Sad Farewell....Project Oz has launched

Some sad goodbyes and tears as we left Family and Finley after a week of preparation, packing the van, final grocery shop and a weight check of our rig at a weigh bridge. It is hard to believe it is time for us to “fly the nest” and see where this Adventure takes us, I know it can be great but it isn’t an easy step to take. Jess likened us to a snail....moving at a slow pace with our home on our back (or in tow).

We drove to the outer southern rim of where we have been so far in Victoria..that is Ballaratt.  It was 4 1/2 hours, and we hope that will be the longest drive we do in a day from now on.  So tomorrow we head to the Great Ocean Road, and over the next 10 weeks follow it to South Australia, to take in Whyalla (where we lived when we first immigrated to Australia), Flinders Ranges, Adelaide and Kangaroo Island.  We have a very loose itinery planned, and want to stay true to our Slow Road Ahead  mantra.

Tonnes of Bras at Mathoura, and old Wesleyan Church in the old Goldmining town of Tarnagulla - something like what you see in ruins in England.

Our view for tonight, we are the only ones here as far as we know at Lake Barrumbeet, nr Ballaratt.

Points of Interest - Finley to Melb

It is 3 hours to Melbourne from Finley, and we always seem to scoot down the highway on a mission. The van needed a replacement ensuite door, so once again a dash to the manufacturer, this time with caravan in tow. But on the way back we decided to stop in at Nagambie, a small town 2 km from the highway, on a lake, and the birth place of Black Cavier.

Who is Black Cavier?  Black Caviar born 2006,is Australia’s most successful racehorse ever. She has been in 21 races and won them all. This is not just a record for Australia but for anywhere in the world. To put this in context, the most consecutive races won by another Australian horse is 9. She never won the Melbourne Cup because she is a sprinter.

Only 46 degrees Centigrade this day, so a nice stop for an icecream.

Countdown 7,6....

Six more sleeps to Project Oz.

After a lot of planning, and help from the app Asana to track our “to do lists”, we are almost ready to leave our rental home and move full time into the van.

All our major items of furniture has sold, and our garage sale yesterday was a huge success.

Yay, we survived the decluttering process.  Try watching Marie Kondo on Netflix or Youtube if you need a boost to get started.  It’s all about finding ‘the joy’ in letting go.