Just one last thing...

...or a few things we'd like to mention about our last 10 (ish) months of travelling...

This adventure all began after a bad day at work in a school cupboard in Weston, Southampton which resulted in a text message to a toilet cubicle in Winchester Hospital. The responding text message set it in stone that we would (finally) be going on our world 'road' trip...

The fun commenced on 30th September 2008 and since leaving the U.K with our backpacks;

We have been away for 294 days, visited 12 countries and 3 continents, tried to speak 8 different languages and used 12 various currencies.

We have slept in 104 different beds (some with added bedbugs for free), 24 campsites (which equated to about 7 or 8 weeks camping), on 4 night trains and 8 night buses, oh and not to forget the 4 nights in our campervan Vanessa and 1 night at Cairns airport.

We have taken 12 flights, 34 buses, 10 trains and driven 5 vehicles.
Our modes of transport have included; mini bus, bus, train, taxi (some of these with seat belts, some without), tuktuk, cyclo, motorbike and side car, bamboo raft, kayack, motorbike, dragon boat, junk, push bike, 4X4, aeroplane, speedboat, grass reed boat, helicopter, sail boat, fenicular, gondola, corn truck, tractor and trailer, dug out boat, cruise boat and parachute (well, it did get us out of the plane, into the sky and down safely!)

Activites we have taken part in;
Knee boarding, wakeboarding, tubing (two different types), speedboating, white water rafting, black water rafting, bungee jumping, drinking, backward bungee, jetboating, skydiving, parasailing, dancing, luging (x2), motorbiking, mountain biking, kayacking, surfing, tramping, trekking, eating, sandboarding, kissing, horse riding, singing, swimming, boom netting, zorbing, glacier walking, coffee bean picking, sugar (panella) making, trail/trench digging, gardening, snake hunting and skinny dipping.

We have been bitten by;
Bedbugs, sand flies, mosquitos and been pooed on by an Australian seagull (Luce) and a Peruvian bird of some description (Rach).

Postcards sent;
300 (ish) between us.

Items lost;
Camera (+400 photos), sunglasses, board shorts, a few pens and one pair of ladies black knickers...

Interesting food consumed (to name but a few);
Tarantua, ant soup, rat, alpaca and guinea pig...

People we would like to thank for having us to stay, showing us around and generally making us feel very happy and welcome in their homes;
Jamie, Val and Matt Reeves (Singapore), Gail, Craig and Ian (Melbourne, Australia), Chris and Sue (Whangerai, NZ), Kate (Wellington, NZ), Karin, Mike, Keisha and Mya (Te Awamutu, NZ), Geoff (Jiff) (Te Aroha, NZ), Andy and Cecelia (San Clemente, Chile).

We would also like to acknowledge the people who made an effort to see us whilst we have been on our journey even though it might have taken them a little bit out of their way;
Simon M and Kate in Sydney, Nicola and Simon, all the way up the East Coast of Australia, Jason in Melbourne, Australia, Robert Wagstaff on the North and South Islands of NZ (we couldn't get rid of him!), Suzewa Fandango in NZ (for an extra long time) and special thanks to Sarah and Ferg, for not only meeting us in NZ (and looking after Valerie the goldfish), but for bringing over Luce's drugs, a vital component for keeping her alive!

Also, we must not forget the people who have become our friends along the way (gush, gush!), we have had a wicked time meeting new people...there really are too many names to mention but then you have already been mentioned in our previous blogs! Sorry, you will all be seeing us again, some of you already have...

Parentals...we must not forget you!
Thank you to Hilary and Timothy for managing Rach's bank account and making sure that she didn't go (too far) over her budget and/or credit limit and housing ALL of her junk which she has accumulated over the past 8 years!
Thank you to Ken and Caroline for managing Luce's palace in Winchester and looking after Smartie the car, even though he does now have a dead battery, and also storing all her junk.
Ohhh and supposing you remember, thanks for picking us up from the airport (22nd July 2009, 5.50pm, Terminal 3, Heathrow).
Lastly, thanks to Hilary and Jo for their expert travel advice and medical kit provisions...

Finally, we have had the most amazing time over the last 10 months (and are still very good friends with each other!) and are both so glad that the random text conversation between hospital toilet cubicle and school cupboard happened. It's been more than awesome!

We are coming home and are VERY excited! Especially about seeing our families and friends who we so rudely left behind 10 months ago.

Luce and Rach xxxx

---

---