Melbourne, Australia

Dear Ethel, Family and Friends,
We have been back in Australia a week now, the big wedding is over and the Bride and Groom are now on their honeymoon in Paris. It was a relaxed and enjoyable wedding and Louise’s niece Katie looked fabulous as the Vintage Austin Princess (the car) pulled up the drive to the Chapel at Cockington Green, near Gungarlin, Canberra. Seventy five guests waited as the four bridesmaids filed down the aisle where the Groom Wayne awaited. After the ceremony and photos, the party retired to a large marquee close by to celebrate into the night. We stayed with Louise’s Brother Ian and Sally his wife, parents of the Bride and a pleasant time was had by all. Video still forthcoming.

During the week after the wedding, we have been wondering what to do with ourselves, as we hadn’t given it much thought up until the wedding was over. There have been no descent job offers from Vietnam so we cancelled the return fare back to Saigon. While I had been looking for jobs on the internet, Louise was revisiting an Idea she had a few year ago, Campervan relocation, driving the vans to the places they are needed. It didn’t take us long to make the decision. We browsed the website and made a few phone calls and we had an itinerary. Depending on the route and location, fuel is offered for the trips and a number of days to complete it, however further days can be purchased to make the journeys more comfortable and enjoyable. As we still had an airfare back to Melbourne as part of our trip back to Saigon, we decided it’s a good place to start and Louise has a Nephew here, David and his wife Catherine and their two grown up girls.

Our new adventure starts tomorrow, Monday 16th November when we pick up a campervan in Melbourne and drive to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road, about 1000km. Louise & I actually did this journey twenty one years ago as our first holiday together when we drove from Sydney to Adelaide via Melbourne. Anyway we have four days to do this leg and accommodation will be better than the tent we did it in last time. We have a few days in Adelaide and will stay with a school friend of Louise’s from Bathurst who we stayed with way back then. Mmm still remember doing the Nutbush dance on Henley Beach on New Year’s Eve with Trish, circa 1988. Following Adelaide, we get another van and drive 3000km across the Nullarbor Plains to Perth via Albany, Esperance and Margaret River. We have never been to Perth before and thought this would be a good stand alone trip and the ideal time to do it.

Well, call us crazy if you will, we think we are but we have no fixed address, no jobs and no place to be until at least March when we can get our house back again. However anything can happen between now and then. We’ll let you know how it goes, all the best until then.

Ric & Louise