21st December 2004 : Great to see Dylan and Holly home safe and sound and looking really well. The journey was long but uneventful and the flight from Frankfurt was actually early. So after the short drive to New Mills the couple returned home and had a well earned kip!
I have certainly enjoyed following their travels throughout Australia and over the next couple of weeks will have a chance to hear the many stories and see their excellent collection of photographs. Tom and Marcia (Holly's mum and dad) were thrilled to see Holly again as unlike myself and Janice who were lucky to meet up with Dylan in Greece in September, they hadn't seen Holly since January. I wonder what's next for the travellers, another trip maybe or just slip back into the tedium of working.....we will see but, in the mean time it's just great to have them home.

12th December 2004 : At last an email from Dylan and holly, with the News that they have sold the old bus and taken a flat (apartment) near the airport.
                       Holly and Dylan will be home next week!!!!
Yes it really is all but over and we can look forward to seeing Holly and Dylan back home very soon. It doesn't seem very long ago that we were all at the airport seeing them off and here we are again preparing to welcome them home.  It will be quite a shock when they do arrive home to face the tedium of work and the miserable weather (it's in the 30's in Sydney at the moment). I wonder if they'll stay???

10th December 2004 : After a few weeks working Holly and Dylan moved on to the Blue Mountains where the scenery was quite spectacular. This was nearly the end of the journey as they drove back to Sydney and camped near the airport in readiness for their return to UK. I suppose this is the worst part as the days slip by although both are looking forward to seeing their family and friends again, especially Holly who hasn't seen her parents since January.
Here's hoping for a really good end to their adventure and a safe journey home....

10th November 2004 : Email from Dylan tonight, they are now in a little town called Young in New South Wales. They have decided to take in a few weeks work picking cherries in this area for which they are famous. They even hold a cherry festival here every year. Sadly the adventure is nearing the end and Holly and Dylan are going to have to sell their Mazda which has been their home for over 30,000ks. Not bad going for the old tub. After Young our couple of travellers are off to Sydney for the last few weeks of their trip.

27th October 2004 :  Dylan rang this morning to let me know that he and Holly were well. They were in Noosa, 100k North of Brisbane. The weather is not so clever so they are setting off towards Brisbane today. The cars petrol pump had to be replaced the other day, this will be a pretty decent buy for some lucky Backpacker in December.... 

20th October 2004 : Holly and Dylan are now in Hervey Bay (pictured left) looking for work. Visited Bundaberg and Childers, big picking towns but no work yet.

15th October 2004 : Email from Dylan  Holly and Dylan got fed up with the Banana picking plus the money was lousy so they've headed off South. Had a couple of nights on Hook Island, a desert island in the Whitsunday's. Dyl said the snorkelling was fantastic, they've taken some pictures with an underwater camera (hope it's not mine) I can't wait to see those. They had a rough trip back in the boat when the sea turned choppy and plenty of drama when the steering went, luckily the guy who was piloting it got them back to shore OK. The Mazda has been re registered so that's the main worry off their hands. Not too long now to Christmas when our travellers return but I'm sure there's plenty more adventures ahead.

26th  September 2004  : Dylan gave me an early wake up call this morning (he's 9 hours ahead now), good to hear everything is going well and Holly and Dyl look set to finish off their last 12 weeks. There wasn't any work in Cairns but they have taken jobs outside the City on Banana plantations (see the picture left), Dylan picking and Holly packing. Seems like these areas are plagued with snakes and spiders so I hope they keep their wits about them. Dylan tells me they could stay here for 4 - 5 weeks to save up for the rest of their journey down the east coast.

20th September 2004 : Had emails off holly and Dylan today, Dylan has arrived safely back in Cairns after his 20k+ round trip from Greece. The world seems so small these days, when I was Dylan's age I couldn't have dreamt making a journey like that.  Job search is now the priority so lets hope they have a little bit of luck on that front....

18th September 2004 : Dylan came over to Rhodes for his sisters wedding and we all had a great time. It was a good chance for Dylan to chill with his family for the first time since January. The journey over to Greece was arduous to say the least, Cairns - Melbourne - Perth - Dubai - Cyprus - Athens and finally Rhodes. The lad was truly whacked when I met him at Rhodes airport on Wednesday 8th Sept at 22:00, after a 45 minute drive to the villa he hit the sack. The week was a joy and it was a sad moment when we had to leave him on Rhodes as we flew out 2 days before him. The flight back to Australia started at 09:00 Friday 17th and Holly was meeting him at Cairns when he lands on SUNDAY.... wow!  Then it's a matter of finding work for a few weeks and then moving down the east coast before returning to the UK in December

27th August 2004 : It was a great relief to hear from Dylan this morning when he rang to let us know that they had arrived safely in Cairns. The Mazda had it's new drive shaft fitted before they set off on the 1,552 mile trip to Cairns on the North East corner of Australia, a long drive by any standards. They've have got work this week according to Dylan's answer phone message, out in the middle of nowhere, so we won't hear from them until later next week. The main thing is they are both well and looking forward to exploring the Great Barrier Reef - Wow!!

