More thanks to.....

* Bob & Anne for a lovely relaxing week in Ingham - where else could we have picked oranges from the garden for breakfast? Bob also cooks a mean steak. And thanks for letting us induldge in a day of normality with a spot of gardening;

* Nelson & Estelle for showing us the sights in Brisbane and along the Coasts and for taking us to meet 130 Koalas (there's never too many!). And for sharing a very enjoyable afternoon fishing on a boat at Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast. It's just a shame we had to buy Fish & Chips for dinner (or Fusssshhhhh & Chups as we now call them in New Zealand);

* Andrew & Violet for the loan of the fishing rods for the aforementioned trip and for the invite to the Wine Tasting (a little warm up for South America);

* Mark for opening a 30 year old vintage from his 7,000 bottle wine collection - yes, now 6,999;

* Young James for saying Graham looked like the lead singer out of Kings of Leon and to his even younger brother Harrison for saying he sounded like Shrek!;

* Jonathon, Tracey, Finlay & Fergus for letting us get to know wee Finlay with a spot of babysitting. We feel we coped well with the numerous questions - "Do you live in a Castle?", "Is it like the one in Thomas?", "What was the Loch Ness Monster like the last time you met her?" We hope we answered them honestly and we'll get saving for the "Castle" just as soon as we get back. And last, but not least, for the most amazing day out to Moreton Island where we got to do some Sandboarding (still finding some sand from that), 4x4 off roading, driving along the beach, swimming in the Lagoon and watching Turtles, Dolphins and Whales frolicking in the wild (the Dolphins were actually frolicking!). So many things we'd never done before - what a treat!

* And not to forget Cath & Emily for flying up to Brisbane so we could see them again (and say goodbye to them again too!).

After 7 weeks it was now time to head south to New Zealand for our onward journey and I have to confess to shedding a couple of tears at the airport on the way out - it was the family and friends in Oz which really made it special for us. We'll miss you all and if you could just arrange for Australia to move a little bit closer to the UK that would be great! And we'd be happy to consider a swap next year when Stephen & Natalie move to Perth (Perth, Australia that is not Perth, Scotland) - it could balance out the numbers! You're all welcome anytime and we hope to see you soon again, whether in Scotland or Oz. Thanks for looking after us x.

And now back to reality (well not quite reality yet - that's another 4 months away), but what better thing to do after we've spent the last 7 months together 24/7 (with the exception of 2 afternoons, 1 evening & a football match) than to hire a 5' x 9' campervan for the next 3 weeks!!!!(anyone looking for a husband please put in your bid to ebay - don't worry there's no reserve price any offer welcome).