Having been home for nearly a year now, the thought of writing this final chapter of our round Oz odyssey has never been far from my mind. Mainly due to some very gentle nagging from the Bard of Yabba Creek, Don McNaught!? Whether I can blame it on having a very busy year, or lack of motivation or just being unable to write the theoretical end of our journey it has taken this whole year for me to get around to it. Now arriving back home has been very exciting mainly for our girls with school and Kindy starting for them this year. For us we have both returned to the workforce (from necessity not choice!?) and spent the year catching up with our friends and sharing the story of our travels with them all. (Probably the best and bit about getting home) So as I sit here very late, the night before I am once again due to return to work (something I thought about very little last year!) I hope I manage to do our little story justice.

The Last Leg, (as we call it!?) was spent with family and friends before we made our way back to the place we call home, 4 Gracie Court Walkerston. This was an emotional time, feeling a sense of achievement, although a bit sad to think that this journey was coming to an end. We were however very happy to have completed this year safe and sound with so many terrific memories and achievements under our belts. It was an experience of a lifetime, and one that we will never forget.

The thought of reality was creeping in on us, school, jobs, routine it was all quiet daunting, no more 4pm happy hours, as we had become quite accustomed to. Everyday life on the road is really quite amazing, the people you meet, the places you see, we live in such a beautiful country and we feel very privileged that we had the opportunity to see even the small portion of it that we managed in our year of travel.

Before we took to the road we purchased a computer programme called Nomads Notes for $50. This programme allowed us to enter all our travel information and recorded all our costs as well. Expenses such as fuel, accommodation, gas, etc were all tallied and put into tables and graphs for us to easily track our spending habits for the year. It was a great programme, once we figured out how to use it.

Having set ourselves a budget before we left we were very interested to see how much we would spend as a family of four on the road for a year. We had given ourselves a budget of $1000 per week (approx. $143 day) for everything, so at the end of the trip our expenses read as thus:

· Diesel $11,031.02 covering 37,934Km - highest price paid $2.17/L Kings Creek Station NT

· Accommodation $9,643.20 110 stops

· Food $12,406.39

· Alcohol $4,880.76

· Caravan & Car maintenance $1,849.84 - includes services and breakages

· Gas $416.90 - almost as much variation as bloody petrol!

· Laundry $372

Now counting these and our other set up expenses that we included in the total cost of our trip saw us manage to only exceed our $52,142.86 budget by roughly $1000 dollars. Needless to say we were both pretty pleased with ourselves for this result.

The first few weeks were the hardest to manage, not only from a finance point of view but also in terms of time management and actual achievement along the way. We had a fair few discussions in those first few weeks as to whether or not we were on the right track or not, so to speak?! It definitely became easier as the time rolled on and we eventually became totally accustomed to our fully nomadic lifestyle.

Balancing those time/distance/finance issues was probably the biggest challenge but one, we both feel, we managed quite well overall. We never felt too rushed and certainly never became overly stressed as to our next move or planning our itinerary. I really feel that our relaxed attitude towards our adventure came directly from being able to plan the rough outline of our trip over a period of 3yrs. Now I'm not saying everything ran like a military marching band, but I do believe we avoided a lot of pitfalls by having a reasonably solid rough plan and also by both committing to the idea long term. The girls and I can probably thank Kylz more for this then myself as everyone knows I am prone to 3 or 4 good new ideas a week!?

Both our Nissan and caravan performed faultlessly on our trip and required only servicing and some very minor repairs. Now there was really never any doubt in my mind as to the Nissan seeing the job through but caravans were a whole new anaimal for me with absolutely zero experience with them in the past. We started with what I now know was a very good caravan so we were very lucky there to begin with. We decided at the very start of the trip that we would be selling our van so our aim was to use it well but not to abuse it to a point that it looked like a s***box when we got home! This was not really that hard as a three tonne van does sort of limit the places you can tow the thing. We went up plenty of dirt roads but not along any that were not necessary or for any great distances. We washed it when we had the chance and repaired the little things that needed it along the way. Now having used a caravan for a full year we are both pretty sure they are a very comfortable way of touring. My only advice would be to choose wisely and consider your actual needs and not just the biggest flashest van you can buy. Big vans do take some towing and manoeuvring and hauling three tonne or more over a long distance is not easy on the wallet. It may also limit some of the places you can travel to along the way. Having said that we will miss the big girl, it really worked well for us.

