By keef and annie hellinger, Jul 11 2016 01:08PM Motorhome trip No27 : May 8th- July 8th 2016 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->Scandinavia ->NOTTS 6140 miles Feel free to use the MENU to find specifics on this travel blog This was the longest trip so far in our lovely Wendy house of a van, she “dun great” the whole trip…. Up hill, down dale and along the flat! A travel blog to cherish! 10 ferries, numerous islands, bridges and tunnels, 61 days, 6 countries, from the fjords to the Russian border, 44 campsites, 6140 miles and a few tanks of diesel – what a fabulous experience, feel like we have experienced & learnt so much plus I think I can prove I’m related to that great Viking – Harald Bluetooth, he of the rune symbols that all later day geeks know ;) Holland, North Germany, Denmark (all 3 parts – Jutland, Funen & Zealand), Sweden as high up as the lake district, Finland across the southern end and Norway as high up as Trondheim. It was such a wonderful opportunity, such a shame that the UK no longer runs ANY ferries to Scandinavia, we only met 4 other Brits in the whole 2 months and 2 of them were from Oz!. Because of the driving distances it is unlikely we will be able to return in the van as Scandinavia is awe-inspiring for scenery, culture and people. Anyhow we loved it, and we want to share some of that with you. Feel free to let us know if you have been and what you thought of it, thanks. MENU Calendars Summary, Highlights, Lowlights Slideshows The Talkies Full Slideshows with Audio Diary (save reading if you prefer) Diary Audiobook, diaries read out if you would prefer Tags & The End See calendars below for where we were when and there is a slideshow of all the campsites day by day. Note the Numbers referenced are the campsite number in the ACSI handbook or website. #h intasandtips Want to see the SLIDESHOWS We spent 15 days in Denmark, 14 days in Sweden, 10 days in Norway, 6 days in Finland and 10, 5 and 1 days in Holland, Germany and UK respectively getting there Highlights is tricky as there we so many but if pushed I would list Hallingskarvet National Park in Norway,the fjords of Norway, the Lake District of Sweden, Langeland Island & Kronborg Castle (Helsingor) Denmark and the ferry crossing to Finland (Kappelskar to Nanntali) Lowlights not many but prices and trying to find the campsite in Delft (low bridge), chickening out at the Russian border, we had no papers for the van and was seriously worried about officialdom, so turned around in a layby right next to the border crossing and scarpered 😉 The scary tag is for my beard and many tunnels (dark and damp with grotty road surfaces) and the russian border experience 😉 Scandinavian Slideshows The one with speech (i.e The Talkies) is also associated with Blog 101 as indeed are the full sets with Audio Diary attached to the slideshows. The TALKIES Video with Speech, Also covered by BLOG 101 FULL SLIDESHOW WITH AUDIO DIARY OVERLAY For those who would prefer to listen than read , entirely up to you It is in 2 parts, the first covers 8th May to 5th June 2016 in audible diary accompanied by the complete set of images from both Denmark & Sweden back in 2016. It is 68 minutes long. The second covers 6th June to 7th July 2016 with an auduble diary accompanied by a complete set of images for Norway, Finland, Holland and Germany. It is 2 hours 13 minutes long, so beware, you can of course watch and listen in parts but its a lot of images, actually 4.9 GB worth (tee-hee) but its there for prosperity. #motorhome #motorhometravels #travelsin2016 #campsites #majortrip #timeline DIARY Here is a quick run through of the sites we stayed at day by day that accompany the written diary Sunday 8th May 2016 Having packed the van we travelled down to Harwich and stayed at the Green Acres site at Dovercourt campsite, never again awfully run down and full of permies, in future trips i.e., that to the Faroes and Iceland completing our complete visitation of all Scandinavian countries covered by BLOG 135 we stayed up on the hill overlooking the sea, perfectly fine, great views and free and since the ferry always leaves so early in the morning to the Euro port in Rotterdam ideal. Monday 9th May 2016 We travelled on the Stena Ferry Britannica from the port of Harwich to the Euro port in Rotterdam, Netherlands named the Hook of Holland. A pleasant journey, even went to see the new Star Wars movie, Annie fell to sleep and missed the bit where Harrison Ford dies ha-ha, interesting views plus very few actual customers, mostly cargo lorry drivers, does make me wonder how much longer this ferry will survive the ones from Newcastle to Bergen, Norway stopped in 2008, it was possible for a bit to use the cargo ferry from Immingham to Brevik, Norway but they now only take commercial vehicles and the other DFDS ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg, Jutland, Denmark has also stopped so there are NO ferry crossings direct to Scandinavia, we didn’t mind as were driving there and seeing a lot on route. After getting off the ferry we travelled along the coast, getting out of Rotterdam for us is always a nightmare at the first big roundabout as our Truck Nav gets confused, maybe next time we will get it right first time, maybe not, but at least whilst getting lost we always get to see all the lovely greenhouses and bulb selling establishments tee-hee, anyway we camped that night at De Brandling site in Zandvoort on the coast near Amsterdam, lovely beach view walk in the evening. We stayed here 2 days. Tuesday 10th May 2016 Today we took the train into Amsterdam from Zandvoort which is at the end of the line. Had a lovely day out and about in the capital, walking around taking photos and generally soaking up the atmosphere along the canals, watching the boats and bikes everywhere. Some of what we saw was The Kafe Cobalt where Rembrandt once lived , Rijksmuseum, Dam Square, Henry Willig’s cheese shop, the Damrak trams, the interior of the old main post office, what an amazing building, old canal side merchant houses and bridges in prince henri kase, Amsterdam Central station, fast food vehicles selling Dutch delights, and a whole lot more. We had a canal cruise on a nice boat which gave us a great feel for the whole canal system and associated locks.We really enjoyed it and then caught the train back from Central station to Zandvoort, all very efficient. The walk back to the site took us past one of the very first Cente Parcs holiday establishments. That night whilst cooking we realised Keef had made a camping schoolboy error, the gas cylinder had run out, oh dear! To see some the the many architectural delights Amsterdam has to offer click HERE Wednesday 11th May 2016 Went into Zandvoort in search of a replacement / refill for our Orange UK Calor gas cylinder , found a camping shop but the guy said in Europe they only sold the Camping Gaz containers and we would need a new regulator to go with it as the 2 are not compatible. Expensive but essential and heavy to carry back through the no parking area of town. Still in the long run we have both types now and can mix and match for our trips either in the UK or Europe. Panicked a bit as parked in a short stay parking zone so grateful to get back, find we hadn’t been booked or clamped and set off on the next stage of our journey. Crossing the fantastic causeway across the Ijsselmeer (E22 or A7 you choose) we arrived at the lovely site at Koudum , Friesland, North Holland called Vakantiepark De Kuilart , which is both a marina and a campsite with boardwalks, a restaurant, shops and a swimming pool. Here our pitch was right on the river’s edge. Keef’s converted the gas cylinder to the new one borrowing the kind Dutch guy next pitches spanner ready to cook tea, as they say we were back “cooking on gas” ha-ha. We stayed here 2 nights. Thursday 12th May 2016 Our 2nd night at the fabulous de Kuilart site in Koudum, we were on pitch B4. We had breakfast outside as the weather was so good and watched the pleasure cruiser pick up passengers from the jetty in front of us on the Johan Frisokanaal, magical times, we went for a few walks around and generally relaxed from some of the travelling. In the afternoon we went to their indoor swimming pool, very chlorinated but refreshing. Had trouble with the coins in the lockers, oh you Brits, ha-ha. Bought some nice bread and cakes in the site shop for tea. Friday 13th May 2016 We moved onto the equally nice campsite, Wiedumerhout campsite at Wiedum based on a farm and on the edge of yet another canal, The Wiedumer Feart. We ate a very classy 3 course meal there in their Michelin starred chef’s restaurant as well as having a lovely walk along the edge of the many canals’ intersection and junctions there. All in all, a very relaxing time for 2 days. We remember entering in the van just as the farmer with his muck spreader was driving in, chaos and smelly but so rural. Saturday 14th May 2016 Our second day relaxing at Wiedum. All very nice but time to move onto Scandinavia. Annie remembers the showers not being great there, indeed a little primitive. Sunday 15th May 2016 We had a 2hours 30 minutes’ drive from Weidum in Holland to Wingst in Germany ging through the Weser tunnel. We stayed at the Knaus Campingpark in Wingst Schleswig-Holstein on pitch 96 where Keef had to practise his German to get booked in. It was a nice friendly father and son in the office who greeted us and offered us some nice German Kuchen or as we say in English cake, spicy and yummy. The site itself was how can I kindly say, in need of some TLC however the flowers were lovely, rhodis, azaleas and lilacs, super smells in the air. The main towns we bypassed on our journey today were Groningen and Oldenburg, but we called into Leeuwarden first. Monday 16th May 2016 We left Wingst and made our way to wischhagen where we caught the ferry across the river Elbe, what a wonderful journey accompanied by many tourists but also a whole bunch of motorcyclists who were touring around. The other side of the elbe is Gluckstadt. When we arrived we then had to wait for the Keil canal bridge to descend, we had previously in 2004 been up the Keil canal with Mum on a cruise holiday so this was seeing it from a very different angle. We have seen loads on windmills through out Holland and now Germany, we learnt it was National Windmill day today, who knew? We called in at Rendesburg , quite an old