Day 80 - Home Sweet Home

This morning we have a couple of things to do before we can leave Perth and head home.  We are all very excited to be back in WA and we love the fact that we know where we are going on the roads and we can buy a West Australian and finally a Farm Weekly.  I can't believe how the kids hay fever has kicked in almost as soon as we arrived home.  Since about Newman, they haven't suffered at all and as soon as we are back to Perth it starts up, and when we get back to the farm, it is 100 times worse.

So driving home was just great.  We couldn't believe how green everything still is and what a relief to see the crops looking so great.  Ron has done such a great job of looking after things for us while we have been away and our lawn is mowed and things look good.  First stop is Grandma's to see how she is and also to see the guinea pigs.  We gained 5 while we were away!!!!  So the kids were very excited to see the babies.

Then we finally get home to our house.  Walking into the house is so bizaar, it feels absolutely enormous and I think I might have the largest kitchen in Australia, I think it might actually be bigger than the entire caravan.  I can't wait to start cooking and using a full sized oven without having people under my feet!!!  The kids just love being in their rooms and being able to stretch their arms up in their beds without touching the roof above!!!  And the minute everything is out of the ute, Glen is off on a crop inspection.  He is very pleased with how things are looking, it is such a relief after the last couple of years.

So the first half of our adventure has finished. The planning stage took years and now the first half seems over in a flash.  Being home and looking back is when we realise how much we have done and how much we have seen.  Our relationship as a family has grown as we have all got to know each other so well, both the good and the bad, I think it will be an experience we will remember fondly for a long time.  We are thankful to be have a break in between journeys as 11 weeks was probably enough in a caravan.  By the time harvest is finished I know we will be looking forward to continuing on the second half of our journey at the end of January.

So I will sign off here.  Thanks everyone for following us on our travels, it has been so nice to know so many of you have been with us all the way.  We look forward to catching up with you all before we head off again and hear what you and your families have been up to.  So until January. Ciao!!!

Day 79 - Perth

Wow, no more sleeps.  I thought everyone would bound out of bed full of excitement this morning but, as we aren't leaving until lunch time, it is a pretty slow start.  It has been raining most of the night.  Luckily we are under cover as all our bags are lined up outside on the concrete, no room for luggage in the van, fortunately they are all dry when I got up to check in the middle of the night.  We have pretty much done everything we had to do yesterday, so it is a long morning.  Initially we had booked the flights thinking we would have to put the van and car in storage, so we had made the flights in the afternoon, however, staying with Glen's cousin and being about to store our van here, has been so great for us, we just have to lock up and head to the airport.

Elizabeth is kind enough to drive us, and fortunately there is just enough room for Cody, after we pack all our luggage into the back of the car.  We are all very excited about the flight home, except Glen.  For a pilot, he certainly isn't very good at flying in big planes.  And we are travelling on an Airbus on the way home which makes matters worse.  They haven't had a great wrap with the media of late, so Glen isn't particularly excited at all.  However, the airbus turns out to be awesome.  We just love Qantas, but the added bonus with this model is that every seat has it's own little tv screen and it has a massive selection of movies, tv shows including comedy, documentary, cooking shows, reality tv and a whole selection dedicated to children including interactive games.  Needless to say the 5 hrs and 30 min home is a breeze.

We are greeted at the airport by a very excited Mum and Dad.  Hugs and screams of excitement all round as it has been a long time between visits, as Mum and Dad left in their caravan in June and we only saw them briefly in August when our paths crossed.  They have also bought Glen's ute to to Perth for us.  The vehicle situation is going to be tricky for the next three months, with harvest in the mix, however the plan is that we will share Glen's ute temporarily and then buy a cheap second hand ute or car for myself and the kids to run around in, which we will then sell before we go back in January.

We head back to the unit for cuppas and a catch up.  It is so nice to see my parents again.  We are all very tired though, as air travel seems to do that to you, plus our bodies are two hours ahead of WA time, so we eventually hit the hay at about midnight, Queensland time, exhausted.  It is so strange though, to have the kids in different rooms, they hover around our room prior to bed and we check on them one more time than is necessary once they are all asleep!!

Day 78 - What to take and what to leave!!!

Today is busy.  How are we ever going to fit everything in, that we want to take home??  I have bought with me half my Tupperware cupboard, my favourite knives, cooking utensils etc but I can't take all these home.  Glen has also bought a lot of tools and the kids have packed heaps of toys, so some tough decisions have to be made about what we can do without for the next three months, until we come back to the van in January.  I wash all morning so we can come back to clean linen and the van gets a major going over.  It is very exciting but we are also nervous about leaving everything behind.  We are really looking forward to the openness of our house and the kids are so excited about getting back to their bedrooms, I just stress about our luggage weight limit and hope that everything goes smoothly with our flights.

I cook tea again for Elizabeth and Charles, as we are home all day, and we enjoy another evening meal at their house, lots of laugh, lots of wine and a very enjoyable "last night" in Queensland.

Day 77 - Dinner for two

Well, things are starting to get hectic now.  We are busily preparing for our return home.  I spent the morning at the shops, as you do when you are packing, I had to buy some much needed bags for the flight home, some clothes for Cody, as he seems to have grown out of all of his, some sneakers for all the kids, as the weather is so chilly and all their sneakers are totally trashed after hiking through gorges, mud crabbing and trekking through rain forests, so they have gone straight into the bin!!!!!!  And then of course I needed to buy myself another pair of jeans....yes....the next size up....I just hope they don't fit me for too long after I get home!!!!

