The map has been dusted off and stuck to the wall. The individually labelled post-it stickers are out of the drawer and slowly being added as we get recommendations or read of some beautiful place that must be visited. Even the kids have started participating.

We’re preparing for the “big trip”, a marathon, rather than a sprint, to see as much as we can of the beautiful country that is Australia. Novices off-road but we plan to get off the bitumen whenever we can. Lots of reading has already been done and still plenty to do. The pile of gear is adding to the checklist and already we’re wondering where everything is going to go.

Two months out and the focus is on the vehicle and how to escape the house.