A well organised concrete pour.

A problem with pilfering apparently.

Even though ours has no access to rear from cab and is secure.

So prepare for container.

Sides stowed, just the last 300 mm to lower the roof.

An artefact of the sub-frame failure in Mongolia.

Once in Aus the sub-frame will require removal for repair / rebuild. I'm guessing a couple of months leisurely work. When I've figured out how and life is relatively stable!

But it could be.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark is a favourite film.

We discused loading the container with the shipping company guy who would load it.

Thus we were free to climb on a plane.

A slight hiccough as the photos provided of packing showed the front secured through the bumper.

Hasty emails and redone to axle.

We are confident "lightning never strikes in the same place twice".

Kuala Lumpur is closer to Beijing than to Brisbane.

We think somewhere south west of Derby.

A glimpse of the Kimberley Coast.

But it looked interesting.

Unlike the lenticular dunes of Morocco and other parts we've seen.

But its an arid landscape.

And confirm that the world is round. Or at least a bit curved!

We only went halfway round.

But then we've come all the way back.

About 100,000 km driving in three years. Less than lots of people commute.

Re-aquaint ourselves with two daughters and re-possess our car.

Plus bonus introduction to Rachael's boy friend James plus family and Jennifer's fiance Kyle.

Much help from James to change the fan belt which broke after a couple of days. My arms wouldn't have stretched far enough.

By-passed starter part of ignition switch which refused another couple of days later.

The frustrating flat battery starting problem which had plagued Jennifer, and stumped mechanics, I eventually solved in Brisbane by replacing glow plugs.

Eastern Grey kangaroos.

The frozen shoulder pain is now diagnosed as the more general, and unrelated, polymyalgia rheumatica. Posh name for big muscle rheumatism. Thoughtful Canberra diagnosis agreed by Brisbane doctor.

Not only does it explain the pain in both arms and swollen hand but also the shortened painful stride in Nepal and India and difficulty getting in and out of truck cab..

It usually runs its course in about 18 months so hopefully there's less than 12 months left. Not a life sentence.

Treatment is steroid tablets. Minimum to manage pain. I'm reasonably functional again but still limited arm raising. Not enjoying the side effects though.

Three years of travels to far off lands seem almost like a dream.

Past Lake George, which isn't a lake at all.

The 1200 km to Brisbane is mostly on roads like this at 100 km/hr.

Stopped the night at Camden Haven.

Enough time for a walk to see the sea.

Hoping for fish and chips we had to settle for a pizza.

Thought I'd test the oven.

A chocolate mud cake with ganache topping.

House has been kept well. Garden a bit overgrown but grass has grown where there was none after the flood.

A few electrical appliances to replace (obsolete and dead after flood) and a few things to repair.

Three out of four desktop computers failed to start. The dishwasher doesn't drain. The mulcher was flooded. The tuner doesn't tune. The freezer seal has perished. The gutters and roof have lots of twigs and leaves. Bought a water blaster for decks, drive, paths, fences, walls, roof, car, and anything else that gets in the way.

Quite busy really. But nothing critical and parts available. Its a very different list and approach to keeping the truck moving. Room to take things to pieces and leave them that way until repaired. We are stationery.

When the truck's satellite trackers showed it was out of the container I waited an appropriate time for contact then phoned the shipping agent. One of those conversations that give others a surprise and me some mild amusement.

Not really happy I wasn't present for unpacking.

The person at the agency I'd been dealing with was away, no handover. A bit more unhappy.

Explained that it would definitely need cleaning and that I would probably need to raise the roof for AQIS inspection inside - no, the cleaning people can't do it.

Frustrating that it took a few attempts to get that message across.

So I turned up at 07:00 next morning, raised the roof sufficiently by about 08:30, AQIS inspected inside and we discussed my chlorine treatment of water system and loo plus a few other questions about tents (none) and food (none) and fridge (empty and wiped with chlorine). All good in about 5 minutes. Put the roof back down, fixed mirrors and exhaust.

Presentation is everything apparently, and being there, being helpful, seemed to help. Much better than the notes I thought of leaving. Pleased its not another AQIS horror story for the internet. Perhaps just lucky! Or maybe we've had some practice crossing borders!

The cab cleaning in KL was sufficient. No need to dismantle dashboard as I thought possibly necessary to remove the hidden dust.

Underside cleaning finished the same day, re-inspection following morning and I could drive it home.

Ali plays the piano every so often during the day. As if we haven't been away.

The colony of lorikeets is still in the big tree to wake us in the mornings. They are still visited by corellas and white cockatoos. Its a bit like a town square. We haven't seen the owl family yet. Nor the family of tawny frogmouths that has reputedly taken up residence in the front garden.

The supermarket shelves haven't been re-arranged. Our wholesale butcher and greengrocer haven't closed and food prices haven't changed much. Nevertheless, the choice is a bit staggering.

Almost as if we haven't been away!

And Tim Tams are on special.

There have been many people who helped us along the way, the sort of priceless support we needed at just the right moments. At times we struggled but there were always solutions. Without the support it would have been even harder, and possibly impossible. Long distance, long term, independent travel presents a few interesting problems.

Thanks for blog comments and encouragement. Apologies for not really responding, the blog was written along the way and uploaded when possible.

Of course thanks to Kirsty for the Scottish wedding invite that provided a reason for setting off. Much better sounding than "because its there".

The $64,000 question - would we do it again? The answer is no, we've done it once, we'll probably travel somewhere else. We've really only scratched the surface of a very small part of the world and barely started on Australia.

And the best place was of course wherever we were at the time. Its all interesting. Though we seem to talk a bit more about Mongolia and Morocco than most other places.

Quietly pleased with ourselves. We did what we set out to achieve.