50 days to go!!!

We sat down yesterday, and for the first time counted the days to our departure... Today we are 50 days out from what we hope will be a great adventure, our 12 month journey around Australia!

Friends have been asking me how the planning is going?  And yes - whilst the concept has been on the table for many years now, we are not much closer to having our trip planned out.  There is so many little jobs to do in order to get us prepared to go, that we have hardly had a chance to think about what we will finally do, when we haul down our driveway, get to the end of our road and flip a coin.  Heads = turn right, Tails = turn left.

The journey to this point begins back in 2009, when our eldest son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  We made a decision then that we would make a concious effort to live life to the full.  We had just started camping as a family, and a few months later we bought a four wheel drive - our faithful Terracan. In April 2012 we bought our camper trailer, Matilda.

Our first journey with our camper attached.

Our first camping weekend with the camper ended in failure (http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/our-weekend-in-pictures.html), but we were hooked, and our dream grew and grew.

Over the past few years, we have camped at every opportunity.  Sometimes with groups of friends, other times just our little family.  We have thoroughly enjoyed getting out and enjoying some of the spectacular scenery this country has to offer, whilst appreciating the solitude that only comes when mobile phones don't work and work is left behind.

It hasn't always gone to plan.  We have been stuck. (http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/caves-to-caves-part-ii-recovery-should.html)

The weather hasn't always been the best - we have been snowed on (http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/caves-to-caves-part-iv-boyd-river.html), camped in even colder conditions where even our water bottles froze solid (http://project2014australia.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/oallen-ford-july-2011.html)

But the ones who matter most have loved it - and we have loved watching them grow and enjoy the journey too.

Along the way we outgrew our family wagon, and decided we needed the extra space a dual cab ute offers.  Thus we welcomed Rocky to our family, and the last eight months or so has seen us fitting it out, using all our lessons learnt, into something that will ensure we cruise around Australia with all the comfort we need.

So - the next fifty days will be spent:

• Packing the house up
• Cleaning the house
• Doing all the odd jobs we need to do before we rent out the house
• Tidying up odds and ends at work
• Organising the schooling for the boys
• and so on and so on...

Oh - and don't forget we have to have a farwell party in there somewhere too! 

If you see us on the road, please say g'day - we'd love to meet you!