We'd booked the "Limousine Bus" from the Hilton Tokyo Bay rather than fluffing around with several trains - only took just over an hour on the freeway. Thankfully the 10 hour flight home was reasonably straightforward and smooth. I had ordered some kids meals (pasta x 2) and brought some rice snacks at the airport, so no one went hungry. The new Jetstar planes have USB chargers in the media centre, so one could recharge her ipad, and the other was happy watching...

Arrived back in the midst of Melbourne winter, and to top it off, the kids had been talking about snow that morning, and what do you know - we had snow (or sleet) on the freeway outside Ballarat. We had mixed feelings thinking about getting back to reality and I'm personally looking forward to getting a book printed up of the trip so we can all flick through from time to time to remind ourselves of the incredible experience we've had over the last few months. I...

Headed straight into Adelaide on our last leg of the trip, and after sitting in roadworks in Port Wakefield for half an hour, went straight to my uncle Alan's house to catch up with him and my cousin Pete, who had very fortuitously arrived from Sydney with Julie and family just the day before. It was a wonderful detour - the kids had a terrific time reconnecting, and we had a brief but lovely catch up on current events.The smell of home was too strong to stay in ...

Depending on whether you're a glass half full or half empty kind of person, the Nullabor could either "bore you s***less" as in Australiana speak, or entrance you. We took 3 days to cross the full length with the first stop at Fraser Range Station, about 4 hours north and then east of Esperance. It had been a sheep station, and I'd told the kids about all the sheep, horses and animals they would see, so the disappointment was palpable when we arrived to find all ...

There is an awful lot going for Esperance as a holiday destination. Some of the best beaches in Australia, great waves, picturesque waterfront, plenty of cafes, and great bushwalks - if only it wasn't so darn far from everywhere! It lays claim to fame of housing much of Skylab's remains which crashed in 1979 between Esperance and Belladonia. The beautiful Recherche Archipelago is home to countless birds, seals, and fishing prospects around the 100 or so islands. ...