Well we certainly have been busy bunnies since we last caught up. As you know we had been looking at camper vans and fate lead us to one that we were very interested in at first but it was sold before we had a chance to view it. A week or so later we were told by ze Germans Mathias and Stephan that it was up for sale again as the sale had fell through. That weekend we got the greyhound bus back to Sydney for a viewing and a test drive. I have to admit, when it pulled round the corner to where we had arranged to meet ze Germans our hearts sank a little as it was far from the glorious images that had been posted along with the advert. But after a test drive and a bit of haggling we had struck a deal with ze Germans Mathias and Stephan for $3500, $1000 under the original asking price. With the money we had saved on the sale, we were going to put towards doing the van up by striping it back to its bare bones and putting our own personal stamp on it. We drove the camper van back to Canberra with child like excitement and anticipation bubbling away inside us with the thoughts of road trips around Oz. For the past four weeks we have been working hard at work to then work on the camper van all hours available to us. It has been a tough and tiring few weeks but it has defiantly been worth it with the results we have achieved. After announcing to the gang back home of our purchase via the world wide web, we asked friends for name suggestions for our van and we had many great ones. But one seemed to stand out and stuck straight away. So the winner is.........Allan Office and his name of Bert, full name Bert Donovan. So well done Allan, you win a cuddly toy and an all expenses paid trip to ride Aqua-mania at Washington Leisure Centre.

We started by striping back the shoddy paint job so that the body was pretty much a blank canvas. Over a few days the van had been given its new identity with the aid of some spray paint and a lot of masking tape. Just by painting the van up we had breathed new life into the previously tired looking body. We wished we could work on the van 27/7 but with the inevitable shifts working for Aldi getting in our way we had to down tools to and go and make a few bucks, me more than Ash though as she seemed to get sent home early practically every other shift as her store had nothing for her to do. As time went on we were slowly getting things done a bit at a time. I had spent a few days making measurements of the inside of the van and proceeded to check them again and again. Then again and once more just to make sure that everything would work out as I had planed. After one more quick check, we finally took the plunge and hit Magnet Mart (the Oz B&Q) with a list of cuts of wood we would need to construct the cabinets that would make up our seating area through the day and our bed on the night. After placing our order I had to hot foot it to work once more so our construction would have to wait until the next day.

We woke early and made our way back to Magnet Mart to collect our order and start work on building the dream. As all the pieces were cut to size, the construction didn't go to bad at all even though that what I had originally thought would take three hours to build turned into probably five. It was all worth it though, as I cracked on with the cabinets, Ash worked away on the interior hand stitching curtains for the inside windows and covering the door panels with a funky star patterned fabric. After a hard days work we were left with the basic insides of our new camper van and it looked great. All my measuring had paid off and my cabinets fitted together like a dream, a few millimetres out in some places that still got on my nerves a little but it was still a cracking job if I do say so myself.

Things were coming along well and the list of jobs to do was shrinking by the day, lay the floor tiles...TICK, cut the foam mattress into four pieces....TICK, stitch covers for foam mattress...TICK etc etc. We still had to make the table that would also act as a support for setting up the bed and it was the last piece of the puzzle that had to be right or the idea and design would not work. Through the day it sits on the back board of the cabinets facing the boot using a bracket with a gap the same thickness of the MDF so it sits on snug and offers support as there is no point having a table that you cant put anything on. At night the table slides off the back board and slots into place near the door acting as a mattress support along with the other boards that double as lids for the cabinets. Happy days. I was so pleased that it worked out as I had planned as it would have been a bit embarrassing after I had told Dan, Danielle and Ash that my plan and design were spot on and that it would defiantly work. So after a quick paint job the table was complete and the finishing touches could be put to Bert within the next few days. The list of jobs to do grew even smaller still and before we knew it they were all ticked off. We had re painted the van, completely ripped out the interior and started from scratch, replaced the ceiling panels with an Australian flag adorning the drivers cabin, hand made and stitched curtains and covers for the foam mattress sections and laid a jazzy black and white tiled floor. Reading that back doesn't sound like much but it took some time. As my Dad always says "If your going to do a job, do it properly!" and that's what we done. We classed Bert as being finished yesterday (23rd March) and ready to hit the road feeling rather proud of what we had created.

As I had been saying before, we had been working flat out pretty much at work and on the van when an opportunity presented itself to us that would be too good to pass up on. Two weeks ago Ash was checking some job sites and discovered some farm work. It was something we wanted to do from the outset so she applied for us both straight away. Within two days were were offered the job and were asked if we would be available to start on the 5st of April, regrettably our time in Canberra would be coming to an end within the next few weeks. We handed our notice into work with the thought of taking a week or so out to travel about in Bert and get used to living in our prized camper. We received a phone call a couple of days ago from the farmer asking if we can start sooner and asked if we could start on the 29th of March. This made us have to rethink things as our time with the Finley's would be coming to an end sooner than we thought. To give us a few days of travel before we start our farm work, we decided to set off today so we wont have to rush and allow us some time to take in a few sites. The job we are heading to is up on the Queensland boarder about an hours drive away from Toowoomba. We will be working through the cotton harvest and the days are going to be long. In return we get put up on the farmers camp site free of charge with all amenities provided for including our meals. The money isn't to bad either and if we play our cards right we should leave that job with enough money to see us through for the rest of our travels with us not having to work again, fingers crossed.

