So close now with just eighteen days to go and all that's left to do it the waiting - and that's possibly the hardest part! Suddenly I'm counting days not weeks.

The hire car has been organised and this time we've opted for a Mini Cooper SD, which may be not the most practical choice but it certainly should be fun! Hopefully, for once, we actually get the car (or at least the class) that we want. Perhaps Thrifty can deliver what Europcar has failed to in the past but we can only wait and see.

This week has seen me frantically trying to get last minute items, not helped by the (albeit very positive) fact that I've dropped a size in clothing and need to get new pants. I was fortunate in that I was able to pick up some Gondwana and Berghaus hiking pants on eBay at far less than retail, so a win there at least. Why hiking gear has to be so expensive is beyond me and I always make a point of buying from Kathmandu and Anaconda when their end of season sales are on. Works out perfectly when we're coming to the end of the Australian winter but heading into the Scottish autumn.

Got to do a test pack soon. I'm trying to travel light and also avoid taking any carry-on luggage on the outward journey. Of course by the time I fit a 35 litre framed backpack, two walking poles, hiking boots and an extra bag for the carry-on baggage on the way back, there's not a lot of room for such fripparies as clothes! I should be an expert by now at packing only what I really need but i always get caught by the "just in case" bug. To complicate matters I don't think the KLM baggage allowance is as generous as Emirates