The Earth must have sped up?      There is no other plausible explanation! It’s the only way that time could be flying by at the dizzying rate it seems to be…

It feels like all our waking hours are spent getting the multitude of chores completed prior to departure.  On the flip side the pressure comes off in some ways once the clock on the right reads “00:00.00” Guess if it’s not done by then, it won’t be!! 

Realistically, a trip like this was never going to be a simple exercise was it?  A last minute need to change shipping companies had the undesireable effect of raising my stress levels.  I expect that won’t be the only deviation in planning and hence not the last time I’ll have to make a decision on the hop! Better get used to it!!

Hamburg Sud now have the task of delivering the Patrol, hopefully it arrives on time!

I must thank Brett Rayner From Strang International whom we chose to act as our forwarding agent here in Fremantle. The whole process has been pretty smooth with Brett and his staff, they have gone above and beyond in answering our myriad of questions! Highly recommend them! Thanks Brett.

We now have our Kazakhstan visa’s nicely inserted into our passports after a process we found best resembled a maze with cheese in the middle and we were the rats.  Jen will update the visa page shortly with all the details!  Russian visa’s are currently being processed in Sydney and should arrive back late next week.

I hope so as the Patrol will be well into it’s journey by then!

We have been intently watching the Russian/Ukraine situation and informed ourselves as best we can of what it may mean for our travels. We do have a plan B, but it represents a very expensive revision so hopefully plan A remains!

One of the last jobs needing to be ticked off was finishing the packing, It was a little tricky as we are starting in Hot weather en-route to Vladivostok before descending into very cold conditions, we are limited on space and so began the task of what goes and what stays. I have a few clothes whilst Jen has – shall we say a few more!!!! oh, and she won’t run short of shoes either..

Obviously we will stock up in Vladivostok but hey, it seems a shame to leave the draws empty!

 

Yep there is Vegemite in there somewhere – expecting some quizzical looks when they get a taste of that little Australian Gem!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18th March 

I always knew it would be a tight fit – I considered grabbing the grease gun from the tool box and giving the Patrol a nice coat so it would slide in a little easier!!! Tyres down to 10 PSI and we just cleared the door, phew!  After re-inflating the tyres, chocks, ratchet straps and ropes in place, it was time to close the door!  With 20mm at the front and 50mm at the rear I guess if it does move it won’t move much! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any comment that I make probably won’t do justice to the degree of excitement felt when you finally load your vehicle into a container and send it over the horizon.  A little apprehension mixed with a twinge of “what have I done”, and relief that one of the major logistical parts of the journey is now underway!

It’s been an immense effort preparing for our adventure.  Leaving your home and your country for an extended period requires so much planning – well it has for us anyway so it’s really nice to see the Patrol packed and posted!!

I’m sure the rewards of having our own slice of home waiting for us half way around the world will make the work involved in getting the pieces in place fade away the moment we hit the road!

Thanks to everyone for the messages and we will get another post up as soon as we can!

Justin.