Schleswig-Holstein town , the town square was cobbled but amazingly interesting. This town was near the nord-ostersee canal also known as the Keil canal. We then had to take the sehestadt ferry across the Keil canal. We arrived at our campsite for the night at schlei-karschau but in Germany there is a siesta lunch break, so we had to wait patiently in some serious humidity until the office reopened, they do stay open quite late in the evening to be fair. We were on pitch 7, after setting up we went for a local walk along the boardwalk to the marina, and around the town, fascinating architecture. Tuesday 17th May 2016 We left Karschau on the Baltic Sea inlet about 10 a.m. and travelled onto Mommark Marina Camping, South Jutland in Denmark through Flensburg near the border between Germany and Denmark re-joining the e45 motorway past Flensburg. At the border crossing at Ellund West the border guards were stopping most vehicles, indeed doing a thorough check on a pulled over white van man but seeing our British number plate they just let us straight through. We love the Danes. We travelled along the coastal road along the Flensborg fjord thru Sonderborg just over the road bridge that joins main Jutland to the island of south jutland. Mommark is right on the east coast looking across the little belt at the small island of Marstal. We were on pitch 63 overlooking the beach in our own walled pitch, just fabulous. When we arrived, we were royally greeted in good English by the site owner in his restaurant / café on site. A very helpful fellow. They didn’t accept our ACSI card, so we had to buy a Camping Radet / Key Europe card for Scandinavia, good value and worked for the rest of our holiday. Wednesday 18th May 2016 Spent a lovely day here at Mommark, one of our fave campsites, few issues for Annie as builders had turned off the water to the showers but otherwise just fab. They have both a harbour, lighthouse, goat pen, small animal farm and both restaurant and heritage chairs outside, reminded me of a scene in the cult series the Prisoner. Some pitches were high on the hill with great views, we were on the flat by the harbour wall. Keef listened to music on headphones outside and read, Annie crocheted and read, very relaxing. We had a walk on the beach bordering the Baltic Sea, nice white sand and even tried out the first ever of a few selfies with our new selfie stick, we were not that good at it, tee-hee. We saw lots of fish such as plaice being brought in by the fishermen as they unloaded their harbour catch. Thursday 19th May 2016 Sadly, we had to leave the truly magnificent Mommark today, we travelled across the road bridge that joined what is yet another island in South Jutland called Osterby to its far tip to visit a lovely little quaint fishing village called Sonderby and had a nice walk around there, having parked up the motorhome, the smell of wild lilacs growing in the hedgerows was magnificent. There was even a Sonderby Strand campsite there that looked nice, but we weren’t staying this early in the day. So we left Sonberby and travelled via the wonderful and interesting island of Romo , its causeway and dam, here we stopped at the lobster port of Havneby, onto Esbjerg stopping for a walk and look around the historical old capital of Denmark in Ribe, Viking capital way back when with lord angsvar circa 801 BC and modern capital circa 1400 AD, a truly interesting place, its main torvet (street and square) were lovely, the whole place had fab buildings and streets especially the famous puggaardgade, on the west coast of Jutland. We stopped at Esbjerg camping site , about an hour and a half drive from Mommark in theory but we spent all day as so much to see. We stayed at Esbjerg for 2 nights Friday 20th May 2016 Relaxing day in Esbjerg, did a bit of washing and hung it on a makeshift line rigged up between the hedge and the back of the van, nice secluded grassy pitches. Had cinnamon buns and tea outside, bliss. The campsite had a swimming pool and goats. Mostly a relaxing day in the sun reading etc. Saturday 21st May 2016 Today we travelled from Esbjerg to Farso in the North of Jutland, Denmark stopping at the wonderful town of Billund, the traditional home of the world-famous Lego. Learnt a lot about the founding father’s family, the Christiansen family still own it after Ole Kirk C the Danish carpenter started it with wooden bricks for his kids to build with, later obviously they evolved into the cheaper plastic variety we see worldwide today. In Billund we saw a full-scale house they were constructing in Lego, the amusement park, leaned lots of history and saw the Lego band. Such fun. We also visited Silkeborg, its river Gunena, bits about Hans Christian Andersen and Viborg on route. At Silkeborg besides seeing Tolland man in the museum (amazing) we saw a guy training for winter sports in summer going down the road on roller skates with ski poles. We have had some lovely Danish pasties so far, yummy, the real thing plus in Silkeborg museum we had homemade coconut cake. The campsite at Farso was OK with its traditional yellow buildings. Sunday 22nd May 2016 We went from Farso North Jutland to Skagen at the top of Jutland via Limfjorden, the ancient Viking port and city from where they launched their “rape and pillage” excursions ha-ha, it is a huge fjord, then it was onto Vilsted So, where we had a walk, Logster, Alborg, the university town and home and birthplace of the man who created the Sydney Opera House, the one and only Jorn Utzon, indeed one of the buildings there was also designed by him, we loved Alborg a fine place and a walk along the river side is a must. Plus, we visited briefly Hirtshal the port town where we would return in 2018 to catch our ferry to the Faroes and Iceland and complete seeing all countries in Scandinavia, I have both the T-shirt and proof I have been to them all, tee-hee. The journey of the E45 should take 2 hours but as we were being tourists it took all day, who cares? At Skagen we were on pitch 76. We went there after having a stroll around the harbour, quite cold and windy and we saw lots and lots of ice-breaker trawlers and ships as well as a tall ship replica. Fascinating stuff. Monday 23rd May 2016 We left the lovely Skagen high up in Jutland quite early after a refreshing breakfast, travelling on the E45 back through Alborg, the uni town, and through Randers and Arhus and Vejle , about 3 hours driving, to the road bridge, called the little belt bridge (E20) over Arhus bay onto Denmark’s middle island of Funen and the appropriately named Middelfart (tee-hee) which is where we camped for the night, day 16 of our trip. We stopped at Randers on Jutland to have a look at the cathedral and town square, very interesting. We also stopped on the outskirts of Arhus, on the way back from our Faroes and Iceland trip in 2018 we went all around the centre of Arhus, another big university town and Denmark’s 2nd largest city after Copenhagen. We stopped for most of the day at Jelling the ancient home of the Vikings visiting both the Stones and Church which are UNESCO World heritage. And the fabulous Viking Centre, known as Kongernes Jelling and National Museum of Denmark. King Gorm, His Misses Thyra and son Harold Bluetooth (who actually built the church) feature heavily in this area and their alleged burial mounds. The Middelfart site had a very nice pool but today it was a little too cold to use it. Tuesday 24th May 2016 Left Middlefart and travelled onto the town of Odense, Denmark’s 3rd city, we had a good look around the cobbled street centre, with all its lovely old traditional yellow washed buildings, not quite as nice as Ribe but almost and which there we went to visit Hans Christian Andersen ’s boyhood home, this being where he was born, the gardens and museum nearby look nice as well, we peered thru the windows of both. We also had a walk and look around Svendborg close to the highway 9 bridge to the island of Tasinge. Svendborg’s marina, boardwalk and statue of the Snow Goose were all very pleasant. Svendborg’s harbour, station and crooked house were equally interesting. This is the place you catch the ferry to the island of Aero (or as I called it earlier Marstal) but it was just too expensive for us to consider sadly. My fave place there was the Hats and moustache shop, class ha-ha. We then travelled over the various bridges thru Tasinge island with its fab views onto the island of Langeland, our home for the next 2 days and camped at a very large site in one of the sections hedged out there at Emmerbolle strand, halfway up to the north of the island. A very nice and friendly campsite and right on the edge of the sandy beach. Chairs out time to relax, fact. Wednesday 25th May 2016 A day at the Emmerbolle campsite on the island of Langeland chilling and then later after lunch when the sun was beating down, we carried our chairs down to the Stand , or beach in English. Glistening clear waters, keef went in swimming, basically we had the whole beach to ourselves for the afternoon, magical. Thursday 26th May 2016 Packed up early after breakfast and went to explore the bits of Langeland island that we hadn’t already seen from top to bottom, it is however a very thin island with only a handful of roads. The island is famed for both its old windmills and grain production, anyhow once our sightseeing was complete, we went back over the various bridges back to the mainland of Funen via the titchy island of Sio first then Tasinge leaving Langeland at the bridge near Rudkobing. We so loved Langeland and would gladly return. We travelled up the coastal road to Nyborg on Funen and then to the Storebaelt Bridge , an 18-kilometer-long suspension toll bridge that connect the main island of Funen where we were coming from to Zealand Island where we were going to. It goes across the Great Belt. The cost by 2022 is about £28 or 250 Danish Kroner, just can’t remember how much it was in 2016 but it had the same effect on us as the Confederation bridge in Canada back in 2010. Long and windy, indeed it was somewhat foggy as we drove across it. I’ve often wondered if New Zealand was discovered by a Dane hence its name but know it was first Maori or Polynesians, then Dutch then English, the reality when I have looked it up is the name “New Zealand” comes from “Zeeland” (which translates to “Sealand”) in Dutch, after the islands were seen by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman. Zeeland