Hard to believe that so much time has passed since we finished our first Stage/Lap in mid 2012. After 3.5 years back at work, I officially retired at the end of July 2015. Thanks to the staff and management at Viatek Newcastle for welcoming me back, and making my last years of employment very enjoyable and rewarding. They even bought me a second retirement gift! What a Great bunch of people!
We've downsized to a smaller home in Harrington NSW late in 2014, and have been playing plenty of Golf on the course we now back onto. It is a beautiful community and we have met many new friends already. We will certainly miss our home and friends while we are on our journey.
However, one of the main reasons for moving, was to allow us greater freedom to travel. So after a final weekend in the Newcastle area visiting family we are off for Stage Two on March 2nd. I won't give our full itinerary away now, but it will be a combination of old and new from our first trip. Back to some of our favorite spots in the Northern Territory and the Kimberly, although closer to the Wet Season than the Dry Season. A few more rugged adventures off the beaten track are also in our plans (weather/road dependent). We've bought a tent to enable a bit more flexibility for these locations, much to the shock of our Daughters!
Hopefully we will enjoy a lot of great adventures and surprises (pleasant ones) during our trip. We look forward to a raft of new memories and great photos to show for our efforts. I'll try and keep it interesting for anyone that wants to follow along.
My Administration friends at Viatek have reminded me to keep reporting on the Amenity status of our various stays. They found these reviews quite humorous but I believe many seasoned travelers would understand the importance of a clean shower & toilet! As such I may even come up with a rating system of some sort to keep the office girls amused and astute travelers educated. I can envision a future blockbuster book deal even now! Imagine the fun I could have with the Book's Name. Stay Tuned!
I will say goodbye for now. For those of you that would like to join our journey, I will begin providing updates on our travels next week.
