I'm telling myself like I believe it but I don't really believe it.. I don't think I will believe it
until we're actually there. [Katie Voiceover] It is hard to describe what we are feeling right now. We are preparing
to leave our island home after more than two years isolating in an extremely remote location.
What I do know is that finding a way for myself to ease the inner tension that I'm feeling
let go of opinions about what should and shouldn't be and accept that we are, is always where we are
meant to be, has helped. We are only just surviving but at the same time thriving through this
pandemic on our little island home. There's so much beautiful vegetables. [Katie Voiceover] In this incredible place, we
have had many ups and downs, medical emergencies, repeated disappointments and massive anxieties,
a loss of income and a change of direction in the face of some highly, highly stressful events. [Grant] The
building's almost falling over, we had a really big strong earthquake. Whoa that was a very very
very big earthquake. [Katie Voiceover] Facing the reality of this pandemic in a developing country, losing people we
love, facing more risks with limited support.
[PM Announcement] ..Remain where you are. [Katie Voiceover] ..saying goodbye when we really didn't
want to and ultimately leaning on each other to get through this. Sometimes when it rains it pours..
but with a shift in energy and a big focus on our happiness and well-being
as a family and who we are now as a result of these circumstances, we see that we're rebuilding
a resort, building a new family home, pushing the limits for a big adventure,
finding our own little family traditions, cheers
making a lot of fun to find a way through the hard times
building virtual relationships because there was no other way,
[Arlo] How can corals get sick?
raising our children to honour the environment and become wildlife warriors.. Are you guys scared of sharks? No
Learning to swim, and fit in
When we stop and think about when this all started they were just so little and i guess
there's no denying that we have grown too. We find ourselves at a crossroad. It feels like our worlds
are about to collide. This beautiful paradise we exist in here in the Solomon Islands is our home
but we are also Aussies living abroad and yes, we still call Australia home. It's time to go.
[Jase whispers] I need to sleep
good morning, we're going to Aussie today!
I'm making up food for our travel day, the other day i made some crackers right now i'm making
some savory pancakes for the kids dinner they've got their yum boxes which are brilliant by the way
i'll put a link in the description below if you want to check out these Yum Boxes on Amazon because
these are a lifesaver for us when we're traveling or out on the boat or on an adventure day the kids
love eating out of something a little bit fun like a Yum Box they're just awesome to organize food
and they don't leak and yeah so savoury pancakes the kids have got some hummus some fresh veggies
i don't know what else i'm putting in there at this stage maybe some
fruit and jase and i'm just going to kind of pick out what they don't eat
and then we've got crackers we've got banana cake and biscuits all have to be homemade because
we live on an island so when we're going that direction we obviously can't have anything
pre-packaged because there's nowhere to buy it so that's the story. Hello are we going to Australia
We're going at Aussie a day..
very soon so who needs to have a shower? Filly and Arlo [Katie] and mummy. [Filly] and Mummy.. okay let's go Filly..
[Ophelia] We're going at Aussie
[Jase] where are we going? [Ophelia] We're going at Aussie!
yeah okay this is the dancing team for the departure dance. Dance leader is Topha
[Jase] Arlo where are we going? [Arlo] We're going to Australia... [Jase] Good pronunciation, I like it
[Katie in background] Who are we going to see?
kangaroo grandmas
uh that's funny
bye Koe, [Kids] Bye Koe!!! [Katie] bye Koe-house! Bye Uepi-Sumi (the doll)
[Katie Voiceover] Arriving at Seghe was a strange shock to the system
we hadn't seen so many people in one place for quite some time. We had to pull in and
have our COVID tests and then we had a bit of a wait on the water before the plane arrived
saying our goodbyes to nana and papa was pretty tough knowing that we weren't really
sure how long it would be before we'd see each other again.
Can't tell if i'm smiling
Love you bye!
[Jill] Love you like a big watermelon!
[Katie] Love you like a pomelo..
[Ophelia] I love you like amask, on the face. *Katie laughs*
bye Ots, love you Otu. [Ophelia] Love you Otu
*inaudible chatter*
[Jase] It's hot
daddy
[Katie Voiceover] It's funny to me that arriving in Honiara was probably the moment i
really believed that this was happening. We are so used to the very real possibility that the
domestic sector could cancel at the last minute if our World War II grass airstrip gets rained out ..
So we're walking one because i don't really have to want to get
in the taxi but more importantly because we forgot all of our money
so penniless in Honiara oh but it's only like 100 meters 200 meters
300 meters we'll make it guys.. I think we need a high five i'm so proud of you for
how you did on that plane well look how that thing gives you a high five daddy good job mommy okay
crackers in the park
not the normal kind of crackers in a park..
Get it? Crackers in a park, so funny. [Katie Voiceover] the hardest and hottest part of this journey was done the kids had
done really really well and they were overly excited about trucks and cars. Little did they
know this one small street into the airport in Honiara was just the beginning.. yeah i see them
how many how many trucks have you seen? [Arlo] I think how about 10 trucks whoa
[Katie] Cross check. *laughs*
Cross check.. [Ophelia] Cross check
[From the car] Hi from afar! oh my gosh!
We made it, we're in Brisbane, we had a disastrous shower in a yo you're not meant to shower in this shower oh
my goodness it was fine it's very clean i think we flooded half of the airport trying to shower the
kids but they're in their jarmies they're in a car seat for the first time in forever and [Arlo] Mummy I can see cars up there..
cars yeah there's cars up there too there's cars everywhere we had a good day didn't we
[Ophelia] We in the car too, we here
yeah and guess what next stop is
where are we going next grandma's grandma's house and now we've got
a drive to get down to my mum's place so we will be there soon
[Jase] she can drive as well.. [Katie] i can still drive
[Jase] i don't have a license at the moment it's expired
and they wouldn't let me review it online so Katie's driving
*Jase and kids screaming and laughing* It's Grandmama!!