Day 104-105: Home again, home again, jig-ge-ty jig!

Ah, the joy of being at home again. And how large it all seems! We figure we could probably fit the entire interior of the van into our lounge room. It is a marvel that we lived - quite happily - in that small space for so long.

Yesterday was spent in preparation for The Great Departure. Knowing that the van would go straight into storage until at least the September holidays, it needed to be cleaned properly. In many ways it was an unhurried sort of day, but filled with the anticipation of heading home, and a bit of trepidation at having to conquer the traffic and get our big van onto the Spirit.

All things considered, everything went well en route (apart from a little unscheduled detour, courtesy of a stupidly designed turn, that didn't make any sense whatsoever and consequently sent us off in the wrong direction, but was fairly easily remedied without too much raising of voices.).

Getting onto the ship itself was really quite straightforward and before we knew it we were sipping chilled chardy on deck. The crossing wasn't too bumpy and we did get a little bit of sleep.

Arriving home this morning was just magic and we have a new appreciation of our home and it's comforts. Duncan's folks very kindly stocked up the fridge for us and had the hot coffee ready. After lots of chatting and 'Happy Mother's Day'-ing, we had to get the van unpacked. There was quite a lot of stuff in all the cupboards and tucked away, it was quite amazing. Anyway, it didn't take overly long to get it all out and into the ute and then into the house. The real challenge has been putting all the stuff away in the house! It has taken most of the day.

In addition, the boys are going to school tomorrow, so there was much fishing out of uniforms and books, covering books (darn, should have done it before we left on our trip), etc, etc. Phew! I am pooped!

Duncan has had a packed day as well, in particular trying to get my car to go. The battery was so dead that even the central locking didn't work. He has sorted that little lot out, so I am mobile. He also got some shopping, sorted out three months' worth of post, packed all the gear away in the shed and got lunch. We are both pleased the day is nearly over.

At least now we can lie back happily in our recliners and relax...

And so our Amazing Australian Adventure has come to an end. 12000+kms later, we have seen much, learnt much, overcome challenges, and enjoyed many wonderful facets of the Australian mainland. We all have many wonderful memories from this Grant Family Adventure.