Tassie2Tip takes the last leg of their trip home!
Holidays don’t always go to plan, so you must be flexible for when things don’t go to plan and in short this means allowing time up your sleeve. This happened in our final days. We had planned to spend a couple of days in Melbourne to see some footy and to take the kids to a few popular attractions but sadly that didn’t materialise. The car trouble that we had, held us up more than we expected and we literally made it to Melbourne the day we were booked for the Spirit of Tasmania ferry home.
The mood had changed slightly in the final couple of weeks and for us that change happened when we started for home. Don’t get me wrong, we still had a ball on the last 14 days or so but by then, it had been pushing 3 months and we all were ready to be home. The dog may have forgotten who we were also!
The further south we went the weather was cooling also and the nights spent in the caravan were not as fun as Queensland.
Our Jayco Expanda worked perfectly for us. It had a queen bed at each end and two bunks down one side. The kids got to take in turns sleeping in the big bed and sometime even shared. It took a little bit of setting up each time but as this is our second Expanda, we got the hang of it pretty well and could be sitting down to coffee or refreshing ale within about 20 minutes from arriving at our destination. It may have required a little more time setting up in comparison to a caravan but we gained the room of a 22ft van but only had to tow the length and weight of a 16 footer.
The Hilux isn’t blessed with a large amount of power so we were limited with weight. We thought we had packed pretty lightly but we still took way too much. Some of the kid’s toys didn’t see the light of day. We took too many clothes and as Kye loves to dabble in a little bit of retail therapy, we certainly brought more back with us! However, the one thing we would never travel without is the kid’s bikes, they got used as soon as we pulled up at our next destination, I guess it was their mode of transport and freedom to explore plus and more importantly it made them ‘tired’! The parents reading this will understand.
We would go next week if we could but the bank balance won’t let us and I reckon if I asked my work for more holidays, I would probably be shown the door / the plank as I work on the water a lot!
When we arrived home, someone had turned the heater on for us and put a few essentials in the fridge for us e.g. beer ha ha. It’s often the little thoughtful gestures that are most appreciated, knowing someone made that special effort when there was no expectation at all. The house needed a little love and affection as you can imagine to tidy up but it felt like a mansion after the camper trailer!
After 13 weeks with the 5 of us in a cosy caravan, we all of a sudden had space and privacy, get your mind out of the gutter readers. Our bed felt like it was fit for a king and queen. I particularly missed the dog (forgot his name though!), my comfy recliner and that feeling you have when you are just happy to be home, as the saying goes, heart something or the other.
Some exciting news, we did have a small stowaway for the majority for the adventure in the form of baby number 4! We managed to keep it pretty quiet but the more we travelled, the bigger Kye’s tummy grew and not only from overindulging in fine cuisine. She has just gone 13 weeks and will be due next February. To say we are excited sure is an understatement. The next extended holiday might be another 2, 3 or even 4 years away but we will need a bigger car and a bigger caravan.
It’s time to get back to reality, revisit that place of employment that we all need to go to in order to pay the mortgage and those pesky bills. The kids are about to embark on a new chapter of their life as well, starting a new school the second day back. They will be able to share their travelling adventures with their new friends. Kye is booked solid hairdressing for a few weeks and it will take a little time to get back on top of things but that life and living.
We had an absolutely amazing time away and we are so lucky and privileged to have the opportunity to be able to see and do what we did. There is so much out there to see and caravanning lends itself to being able to see a lot of it. We enjoyed sharing this experience with you and hope we didn’t bore you too much.
In total we did the following.
Until the next travel adventure, thanks and good bye!
-The Cunliffes
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