Reflections of life on the road.

So on the last night of our trip, I did some figures:
387 days on the road
26,300km driven in the RAV
28,100km driven in Bertha
12,500lt of diesel for Bertha for a total of $20,350 (ouch!!)
$1.83 most expensive diesel in the NT
$2.25 most expensive unleaded at Cape York
153 different places stayed at
64 nights spent NOT on Bertha
We flew on a jet, a Cessna and a helicopter.
We caught ferries, barges, jet boats, cruises and paddled canoes.
We swam with whale sharks, sea turtles, hundreds of fish and a reef shark.
We hiked. A LOT.
We got to the Southern, Western, Northern and Easternmost points of Australia as well as the highest and lowest points.
We also saw snow on our endless summer! We saw sooooooo many animals in the wild; cassowary, frilled necked lizard, whale shark, humpbacked whale, minke whale, leatherback turtle, green sea turtle, loggerhead turtle, echidna, oh my goodness this will take all night! We have met the most incredible people who have taught us about their land and their culture.
We have made the most incredible friends who have welcomed us into their travelling community.
We have spent time together as a family and treasured every moment. (Well... Maybe not the school moments...)
We have had the times of our lives and enjoyed it IMMENSELY!

Life on the road in Bertha was awesome. Once back in Melbourne, we didn't quite crash back to reality, more like drifted down slowly. Living in Bertha in the caravan park was fun at first. We had friends come for play dates, and the large grounds and swimming pool were very much appreciated. I went back to work 2 days after arriving, as there really wasn't any "settling in" to be done without a house anyway.

We caught up with the other half of the family, as Dunc's mum and Angus had birthdays very close to each other. It was so lovely to see everyone again, and spend time together. I especially loved the way the grandchildren all arranged themselves in height order to say goodbye to Nana. It was so spontaneous and I'm glad our kids could be a part of fun times like that with family again.

Angus celebrated his 9th birthday on the bus, and with a special dinner at my Mum and Dad's. The caravan park pool came in VERY handy for his birthday present - a remote-controlled boat!

And then life got back to "normal". The kids started school, with a 20-minute commute and I was working full time teaching Art again. Duncan was ferrying the children to and fro and thoroughly enjoying being a part of the school community. He attended his first assemblies and began to get to know staff and parents at the school. He was also picking up jobs and work left and right. Even the neighbour at the caravan park tried to offer him a job! We had picked up my car from Mum and Dad, so now we had one big bus and two cars at the caravan park.

I quickly realised that "real life" in Bertha wasn't nearly so wonderful as the past year. Adding two bulky schoolbags and one extra laptop to the environment was a LOT of stuff. I had worked out a spot for 'everything' and adding a big box of school gear, and three bags in constant use was a bit much. Having to be places by certain times, getting 'dressed up' and just living in the real world was all a bit squishy in 40 feet of bus. It was WONDERFUL when we had a carefree existence with no commitments and time to eat and do dishes at leisure. In the "real world", it had its limitations.

THANK GOODNESS for close family friends who were off to the UK and offered us their house for a 6 month house-sit. It was just what we needed to spread out a bit and work out what we were going to do next in our lives. Perfect.