So this will be the final post of this Peregrinating Porters trip.  But we've had such a wonderful time that you can be sure there will be further episodes of the Peregrinating Porters in the not too distant future.

So from St George when I left you last, we headed to just outside Dalby to Lake Broadwater. This was a lovely spot beside the lake and we had a pleasant night there.  Next morning we stopped off in Dalby and got a few groceries before heading on toward Esk and our camp for that night at Ferndale.

This was a free camp beside the Geoffrey Fisher bridge over the Brisbane River.  We'd a quiet night there but had a bit of rain during the night.  Unfortunately early in the morning I suddenly heard the sound of a drip and we had a leak in the roof.  It wasn't too bad and once we moved and the van levelled up all was fine.  However that will have to be sorted before very much longer.  

But the weather fined up so we didn't have to worry meantime and next day we headed to Brisbane - or actually Clontarf north of Brisbane.  This wasn't an easy drive as we came mostly free way and toll roads so was pretty stressful for both driver and navigator.  But we made it in one piece and still married and booked into Bells Caravan Park in Clontarf.  This was a lovely little park with good facilities and we treated ourselves to power.  

That afternoon we caught up with our friends Ruth and Simon who are in nearby Brighton and had a lovely afternoon and evening with them enjoying a few drinks and feasting on prawns.

The next day which was Sunday we caught up with them again as well as Simon's parents Margaret and Ian and we all had lunch at the Full Moon pub in Sandgate.  I have to say that the salmon and salad I had there was one of the best meals I've had in a very long time. Absolutely delicious.  We dropped Ruth and Simon home then went for a drive to check out where we had to go the next morning to take the van in to have the awning repaired.  It was only a few streets away from the caravan park which was good.  We had a quiet night in the van as we had to be up early to get the van in by 7am.  Of course we had to do a pack up first thing before we could go even though we were coming back there that night.  We dropped the van off so they could fit a new skin to the awning - the old one was coming away from the side of the van in many places and had only held on for the trip with the help of a cable tie or six!  We then headed out to Scarborough Beach to the dump point as the one in the park was out of order.  Having dealt with that we found a lovely little cafe by the beach and had a yummy breakfast.

We then headed over to Bardon to catch up with Zac and Leona Cook - we used to work with Zac at BSL many years ago and he's contacted me to get the low down on our trip as he and Leona and their two boys are looking at taking off to do a big lap later this year.  We'd a lovely catch up and coffee with them and by that time we'd had a message to say the van was ready.  So back to pick it up and then back to the caravan park and a quick setup for that night.

Next morning we were up and away and headed to Hervey Bay where we parked up on the fabulous RV hardstand area just outside Latitude 25, the lifestyle village that Michelle and Pat Hunter have moved to.  We'd a brilliant afternoon catching up with them and got a tour of the village and its facilities as well as a look at some of the display homes and their home.  We were both really impressed and think its probably given us some clarity and ideas about where to next for us.  But thats a story yet to be written.  At night we all went for dinner at the Beach House on the waterfront and caught up with Sue and Godfrey Loughran - more friends from BSL days.  We had also hoped to catch up with Liz and Peter Cousins too but unfortunately it had been a treatment day for Liz and though the mind was willing, the body wasn't up to it.  We'd a lovely time reminiscing about our work days all together -as over the years all 6 of us had worked at BSL at one time or another.  

We said our goodbyes to Pat and Shelly the next morning and headed back down to Gympie where we'd arranged to pick up a second hand solar panel and then we headed back up the highway to home.

We got here around 4.30pm.  Szulca our housesitter had left the day before as she needed to get back to her property in Wowan as she had someone coming to do some work on it.  But the house was absolutely sparkling and the garden and lawns all looking lush, green and well cared for.  She's been an absolute gem of a housesitter and I'd highly recommend her to any of our friends who ever need a housesitter. 

And so we're home and to be honest not settling in very well so far.  The weather was incredibly hot and humid and we've spent the last nine months in dry climates so the humidity really knocked us around.  Then the sheer size of the house and garden and the work entailed in keeping them in order just depressed us.  We've taken so well to van life and getting up in the morning, housework done in 10 minutes and then you have to decide what you want to do for the rest of the day!!   Anyway we'll get over it and get ourselves organised ready to head off on another trip as soon as we can.  But first we have Grant and Paula's delayed wedding celebration in April and then we're hoping to go to Mexico and the US around July to see Craigs boys and our grandsons there.  

In summary we were gone 290 days, (9.5 months).  We travelled a total of 34,700 kms visiting five states/territory and our average fuel consumption for the entire trip for both towing and just driving around was 18.7litres/100km.  We stayed 119 nights in totally free camps, 153 nights in caravan parks or National Parks and 64 nights on someone's front lawn.  We had 154 nights unpowered and 104 with power.  We spent just over $9000 on fuel and just over $5000 on accommodation. 

So thats a wrap.  I'd like to thank you all for your kind supportive comments as we've travelled round this wonderful country we're lucky enough to call home and invite you to join us next time we hit the road.  Till then take care and stay safe xx