Week 26 Update: Full Circle

We have finally come full circle and returned to  see my dog, Ormiston. The last two weeks have been filled with family and friends. Great to go home, have a roof, a shower, space, flat surfaces and lighting. What can I say about Australia? It is great to know my own country. There are plenty of good people and good places living happily.

It's also a rude shock to know that I need a job. For me, working is not the hard part but actually trying to find a job. We have done a few rounds of applications to teaching bodies in NSW and ACT. A real challenge to gather all the required documents together and certified by a JP.

The most memorable places on this trip are as follows. It is not exhaustive and does not mean other places were not good if I did not mention them. We spent very little time in NSW as we were desperate to come home and it is very easy to explore. Less time was spent in QLD, SA and Central Australia compared to other places, as we have spent some time there previously.

NSW: Byron T-shirt shop; Ballina; Eden Whale museum
Victoria: Pyrenees region; Bendigo; Ballarat; Tarra Bulga NP; Wilson's Prom and the Great Ocean Drive. The drive lives up to the hype. The Mornington Peninsula Chocolate shop easily takes the prize for most amazing chocolate in the country.
Tasmania: Cradle Mountain; Cygnet Pie Shop; Launceston; and Museum of Old and New Art. The museum by itself is worth flying to Hobart.
S. Australia: Central Markets in Adelaide; Seafood Trail and all the glorious seafood in SA. We did not visit other places in SA but the wine regions are worth mentioning again (all of them!)
W. Australia: Walpole, Kalbarri, Ningaloo, and Karijini NPs. Karijini was possibly the most fun, beautiful and memorable on this trip. The Pemberton and Margaret River wine regions were home to some amazing old wineries with great hospitality.
Northern Territory: All National Parks in the NT are awesome. They are clearly signed with loads of information. The hot springs in Katherine and Mataranka. And, Mindel Beach Markets - the best markets in Australia.

Total Km traveled: 30,115 km. We definitely fulfilled the 25000km goal set by yahoo answers.
Fuel Used: 3191.77L
Efficiency: 10.6L/100km

Thanks for reading our blog everyone! I'll sign off with a beautiful attitude from Broken Hill locals that everyone should adopt. People in BH often say that "you are from away" if you are not a local. BH folk don't ask or care about where you are from - you are clearly from "away". All they know is that you are here now[in BH, the best place that they know] and that you are sensible to be here. They are happy that you are in town. It is a beautiful traveling attitude and one that we should adopt as a nation. I can't think of many Australians that don't have immigrant ancestry.

Ormiston and me, walking down McCulloch St in BH before the trip!