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WOW! After 43,600kms, $35,390 in repairs, $12,613 in diesel, $7,526 in park fees today we arrive home to Woongarrah, forever changed as a family. I cannot believe that it's over. The time has passed so incredibly quickly.

I cannot describe the feelings we have about this trip. Yes, possibly not the best financial decision we've ever made. The troopy almost broke us but we pushed on. We never thought about quitting. We never doubted what we'd done.

We have seen the most incredible things & learnt so much about this stunning country we are lucky enough to call home. Australians, by nature, never give up. I guarantee 12 months living in a caravan with my husband and my four beautiful children, would not be for everyone. We have been given a gift of precious time with our babies. We have seen them mature & thrive whilst experiencing this new & simple life. They built cubby houses, made "weapons" out of sticks & string, play acted and then there are the fairy gardens (I think we left one in every town we visited). Life is not about the material things we possess. It shouldn't be about the new car, the bigger house, the designer clothes. We have learnt that the important things are life are the people you love & those who love you. 

School was the only contentious issue. I took three academic award achievers of last year & a pre schooler away with me. Apparently, school is not as easy with mum as your supervisor & with so many other things you'd rather be doing. Charlotte was not interested in any sort of education. I hope that changes with the start of school. 

We laughed, we cried, but mostly we celebrated the fact that we were brave, or crazy enough, to pack up our life into a caravan to follow our dream while we were young & healthy. A big thanks to my darling mum & dad. The kids will have memories with you that they will treasure forever. 

A HUGE thank you to the Kloe family who allowed Michael to remain employed in a part time capacity, to allow us to travel this year.

To all of you at home who followed our blog, we felt privileged to share this year with you. Your messages & words of encouragement when things were tough, meant the world to us. Also cheers to the fabulous new friends we've made along the way. A special mention to the Richardson family 😘.

My apologies if we are a little slow catching up with you all. The work ahead of us is a little daunting but, like all challenges, we will

succeed. This year we have set new challenges & look forward to achieving these. 

Enjoy every day! You never know what is around the corner 😘😘😘

Port Macquarie

A trip into town today. It was a busy one. A quick bodyboard in town, lunch with Erica (we even ran into Uncle Brian), a catch up with Matt & Catt & a visit with Barry. 

We didn't get home until 6.30. Toast for dinner I think :-)

Crescent Head

We had been keeping in touch with Mrs Pierpoint from Woongarrah school. We told her we'd be passing through & called in to say hello.

She had prepared a fabulous lunch & the kids were having an awesome time. She couldn't believe how much the kids had grown. 

The Kempsey clan had organised a BBQ for this afternoon. I did not know that nan, pop & Aunty Marcia were planning a surprise appearance. Surprise, they arrived early, only to find everyone absent. The BBQ was scheduled for 2pm so we'd all gone out :-( buggar! The kids would have been thrilled. 

Benji & Maya. 

Poppy & his little mate. As much as the house is chaos, I think these two will miss each other :-)

Collombatti

It's just so peaceful! What a beautiful part of the world. Uncle phill has a full house with the arrival of baby Maya. We are fully self contained though. 

Dion & Phill are hard at work getting the Smithtown house ready so we convinced Melissa to join us for a swim at the beach. We stopped for lunch at the park & then a quick dip at Hat Head.

Melissa left to get the kids home for a nap. Our kids got an early Christmas present, a bodyboard. They spent the next 4 hours surfing. They did really well.

Heading south

I know! It's a tradition to stop at the big banana. Charlotte had never been so we had to make a stop for a banana split. 

We were having trouble getting a 1 night stop at any caravan park so we decided to push on to Collombatti & uncle phill.

Bald Hills

We welcomed Libby & Graham home from their short break. I think we brought chaos to the street but I think the kids enjoyed Uncle Graham & Libbys company. They had a load of fun.

The neighbours will miss skateboarding at 7am & the kids picnics on the front lawn. 

Isaac finally, with the help of Graham, killed his first cane toad. He actually killed two!

Off to bed for an early morning pick up from the airport. Daddy is coming home!

Oops...11.00 alarm? Michael woke me at 12.30am to ask if he should call a cab. 

Fun times

Jason & Teal gave the kids an old skateboard. Tenae took up the challenge to dress it up. I think she's done a fab job.

Uncle Graham is enjoying the peace & tranquility of his new residents :-(

Graham & Libby do not believe that this will only last us 3 days. He thinks that we have more bread than Bakers Delight.

Australia zoo

An invitation to join the Ruchardsons at Australia Zoo sounded fabulous. After 10 days of solo parenting, I thought some adult company would be just what I needed. 

The croc shoe was definately a highlight, although after seeing so many in the wild we weren't as amazed as I was on my previous visit. It certainly is a very polished show. I think Steve Irwin would be very proud of the team that are running the zoo. 

Jed was comforting Charlotte during the croc show as she feigned fear.

We were lucky enough to come across this four year old Cheetah as it was out for a walk. The Cheetah's are not actually on display at the zoo so this was a bonus.

I must say if all the zoos we have visited, Australia Zoo would be up there as a favourite.

Thanks again to the Richardsons for a great day of laughs & fun, as always!