In the afternoon, Glen hooks up the van and takes it to the local garage to get the bearings and other stuff checked out, then he comes home and proceeds to wash everything.  It is a productive day.  The kids are now getting very excited, only two more sleeps until we go home.

This evening it is our turn to go out for dinner.   Charles and Elizabeth have very kindly offered to feed the kids and look after then while we go out for a meal.  Our first evening alone since Mum and Dad looked after the kids when we were at Fitzroy Crossing at the beginning of August.  So,  once again I don the make-up and dig out the hair dryer.  I haven't had my hair cut since the beginning of July, so it is really scary, but hey, it is nice to be a hippy for a while.  Glen's jeans fit......it is so not fair!!!! ......so he is pretty happy with himself. We enjoy a beautiful meal at the local pub and reflect on what has been a fantastic trip.  It is so nice to just have a chat about all the places we have seen and how much fun it has been watching the children experience so many new things.  We know when we get home it is going to be so busy, so we really appreciate this time together.

Day 76 - Sea World

Today was a fairly early start.  Not only were we headed to Sea World which was about 80km south of Brisbane, we had decided to kill two birds with one stone and get the exhaust on the car replaced in Burleigh Heads, so we had to drop the car off first.  The Taipan dealership was based here and we had been having troubles with the exchaust since installation so they were going to replace it altogether.

So we arrived at Burleigh Heads at about 9am.  The theme parks don't open until 10am so there is really no rush to get there early.  We got a lone car then drove to Surfers Paradise which is where Sea World is.  We now had our VIP passes so we got through the gate pretty quickly.

The first thing we did was go to the Sea Lion show.  Very funny.  They had a fantastic setting and they basically acted out a little show so it was most enjoyable.

After this we headed to the dolphin show.  This was also fantastic, the kids had never seen anything like this before and they were just amazed.

Throughout the whole day there were shows to see and all sorts of feeding sessions to view.  There were also a couple of roller coasters and other rides for us to go on.  Glen managed to convince Tori to go on the roller coasters with her, I took Shannae and Cody to some smaller rides.  The kids enjoyed a wonderful ice-cream for afternoon tea, then we went and saw the shark tank and the polar bear enclosure, both of which had underground viewing galleries, we could have sat and watched through the glass for hours. And wouldn't you believe it.... during our wanderings we run into Trace's brother Darren, what a small world!!!  Great to see a familiar face.

Then, Mum made the whole family go on the mono rail around the park, because I thought we couldn't really leave without doing that, it was while we were travelling on this that we discovered Castaway Bay, which was this massive climbing obstacle course for the kids.  We couldn't believe we hadn't discovered it earlier, as we were about to head out the gate.  The children decided there and then that we will have to come back in January!!!!!

We watched an awesome jet ski show before heading out of the park and battling the traffic back to pick up the car.  It was a brilliant day.  There was just so much to see and do and the crowds weren't too bad, which made a big difference.

We picked up the car, then on the spare of the moment we decided to visit our travelling buddies, who we met in Broome, as they lived just around the corner.  It was great to see them again, they had been home for about a month now after travelling for about 9 months, so it was really nice to see how they had settled in and how they were coping with "life after the van"!!  It was a short visit but we made plans to catch up when we get back.  I don't know if the month of January is going to be long enough!!!

We then decided to get takeaway before tackling the hour and a half drive back to Samford Valley where we were staying.  We were all pretty exhasuted when we got home by about 8pm but what a great day.

Day 75 - Mt Glorious

Today was fairly slow after the footy grand final. We decided to go and have a look at Mt Glorious with Charles and Elizabeth, which was not far from where we are staying.  We went up to a lookout which was lovely, then did a walk through the rainforest, unbelievable how dense it was and cold!!!!!......I think it was about 10 degrees colder at the top of the mountain.  The kids loved the walk and little Eva, at only 2, did a great job of walking most of the way.

We looked for a nice spot in the sun for a picnic lunch which was very relaxing.   It was pretty cold but the sun gave us some welcome relief.  In the afternoon we all went home to have a much needed rest.  It had been a hectic few days with a lot of late nights.

This evening we got ready for our big day at Sea World tomorrow.  We were all very excited about that.

Day 74 - Footy Grand Final

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!!!

Today we made plans with Charles and Elzabeth to have a barbi for the footy and catch up with Charles' brother Will and his wife Rosey.  It was a beautiful day.  Very fresh in the morning but a forecast of 27 so a great day for a barbi.  It was also great weather to get some overdue washing done, nice to just get some things sorted in the morning.  We went over to the house for lunch and to meet Will and Rosey.  It has been a long time since the boys have seen each other.  You wouldn't think the boys were all related.  Both Charles and Will are 6ft 3in, so next to Glen, they don't exactly look like cousins at all!!!!!

Anyway, we had lunch on the balcony overlooking some beautiful hills in the distance.  Then we enjoyed the footy, not really too concerned about the outcome!!!  The kids enjoyed a swim in the pool.  After the footy everyone headed down to the paddock to feed the animals, get some fresh air, have a run around and have a look at the van, then we headed back to the house for leftovers and a few more drinks just for good measure!!!  A great day.