Without Hayley there were going to be numerous challenges, but from the first pack up there were also some clearly apparent benefits. Without wanting to challenge the notion that travelling with your wife and kids is completely harmonious, there are moments where seemingly divergent genetic make-ups prioritise things in different orders. When it comes to pack-up mornings, I’m not quite sure how, but I seem to have become one of those “let’s just get going” Dads (you know, the ones who want to leave for the airport hours before it is necessary “just in case”). We always try to leave minimal tasks for these mornings, but we still have to get everyone up and ready, pack away and stow all loose items (things like the showerhead, microwave plate and television), prepare and pack food in quantities relative to the length of the trip (what we think we need plus 50% seems a good rule of thumb!), pack away the external van connections like water and electrical hoses and finally connect and get everyone into the car!

Occasionally, on these mornings, I find my desire to get moving conflicts with the seemingly endless things that need to happen inside the van. Maybe it was one less shower, maybe it was the slightly more pre-packaged snacks or maybe it was just the additional motivation to get moving. Whatever it was, pack-ups with one less person seemed easier and quicker, I guess that’s always the case when the only person you can get frustrated with is yourself!

From Melbourne we headed to Ballarat. Although we had come through this way back to Melbourne I was keen to see the site of the Eureka Stockade as well as check out Sovereign Hill, which seemed as close to Old Sydney Town as these kids were going to get (just without people throwing up on the rough ferry ride around the heads!).

The kids loved panning for gold (not for me really, not sure the knees would take it for any great length of time!) and it was pretty exciting when the first real slivers of gold were discovered! You can see how easy it would be to catch “gold fever” – in fact I am not sure we didn’t! At first the kids were calling every pebble with a golden tinge to it “gold” but as soon as we had our first real trace it was clear just how much it stands out from the creek bed silt and golden coloured pebbles.

Denver adopted the role of resident expert, explaining to people how best to do it and letting them know that because the gold is heavier than the silt and rock it will sink to the bottom!

I just about managed to drag them away to see some other areas and I am glad I did, because they got to hold a real gold bar which had just been smelted (worth $160k!) as well as see soldiers on parade, dip a candle, watched boiled lollies being made, bowl in an old school 9 pin alley and have a ride on the horse and cart! It was a very entertaining and enjoyable day out and I didn’t really miss that ferry ride after all!

Crossing the border into South Australia (I feel like we should have a tradition of kicking a ball from one state to another or something, but it’s a bit late to start now!) we were headed for Robe where we had lined up a caravan park with a heated indoor pool, which seemed like a great idea given the inclement weather we started this trip with has never really lifted!

It was our biggest driving day to date, but the kids handled it well and driving without Hayley was made easier with the assistance of some pod-casts. I’ve got to say I have never really been “into” pod-casts. I know what they are and have lots of friends who love them and subscribe with regularity, but I have never found the motivation (or maybe just never seemed to have the time) to download and listen myself. That has all changed with this trip (particularly the time excuse!) and I have to say it was one of the best bits of advice we got before we left home (thanks Sandra!). Although we don’t normally listen to much ABC, we have pod-casts from Richard Fiedler, who has “conversations” with amazing people from all walks of life. These conversations cover and explore such a diverse range of people, topics, and opinions that it’s a fascinating way to pass an hour or so (it also takes away the “discussion” around whether we will listen to Justine Clarke, Ryan Adams or George Michael!). I really should start to look at what else is out there, I am sure Hayley would love to listen to a few hours of pod-casts on my beloved Fulham Football Club!

As though Hayley had taken the bad weather back to Sydney with her (indeed Sydney was having some of the worst storms in living memory) we had beautiful weather on our arrival in Robe and spent the time outside, at the beach, looking around town and removing Aprils training wheels so she could finally get the hang of this riding thing! When the poor weather finally caught up with us again we forged ahead with Denver’s school work (including modules on Anzac Day which coincided with the local 100 year celebrations and gave both kids insights into the history and significance of these events) and spent large chunks of time getting wrinkly fingers swimming and playing in the heated pool.

We had a great time with the only hiccup being that April accidentally dropped my phone (at least I like to think it was accidental!), smashing my screen and most of our communication methods with the outside world. I’d like to say I was stronger and could cope without a mobile phone for a while, but in truth it was difficult being limited to emails, especially as Hayley was away! The most frustrating thing was I could hear text messages and updates arriving, but had no way of seeing them!

By the end of our time in Robe, April was riding solo around the block (the caravan park block not the street block!), the kids had won 2 massive cuddly toys for their efforts on “disco night,’ school work was done so we were ahead when Mummy arrived back and we had that permanent chlorine smell you get when you spend too much time in a pool! The weekend was approaching so it was time to head closer to Adelaide, to catch up with some old family friends and be ready for when Hayley flew back in!

Staying at Aldinga Beach we visited Phil and Jo with their three kids Jonathan, Alexander and Rebecca, who had come out from the UK and settled in Adelaide as part of their visa requirements. “Jonno” and “Alex” are a bit older than Denver and April, but “Becky” is a similar age to Denver and together the kids had a ball playing with each other. Denver and April loved getting their hands on older kids toys (machine gun style NERF guns were particularly popular) as well as “gaming” and “Skyping” Hayley in the massive media room. The following morning we took everyone for a tour of the caravan and had great fun bouncing Phil around and off the jumping pillow at the caravan park, before agreeing to head over later in the day for another catch-up and play.

As usual the kids were energised by having other kids to play with and had a ball over the weekend with these friends who are one of those family relationships that seem as close as relatives even though there are no official ties.

With the weekend past and normal school and work commitments resuming for the Evan’s family, we packed the van and made the short trek (no pod-cast for this one!) to Marion Holiday park, which seemed more like a resort with covered tennis court, play area and heated pool, as well as a gym (I figured a few days in there may help with the extra beer I had been drinking to keep sane!). While the pool was nowhere near as warm as the one in Robe we still managed a few swims, got out the tennis gear for a hit (and miss) and stocked the van ready for the return of Mummy (including welcome home signage and a welcome home song!). For those interested (and I figure if you have read this far then you probably are at least somewhat) the lyrics went

“Mummy’s home,

to our caravan,

where we roam,

around Australia on holiday,

hooray hooray,

we are so happy she’s home!”

We had recorded it on Garage Band and sung it to the tune of one of the kids favourite shows “Tree Fu Tom”. It’s unlikely to win any ARIA’s, but we were happy it would convey just how excited we were to have Hayley back with us after what had turned out to be a long three weeks…