is a province of the Netherlands. Why is it call New Zealand? Zeeland is a low-lying coastal area in the southwestern region of the Dutch homeland whose name translates as “sea land.” After the bridge we drove about another hour via Soro and Osted to the wonderful town of Roskilde and visited the Viking ship museum on the Roskilde Fjord, the ancients route out to plunder far off those lands, and boy were they good at it. In Genealogy I can trace one of my many family lines back to Aelgifu Elgiva NORTHUMBERLAND who married Gorm the Gormless’s father Horda Denmark (note I would certainly not have had the bottle back then to use that name direct to his face ha-ha) and therefore Viking warriors such as King Sweyn Forkbeard who ruled Britain her great grandson and by implication to Harald Bluetooth, whom I count as my 1st cousin 34 times removed, which I am well pleased with, even if latter DNA results tell me that my Viking blood has been watered down from 2% to miniscule, I’ll take that link, so proud. Anyhow at the Viking boat museum we went on the tour, saw re-enactments of fashioning the wood for boat building and some long boat reconstructions but the real treat was inside the actual original Viking longboats that had been rescued and conserved from the waters where they sank. Trading ships, coastal ships and 34 man short long boats, 67 man long longboats, all fascinating especially accompanied by the informative tour talk, lots of pictures taken obviously. The Viking ship museum is UNESCO world heritage and deservedly so. After the museum we went into the centre of Roskilde to visit the Domkirke , church inside of which were lavish mausoleums to various past Kings & Queens of Denmark. The church itself was magnificent. Harald Bluetooth and our hero, for various reasons that will remain nameless, Christian the 4th are walled up here. Chris 4 reigned the longest and was such an egoist he conquered , rebuilt and then renamed what became Oslo as Christiana after himself, wow! We then travelled to Holbaek where we camped for two nights, a bit of a slopy pitch, but convenient for visiting the local areas. Friday 27th May 2016 We were on the lovely Holbaek site today again, pitch 5, the site also had a large pool which we went in. We got great views of the Holbaek fjord which is part of the much larger Isefjord which in turn is part of the massive sea area known as the Kettegat. We visited Helsingor (or as the Bard would have it Elsinore) and Kronberg Slot or castle from here today a drive of about 1 hour and how worth it was that. We spent most of the day there seeing all things Shakespeare and of course once again our much-maligned hero Chris 4 was everywhere, in our humble opinion he is Denmark’s answer to our own Henry 8th. There were many pictures of great actors and actresses who had performed the Bard’s works at Kronborg, such as Gielgud, Olivier, Jacobi, Burton, Leigh, Compton and mostly it would for obvious reasons be The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The modern-day prince of Denmark Christian is married to Mary Donaldson from Hobart, Tasmania, which is close to our hearts as cuz John & Diana live there. We could look out of the castles turret windows and see Oresund sound where the ferry makes it way across the short distance to Helsingborg on the other side, we did not use this route. The moat well laid out castle walls, courtyard , where we saw an actor dressed as Hamlet, the chapel and remains of what was the old town area were all fascinating in equal measures. There were numerous images of Kings and Queens (Dronning in Danish) on the walls, and apart from Christian the 4th, Queen Sophie and Alexandra of Denmark who married for her sins Prince Bertie, Victoria’s wayward son who later became Edward 7th of England. That’s your history lesson over folks! Helsingor also paid tribute to Hans Christian Andersen by having its own little mermaid. Afterwards we drove back via Fredensborg Slot the royal residence that we had been to once before with Mum on our Baltic cruise in 2004 when we stopped at Copenhagen. We then drove to Fredriksborg Castle and had a walk around the lovely baroque gardens and lake all in very nice weather before returning to the campsite at Holbaek, all in all a great day out. We had a quick swim back at the site to cool off before tea. Saturday 28th May 2016 Packed up early in Holbaek. Today we left Denmark for Sweden travelling over the Oresund sound, part of the Baltic Sea on the Oresund toll bridge , we stopped ever so briefly in the middle (naughty I know but only 5 seconds) to take a picture at the same spot where that film noir scandi series the Bridge found the dismembered torso. The Bridge is the largest in Europe and don’t remember how much the toll charge was but by 2022 it is £44 pounds or 390 Danish krona. The E20 motorway then turned into the E6 motorway which we used to skirt around Malmo, deciding not to drive through such a large city. We drove through Lund but did stop on the outskirts of Kristianstad for a brief look around before driving onto our campsite at Ahus on the eastern coast of Sweden on the Baltic sea past the quite impressive clear , still and reflective Hammarsjon lake. A great place to take a pic methinks! The campsite felt like you were in the woods on the edge of the Helga A tributary and overlooking the Aspets nature reserve. After setting up and our usual cuppa we had a bit of a walk around the site, the smell of burning wood on camp fires is infectious. Sunday 29th May 2016 Before leaving we had a bit of a look around Ahus with its old building and a quick walk on the sandy beach edging the Baltic, I was not going to dip my toe in like the Great Lakes in Canada, it was freezing even at the end of May, ha-ha. Today we drove about 3 and a half hours and 150 miles up the coast of the Baltic Sea through Solvesborg, Karlshamn, Ronneby, Karlskrona, on the E22 and over to Oland Island across the Kalmar straits on the Oland Bridge, nice views all the way across. We stopped at what we affectionately named surfers paradise, or to give it its real name Beijershamn for lunch. Here we saw an outdoor shower fixed up to a motorhome so the guy could wash off his wet suit after surfing, a great idea we thought. Lots of lilacs everywhere, we went for a board walk after lunch near Morbylanga. Oland island has over 400 windmills, it is famous for them, they were everywhere. We visited Lange Jan lighthouse past Ottenby in the far south of the island. Having had a good look around the island from Grankulla in the north to Ottenby in the south we arrived at our campsite near Morbylanga. We liked Oland island a lot. Monday 30th May 2016 Left the campsite at Morbylanga and went up the west coast of Oland Island to visit Borgholm Slot, and interesting castle with lovely views at Solliden Slott . It is home of King Karl Gustav 16th. After having a bit of a walk around the lovely laid out gardens and looking in the Royal gift shop it was time to leave Oland Island, so we travelled back over the Oland bridge back to the mainland at Kalmar. From here we visited Pataholm a heritage village with lovely old buildings and great harbour views. The Baltic Sea near here seem to have a thousand Islands a bit like those between Canada and America at Gananoque which we did in 2010. See our holiday website at HOLIDAY2010 dot co dot uk. It was about an hour from Borgholm slot to the historic village of Pataholm. We then went onto our campsite at Monsteras pitch 8 using the scenic route through Kalmar County and Timmernabben which took about 25 minutes. Lovely scenery along the water’s edge. At the campsite we went through the woods down to the boardwalk jetty in the harbour. Plus our first experience of the traditional Swedish cinnamon bun, our love affair had begun and this was the first of many, yummy yummy. Tuesday 31st May 2016 Day 24 of our fab Scandinavian sojourn. Left Monsteras and travelled through Oskarshamn onto Vastervik where sadly the battery on the sat nav gave up because Keef hadn’t plugged it in properly to the cigarette lighter slot, schoolboy error, anyhow not really an issue as the route we were travelling today was quite straight forward. Keef had got a cheap old TomTom one off eBay and found and downloaded maps for Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland and added then on so having a very cheap journeys satnav. Today’s journey was only just over 2 hours travelling. We visited Sandvik and Kallvik both in Ostergotland county, out down a coastal road off the main road, a very interesting diversion. We had a walk around Kallvik and its harbour and jetty, just lovely and so peaceful. We drove on from here to our campsite at Valdermarsvik. A nice welcome at the café cum office when we arrived and the views from the site were to die for. The Valdermarsvik fjord was truly superb scenery, possibly the best we had seen so far. We took our chairs up onto the hillside over looking the fjord and sat in the sun, keef reading, annie crocheting. Wednesday 1st June 2016 Set off from Valdermarsvik using the motorway initially up to the Gota canal which we crossed via the Bjornavad bridge near Norrkoping, it counts as Sweden’s longest tourist destination, going from east to west in its entirety. We stopped off to have a look at the lock keeper’s cottage and one of the canals many locks. From Norrkoping we travelled onto our campsite for the night at Oxelosund. Quite a big site with lots of permanent campers and holiday chalets. We camped on the grass in one of the many rows, all neatly laid out. After setting up we wandered off to explore. There was a lovely harbour area densely surrounded by high grasses and very few people. We walked on its deserted beach and this time Keef even had a paddle in the Baltic. A very nice area to stay. Thursday 2nd June 2016 From Oxelosund we travelled back through Nykoping onto the E4 motorway which we used to travel into Sweden’s capital, Stockholm, the total journey to the outskirts was only about 1 and a quarter hour but then finding the campsite at Bredang in the suburbs was a little more tricky. We did eventually get there were we would stay for 3 nights to give us time to really have a good look around Stockholm. The site was large and already had a Dutch motorhome caravanserai or duckling club as I prefer to call them on it. Just like one we saw near