All is on track for this trip – I’m waiting for the cheaper fares to Europe which will hopefully be announced around or after Easter, to actually book the major flights. Once that is in place, I can slot everything else in around it.

So far I have a tentative booking at a simply gorgeous guesthouse on the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. This might be a good place to hire bikes and go for a ride along the clifftops if the weather is kind.

The deposit has been paid for the Iceland sector – car hire and accommodation for 9 days/8 nights. We have a F350 booked – a huge truck with great big thick wheels to traverse the lavafields of the inland. All six of us will fit comfortably in it, and luckily there is very little traffic so navigating won’t be a problem.

Just the opposite in Ireland, where the very narrow rural roads and village streets will make a small car much more convenient. So we’ll get two small cars, and swap around travelling companions. A hotel for John and Lisa in London has been booked. The rest of us will stay with Michael, nice and close by. I’ve also booked a hotel in Paris, just in case there is nothing available later. It’s a good deal anyway and gets very good reviews on TripAdvisor.

So that’s the progress at this stage. In between, we have next weekend on Moreton Island with our good friends Carrie and Malc and their children, my niece’s wedding at Millaa Millaa inland from Cairns in May, followed by a couple of weeks camping at Inskip Point, where many of our friends will be joining us for varying periods. Happy times!