CAMPSITE # 118 - Hakuna Matata

The flight home from England went considerable faster than the way there. We had a change over flight in Singapore where we literally got off one plane, straight onto the next and were taking off within minutes later. Some would say we cut it a little fine but either way - we made it all of the way from Heathrow to Perth in 19hours which I thought was a very impressive effort.

The only thing I didn't factor in however, when booking the flights, was our arrival time into Perth. I was so concerned the entire time about just getting to England that I never really took much notice of our return trip. Flying back into the International airport at midnight isn't normally so bad when you have a home to go to and you just jump in a taxi, have no traffic all of the way there and then you climb into bed pretty much straight away. The catch for us was, well we don't have a home. And the bed we do have needs to be parked in a designated camping area before we can sleep in it (particularly in WA, we've heard stories of people getting $350 fines for sleeping in their cars in an illegal area). 

After we had been approved by customs to import Tom's brother's fishing rods into the country, we walked out of the airport to a cold, dark & rainy Perth. We may as well have stayed in bloody England. I had severe lack of sleep, was wearing insufficient clothing for the cold snap that was engulfing us and I just felt flat. The excitement of visiting our families was over and now we were to climb our way back into the Troopie on a miserable night for a few hours until we got to a Rest Area.

I was dragging my feet and my rather sad looking luggage all of the way over to the airport parking until I came around the bend and caught my first glimpse of Charlie. He just sat there proudly and patiently waiting for us. I know cars can't smile but Charlie's a special car and on this night, he was definitely smiling. I could feel the goosebumps pricking up through my skin as a tingling sensation ran through even inch of my body.

We opened the back doors and both stuck our heads in, just to get a good whiff of his stench. Tom climbed into the drivers seat and as he went to turn the key - both of us looked at each other in suspense as to whether or not he would be willing to be awoken from his sleep. Tom flicked that ignition and floored the accelerator and I grunted in approval as old Charlie Troopcarrier roared like he was the Mufasa of the security parking and he was letting everyone know that he was the king of this jungle.  

We were back. 

Much to our surprise, the three hour drive to our campsite went by quicker than expected. We were so busy reacquainting ourselves with the ins and outs of our beloved beast. After a good sleep in the morning, we would be ready to face this world once again and hit the road jack... ready for the exciting adventure that lay ahead.