Ullapool in Scotland once. Anyhow, we parked up in one of the tarmacked slots which in fairness had all the facilities you need, each row was hedge lined to try and create aa semblance of privacy but with the numbers of folk walking past your van constantly that was impossible, we wouldn’t be at the site much over the next 3 days anyhow as sightseeing so all good. The site prices were high as well, understandably as the capital. UPDATE, this reference on reflection was for the site in Helsinki, having reviewed our images, whilst the price was high and it was packed it was grass pitches which were far less regimented that those in Helsinki (7th & 8th of June) We walked from the campsite down to the station Bredang T-bana where we caught the equivalent of their metro into the centre alighting at Gamla Stan station. Their metro is known as the Stockholm Tunnelbana. We had a lovely long walk around, what a fabulous city seeing as much as we could right down to the harbour’s edge. Here we purchased a 2 day ticket for the Hop On Hop off sightseeing bus to enable us to get around all the attractions, we saw the ABBA museum although too expensive to go in, see the slideshows to see what we saw on day 1 in Stockholm, we had teas in the hard rock café before returning by metro to Bredang and the campsite, exhausted but truly inspired by what a great city Stockholm is. Friday 3rd June 2016 Had breakfast then headed off again to walk past the very nice apartment blocks and gardens from the Bredang campsite to the metro and caught the train back into Gamla Stan where we walked back down to the harbour area and along past the boats and statues until we were outside the Swedish Handelsbanken at Kungsträdgårdsgatan 2, 106 70, Stockholm where the Hop ON Hop off bus stop no 1 is, we used it to alight this time near the Vasa Museum i.e. just near the funfair with rides that spread out across the harbour. We were in the museum for quite a while, all very interesting and almost Sweden’s answer to the Titanic, only many years before, OK quite a lot as built by command by then Swedish King Gustavus Aldolphus in the 1620’s, a huge ship heavily over laden that sank on its maiden voyage in Stockholm harbour soon after launch. On the way to the bus, we had a look at both the opera house and the royal palace, indeed that was quite near the start bus stop. After making a complete loop again on the bus as part of our ticket you also got a harbour cruise which was a fascinating way of seeing from a very different perspective many of Stockholm’s gems, we had seen either by walking to or from the bus stop. In the harbour there were some mega Cruise ships which luckily weren’t moving else the wash may have capsized our little sight seeing boat, rather like the Vasa only maybe on a different scale, tee-hee. All day the weather was sunny and on occasions humid. We returned via train and foot to the campsite again thinking how privileged we were to have been able to spend two days in such a lovely city. Saturday 4th June 2016 A day off at the campsite catching up with things like van duties, washing and just generally chilling, had a bit of a walk around the area in the afternoon, we were recharging our batteries for the next few days travel to Finland. Some lovely sunsets in the evening. Took lots of pictures Sunday 5th June 2016 Finally left the wonderful Stockholm, would gladly come back another time. Travelled the 1 hour journey about 55 miles on the E18 to the port area of Kapellskar. Only stopped at Brevik on route for a very quick look around. Stayed at quite an interesting campsite not surprisingly called Kapellskar camping near the harbour. Our pitch was slightly up a hill, very lush grasslands with some good views. Went to sleep quite early as early morning start on the ferry to Finland tomorrow. Monday 6th June 2022 Up early to catch the ferry, was a very short drive from the site to the Ferry port at Kapellskar, waited in line to get on our Viking line ferry for what turned out to be the most magnificent cruise we have ever been on, indeed better than the Baltic one with Mum in 2004 and way better than our 40th Anniversary cruise to the Caribbean and States in 2018, Blog 125 . Our ship was called the Finnfellow, run by Finnlines , all food and drinks were included in the ticket price which was incredibly cheap for 2 adults and a motorhome, about £50 return in 2016 for a 4.5 hour journey in each direction, 150 miles of sea each way, truly stunning price. We only found this out food included when I tried to pay, and the lady said no, just help yourself whenever you wish, which we did. So, we got fed and saw some of the most magnificent scenery as we travelled along from Kapellskar in Sweden on the east coast to Naantali on the west coast of Finland via the sea of Aland and all its lovely little islands, the major one of which of course is mainland Aland and we called in there at Langnas , Lumparland to let off passengers and their vehicles and take more on. It is 30 kilometers from the Aland islands capital Mariehamn. The Aland islands are owned by Finland, but the residents speak Swedish. They and there are lots of these islands the main one our ship called in at being by far and away the largest are all in the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea. Maps of our ferry journey The slideshow to accompany this magnificent ferry trip is backed by Abba music, appropriately, the sea was calm, it was sunny and blissfully relaxing, we bought Finn Bear for Charlie (or Peanut as she was known in the womb!) We loved looking at Aland and its islands, eventually we came into the headlands off Turku, Finland, looking rather industrial, it is a main shipping, cargo port for Finland. It turned slightly to come into Naantali. We drove off, set the satnav to Finland and located our campsite for the night, a lush green hilly site on the edge of the Gulf of Bothnia, fab views down from our pitch all fringed by the green pines, elements of Canada here. Tuesday 7th June 2022 Day 31. Drove from the lovely site at Naantali onto Rastila camping site in Helsinki the Finnish capital. We were on pitch 13. The site was large and already had a Dutch motorhome caravanserai or duckling club as I prefer to call them on it. Just like one we saw near Ullapool in Scotland once. Anyhow, we parked up in one of the tarmacked slots which in fairness had all the facilities you need, each row was hedge lined to try and create aa semblance of privacy but with the numbers of folk walking past your van constantly that was impossible, we wouldn’t be at the site much over the next 2 days anyhow as sightseeing so all good. The site prices were high as well, understandably as the capital. The other great thing about the Rastila site was that the metro train station was right next door, hugely convenient for getting into the city centre. The journey via the scenic route which started off on Highway one through the industrial area of Turku was about 3 and a half hours, but worth doing. If we had just used the motorway into Helsinki, it would have been just over 1 hour but somewhat boring. Our first stop after Naantali was the seaside resort town of Hanko , a past holiday resort for rich Russians, it was a 2-hour drive through some very nice scenery, woodlands, hills, abundant flora and fauna, didn’t see much native wildlife, although some bird species we have not come across before. Especially remember the lovely beach walk in the sunshine, some interesting old and new architecture, i.e., villa tellina and margarita, pine trees everywhere, water tower, old church, and the formal gardens all in flower. It was about hours’ drive after a fab time in Hanko to the site in Helsinki. Wednesday 8th June 2017 Up early, breakfasted and caught the metro next door to the site, Rastila station into central Helsinki. Interesting colour scheme on the metro, all red. Anyhow it was a somewhat grey and miserable day weather wise but not on the discovery front. From the main station we found the stop for the Hop on Hop Off bus tour in the main square and having looked around both the cathedral and town hall, both very grandiose, we paid and got on for our voyage of discovery around the Finnish capital. In our humble opinion most of the architecture was drab Russian utilitarian. Had some lovely cardamom buns as a snack, yummy. The main square also commemorated Alexander 2nd of Finland who was murdered by the Russians. Still raining it was nice to get on the bus. Although the drizzle did obscure our view somewhat. Bus tours are a great way to find the things you really want to see about a city. Lots of trams, funfair and Finn sky wheel on the harbour area, market square was very interesting area, and the market was on today. Loved its Havis Amanda statue. Presidential palace, esplanade, lots of boating and rally cars (Finns are world champions at this sport) at eira beach, big cruise ships at the melkki cruise terminal, by the afternoon the sun had finally come out, so we got to see both the botanic gardens and the old Olympic stadium nearby, that where all their long distance runners are celebrated. We got off the bus after 1 and a bit trip around the circuit near the Hard Rock Café where we had a chocolate milk shake and not surprisingly Keef bought a T-shirt. Our waiter was from Hungary and had a very interesting chat with him, his English was superb, he loved living in Helsinki which was a great recommendation. We then caught the metro back to Rastila and the campsite, as now sunny went for a walk around and saw both wooden holiday chalets and a Finnish dog show a bit like cruft’s, tee-hee, pooches everywhere. We also strolled down to Rastila’ s beach called uimaranta and its marina and harbour, all very pleasant especially as so warm. The Finns love their sauna’s and we saw wooden out buildings housing these everywhere. Tea and bed early, tomorrow we are off to discover the rest of Finland, ok maybe! Thursday 9th June 2017 Day 33 left the wonderful Rastila and Helsinki and travelled onto Hamina on the E18 which also doubles as a scenic route. We firstly stopped at the village of Porvoo on the Porvoo river, it had a lovely old heritage bridge , old boats, quaint wooden houses and shops riverside and cafes. We had a lovely long walk around, indeed whilst out by the old wooden historic river bridge we met a young girl on her bike who told us in brilliant English, they