Most of the time when people talk about AI, it’s about robots stealing jobs, writing bad poetry, or inventing Skynet. But finally — finally! — I’ve found a use case that actually makes sense: planning a big outback drive.

Take getting to the start of the Canning Stock Route for example. From Hornsby NSW to Halls Creek WA is a long way. That’s a lot of fuel stops, a lot of roadhouse pies, and a lot of “are we there yet?” from the passenger seat.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Google Maps for the rough draft
   Open Google Maps and punch in your start and finish. That’s your “dreamer’s plan.” It tells you you’ll arrive in three days and only need one fuel stop. Lies.

2. Hand the mess to AI
   Then I ask an AI tool to chop the route into daily chunks — about 8 hours each. That way, you get something that looks like a real itinerary instead of “Hornsby to Halls Creek, one easy step.”

3. Laugh at the hallucinations
   This is where it gets funny. AI will happily suggest you spend the night in towns that don’t exist, or that you take a side road through an army weapons testing range. Always check the result against reality. It’s not gospel — it’s just a starting point.

4. Tweak to taste
   Want to stop at Bilpin for apple pie? Easy. Fancy a night at Wolfe Creek Crater? Drop it in. The beauty is you’ve got the bones of a plan without manually juggling times and distances.

The magic of this trick isn’t that AI gets it perfect (it doesn’t). It’s that it gets you about 80% of the way there in seconds, and then you just fix the rest. Finally, a practical use case for AI that doesn’t involve generating creepy photos or dodgy business plans.

So yeah, planning your outback road trip with a bit of Google Maps and a dash of AI? That’s a win. Just remember: double-check every stop, or you might end up “overnighting” in a ghost town with nothing but a busted windmill and a lot of flies for company.