We've received mails from 'worried' friends to ask where we are and where we've been, so here is just a quick recap.We are currently still in Croydon, Victoria. Croydon is about 35kms outside of Melbourne, a bit like Brackenfell to Cape Town for our friends back home. We have been blessed by Richard and Yolanda to stay and eat for free in their house while we are here.....Thank You Richard & Yolanda

We arrived in Melbourne in August with high expectations and wanted to travel around the country before settling down somewhere. It was decided that Charmaine would ride her own bike here, so we bought her a second-hand Suzuki DR200. I fabricated a carrier and brackets for saddle bags, so she can carry some luggage when necessary. The DR is a small bike with a big heart. It will slow our pace down a bit, but not by that much, as the speed limit down here is slow anyway and we are passed the stage of racing through places. We entered the country with new residents’ visas that got issued after a two year application process (it is a long story). As new residents, we had to register for a few things first and get the local Driving License. We had three months to do this. The car driving license was a challenge, and I even failed my first test, Charmaine was the better driver and passed it first time (another long story). The motorcycle licence was fun and easy; we both did well and got it without problems. The problem with these registrations and licenses is that everything cost $$$. Then the GS arrived, and we were soon reminded and introduced to the cons of a First World Country, it’s expensive! Because we intend to keep the GS for more than 12 months in the country, we had to import and registered it locally. This process sucked about $4,500 (US$4000) out of our travel budget, and was the final nail on the coffin for our Australian Travel plans. At this stage we regretted buying the DR for Charmaine, but the deed was done and she likes her new mode of transport. The good thing about our visa is that we can work and stay anywhere in the country, so we started to look for work. It proved to be tougher than what we expected.

We have done some travelling in Victoria to job interviews, but not the exiting kind of travelling that you would want to read about. Victorian scenery is lovely and there is plenty of nice motorcycle riding roads. People are friendly and helpful. We saw some amazing animals in the wild; some species I never knew existed, like the Wombat and the Echidna. The Echidna is one of only two known mammals that lay eggs, and the Wombat is the type of creature you just want to hug, it is so cute. Yes, and of course we saw some kangaroos, grazing next to the road. Many of the birds down here are colourful and the variety in bird species is great. After one month of seriously searching for various kinds of jobs a good offer came our way and we have made up our minds, we are going to Perth! It could not have come on a better time, as we are almost completely out of money and will scrape some cents together to ride the 4000kms across the country to Perth. The nice thing about this ride will be the fact that there is a job and an income waiting for us that side, something to look forward to. This way we also get to see the southern part of the country, and Charmaine gets to ride her DR200 across the country.............................So jc4ever will be on the road again soon, for the last leg of our RTW ride and we’ll keep you informed.

Sms sent 12 November 2009...................................Kennett River Victoria
250km gery, kamp in die bos langs die pad en die see,by 'n boom met 'n Koala! Nou lekker koel na 'n warm dag.Can't get better than this. Ons is naby Kennett Rivier. Charmaine het rit baie geniet en elke keer as ek haar sien , sien ek net tande soos sy glimlag. More mik ons vir Port Fairy.
Sms sent 15 November 2009 .....Adelaide