This is the last of our re-edited and newly narrated videos from what turned out to be an eventful — and ultimately unforgettable — journey across to the centre of Australia.
Looking back, it’s hard to believe how much we packed into this trip, and how many moments stayed with us long after the dust settled.
If anything, revisiting it all has only made one thing clearer… we can’t wait to get back out there again.

I installed another upgrade to the Mobi today — one I hadn’t even heard of until fairly recently: the SOG fan system.

Let’s be honest, there’s an issue caravan users tend to quietly ignore. Toilet smells. Nobody really wants to talk about it, but it’s one of those unspoken tensions that comes with living in a small, shared space on wheels. We haven’t had a major problem, but the potential is always there — especially when the van is closed up or you’re free camping for a while.

The promise of the SOG system is simple enough: deal with smells at the source and make the whole thing a non-issue. No chemicals, no lingering odours, just a cleaner, fresher van. That sounded like one of those upgrades you only truly appreciate after it’s installed.

The installation itself was reasonably straightforward, although it did take a couple of hours by the time everything was measured, fitted, and double-checked. Nothing dramatic, just one of those jobs where patience matters more than brute force.

And now? Well, if I don’t mention it again in future posts, you’ll know exactly how successful it was.

I’d been planning this upgrade on The Mobi for a while, but I kept putting it off. Not because it wasn’t needed — quite the opposite — but because I wanted to be absolutely sure it was done properly and, above all, securely.

That hesitation turned out to be well-founded.

I had a chat with our neighbour recently. He and his wife travel regularly in their caravan and had been forced to postpone some trips last year after she underwent hip replacement surgery. Naturally, the first thing I asked was how she was doing. Thankfully, the operation itself had been a resounding success.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story.

On their most recent trip, she reached for a grab handle he’d fitted to their caravan several years earlier. The handle pulled clean out of the wall. She went down hard, damaging her hip again and ending up back in hospital. Later that day, I saw her heading to the shops on a mobility scooter — a sobering sight and a stark reminder of how quickly things can go wrong.

That conversation made me even more anxious about fitting the much-needed grab handle to our own caravan door.

Our van is fibreglass, but after drilling through I was relieved to confirm there’s a steel frame behind it. That knowledge, combined with careful fitting and proper fixings, finally gave me confidence that the handle is truly secure.

Having heard our neighbour’s experience, I’m not remotely sorry that I spent the extra money on the best quality handle I could find or that I took my time installing it properly. A grab handle might seem like a minor detail, but when you’re relying on it — especially on uneven ground or when mobility isn’t what it once was — it becomes critical.

Another accident like that is the very last thing we need once we finally get out on the road.

Sometimes, the smallest upgrades carry the biggest lessons.

I continue to look back at our trip across the Centre of Australia.

Six weeks into retirement, and what do I think of it so far? Well… as usual, things haven’t gone exactly to plan. But there’s no real point in stressing about that. Stress won’t improve anything, and it has a habit of making things worse if you let it.

Debbie is doing well, and that’s the main thing. What’s become clear, though, is that nothing can be rushed. Because of that, my transition into retirement hasn’t looked quite the way I imagined it might. That said, not being at work has meant I’ve been able to be around, to help where I can, and to simply be present. In many ways, that’s been a blessing.

The support from family has been incredible. It’s moments like this that remind you that we did a pretty good job raising our sons. They and their families have stepped up without hesitation, offering practical help and kindness whenever it’s been needed. That’s something you don’t take for granted.

So for now, I’ll reserve judgement on retirement itself. There’s no rush to label it. We’ll sit tight, stay patient, and let things unfold in their own time.

The real question is this: somewhere between making endless cups of tea and doing the washing, I’m not sure what’s more depressing — watching Trump’s latest antics on YouTube, or watching everyone else out there happily doing their own big lap.

Another look at the center of Australia and some highlights from our travels.

More from of our past travels. On this video we move from remote camping at Desert Surf Central to the cultural stop at Yarla Kutjarra, and then on to Docker River where we encounter wildlife, outback communities, and breathtaking landscapes.

While Debbie recovers, I take a look back at our attempts to travel from Perth to Alice Springs along the Outback Way.

Just a little teaser: we’ll be back in Perth tomorrow for Debbie’s surgery. It’s likely to be a slow and sometimes testing recovery, and patience will be the key. As soon as she gets the go ahead, though, we’ll be back out on the road for real.