Part Two: Recap

After a complete, four month circumnavigation around the world and now being at the end of our epic retirement trip, here are our reflections back on some highlights of what we have seen and done on the second half (mid-November thru mid- January) of our trip! (See our Midpoint Recap for months one and two.)

Travel Miles and Modes*:

(* = not including day trips and excursions)

Planes:

Sydney – Uluru/Ayers Rock (1351 miles)

Ayers Rock – Sydney via Melbourne (1351 + 439 = 1,790)

Sydney – Hobart (645)

Hobart – Melbourne (383)

Melbourne- Denpasar, Bali (2,720)

Denpasar – Dubai (4,660)

New York City, NY – Orlando, FL (951)

Total Air Miles: 12,500

Trains:

London – Southampton (80 miles)

Total Train Miles: 80

Bus:

Tasmania Tour: Hobart – Strahan – Launceston – Bicheno – Hobart (plus stops in between) : +/- 715 miles

Total Bus Miles: 715

Personal Rental Cars:

Hobart – local driving (56 miles)

Melbourne to Adelaide: Great Ocean Road + more (1,720 miles)

Melbourne: Great Ocean Road part 2, plus city exploration (494 miles)

Southampton: local driving (20 miles)

Total Personal Car Miles: 2,290 miles

Ferry Boat/Ship:

Cape Jervis to Penneshaw and return: 22

Murray River Car Ferry: 1

Southampton, U.K. to New York on the Queen Mary 2: 3,270 nautical miles

Total Nautical Miles: 3293

Overnight Stays :

Australia: Yulara (Ayers Rock Resort), Sydney, Hobart, Strahan, Launceston, Bicheno, Halls Gap, Keith, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Robe, Warrnambool, Melbourne

Bali, Indonesia: Jimbaran, Canggu

UAE: Dubai

England, U.K.: London, Southampton

USA: New York City

Wildlife Spotted (in the wild):

• Flying foxes
• Too many birds to list all, but notably cockatoos, lorikeets, magpies, black swans, bent knee curlews, peacocks, brush turkeys, bin chickens, parrots of all colors and kinds, java pond heron
• Potoroo
• Koalas x 2
• Pademelons
• Ring snake
• Water dragons
• Fairy penguins
• Echidnas x 3
• Wallabies
• Kangaroos
• Saltwater crocodiles
• Platypus (!!)
• Wombats
• Seals
• Sea lions
• Deer
• Water monitor
• Monkeys
• Sea turtles

❤️ Best Of / Highlights This Half:

• Dinner at the Drunken Admiral in Hobart (that seafood curry… 😋)
• Seeing the elusive platypus in the wild!
• Seeing wombats in the wild and watching one scratch his little battle booty on a signpost 😂 at Cradle Mountain
• The short but gorgeous Cape Townsville and Mount Field Horseshoe Falls hikes in Tasmania
• Meeting the people from our Tassie and wine tour groups
• Day trips by ferry from Sydney to Bondi, Lighthouse, and Manly Beaches
• D’Arenberg Winery visit
• Fairy penguins on KI
• Dinner at Maison Batard
• Admirals Arch with seals at Flinders Chase NP on Kangaroo Island
• The Hot Springs in Warrnambool
• Lunch at Lucy Liu’s
• Corryton Burge sparkling red Shiraz
• Glass Beach in Robe
• Great Ocean Road: 12 Apostles and Bay of Islands
• 5 flavors of melted chocolate shots at the Chocolaterie
• The Umpherston sink hole gardens
• Mello hot chocolate in London
• Architecture in Dubai
• Miracle Gardens in Dubai
• Cuca and Aged & Butchered restaurants in Bali
• High tea on the QM2
• & Juliet on Broadway
• Lunch at Junior’s Deli

As we turn out the lights on this particular trip, please know how much your thoughts, comments, and reading our blog meant to us. We plan to keep this blog going for all future travels, so stay tuned!! Panama Canal and more are in the works for later this year, as well as Jenna and Connor’s wedding!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you once again for adventuring with us!!