all speak it brilliantly, that she did tourists’ trips around the old town. I remember one of my first experiences in a garage in Finland , just outside Naantali where I couldn’t work out how to use my credit card and the little girl behind the counter said in strident English it’s the other way up sir, amazing, so wish I had done better at languages at school. The cathedral and its cobbled square were also wonderful. The old schoolhouse was equally amazing. Anyhow we walked back along the river to the wonderful old, cobbled town square. The old Irish Embassy built 1820 was amazing. We really liked Porvoo. After Porvoo we drove onto to just before the Russian border past Vaalimaa, literally, next stop St Petersburg, which we loved when we visited in 2004 with Mum especially the Hermitage Museum, artwork to die for. Since we had no papers and didn’t want the motorhome impounded, we turned around just before the crossing in a layby and returned to Hamina town, another traditional old Finish town. It took about 30 minutes and 25 miles from the Russian border. Hamina town and its magnificent town hall had a feel of being a cross between Hanko and Porvoo as old traditional Finish towns. The Linnoitus fortress was also worth a visit. It was built by the Finns to stop the advancement of Peter the great who wanted to capture all the seaports along the coasts for Russia, maybe this is reminiscent of Putin in 2022 and Ukraine, sadly! After a good look around, we called into the Hamina campsite and restaurant, by the water’s edge and booked in. The site was quite empty, so we had the pick of the pitches. Very forestry, and we set up and went for a walk around, down to the sea and beach along one of the many boardwalks. A very nice, deserted beach. Had a long walk around the site, looking at the amazing wooden sauna buildings wood fired, must be amazing in winter. Friday 10th June 2016 Keef couldn’t sleep so up early, about 5 a.m. and went and had a shower and a good look around. The site is on a very sandy base. Back afterwards and Annie had awoken and showered we had breakfast and set off on our journey back to Naantali with a real feel that we had at least in part sampled some of Finland’s culture and scenery and we liked it. The journey back to Naantali was all via motorway and took just over 3 hours by passing Helsinki , through Espoo and Turku and back into the town for a look around which we hadn’t done when we stayed 4 days previously. We parked up and had a good walk along the boardwalk surrounding the harbour and marina, all very interesting. Weather not too bad. Bit overcast but warm. We then had a good walk around the old town, seeing many old traditional wooden houses , the town hall with its old clock tower hovers above every sight line in Naantali. Some of the streets were steep all leading back down to the harbour. A very interesting town. After that it was back to the campsite, this time we were on pitch 51, closer to the waters edge but still on the flat. Such nice views we then set up and relaxed for the rest of the day ready for our cruise back to Sweden tomorrow. Saturday 11th June 2016 Having stayed in the same campsite at Nanntali we knew our way back to the ferry terminal , the Naantali Nadendal, pronounced Natalie, and so most of the day was spent doing that lovely ferry trip via the Aland islands and multiple little islands on route back to Kapellskar. Can’t recommend this trip enough, just so relaxing, and free food and drink as well, what more could you ask for. Our ship this time was the Finneagle. We saw a lot of salmon farms on route as well. We also got to watch, heaven forbid, the Queen’s 90th celebrations on the TV delivered in Finnish, amazing, ha-ha, I of course stood to attention. In general, it is all plain sailing but there is a very rocky coastline, so we saw many lighthouses through the Gulf of Bothnia. We even went past the Finnfellow , the one we went over to Finland on, on the way back , they obviously use 2 vessels on this trip. There are many private islands with their own boat jetties along the route. We eventually got back to the Kapellskar campsite in Sweden at about 6.30 in the evening. It is quite a long boat trip, but so enjoyable, at 8hours 34 minutes. This time we were on pitch 16, tired we retired early after a snack as well fed on the ferry trip. So loved Finland. Sunday 12th June 2016 After breakfast set off reasonably early from the Kapellskar site on the banks of the sea of Aland in the gulf of bothnia. It was going to be a 5 hour plus drive today, initially back through Brevik and Norrtalje turning off the 77 onto the main E4 into the old capital of Sweden Uppsala which the Vikings used as one of their centres of governance, a fascinating place with lots of history and amazing buildings. We had a good long walk around seeing the old water mill, senate house, st olaf’s arch, the gamla or old town, the old catherdral or domkirke to name but a few and saw folk in traditional dress going to church, as it was Sunday, all very interesting. Then it was onto the turning leading to alvkarlaby where there was a huge Chinese dragon gate with lions, a rather strange find in a Scandinavian area but extremely lavish and large. We then used the coastal road onto Gavle and then on from there to the start of Siljan lake at Rattvik. This whole area counts as the equivalent of the Swedish lake district and travelling along through Mora and lake Orsasjon to our campsite for the night at Alvdalens camping, a nice site on the banks of the Osterdalalven river. There were some interesting BBQ pit houses on site for use by anyone, we had a nice evening stroll around the site and along the river, all very pleasant. The guy in the office offered me a chance to catch grayling and trout in the river, but I’m no fisherman. Tee-hee Monday 13th June 2016 Spent a lovely 2nd day here in the lovely campsite, took the motorhome out to have a look at the nearby ski resorts including the wonderful ski jumping slopes, even though it was not winter you could easily envisage them being used, fascinating. We also had a good look around the area and then returned early to the site to both chill, stroll along the river again and have a nice BBQ in the evening, chicken if I remember rightly. From a taste perspective however chicken in Scandinavia is quite different. Alvdalen has 4 ski areas using for both skiing and snowboarding. Including Grovefjall, Idre fjall and salen, it doesn’t take a great brain to realise the Fjall probably means mountain in Swedish tee-hee. Tuesday 14th June 2016 After 2 days in the lovely Swedish lake district we are moving on across the border into Norway but first we visited the wonderful town of Nusnas, Dalarna county on the edge of the huge and majestic Siljan lake. Nusnas is about an hour away from Alvdalen and is the home of the world famous Dala horse. We visited the Grannas A Olssen workshops and watched some very skilled workers creating these wooden masterpieces. From the huge to the miniscule indeed so small you could only see them under a microscope. There was also a history museum within the workshop showing Dala horses back through time to some of the very first ever crafted. These would we worth a fortune if you owned them. They have travelled worldwide, indeed we bought one for our grand daughter which she still has in her bedroom to this day. They were a hit at the 1939 world fair. This is the smallest available, fascinating, it is followed by a slideshow of all the images we took whilst visiting the Dala horse workshops, enjoy! After Nusnas we returned via the village of Sarna on the ostadalaven where I took what was possible my best picture of the holiday, just so proud of it. Sarna is in the Fulufjallet national park which has the ski mountain ranges. In essence we had returned near to Alvdalen where we had camped for 2 days but not quite. At Sarna we parked up and visited the very old cedar wood church. Past Sarna at Idre on Highway 70 we crossed over into Norway, where to be honest there was no border crossing attention from officials at all. We stopped to take some pictures. It is also worth noting and I’d forgotten this that they drive on opposite sides of the road, easy for us Brits to adjust. From here we headed on up into the Engerdal National Park and to our campsite at Hedmark. Hardly anyone was at the site so we mostly had it to ourselves, again as summer it felt like it was mostly populated only during the skiing season, the site itself was very nice and quirky. There was also a residual of snow still on the surrounding mountains, I would definitely not like to take the van here in winter, just far too scary. Wednesday 15th June 2016 From Hedmark we set off towards Haneset and Roros along the edge of the scenerific Storsjoen with its mountains surrounding the lake. We came across elk on the road. We travelled through Kvernnes, Tyldal and turned at Tynset through Tolga and Os onto our Roros camping site, a splendid journey mostly through forested areas, the air was just so clean and some magnificent scenery. The whole scenic trip took about 4 hours. We stopped at stations and saw ski jump slopes on route. The Norwegian village of Roros including the old traditional timber houses was most interesting. We learnt a lot about the heritage culture and customs. It was a Unesco world heritage site. Thursday 16th June 2016 We set off from Roros camping to as far up as we were scheduled to travel north in Norway for this trip heading for Trondheim and our campsite out along the coast at Flakk. We first called in at Storen and then to see the waterfall at aursunden in the forollhogna national park whose scenery was the backdrop for most of todays journey all the way up to Trondheim. Spectacular views all the way on Highway 30. Some of the mountains on route were positively volcanic, just look at some of our images. Highway 30 turned into the E6. We had a real good look around Trondheim, which was once a Norwegian capital, it has a lot of history. In the city we visited museums, stiftsgarden royal residence, the market, the torget (town square), the cathedral, the archbishop’s palace, the old, cobbled back street, bridges, shops, and a whole lot more, it is a fabulous place, we loved every moment of it. Prior to Trondheim, and you just must do it, we went on the road to HELL and its airport, indeed we had fish and chips there. After