Luckily the sun was shining when we woke up. We needed to give Apollo a bit of a brush up before handing it back. We have been parked on sand for most of our trip and, although we have done our best to keep it under control, it has inevitably crept in. We have not cooked in the van at all which has meant that none of the cooking equipment has been used which makes the sprucing up much easier. I have at the back of my mind the bad press given to a fellow narrow boat hirer overheard when we were giving back our pristine craft on one memorable occasion. I would have been mortified to have been found so wanting……..

Anyway, Apollo could not be faulted by the time we had finished. Even the unused taps had been polished – another tell tale factor in some quarters (!). By 10.00 am we were on the road back to Perth. It was over 200 Km so not a protracted journey but I found myself feeling somewhat apprehensive. I have flashbacks to the experience of driving into the centre of Melbourne. In the event it was quite straightforward. Not nearly as much traffic and as Apollo’s stable was on the perimeter of the airport complex, we went nowhere near the city. It was all amazingly painless – except the wrench of parting from our little Apollo. Quite honestly I was envious of those just starting out on their journeys – I would quite happily have gone round again! Ridiculous girl!!

Seriously we have loved the experience and would not hesitate to do it again. We have learnt a lot about life on the road. The overwhelming feeling is a definite thumbs up!

We caught a taxi back into Perth, where it was really warm again. We had booked ourselves into the same apartment block as when we were in Perth before and I had the washing machine on in no time. Packing for the train journey is going to be a bit technical as our main luggage goes into the luggage van and we are only allowed a small bag in our cabin. We will be on board for three nights, so some fancy footwork again in the planning department. We really enjoyed the Ghan last time we were in Australia and hope the Indian Pacific journey will be equally enjoyable.  

When things had cooled down outside, we gathered ourselves and went around the corner to a small Italian restaurant for supper. By the time we got back it was quite late for us- given that we have been in bed by 8.30 at the very latest when we were travelling!

Being out after dark was quite a heady experience!