Across the Pacific

Having sold the campervan, mercifully all of our luggage fitted into the hire car and we spent a sunny two days driving from Vancouver to Calgary across the Rockies, via Banff, where we stopped to watch some traditional dancing.

In Calgary we stayed with Tony's ever hospitable cousin, Philippa, and her family. A huge thank you to them for making our final days in Canada so enjoyable, for the fireworks, the fort-building and the haircut...

Whilst in Calgary, we were also lucky enough to catch up with Di and Ian, Tony's aunt and uncle; and his other cousin Andrew and his sons -  who joined Tony on a last Rocky Mountain ascent the day before our flight out.

We left Calgary on an epic 38 hour journey to Sydney - but a 9 hour layover in Los Angeles allowed us to spend a few hours in Santa Monica, where the girls enjoyed the beach and the rollercoaster on the pier.

Having arrived tired and jet-lagged in Sydney, we have spent the last week staying with Ellen's brother, Howard, and Sylvia in their fantastically central apartment. After some sightseeing we set about the task of finding wheels for our next adventure. This resulted in the purchase of a rather old, rather battered Ford Falcon which will (hopefully) take us across the continent to Perth...