BACK HOME

Alec, Diana, Conal and Gershon the driver

It was so hard to say tear ourselves away from our family and friends - but it's also good to be home again! I guess we'll always feel torn between what now feels like three homes - Bern, Cape Town and Sydney. We've had a wonderfully warm welcome from everyone here  and I'll never forget the joy of seeing Anton and Nicky at the airport to meet us.  We've spent the past few days putting our lives back on track and reflecting on what now seems like a dream.

We've been asked a number of times what we enjoyed most about our travels. A difficult question to answer. On reflection we've experienced the beauty of our world: I love mountains and we certainly saw some of the best- the Rockies, the Alps and the Cape mountains - but what was most precious was having time to be with our far-flung family. Time to catch up with David and Maeve in Colorado, renewing our contact with Peter Lanigan-O'Keefe and the rest of the family from Ireland in London and then the wonderful summer hanging out in Bern with the Roos's followed by our magic holiday in South Africa where we managed to see so many of our family and friends at a leisurely pace.

Each part of our trip was extraordinary - our visit to Utah with David and Maeve, Lake Como, Rosenlaui and Rasa with Hendrik, Anna, Louisa and Jan, the Cevennes and the Midi with Diana, Prue and Anthony, the Kruger Park with Alec, Sara, Leon & Chriscelia and ending with the trip to Nyarhini with Francie and the Rovos Rail with Diana. Such marvellous memories of happy times.

Have bags - will travel

Our home is let until May so we'll be gypsies for a while yet - but one day, maybe - we might just have to pack our bags again!