After much deliberating and procrastinating, we finally set off on Monday morning, well early afternoon actually, after tying off some loose ends. The last few days were very busy, although very pleasant, saying good bye to all our friends and family. Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers.

When we finally pulled out, I understood why George had been so loathe to start. He was quite anxious about the motor cycle carrier, after our previous experience. He had set up a camera looking out through the back window like a rear view mirror, and it could see the top of the bike, the handle bar and mirror. My job was to watch these, to make sure they didn't suddenly disappear from view.

We started off very anxiously, every rough spot in the road caused a tremor of the bike, and a corresponding tremor in our hearts. However it never moved much, and eventually our confidence grew. Now we have covered several hundred miles of highway, with bike still attached!

We decided to start our trip via Canberra, as George's niece has just had a baby. This will be followed by a brief stay in Sydney to see other relatives, then our adventures will really begin.

As we had left Melbourne so late, we obviously could not get there in one day. But George, living up to his reputation, insisted on pushing on as far as possible before stopping. We had decided to stay in a rest area by the side of the road, to try out our free camping. As evening started to set in we were just short of Albury, but no - we had to push on past Albury, the first rest area being 30 kms later. By the time we pulled in it was pitch dark.

We had dinner and settled in for the night. It wasn't until the next morning that we could actually see where we were. It was a very pleasant area of rolling hills and cattle farmers. We had a lovely breakfast of pancakes, then pushed on.

As we were getting low on diesel, we needed to stop in Gundagai for fuel. Gundagai is a beautiful small town, very very hilly streets, and on one sunny side of the main road every second shop is a cafe. One other thing, it is a very historical place, eg. they have a historical bridge, a historical war memorial, the last mounted mail delivery is another claim to fame. I also got into the hang of it and spotted a historical ATM. In the Business centre there is branding, seeding, museling services. Back on the highway there is the fabled Dog on the tucker box, an over rated place where many motorists stop with their hot water thermos and BYO tea bags for a quick drink. Didn't feel like checking out the cafe.

We got to Canberra by early afternoon, motorcycle still attached, and have spent a very pleasant evening and night with family. And the baby is very cute.