One of my favourite shots

 

Farewell penguins

 

Farewell to the home of the Wandering Albatros. It's been a blast!

 

View from our porthole. The first sunrise I have seen for months - and it is just beautiful.

 

And leave Antarctica behind forever

 

We enter the ice pack ...

 

The land slips by ...

 

Those left behind, let off farewell flares as we sailed away from Casey and the snow closed in.

 

John, Chris and I with Petie to the right. Snow falls as we leave Casey.

 

Beth, John & I head out to the AA - going home!

 

A gorgeous Wilkes shot

 

JOhn, Me, Chris, Andrew. We had just been given our Antarctic medals just before leaving Casey forever.

 

The Aurora Australis at Anchor at Casey

 

The whole family. Back John, Beth, Andrew, Me, Nicky. Front Leo & Chris

 

JD and I at Wilkes on Boxing day

 

Last entry - Feb 2007. The journey and adventure ends here.

OK, well it has been a while.
I got back to Hobart Sunday 14th January – 2007.
The sea voyage was nice and uneventful, the water was calm and the trip was quick. 9 days in all. It was a strange feeling pulling away from Casey Station. John, Chris, Beth, Leo and I stood on the roof of the ship for a long time watching the shores of Antarctica slip by. John and I stayed up there for hours, just watching the light change and the ice and magnificent Bergs flow by, knowing it would be the last time we ever saw them again. It was bitter sweet really. It was an end to the whole adventure and the closing of an amazing chapter in our lives.

It is nice to be home – I am back in Newcastle now. Maxy the Dog was SO excited to see me. For two days he never left my side, staying at my heals constantly. Then he realised I wasn't going anywhere and he relaxed once more. We spent two weeks in Hobart, then two weeks in melbourne catchin up with family and fiends, then made our way home to Newcaslte. Maxy was exstatic to be home, didn't take him long to settle in once more.

Arriving home wasn’t too great initially - The tenants I had, had trashed my house and I have had to replace all the carpets and need to re-paint most of the walls. It took the professional cleaners over 4 hours to clean the filth these pigs left behind. Also, on a NO PETS lease, these bastards had 2 dogs, 4 cats, 4 rabbits and a bird – all inside! One dog was apparently a huge monster that has destroyed my side fence, trying to get in to next doors dogs, presumably to kill them by the sounds of things. The fence is being replaced tomorrow. I am pretty pissed at all of this because I have had inspections while I have been away and the Property managers sung the praises of these tenants. Obviously they never actually VISITED the bloody house! But that is another battle to fight. I am currently taking the tenants to the rentals tribunal to try and have their bond released to me. Doesn’t come anywhere near to the nearly $5K I have had to spend but it is a matter of principle. These pricks should NOT be allowed to get away with this! I don’t even live with much hope that I will even get their bond released to me – the system sees to be on the side of the tenants, no matter how much damage they do. We shall see. But it is still nice to be back home in my own little house, in my own space. I don't return to work unitl April 2nd, so am having a much deserved rest at the moment.

On an entirely different note: a pretty amazing thing happened three weeks before I left Casey Station. John Donaldson – the PI whom is always being written about in this Blog because we are always together – and I got together. On our first day back on Oz soil – in Hobart – he asked me to marry him. Of course I will, who wouldn’t, he is an absolute darling of a man and I adore him with all of my heart and soul. We have become best friends over the past 18 months and it is lovely that we are now in love. So there you go. I had to go all the way to Antarctica to meet the man of my dreams and then waited until 3 weeks before the whole adventure was over before I let it happen. Ha ha – typical Trace.

OK, well this is the chapter closed now folks. No more to write. No more yarns to spin you, just a few pictures to show you of the last days and the trip home.

John and I are planning on hiring a motor bike in about 18 months and riding up the west coast of the States, through the Rockies and on into Alaska. So my adventures are not ending at all. Both John and I have been bike riders most of our lives, so it will be fun. Then after that, one day, we will go to the the Greek Islands (Where we will be married), Turkey and then Egypt. So there you go – a happy ever after ending to a very tough, but amazing year for me. Along the way I loved and lost, made amazing friends and had the most magical and incredible time of my life, ending with the love of the man who is my soul mate and best friend. I am very happy and very much in love. So it was certainly an adventure worth having and one I enjoyed sharing with you all.

Thanks for coming along on the journey.
I wish you all peace, love and happiness in your lives.

When in doubt – do it anyway!!

Trace xx