Wednesday on Jarra Jarra Road. 
 
 A formal identification of the child is yet to be undertaken and police have not confirmed if it is the body of the 12-year-old boy believed to be a passenger in the car. 
 
 The bodies of a 19-year-old man, a 19-year-old woman and a three-year-old boy, described as a young family, were found late on Wednesday near Willowra, about 300km north-west of Alice Springs. 
 
 Their vehicle was about 70km from Willowra and was last seen leaving the township on Friday bound for Yarra Yarra. 
 
 The deaths are not considered suspicious with the bodies found about 4.5km from the vehicle. Remnants of food and water were also found at the scene. 
 
 Earlier in the day, police said it is possible, based on information from other family members, that a 12-year-old boy was also a passenger in the vehicle. 
 
 Family members have not authorised the release of the boy’s name. 
 
 “This is a tragic situation and our thoughts remain with the families affected by this incident,” Nobbs said. 
 
 He said while police would not speculate on the cause of death, or on exactly what happened to the vehicle, the incident was a timely reminder for people travelling on NT roads. 
 
 “Ensure that when you travel your vehicle is in a fit state, that you have sufficient supplies including water and a first aid kit, and that someone is aware of what your travel itinerary is, when you intend to leave, arrive and your anticipated routes,” he said. 
 
 First reports to police on Wednesday indicated the vehicle had crashed but once investigators arrived it was clear there had not been a crash. 
 
 Nobbs said the man who made the initial report to the health clinic in Wilowra would be interviewed. 
 
 “He will be a critical part of the investigation. He’s quite distraught about what he’s found,” he said. 
 
 The ABC reported that the three people found initially may have died from exposure.
– The journey from Australia's eastern New South Wales coast to Perth on its west measures about 2,500 miles. A 12-year-old boy set off to drive it alone, and got ridiculously far. The Australian Associated Press reports the boy was stopped about 800 miles into the drive around 11am Saturday, having essentially traversed the entirety of New South Wales from his starting point in Kendall, near Port Macquarie, over the course of 24 hours. The New York Times gives some American perspective, saying the distance covered "is about the equivalent of making the long and annoying" round-trip drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco, "with a few dozen more miles thrown in for rest stops and food." The child was stopped in Broken Hill due to a dislodged bumper, which was dragging on the ground. Police tell the AAP the damage suggests he was involved in some sort of accident along the way. "He'd taken the family car," police said Monday. "His parents reported him missing immediately after he left home" shortly after 11am Friday. The child is in the custody of his parents, but will likely face charges including driving without a license and not paying for gas; Sky News reports he fueled up around 6am in Cobar. As for how he managed to not raise suspicions for such a long period, Sky News reports the 6-foot-tall boy looks much older than 12. Indeed, the manager of the gas station the child stopped at thought he looked "19 or 20."