Homecoming!

This is Jess and I on our first day on the ship in Durban, South Africa. We didn't know then when we would be back in Australia again. Now we are excited to let the blogging world know that we are coming home for holidays in a few months! It was not our original plan but due to changes in the ship's itinerary and the wedding of my (Jodie's) sister we are making the epic three day trek-41 hours on planes (four flights) and many other hours spent on layovers. Plane, car, ferry-we land in Brisbane, Australia on December 7th after departing the Africa Mercy in Freetown, Sierra Leone on December 5th. We are travelling via Brussels, London and Kuala Lumpur.

After a week in Brisbane we are heading to Launceston, Tasmania on the 15th December. We depart Launceston for Melbourne on the 10th Jan. We are spending one night in Melbourne to visit relatives then travelling to Wodonga in country Victoria to visit our beloved dog, Barney and his proud minder, Marion. Back to Melbourne to fly to London on 12th Jan. We are spending three nights in London visiting friends who left the ship a few months ago, then arriving in Lome, Togo on the 16th Jan all ready for the Africa Mercy's next field service! The Africa Mercy departs Sierra Leone on the 10th of December to arrive on the 15th of December for three weeks down time in Tema, Ghana. The ship then sails to Togo on the 5th of Jan. (Arrives on the same day!)

We are so very excited to be coming home. We hope that the trip will help to clarify in our minds if the ship and West Africa have also become home (which I suspect they have)! We look forward to catching up with many of you and eating all the foods we have so desperately missed, shopping and generally having a big rest!