Trondheim and before going to the campsite we went east along the coast road to Vikhammer and its coastal railway station line, all very interesting and different. Then it was onto our Flakk campsite for the night, we got a great pitch with a sea view and as the weather was so nice Keef cooked on the griddle outside, chicken, onions and peppers, yummy! After tea we took a stroll to the harbour near the campsite and saw ice breakers and the ferry from Flakk to Rorvik. Friday 17th June 2016 We were now at the real start of the Norwegian Fjords, so travel was a combination of both roads and ferry connections, oh and quite a few tunnels, my favourite being a fan of crime fiction was the apply named Nesbo tunnel. I have read all of Jo’s novels. So today was a journey from Flakk to Kristiansund heading southwest on initially highway E6 then E39. We travelled past fjords and along them seeing waterfalls, and surprisingly a vineyard with grape vines, how does that survive in winter I wonder. This was near Klett just outside Trondheim and although they looked like grapevines may well have been another fruit i.e some sort of berry, but who knows, certainly not us, tee-hee. We caught the ferry at Halsa called the svanoy to get to kanestraum after waiting in line for a bit for its arrival. We stopped prior to this at Surnadal for lunch. We camped at the Byskogen site in Kristiansund. Saturday 18th June 2016 We were one of the very few at the Kristiansund campsite, all grass and forest and no electric hook up but pleasant enough for an overnight stay. Up early breakfasted we set off set off for loen and stryn , it was quite misty. It was a combination of bridges, tunnels and ferries again today. The Norwegians deserve a medal for some of the engineering they have made this watery area connected. I am in awe. We queued for the Sykkylvsfjord ferry at molde arriving at vestnes. We travelled along the 650 with its fab views. Along the way it was more ferries at Stranda. Our campsite for the night was loen lo-vik at stryn on the waters edge, this is where we saw a dutch couple in their dressing gowns head off for a shower is what I can only describe at driving rain and a gale force wind, it takes all sorts. The Nordfjord views and abandoned kayak from our pitch were spectacular in between showers I ventured out to take pictures. Sunday 19th June 2016 A much brighter day today, took a quite walk along the edge of the Nordfjord from our campsite, what fab views. We then packed up the van and headed south on highway 60 past the town of Loen through the Jostadalsbreen national park with its mountains and fjords through tunnels past utvik, ski centers around skei, moraines, and onto the magnificent glacier centre in fjaerland where the sun was out in force, yippee. We had a good look around the centre, saw stuff about wooly mammoths, walked out to the viewing spots via the provided platforms and took lots of photos. A really interesting place to visit to learn about the ice ages that have passed and how glaciers shape our landscape. From here it was past Mundal and onto our campsite overlooking the fjord at Sogndal, what a campsite , would recommend this one for both its facilities and its stunning location. Monday 20th June 2016 We left Campsite Kjornes in Sogndal reasonably early after breakfast having taken yet more breath-taking photos, just so love this site. Initially we crossed the fjord via highway 5 and then we used this highway through alsberg, kaupanger, nybo and then it was into the short amlatunnelen and joining the ferry at mannheller to cross to fodnes, we joined the queue at Mannheller to get on this, quite an experience today the most ferrys, tunnels and bridges we had done as our time in the west fjordlands was coming to an end. It was then through the fodnesvegan tunnel still called highway 5 and out and turn near tonjum into the E16 and join the longest tunnel in Norway called the laerdalstunnelen which stretches for 15.2 miles. We stopped in the middle which is lit with a coloured light display, all quite surreal. Having come out of the tunnel we carried on around the aurlandsfjord thru a couple of small tunnels on the E16 and at the end of the tunnel at Lunde Vestland we turned towards the Hallingskarvet national park on highway 50, past lake vassbygdevatnet , steine and then some of the most twisty switchback road bends all the while climbing through 3 dimly lit and wet tunnels with very poor worn road surfaces, the culmination of which was the Nesbotunnelen near the village of Nesbo all named after my hero crime writer Jo Nesbo, I’ve read all his books, had to stop for a photo at the start of the tunnel obviously. At the very top of this ascent was the somewhat frozen vetlebotnvatnet lake, boy it was so cold up here. Then we descended through one more tunnel and down alongside the lake standavatn , lovely views, in the national park still and onto our campsite at Hovet, which in the acsi book at the time was labelled Hol, by 2022 this site is no longer in the ACSI book , I’ve checked, sad it was a nice site. There is however a site at Flam in the book just past Lunde at the end of that long tunnel, I would suggest a great place to camp #recommended #hintsandtips #campsites Tuesday 21st June 2016 Left the site at Hovet travelling on highway 51 climbing high at Gol and then onto leira and then stopped at the stream or was it a river at dokka in the picnic area for lunch and a good look around. It was in fact the river etna which runs into the randsfjord. We then swapped onto highway 250 which was very scenic all the way into Lillehammer , the winter Olympics town on the banks of the the mjosa lake. It had the winter Olympics in 1994 but this year 2016 it was playing host again this time to the youth winter Olympics, we had a good look around, ski slopes, jumps, museums, tributes, town centre, shops and what limited buildings they had. We saw all the ski chalets at Oyer and then it was onto our site for the night at hunderflossen a nice site with views of the oyer reservoir from our pitch, we even had an ice cream from the site shop, yummy in the sun. Wednesday 22nd June 2016 From Hunderflossen and Lillehammer we started making our way to the capital Oslo where we would stay for 2 nights at the Ekeberg campsite on the edge of the city’s parkland. #campsites This is their website for bookings etc. After arriving at setting up and looking at the facilities we went for a walk around the attached park and had a good look at the 35 sculptures in the park, all very quirky but eminently photograph-able. Ekeberg is high on a hill looking down across Oslo so we walked a little down the hill past the open fields to get a great view from on high of the capital, the station, the old ships in the harbour, the bridges, the town. We had last been in Oslo in 2004 with Mum on our Baltic cruise so could see where the cruise liners arrived indeed there was one in port as we looked. The other thing I remember is that , and thank god I had researched it before leaving, is that all the roads around Oslo are toll roads so it is worth setting up an account before hand and applying your credit card, 1st time in they take £100 the residue of which was returned to me as unspent about 6 months later. The fines for not having your van registration set up are quite high so I would ensure you do #recommended. Thursday 23rd June 2016 Our second day in Oslo. We caught the bus into the city centre at the stop just down the hill outside the campsite, it was quite a quick trip into the city centre and very convenient. We got into Oslo quite early and had a good walk around, through markets that were barely open, saw posters saying Paul Simon was playing there, sadly not today and we will have left. We had a look at the main cathedral and then bought a Hop On Hop Off bus ticket for the day in Fred Olsen gata, named after the cruise ship company we had travelled on in 2004, spooky ha-ha. We used it to see most of the key sites of oslo doing our usual once around first to get our barings and then getting off at points of interest, we saw the uni area, main flower parks, the harbour, kontiki exhibition (which we saw in 2004), heritage museums, viking ship museum, fram museum including lots about Amundsen which we found fascinating, frogner park and a whole lot more. So wished we had done that back in 2004 rather than just walking which limited what we saw to just the harbour area. Saw the ski jump slope. We finally finished our bus trip at Karl Johans gata where we visited the outside of the royal palace, listened to bands playing , saw the pride concert area and listened whilst we ate in the outdoors restaurant. The only downside was what we termed “professional” beggars everywhere even pestering you whilst you ate. A lovely day in oslo we caught the bus back to the campsite, tired but happy, so loved Oslo. The other thing I remember clearly from this site was a Dutch guy on the next pitch telling us the UK had left Europe, Brexit, not that we agreed with it and being away on our scandi trip we didn’t even get a vote, not that us 2 would have made much difference to the result, we are still suffering from that decision 8 years later, grrrr! Friday 24th June 2016 We are returning to Sweden today. We left Oslo initially on the E6, very complex to get out of the capital, masses of motorways and roadworks but finally left the congestion behind us, nearly all toll roads with auto recognition to allow payment. The E6 then turned off onto the E18 near Ski and thru Solberg across the Glomma River , through yet another tunnel near Krosby through Mommarken and finally crossing back into Sweden at the bridge by the lake rodenessjoen at Orje. We carried on along the E18 in Sweden through Tocksfors past many lakes and green countryside finally arriving at our site Arjang camping and stugor on the vastra silens.It took only about an hour from the border. The lake had two islands in the middle. As it was mid summers day a huge public holiday in Scandinavia the site was packed but we had quite a good spot. It was lovely to watch families kayaking, barbequing and the may pole dance, all females were wearing a band of flowers in their hair, delightful, it was so nice to feel included in their traditions. Saturday 25th June 2016 We left the wonderful campsite at Arjang and travelled along the E18 around lake jarnsjon, and then kept on this road