It is here now in this final chapter that I would like to mention and recognise Kylz efforts over last year. Not only was she a solid driving force in getting the whole show happening but she also managed to feed, clothe and organise us all for a year while doing it out of a caravan. Kylz even managed a few hours behind the wheel. Our two girls, Chelsea and Charli, also proved to us both how much or how little children need to really enjoy themselves. They had a ball nearly every place we visited. Whether it was with other children, other animals or nearly every Grey Nomad who they could get to listen to them. They were especially content and happy when just with themselves, I don't think we ever heard the "I'm bored" whine more than a few times all year! It was a real pleasure to spend so much time with them. They really did us proud the way they handled the year in so many different locations and under ever changing circumstances and environments, and I look forward to hopefully travelling with them as much as possible in the future. (If they will have me!?) Me, well I managed to take my family around Australia and bring them all home safely, for a year I will never forget. It fulfilled a goal or dream that grew from one small idea started by one simple question that has been the source of many far greater adventures then ours, "Why not?"

The whole caravan experience was certainly an eye opener, here are some tips:

Caravan pointers

· Don't drive 50km with the back window open on the van - trap for new players!?

· Must have key carry lanyard - allot of parks have locked amenities - (woman problem)

· Store sway bars out of the way, put in channel above caravan legs - nothing like kicking your shins while sneaking out at 3am to check the spare tyre!

· Thule bike carrier, ARB - bikes were brilliant and this carrier was very compact and could be mounted onto the car as well as the van.

· Magnetic strip for your knives - worked a treat and got them out of the drawer when we pulled up.

· No need to carry Tupperware, snap lock glad bags are the go, don't take up too much room and if you need containers buy the Chinese style containers. (woman problem again)

· Whatever you think you need in relation to clothing halve it and you will still have plenty, you don't know anybody so you can wear the same thing over and over again - remember storage is limited, less clothes = more beer.

· Car organizers - ARB - still working a treat for the girls today.

· Remove car tow ball when not towing van - nothing better than kicking your shins while reaching for a cold one!

· Sunbusters are a fabulous thing + ground sheet a must - keeps your feet clean and nothing beats some cool shade on a sunny day.

· Remember to tighten jockey wheel clamps while travelling - they rattle and annoy the s*** out of you!

· Put towing mirrors on when travelling they do assist with your vision

· Carry bulk supply of toilet chemicals and paper at all times, otherwise this may lead to a 30km drive into the unknown searching for the stuff with hungry and tired children, not good.

· Make sure when booking sites that you mention you may want to stay longer, so they give you a site that doesn't have campers coming onto it

· If planning on doing a fair bit of travelling join the parks big 4, family parks, top tourist these are about $30-$50 to join but you will get your money back pretty quick then you start saving money.

· Every caravan must be equipped with a Weber Baby Q and all accessories

· Wheel bearings wheel bearings wheel bearings - check them regularly. They are cheap and easy to change when not on the edge of a hot dusty road in the middle of nowhere!

· Water and fuel - nothing new to most of us but never miss a chance to fill up on either. We never passed up an opportunity for fuel and even mucked around catching rain water to top up our tanks. Why be the one who runs out? We saw people who did.

· Talk to people, locals, fellow travellers even the w***er in the next camp might have something interesting you can benefit from.

· Take your time. Don't be in too big a hurry. It is the hardest skill to master.

Now as another year ends and we realise it is nearly two years since we were preparing to leave for our trip, we would take this opportunity to wish everyone, at home or on the road, a Merry Christmas and happy, safe and prosperous New Year. Hope everyone enjoyed reading about our trip and sharing the journey with us through our blog and photos. Now it is time to start saving for the next lap. Peace all.

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost.

Bostock's Back Home

4 January 2012