This is the way we will drive, taking 5 days to do a very leisurely 2200 km. We could do it easily in 3 days, but why hurry? We would like to see a few sights along the way, and not feel like we have to go tearing through the countryside. I like driving, in good weather conditions, so hopefully we'll have pleasant weather for our little jaunt.

It's so HOT! It's as if summer has arrived already, not nice when we are working hard cleaning and carting stuff around. But we are nearly finished. It's all good. And check out Mereth's blog for the results of our sewing spree this morning.

DD and partner are arriving tonight, so we will have a good get-together, and the rest of the house will be cleared out tomorrow. The things I regret leaving most are my plants, but that can't be helped; my new house has a darling garden as well, so I will settle in there. It has been a little neglected, so I will have a nice time putting it all to rights.

I will not regret being without

• cockroaches
• mosquitoes
• 100% humidity
• summers that last 9 months, with the above mentioned humidity
• spiders that I can Hear running across the floor towards me
• geckos; I love geckos, but they are v. messy house-guests
• mildew
• being 7 hours away from a major city
• mango trees trying to grow in through my windows
• fruit bats
• no screens on windows or doors
• grasshoppers, furry caterpillars, moths, sandflies.

I will miss my family of course, but they are all growed up now and they know where I am when they want to come see me. And I do love Queensland, so I will be back to teach and to visit. I just have other things to do first.