21st August 2004 : Dylan rand again this morning. They are stuck in Alice waiting for a new part to arrive for the car. I could think of worse places to be stuck in although it is a bit of a one horse town. They have been to Ayers Rock 279 miles(a 10 hour  round trip) and climbed over it and taken lots of pictures. Dylan tells me this is the most amazing thing they have seen since arriving in Australia which leaves me thinking it really must be a special place. Next stop Cairns and then Dylan fly's to Rhodes, Greece (8th-17th Sept) for his sister Katherine's wedding. We're all looking forward to seeing him again and getting all the family together. We just need to get the old Mazda rolling again so we'll keep our fingers crossed and look forward to our next email from Cairns.

18th August 2004 : Dylan left a message on the phone today, they have arrived in Alice Springs and are staying for a few days. They will be visiting Ayers Rock and then setting off for Cairns. Dylan will ring again on Friday or Saturday (20 or 21st). Both are well.

1st August 2004 : It was good to get a phone call from Dylan this morning, they are moving on to Darwin this Thursday and staying there for a few days before setting of to Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. That's one hell of a drive and Dylan's worried about the Mazda making it, lets all keep our fingers crossed for them.

29th July 2004 : EMAIL FROM DYLAN Sorry for not being in touch for a bit, me and holly are fine and dandy!
Not much to tell been working a lot, we're still at the caravan park in Batchelor, we plan to leave next Thursday wahey!
The cars still the same cant find the right shaft at the scrappers but there's still hope as we head up to Darwin next week.
Working seven days a week eh dad, Jesus bet your like the walking dead! trying to catch up with mum eh! she'd work you under the table!!!
Spoke to Peely last week it was good to speak to one of the lads and catch up with some goss.
Went up to the blokes house who I work with for a bite to eat and a few coldies last weekend. Jesus he lives in the bush in a huge shed! its a nice place surrounded by bush and termite mounds, there's horses and pigs in his back garden and we stayed in his caravan for the night. We've been invited to a barbie on Friday night at Fred's another guy from work he's an old guy that's full of life an absolute tool actually! Should be interesting to see his place.
Running out of money again this computer is CRAP!

9th July 2004 : Letter and email from Dylan this week. Still on the Campsite in Batchelor busy working full time. Dylan is the grounds-man's assistant and Holly is working in the bar and restaurant. Zoë, the Brummie who tagged along after working on the Pearl fishing boat with them has now moved on to Darwin.
Holly and Dylan have been to Litchfield Park to see the waterfalls and termite mounds and to swim in the natural pools, sounds tough but they made the best of it!!
Dylan told me about the crazy old guy he met in Katherine. He came over years ago on the £10 assisted passage and according to Dylan he was full of tales. He told him that you can eat the green backed ant which tastes like lime and is full of vitamin C. Anyway a day or two later Holly and Dylan were walking together when Dyl spotted a load of green ants so he grabbed one by the head and tried to bite it's back off. He must have scared it because it either peed or crapped in his mouth and made his tongue go numb for hours. I don't think he'll go ant eating again in a hurry, that's for sure!!!!

4th June 2004 : Holly and Dylan are in a town called Batchelor 100km south of Darwin. Dylan phoned this morning to tell us they are staying on a caravan site where they have both got jobs for the next few weeks to earn a bit of money. Both are keeping well and still having a great time. The picture to the right is of the water fall at Litchfield Park.
Dylan has booked his internal flight ready for his trip to Greece of his sister Katherine's Wedding in September. The internal flight will take over 5 hours giving us an idea of the huge size of this continent. That will be followed by a full days flight to Athens and then on to Rhodes.  Hopefully in the next few days we'll be hearing from Dylan by email so more news then. He was gutted at not being able to see any of the Euro 2004 games.

23rd June 2004 : Hopefully by the time you read this Holly and Dylan have reached Darwin the 'capital' of northern Australia which is closer to Jakarta than it is to Sydney, and closer to Singapore than it is to Melbourne, so it should come as no surprise that it looks outward to Asia as much as it looks inland to the rest of Australia.