Chapter 2: The Start of the Journey

Monday Week 1

It was just after 2:30 pm when Dave finally drove down the driveway of his Canberra house for the last time and headed south towards Cooma. He felt mixed emotions, knowing that this was the first day of his long planned round Australia odyssey and that he was leaving what had been his home with Chloe for the past 30 years.

Just before he walked out of his home, he paused at the mirror that remained in the front entry hall, looking at his reflection. Considering what he had been through in the past two years, he was pleased with what he saw – a fit, healthy man in his mid fifties, who could easily pass for being in his late 40s. He was 181 centimetres tall and weighing about 89 kilos, fairly broad shoulders and a full head of fair hair, kept reasonably short.

Chloe had often told him how handsome he was and, without being too vain, he thought his face didn't look too bad. A closer examination of his eyes was the only thing that revealed the recent sadness he had been through.

Now he was in his new mobile home for the next year or so, a large, six berth RV.

For the past four months, since he bought the RV, Dave had done a number of short trips, mainly weekends, to familiarize himself with driving and manoeuvring it as well as setting up camp and packing up.

Being a widower and by himself, he knew he didn't need such a large RV, but because it was to be his home for so long, he wanted as many creature comforts as possible and plenty of space. In fact, there was only a double bunk above the driver's cabin and the main double bed at the rear of the vehicle. The rest of the RV was taken up with a lounge area equipped with a home theatre, including DVD and stereo system, a well equipped kitchen, as Dave not only loved to eat but also cook, plus an ensuite with shower, toilet and wash basin.

There was also an aluminium annex that, at the press of a button, extended out along the entire length of the passenger side of the vehicle. The annex had drop down sides. This meant that he could have another very large room when required, mainly intended for when he was staying anywhere for longer periods, such as having a base camp from which he could explore the region.

At the back of the RV there was a ladder that he could climb up to get on the roof, which had been strengthened to become a sun deck. There was even a flat storage container mounted on the roof to hold a few folding chairs, a small folding table and an umbrella. The mounting point for the umbrella had been firmly attached to the roof. This meant, when the weather was right, he could quickly be ready to enjoy lazing in the sun, taking in the view from this elevated position.

Behind the RV, he was towing a flatbed trailer with a small four wheel drive vehicle, or 4WD as everyone seemed to refer to them. This would be both a vehicle to drive around town when his RV was set up for longer stays and also provide him with the ability to explore off road and get to good fishing spots.

There was a mountain bike mounted on the rear of the RV, which he would use for fitness, exploring or even short trips to the shop when he didn't want bother off loading his 4WD.

It had been thirteen months since Chloe, his wife for almost 35 years, had died. This was just before he had his 54^th birthday. After many months of grieving, Dave decided that he had to get on with his life.

They both ended up being middle ranking public servants, albeit Dave had a slightly more senior position than Chloe, but both had commensurately good salaries. This was why Dave and Chloe had always planned to both retire at 55 and live on their government superannuation, having paid off their house and saved money since the children had married and left home. That was when they would be able to explore Australia. He saw no reason to change this plan that he and Chloe had dreamed of for years, but clearly it was going to be lonely doing it by himself.

Six months ago he started the process of selling the family home. He brought the lovely gardens back up to the standard that Chloe always liked to maintain, did a few minor repairs and painted the fascia boards, which were overdue for a coat of paint. With the house all spruced up, clean and tidy, it sold fairly quickly, but he was able to negotiate to stay on for the extra two months after settlement until he could retire and start his round Australia trip.

With part of the proceeds from the house sale, he bought a two bedroom townhouse that he rented as an investment and with the balance paid off the RV. So he was debt free with just over $100,000 per annum in indexed pensions coming from superannuation (both his and Chloe's) plus the income from the townhouse and he still had almost $200,000 in his superannuation account from Chloe and his accumulated contributions. He knew at least he didn't have any financial worries.

Their son and daughter had both married, the son moving to Sydney, while his daughter had married an American she had met in Canberra and now lived in the west coast of the USA. Thus he was not leaving any family behind in Canberra, though there were a few good friends he would miss.

But over the past six months or so, although his friends continued to include him in their social activities, it was not the same as when Chloe was alive because all their friends were married couples and he felt of bit lost by himself. Time to make a new life and see all those things Australia had to offer.

Dave and Chloe had planned their itinerary years ago – first Canberra to Cann River, because they wanted to start their coastal journey basically on the Victoria/NSW border. Their itinerary then went right up the east coast to Cooktown. Next it was to be west to Karumba at the mouth of the Gulf of Carpentaria, south to Cloncurry then west to Tennant Creek in Northern Territory. Dave and Chloe then planned to go to the red centre, Alice Springs, see Uluru, as Ayres Rock was now known, and Kings Canyon, before returning to Tennant Creek and continuing north to Darwin. After exploring Kakadu, they planned to continue right around the west coast down to Albany then across the Nullabor, right around the south coast of Australia including the Eyre Peninsula to Melbourne. Then the plan included catching the ferry across to Tasmania and circumnavigating that island, before going back to Melbourne and finally back to Canberra via Cann River.

Both always wanted to be able to say they had truly circumnavigated Australia. Now, unfortunately, he was to do it by himself.

Chapter 3 »