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In August 2009 after eleven months on the road we returned to the UK, ending our round the world trip. In that time we visited three continents and eleven countries, from the tiny Cook Islands to the vast provinces of Canada.

In the individual countries we visited, we covered a lot of ground seeing both coasts in the US and Australia, plus  the northern and southern ends of New Zealand, Vietnam and Thailand. We traversed these countries via train, plane, bus and campervan, with the longest land journey the 2,500km drive down the west coast of Australia.

Our visits coincided with major events in several of the countries we visited: election campaigns in Canada, the USA (a particularly historic one) and New Zealand, a solar eclipse in India and devastating bushfires in Australia. All these events, we witnessed through television and newspaper reports.

But we did get to see New Zealand’s prime minister elect John Key on the campaign trail in Nelson. In New York we attended the 9/11 memorial along with Barack Obama, his Republican opponent John McCain, and thousands of other people from around the world. While in San Francisco we watched the third debate between the two presidential campaigners in a packed bar in the Castro, the city’s gay area – the atmosphere was electric!

Another great memory was when we caught a glimpse of the Dalai Lama during our visit to India, as documented in my last post. It was a real privileged to be standing so close to someone with real historic significance.

However, on a slightly negative note, our plans for finding work in Australia did not work out the way we planned. While Kieron eventually found some worthwhile work, my job was shortlived and unsatisfying. The odds were stacked against backpackers on working holiday visas at the time we arrived (roughly this time last year). I hope things are better for travellers arriving now.

Despite this setback, we made the most of our time down under staying  with two families in Victoria and housesitting for three weeks in Melbourne. During that time we looked after numerous different types of animals. My experience of looking after chickens came in handy today when I shared my knowledge of feeders and pens with a contact.

This is just a taste of the time we spent on the road. For a more detailed account, see my other posts, but even those barely scratch the surface. On my return to the UK, I moved in with my parents for a couple of months and have pretty much learned to drive (just the small matter of passing my test left now).

Workwise, I have freelanced for the BBC for a while and returned on a part-time basis to my former employer New Start. I am now back in London – my travels now a distant dream.

Thanks for following my blog – hope you’ve enjoyed it!