It was my final week at work this week, and following my much anticipated last few days, I walked away with mixed emotions. Having been dreaming of this moment for what seems like an eternity, I found myself wracked with nerves and anxiety as I left the office for the last time, for what is to be nearly 7 months away in total. It certainly wasn’t what I had expected. I had envisioned it being an extremely joyous moment. I saw myself driving out of the car park, waving excitedly at my jealous co-workers, as they threw streamers over ‘The Beast’ and shouted out their farewells. As it turned out, I was the only one in the office when the time came to depart, so there wasn’t even anyone to see me off. It was just a last quick scan of my desk, bereft of any personal belongings, which had already been boxed up and removed during the week. Then I quietly slid out the back door.

I know for sure that the plans we have in place for the next six months will trump anything that work can provide, but for me, work pretty much defines who I am. Not being able to have that one constant in my life is an interesting concept that I wasn’t 100% ready for however. I just never realised it until I walked out that door. It wasn’t even an emotion that I had considered. In my mind, it was always just a big “whoo hoo, no more work”. So the reality with which I was faced was an entirely alien feeling to me. Four days later though, I’m ready for the next chapter in our lives, so what else has happened this week?

Well, excitingly, Bec and I racked up a couple of anniversaries. 17 years we’ve been together and we’ve been engaged for 15 of them. That accounts for nearly half of our lives! And yes you did read that right, 15 years engaged. We did talk about getting married once, but we decided to spend our money on a holiday instead. We’ve since enjoyed a myriad of trips as opposed to just one wedding, so I reckon we’ve come out on top. It has gotten to the stage now that it would be almost embarrassing to tell people that we’re getting married because most people assume that we already are. Although I do abhor Becs insistence on telling people that I am her ‘partner’ whilst I find it easier to just introduce her as my ‘wife’ (or the misses when we’re in polite company)!

Naturally, an anniversary called for another present, so I presented Bec with a bunch of roses, which is akin to her letting me buy ‘The Beast’, such is the rarity for which I splash out on delicacies such as flowers. Of course, it was worth the extravagance just to see her face light up as she proudly arranged them in a seldom used vase, then took a dozen or more photos with them until she got one that was just right, all in an effort to show her work mates photographic proof that I had indeed bought her some flowers.

Apart from commiserating my last day at work and celebrating our anniversaries, I also found some time to do some shopping. I had re-visited our options for satellite communications and decided that we would do with out. No entirely convinced that this was the best option, I decided a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) would provide us with a last line of defence. It’s a device about the size of a couple of decks of cards, which in cases of life threatening emergencies can be activated, sending out a signal for authorities to home in on. It’s monitored in Canberra, and they are able to notify the local authorities as well as friends and family should we need to set it off. It’s like what sailors set off when they are lost or disabled at sea. I hope to never find out if it actually works, but it will give us an extra level of security when travelling the more remote areas of our vast land.

Before I knew it, the week was almost gone and we were that much closer to setting out. Therefore, Friday being my first day off, I headed off to see the bank manager. I needed to make sure we were actually going to have enough money to fund our adventure. It isn’t something that I have been ignoring, so much as just putting it off. I don’t know what we were going to do should the figures not compute, but as it turns out, we are set to go. It may well be a lesson in frugality at times, but the bank has our back (and our house if it all goes terribly wrong). I did however skirt over the whole issue of the fact that we are both taking our long service leave at half pay, but by my calculations we should only have to work until we’re about 90 to pay it off!!!!

Come the weekend, both Bec and I knuckled down to finish packing the van and making sure that we have everything that we will be needing. I’ve already mentioned how difficult a task this is, but just to reiterate, bloody hell! I think we are just about there. Apart from  a few last minute items, such as our clothes, every nook and cranny seems to suitably stuffed.

So with that done, we headed out for dinner with friends on Saturday night, where the only stipulation was that we take alcohol. In the interests of harm minimisation, I declared to Bec that I would consume but one glass of wine. Mind you, I found a couple of glasses that were capable of holding an entire bottle of wine each. They were quickly nick named ‘Bill & Bob’, as Scott and I settled in for the evening. Who would have thought you could get drunk on just one glass of wine, but we both proved it is indeed possible. Although I am still blaming my slight inebriation on the fact that Scott twisted my arm and made me break my one drink only declaration. He brought out a half a bottle of port he had been saving for a special occasion, but decided would deteriorate if he waited for our return. Who was I to turn such an offer down. It could well have been construed as extreme rudeness had I not partaken.

Scott, Marcus, Bill, Bob and a couple of bottles of Shiraz.

Sunday started rather slowly, with the end of daylight saving ensuring that I was able to enjoy my hangover for a whole extra hour!!! A big fry up of eggs, bacon and sausages, washed down with an almost ‘Bill & Bob’ sized mug of strong coffee got me all fired up and ready to face the rapidly approaching afternoon.

What better way to start the day and ditch a hangover.

Not much else was on the agenda for the remainder of the day, apart from continuing our packing duties. I was concentrating on how I was going to arrange the back of ‘The Beast’ to enable me to fit in all the tools and spares I want to take, as well as a push bike, whilst still leaving enough room for when we need to put the dogs back there. I’m starting to think that maybe I should have bought a Kenworth. As I did this, Bec was readying the house for our departure. I think we’re pretty much done now, which is a relief. We will just need to sort out the clothing next week.

We then spent an enjoyable couple of hours with neighbours, who had completed a similar trip last year. We have been trying for months now to catch up with them to get some inside goss on the hot spots to visit, and the stars finally aligned for us today with us all available. Over afternoon tea, we poured over their photos, and listened in awe to their tales of what we can expect to see and do. Even Bec came away excited. It’s a rare occurrence for Bec to get excited about a trip until we leave, but we couldn’t help be exhilarated by photos of idealic beaches, vast scenic vistas, cooky outback pubs, towering cliffs right on the edge of Australia and camping alongside crocodile infested lakes. Not only did it whet the appetite, but it really did bring it home that we are actually going to do this thing and we have little more than a week before we embark on our own epic adventure of a lifetime.

It was no wonder that when we then caught up for a farewell dinner with another couple of friends that I could barely talk about anything other. They came to check out the van and ‘The Beast’ before we went out for food, and were pretty much treated to a rapid fire monologue of our plans. I think I’m finally over the disappointment of finishing up at work. Now I’m just chomping at the bit to get the trip underway.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.