throughout along past many a lake and green lands until we turned off onto the E44/45 motorway into Trollhatten. We wanted to visit this town as our eldest son Craig did a school exchange with Peter Anderson when he was in what I would call the 5th year at school (now I guess it counts as year 11). Peter was from Trollhatten, so glad we went there, a very interesting place both the town and then we drove out to see the nearby gota canal and waterfalls, the viewing platform with coffee and ice cream was splendid. We then travelled about a further hour and a half from the gota canal near Trollhatten past Lilla Edet on the E45 motorway turning off at ucklumsvagen on the 170 and stopped to look at Stenungsund and its railway, and then crossing the bridge on the 160 onto Orust Island. This then turned into the 178 and headed out to Ellos on the west coast of Orust island. We travelled across multiple bridges and saw many islands to get to the campsite and saw many large American cars, a Swedish male obsession it seems. After setting up camp we had a lovely walk on the slightly shingle beach looking at the kayaks, water and across to the village fishing huts that we would take the van along 1st thing tomorrow morning, all very interesting, a lovely spot to camp and hugely relaxing. Sunday 26th June 2016 Today we visited Sweden’s second city, Gothenburg on the west coast. Up early we drove off to have a look at the fishing village, it so reminded us of our time in Newfoundland in 2010. Clearly though it was Orust island on sweden’s west coast. After this we used the 160 to cross back over the bridges to the mainland and then the motorway E6 onto Gothenburg. We parked in the paid main car park behind the town hall which was incredibly convenient and then went off to explore the lovely city of Gothenburg, truly worth a visit in our humble opinion. We saw fab artwork, the old theatre, stora teatern, hop on hop off boats on the not surprisingly Gota canal start, ferry run from this major port to most parts of scandinanvia and use to go to kiel in Germany and Newcastle in the uk, sadly for us the ferry from Newcastle stopped in 2014 as not enough traffic was using it. Trams and trolley buses operate in Gothenburg city centre, and you can hire the equivalent of Boris bikes. We had a walk through the formal gardens, admired the cities old architecture and many many statues along the roadsides, parks and Gota canal, all in all a great city. After seeing Gothenburg, we carried on down the coast to our campsite at Varberg on the E6 motorway around kungsbacka. The site was a big site backing onto a big surfing beach, we had been given a pitch number but when we went to it a family were still on it not having left as yet so rather than walk back, we chose the one nearby that was empty, indeed most of the site was empty, we thought we were being kind. A family then arrived who had booked the one we were set up on and they went back to complain, the camp commandant asked us to move even though it was still very empty, why they couldn’t go in the pitch next to us is still a mystery to me. What we should have done, lesson to self, is when our pitch was occupied gone back and complained as this family did, anyhow after a false start we went for a long walk past the crazy golf, swimming pool down to the coast, a lovely area. Had a nice meal and retired to read in bed. A very successful day. Monday 27th June 2016 Today we would return to Denmark and stay at the wonderful Koge for 3 days. We left Varberg and travelled the 3 hour trip on motorway E6 back past Helsingborg and through the outskirts of both Malmo and Copenhagen , stopping briefly at the Malmo services in Sweden for fuel and a comfort break, before returning across the Oresund bridge into Copenhagen and Denmark. From Copenhagen which we did drive through seeing both uni and tenement blocks and some older architecture as well as many statues we travelled on on the E20 / E47 motorways to our Stevns campsite in the town of Koge, our home for 3 nights. Annie did some washing, keef rigged up a line between our van and the hedge, we chilled for the rest of the day, annie completing jumpers for our granddaughters. Like many sites we have stayed at there was crazy golf and a pool, we did neither. Tuesday 28th June 2016 Today we drove the van to a carpark on the outskirts of the town of Koge, a very old traditional town with many coloured buildings. We spent the day in there walking around and seeing lots including the very old streets, we bought kunnel cake at a bakery and had a look at the churches. We then took the van out to Rodvig and Stege, both really interesting places before returned to the campsite to chill. Wednesday 29th June 2016 We spent the whole day at the site today, not bad weather, sat outside reading, relaxing and listening to music, as the weather was so nice we also ate outside using the teppanyaki to grill on for our main meal. We were forced to have some more cinnamon buns as well, such a hard life, tee-hee Thursday 30th June 2016 Packed up the van after 3 very nice relaxing days in the area and set off through the rest of Zealand on the E55 past the famous Faro bridge over the Baltic Sea which connects the islands of Zealand and Falster. We then travelled on the new Guldborgsund bridge to bring us from Falster to the island of Lolland, you rapidly begin to realise that Denmark is made up of many islands all interconnected by well built bridges. Once on Lolland we drove the E47 onto our campsite at Saskobing, quite a small site but very convenient for the ferry crossing at Rodby just 22 minutes along the road. Friday 1st July 2016 Up early we packed up the motorhome and set off the short distance to the Rodbyhaven ferry terminal and joined the queue having purchased tickets online earlier yesterday. We drove onto our ferry, quite a large ship the schleswig-holstein, run by scandlines ferries i.e named after the german state which is the most northerly of all 16 states. Its capital is Kiel the canal we passed over on the way out and that which we travelled on our cruise back in 2004. The crossing operates in high season up to 45 times a day and takes 45 minutes. We arrived relaxed and having saved miles in Puttgarden ,on the german island of fehmarn where it was quite a long tedious drive to get out of both the ferry terminal and town and back onto the main highway E47. It was then a 1-hour journey to Plon and our campsite called campingpark augstfelde plon on the plonsee nature reserve. There were quite a few permanent setups on site but very few tourers. We had the park, a short walk from the site, to ourselves and after a quick set up went for a nice nature walk along the edge of the plonsee lake, a protected nature reserve. Saturday 2nd July 2016 Set off from Plon to Garlstorf which was to be our next campsite on the journey home from Scandinavia. Endless traffic on highway 1 and crossing the Elbe delayed us by about 2 hours, these sorts of areas are always busy especially in summer. I don’t think we have ever been past Hamburg where there hasn’t been total congestion. The E26 / E22 (A1) route should have taken only 1 and a quarter hours, it took about 4 in the end. Didn’t do much at the site, called into a supermarket Aldi if memory serves and bought a lot of coffee and German sausages for home. Our campsite was all grass but felt like you were camping on a local football pitch. Sunday 3rd July 2016 Left after breakfast and had a nice drive and look around the rural community of Garlstoft, some very nice houses and expansive farms. We then drove to Hemslingen and had a look around there before travelling onto our campsite just outside the main town of Bremen. The total journey only took just over an hour, so we arrived at the site in Bremen quite early, checked in and set up pitch. It was on a farm area; we then went for a long walk around including seeing the pool and all the statue tributes to the famous story of the famous 4 town musicians of Bremen . A Grimm's fairy tale from 1819. Disney also did a cartoon of this story way back in their catalogue. Monday 4th July 2016 At the Bremen site in the morning, we saw a set of Donkeys from the farm crowd a lady in her small caravan after she had kindly or is it foolishly decided to feed them, they would not let her go with their begging, hilarious for us. We then continued our journey home today and left Germany and our site at Bremen and crossed back into Holland and onto the bulb town of Tübbergen. We used the main motorway the A1 crossing back into the Netherlands just outside of Osnabruck in the German state of lower saxony. The journey took almost 3 hours and only the last bit was not motorway. The tubbergen site had a pool and outside table tennis table and was very rural, indeed I would recommend it for an overnight stay in a pleasant location. Tuesday 5th July 2016 Left the Tubbergen site and travelled onto just outside the big city of Utrect at Bilthoven , the journey was about 2 hours along the A1 motorway around Apeldoorn, at Bilthoven we set up camp on pitch number 378 it was clearly a big site with that number of pitches, it had a pool and many facilities. However, its advantage to us was its short walk to Bilthoven station where we caught the train into Utrect central. We had a lovely long time in the fabulous and historic city walking along the canal side, admiring the architecture, later in the day we did a touristy canal boat trip whicg was just wonderful, after a full day, grabbing something to eat at the station we made our way back to the campsite by train, a very nice day. Wednesday 6th July 2016 We left Bilthoven, bypassed Utrect on the A1 and turned off onto the E25 and then E30 for the hour journey through some of the more populated areas of Holland to Delft. On the way we parked up in the car park behind the library in Gouda by the canal, the carpark doubled as an air with electricity that we would use on future European trips as very convenient for the ferry at the Hoek of Holland, Rotterdam. We had a nice walk around Gouda, saw the canals, central square with its historic town hall and bought lots of cheeses. We had a good look around the Delft town after leaving Gouda whilst driving but there was nowhere to park so having seen the green open spaces and old buildings, we set off to find our Delftse Hout campsite, what a nightmare, the satnav took us to the