It was a real shame that a very strong headwind delayed my flight from Melbourne to Perth by around 45 minutes. There was then congestion on the ramp at Perth airport adding extra minutes of delay to my already tight schedule in Western Australia of just four hours!

I was being met at Perth by Warren and Monica, two people Heather and I met in South America a few years ago when travelling by boat on the Beagle Channel from Argentina to Chile. They really are a great couple and I am glad that we have kept in touch over the years. I was however met not only them but also their neighbours (Rich and Alex, originally from Szczecin in Poland) and by a couple of airport staff all holding up signs with my name on. This was a great warm welcome to WA!

It was good to catch up over lunch even though it had to be just at the airport because of the inbound flight delays. Hopefully the next time we meet it will be for much longer than a couple of hours and that Heather will be there too. Thank you guys for coming to see me - it really meant a lot.

So now the trip home really begins with me catching Etihad flight EY487 from Perth to Abu Dhabi departing at 1540. This was a short hop, skip and jump back to the UAE in just eleven hours flying over the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka and Oman.

Having a weekend away in Australia has been on my 'to do' list for many, many years. With it tying not only into the Puffing Billy Great Train Race but also the third anniversary of my dad's death of a brain tumour it has made this a very special and rather emotional weekend - especially on this leg of the journey after leaving Perth. I had done it, was headed home and I know my dad would be proud.

I have also spent time over the weekend thinking of those friends, work colleagues, relatives of friends and others no longer with us as well as those I know still fighting against cancer. Hopefully they will manage to find a cure for this disease one day.

So having raised over £2,000 (or AUD$4,000) for charity I feel I can go home with my head held high. Thank you to every one of my amazing friends and family that has supported me on this crazy weekend down under. It meant a lot to me knowing that you were behind me every step of the way.

If you would like to donate and raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support you can still do so (in all major currencies!) via my JustGiving website www.justgiving.com/holtyboy or by simply texting DRBY69 £5 or DRBY69 £10 to 70070 from your mobile (text donation via mobile telephone is valid in the UK only).