Hemisphere Relocation!

It's only been a short couple of weeks since Gjoa was hauled out to sit on the hard in Carnarvon Western Australia, but, it seems like a lifetime ago considering I'm writing this in the UK. More on that hemisphere relocation in a minute. Back in Carnarvon, there was no travelift available, so Gjoa was pulled out on a 'jinker', Australian for flatbed trailer. With her bilge keels she sat on the trailer firmly and flat while coming out of the water, one less thing to worry about. It all went very smoothly. We spent a quick couple of days getting her ready to leave on her own for a few months and getting ourselves packed and ready for a quick departure.

Departure? We had already planned for Gjoa to be on the hard for a few months. We had been going to resume our land travel in the campervan and then get on with some of the necessary boat maintenance jobs before restarting cruising. Given the traumatic events of the last few weeks however and the fact that Northern Australia was now entering the wet season, not the best time to travel there, we decided that perhaps it made sense to take a break before resuming our travels. We gave it a lot of thought and decided that returning to the UK would be the best choice, even though it would mean giving up Spring in Australia and going into late Autumn in the UK. Frankly, we'd had enough of the glaring sun, endless wind and heat day-after-day anyway and were dreaming of cooler temperatures more suited to lengthy country walks and outdoor pursuits. Can you ever get tired of wearing tshirts, shorts, flip/flops and sunglasses all the time? Actually, yes.

We drove to Perth, parked the campervan in storage and got on a plane, first to Abu Dhabi (UAE), then, to Dublin, Ireland and finally Southampton, UK where we hopped on a train to Bristol, our chosen destination. It only took about twenty-four hours altogether.

Here are a few parting photographs of Australia taken on the way to Perth. We plan to be back onboard Gjoa in six months or so. In the meantime, follow along with us as we explore new areas in the UK.

Leaving a glorious Spring does have drawbacks. The jacaranda trees were in full bloom in Perth and absolutely stunning.

It was only mid-November, but, Christmas decorations were everywhere. Kangaroo and palm tree motifs were new to us. We're more used to reindeer and evergreen tree decorations.

The closing shot is, of course, another bird picture.