what are the odds?

The last few days have been an absolute emotional rollercoaster! You already know about the hard stuff… so today I want to tell you about the amazing part.

Let’s start at the beginning.

The day after we arrived, we were already greeted by Mark’s sister Nikki, her son Finn, and Mark’s aunty Lou and Uncle Bernie.

And being welcomed like that is honestly indescribable. It felt as if someone had wrapped a warm woollen blanket around us and simply said, “Welcome home.”

And for the boys? Well… they had been SO looking forward to seeing their family again—especially Nino, who was only one the last time he saw Nikki and Finn!

Needless to say, we spent some pretty amazing time catching up. And the boys got a wonderful change of scenery too, spending time with their family without their parents constantly hovering around. Which, in turn, gave us parents some uninterrupted time to indulge in the truly glamorous task of cleaning out a year of life on Akuna.

The thoughtfulness, effort and love Nikki put into making our transition easier—and especially into making the kids feel so incredibly welcome—is something I will be forever grateful for. ❤️

And then people just kept rolling in!

Nina and Ravi, our niece and her husband, came to see us with their lovely kids and Ravi’s family. What a beautiful day that was.

Paul, a friend I’ll mention again later, came to congratulate us on our achievements. A few days later, Pete, Mark’s second brother, made his way up from Hobart, Aunt Kathleen and cousin Fred dropped in and Uncle Cole rolled in with his Volksie.

And even though it has already been a week since they arrived, writing this brings tears to my eyes. The fact that they went through all that effort just to come and see us… it means more than I can put into words.

So when it was time to bring Akuna from Southport to our final destination at Boat Works—the biggest, fanciest playground for everything boat-related in the Southern Hemisphere, and quite possibly the world—it was clear that Nikki, Cole and Pete would join us.

And off we went through the bay.

The weather was drizzly and grey, and then, just as we passed the Spit—the very same passage we had entered through only a few days earlier—a dolphin swam past us.

It honestly felt as if the Pacific had sent one last little messenger to say goodbye.

And then, because apparently the universe wasn’t finished with us, a flock of kangaroos appeared.

In a residential area.

Just… casually.

No explanation.

No reason.

Just kangaroos.

Another little bit of Australian magic.

Uki said it wisely, with his nine years of life experience: “When we have to go through something sad, there is always something to make us happy again just around the corner!”

Just how right he was! Even more than we knew in that moment.

And then we hauled Akuna out at Boat Works.

And that was tough.

Really tough.

Getting off the boat for the last time was one of those moments where words simply don’t work anymore.

And then Cole hugged me.

And that hug will stay with me forever.

It’s a rare gift when someone just KNOWS.

…knows when you don’t need advice, encouragement, explanations or a carefully constructed sentence.

You just need someone to hold you for a minute while you try not to completely fall apart.

And Cole is this kind of person.

Thank you, Cole.

From the bottom of my heart. ❤️

A little emotionally battered, we wandered into the Boat Works office to check in.

And this is where things got slightly ridiculous.

A tiny bit of background to understand just how lucky we were:

Boat Works was set up by Australian racing legend Tony Longhurst and is basically a giant playground for boats and everything boat-related. And we are talking one of its kind—the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and, quite possibly, unique in the world!

And, because apparently Tony felt this boatyard wasn’t quite impressive enough, there is also his private car and motorbike museum.

We had already seen it a few days earlier and were suitably speechless.

So imagine our faces when we walked into the office and Tony himself was sitting there.

He started chatting to the boys—which was pretty special!

Then he started showing us photos of his private boat—the one he actually sails.

Next level.

And then he asked the boys which car they liked best in the museum.

They picked a completely crazy Jeep.

And Tony casually offered to have it taken out of the museum so he could take us all for a spin.

Well…

I’m honestly running out of words.

Either Tony had a bit of time on his hands, or he somehow sensed that we all needed a little emotional booster.

(The latter is definitely the true answer!)

He certainly succeeded in taking our minds off leaving Akuna.

What a nice guy he truly is!

And then there is Ashley.

We met him as part of the crazy crew from Pandanus when we set off into the Atlantic. We crossed the Atlantic together, but unfortunately our paths parted afterwards, as Rod, the owner of Pandanus, was lucky enough to have more time on his hands and decided to cross the Pacific a season later than us.

Why “crazy crew”?

Well, imagine a bloke named Paul standing on a surfboard in the middle of the Atlantic, being towed behind a sailing catamaran, cheered on by a bunch of laughing blokes threatening to leave him there and then…

You get the vibe!

I’m pretty sure that one belongs in the Guinness Book of Records!

We’ve stayed in touch throughout our journey, and just as we arrived, Ashley offered us his beach house to stay in once we had to move off Akuna.

And honestly?

What a gift.

That incredibly generous offer has made this whole transition so much easier.

Because now imagine this:

You’ve just spent a year living on a boat. And though some nights were rough, the ocean was your home.

You suddenly have to sleep somewhere that doesn’t move.

But you still get to wake up to the sound of the ocean.

You still get to watch the sunrise, just like out at sea.

You see whales swimming past.