We had arranged to go out for a bite to eat with Dan, Danielle and the kids last night and a few hours previous we had decided that it would be our last night with our great adopted Aussie family. We have absolutely loved our time staying there and they welcomed us with open arms. It was so hard saying goodbye to the kids as we are going to miss each little monkey terribly. We have to say a massive thank you to Dan and Danielle for letting us stay in your amazing family home for so long. We are leaving with great memories that we will never forget. Driving out of the street for the last time was sad knowing that we wont be back for some time to come. But a great big venture is at hand and without Dan and Danielle's help and support, none of it would be possible and we are eternally grateful. Leaving today has been hard but we had to move on sometime and now is as good a time as any. Before we left Canberra we had a couple of things that we still had to do. The first on the list was to pick up our wedding rings that we had ordered the week before. We are still unsure of when we will get hitched but we thought it would be best to have them ready and not have to wait about for rings at a later date. They both look amazing and we cant wait to get them on our fingers permanently. So that done the only thing left to do was to visit the war memorial. We were supposed to go on the previous Sunday and we were going to take the kids with us as it was the only day we both had free due to work. But on the Saturday night we had a few drinks and watched a movie with Dan and Danielle. The red wine was flowing and before we knew it we had had nearly three bottles each and (THE REST OF THIS TEXT HAS BEEN REMOVED BY THE 'SAVE ASHLEIGH DOBSON FROM EMBARRASSMENT PARTY') we couldn't help but laugh. Needless to say we woke up feeling rough as dogs. We both felt sorry for Danielle who had to go to work. We made it up to the boys for not being able to go to the war memorial by buying them McDonald's and all was forgiven. It was a great hangover day as me and Dan watched zombie movies whilst Ashleigh watched kids movies with the boys. But we eventually made it there today and we both loved it. It is a fascinating place as it is a memorial/museum spanning the history of Australian involvement from the first world war up until present day. The displays are a feast for the eyes with great visual models and movies that replicate what they were showing, for example the video of the bombers in action during the second world war. You are stood in a model of a bombers hanger and as the movie shows the plane taking off the ground starts to vibrate to represent what it was like. As the movie goes on and the story unfolds, a screen on the floor shows the bomb bay doors opening and the release of its deadly cargo down towards the enemy German bases. We spent hours in there and we could have spent three days in there if we had the time. Dan had said that he reckons Ernie would have spent a week in there easily looking at everything on show and we can see what he means. We loved it and were so pleased we managed to squeeze it in before we finally said goodbye to Canberra.

After leaving the war memorial, we hopped into the van and stuck our noses into our camp site books to see where we fancied. We picked out a place at Umina beach that is right on Broken Bay on the NSW central coast. We give them a quick call and booked a powered spot, punched the address into our faithful Tom Tom and we were on our way. We set off at around 3.30pm and finally arrived at 8pm after a scenic drive up to Umina. It was dark by the time we drove here and found our spot. So first things first, we got the van hooked up to the power, clicked on our lights and set about making our first meal outside the back of the van. We cracked open a couple of cold beers from our eskie and made a simple spag bol testing out our cooking gear. Once made we took a seat around the table and we couldnt help but smile at our first night out on the road with Burt. After finishing our meal and a couple more beers, we packed away our gear and switched the seats into night mode. We had a few teething problems at first but we will sharp get used to things in our new little home on wheels. As I type this now Ashleigh is sleeping soundly after a busy, emotional and exciting day. It's funny though as we feel like Max and Paddy on the road to nowhere as each day we don't know where we are going until we put our heads in the camp guide book. Problem is that we don't know who is who yet, I reckon I'm Paddy but Max..err I mean Ash is having none of it.

Well we woke this morning to a beautiful day with ducks quacking around the camper van and the sound of the sea in the distance. We made a spot of breakfast and cleaned up. We hit the showers to freshen up, Ash having a lovely hot shower unlike this moron who had a ice cold one as I couldn't find the button to press to turn the hot water on. I found it on my way out next to the cubical door. It woke me up though. We had a quick walk around the site and wished we had more time to enjoy it as it has everything you need, BBQ's, kitchens, cafes, restaurants a spa and a pool. We packed up our gear and left the site only to park 300 meters up the road and we went to check out the beach. It was great. From being on a beach practically every day a few months ago to not walking on sand at all for a few months was weird. It was great to feel the sand between our toes and the sun on our skin again. If all our time in the van is going to be like this, bring it on.

Once more we would just like to say thanks again to Dan and Danielle, we will miss you and the kids so much. Don't worry though, I'm sure that we will be popping back into Canberra someday along the way on our road trip of Oz for at least a cuppa and maybe, just maybe, a few glasses of wine.

Love Peter and Ashleigh x