bridge and underpass crossing just outside the site BUT the way was prohibited but a load of large stones on the underpass. We then spent longer than it took to get from Bilthoven to Delft trying to find the site entrance, eventually we cracked the puzzle. Keef was so frustrated he bend the van keys in the lock, oh dear, I eventually got them out and straightened them, so they were usable. What a journey not one I wish to remember. The site itself paid homage to delft pottery with its entrance displays, it had a nice pool and was very busy. Exhausted after the frustration of not finding the site we went to bed early. Thursday 7th July 2016 A long day, up early, drove the 30-minute drive to the ferry terminal at Hoek Van Holland and joined the check in queue. Got on board in the usual way and then got the announcement over the tannoy that the sailing was delayed due to waiting for some commercial cargo lorries, we eventually sailed some 4 hours later. When back in Harwich the road out was closed so we had to do a massive detour and then again the A14 was closed due to roadworks so we had yet more detours to make. We eventually arrived home at 2 a.m. only to find the kitchen electrics had flicked out sometime during the 2 months we were away. Nightmare all there was was the smell of rioting food from the defrosted frozen food, so we got out lots of black sacks cleared it all out and dumped it in the outside bin, cleaned up the freezer, reset the electrics and eventually flopped into bed at 3 a. m. A great holiday but not fun coming back to that. Note go self, run down fridge and freezer before any future long trips and get son to come in and check every now and then. So we loved it all 6140 miles of it. AUDIO DIARY THAT'S ALL FOLKS

By keef and annie hellinger, Aug 24, 2014, 04:58PM Motorhome trip No17: May 14th – August 1st, 2014 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->FRANCE, ITALY, MONACO & SWITZERLAND ->NOTTS 4611 miles In late September 2022 I revisited this Blog to enhance it, it was hastily transferred from Moonfruit and was such a lovely holiday I felt it deserved the time, care and dedication to restructure and enhance it, whilst keeping much of the original look and feel. I do hope you like it. Best KeefH Web Designs HIGHLIGHTS: Gorges du Verdon, Annecy, Allemagne du Provence, Quimperle, Cavalaire Sur Mer, Burgundy, Loire Chateaus,Blois, Louhans, Chalon Sur Saone, Noyers, Brittany especially Finistere (Eckmuhl), Les Pieux, Cannes Film Festival, Monaco, Alpes & Juras, Lac Leman, Evian, Montreax,San Remo & Meeting Marco, Concarneau & Micmac (Celtic band), the number of sites with indoor and outdoor swimming pools. LOWLIGHTS: Mechanical Problems with the van, our French being incredibly rusty Read on, or if you would prefer to hear the words of this Blog as an audiobook, please click HERE , thanks Probably easier to document this holiday by showing the calendars for May, June and July 2014. See attached images to see where we were on each day. MENU Overview Images Route graphically displayed Overview text Hints and Tips for Motorhoming in France Diary Slideshow of Images Write Up of Trip Memorabilia Audiobook Map of France That's All Folks Return to Menu OVERVIEW OF BLOG STRUCTURE & CONTENTS There is also the consolidation of 26 original photo snack slideshows (a technique I used at the time for creating image slideshows, they pulled the plug back in 2017 - commentary by KeefH Web Designs 2022) creating 3 sets of 30-minute-long slideshows which show our adventures plus one additional one showing every campsite we stayed at, most of which were via the ACSI book, if you are travelling France then it is a must. Return to Menu ROUTE MAP This video was created using the phone app Travel Boast where i drew out all the places we stopped at on route in order down to the smallest villages. It then draws out the route with a motorhome driving to show where we went. I then hooked its 4 formats I had created into one You Tube video. Landscape, Portrait and square maps which were further altered to be Day, Night and soft blue just for effect. I joined them together with some relevant images using Microsoft's Clipchamp. See what you think, i think it brings the journey to life and adds to any travel blog #newfeature The thing I do find out of kilter though is its estimated distance which at 3180 miles is way less than the 4611 we recorded on the speedometer in the van. A huge 1431 miles less. About 1/3rd of the distance. Methinks the app developers need do a bit more work. But anyhow I like the moving motorhome. Return to Menu #hintsandtips HINTS AND TIPS FOR CAMPING IN FRANCE For UK folk get membership from Vicarious books in Kent http://www.vicariousbooks.co.uk/ or direct from ACSI online. There is also a book of all the Aires which are similar to the UKs CLs/ CSs (certified location/site) where for a fraction of the price and limited services you can stay overnight (or longer) on your journey. Tip take your own loo seat, paper, soap and towel in France, most sites do not provide these. Also, the reverse polarity issue is not as bad as some would have you believe, after checking the 1st 5 sites with my expensive kit I gave up, it is I believe only an issue if your internal electrical items are faulty. Don’t forget your 2-pin convertor – many of the sites are not bayonet fittings oh and most are 6 amp, 10 is becoming more the norm but they will charge you for an upgrade if their system allows it so I suggest you take that gas kettle else you will blow the fuse! Note 2021 UPDATE photosnack died a long time ago, c 2017 I combined those all into 2 You Tube videos, 1 all the slideshows, 2 the "talkies", enjoy, they are HERE , also most sites have great swimming pools often indoor as well as outdoor so that is a real plus. Note: The Index shows ALL blogs already published or you can find Blogs about a specific subject by clicking on a word in the TAG CLOUD or under these new blogs, thanks, motorhome-travels. Why not take a look Leave us some feedback here on the blog if you wish, thanks Return to Menu DIARIES Our calendar diaries for this major trip, such fun, May through July 2014 Return to Menu WRITE UP OF TRIP All in all, a nice relaxing and discovery type holiday mixed with chillaxing and tourism! Great times, we love our little motorhome. Summary of commentary posted on Facebook etc. during our travels was Around France in 80 Days - well some of it... Last slideshow shows where we camped on each of those 80 days Thanks, all folks,Love K&A 31/7 Deauville, Trouville,Honfleur beach – pont de normandie & Dieppe views,Etretat,farm campsite near Yport, Yport, Fecamp, Minnimay(-sp?),st valery sur somme, Calais, densole 28/7 Les Pieux sunset, anneville,saint vaast la hougue, ravenoville, Utah beach, Omaha beach (st Laurent-sur-mer),carhagnolles(flower camping campsite),Bayeux,Arromanches-les-bain(gold beach), falaise, beavron-en-auge, camping deauville 26/7 Breton: pointe de primel (plougasnou), st quay portrieux, dinan, st malo,domaine de la ville huchet, Normandie: mont st Michel, Granville, les pieux 23/7 Eckmuhl / St Guenole (near Penmarche), Quimper,pointe du raz, Douarnenez,Locronan,Chateaulin, Cameret sur mer/ Pointe de Penhir, Pointe des Espagnols, Roscanvel, Le Faou, Plougastel Daoulas, Landerneau, Brignogan-Plages, Plougasnol Shipping News Update 20/7 Love Bretagne *FACT* Now in Penmarche FINISTERE Wind Blowing ENE and southerly to cool the warmed skin! Visited Concarneau and Benodet today having stayed at Clohars-Carnoet last night after visiting the wonderful Doelan fishing village (used in films allegedly). Loved Guerande (old town) when we visited it and the wonderful Martin from the AA (from Liverpool) based in Nante who fixed our recurring van problem with brake lights/ engine mgt warning. Far Bretagne cake is the best yet… crème anglais, almond, black gold plums (or prunes as they are known in French), seriously yummy Off to discover the coast, Quimper, plus more delightful blue Bretagne fishing villages and head towards Brest 2moro… Love to all our lovely family & friends 2 new slideshows on the website, one at the end of this page and one on the top of a new page Update 16/7 Now on the Pays deLoire Alantic Coast – Fab weather (hooray) 33c sunny no clouds and beaches to die for Staying near historic town of Guerande. Stayed at Piriac Sur Mer yesterday, great beaches here and at La Baule. Deserted often. La Baule reminded us of Surfers in Queensland, such a huge curve of endless sand. Also went over the Loire River outlet bridge between St Nazaire & St Brevin, such a huge expanse of water. Bit like Confederation bridge in Canada going to PEI from Nova Scotia, only not quite so long. Have seen some lovely places recently. Recommend Angers, Ducs of Anjou territory. Sadly, more minor probs with van so AA / Garage out for us 2moro early. Brake lights stopped, may be tied up with earlier probs and continuous Engine Mgt system light which we had checked out in Switzerland as “minor” wait till UK, so delaying our move onto Brittany for a day or so, no real hardship as weather, area and beaches FAB 1 new slideshow on website Love K&A xxx "Not a lot of people know that".... Michael .....but we went from Deaville to St Valery Sur Somme. Normandie, Picardy & Nord Pays de Calais and you can see the pix in the latest slideshow. Only one more to go....Love K&A xxx — with Serendipity Girls Designer Dresses . Hard to believe but my photos inspired Monet - 1st 2 the Lieutenancy @ Honfleur, last 2 Port Eval at Etretat (4 photos) one in the eye for Harald — with Serendipity Girlsdesignerdresses. At Bayeax les pieux to deauville , normandy - visited all the DDay landing beaches, quite harrowing, les pieux sunset wine with our chairs on the beach just so romantic, william the conquerors hometown falaise and a whole lot more see the latest slideshow "les Pieux to Deaville" — withSerendipity Girlsdesignerdresses. (10 photos) Plougasnol Brittany to Les Pieux Normandie, oh what a beach and campsite - we will be back Another slideshow on the website — withSerendipity Girlsdesignerdresses. (7 photos) for all you clapham-ites went to abbeville (picardy), bonneville (rhone-alpes), trouville (normandy) and narbonne (langedoc-rousillon) still working on pixs One more slideshow on website, Eckmuhl to Plougasnol, All Bretagne and mostly Finistere which we loved Update 16/7 Now on the Pays deLoire Alantic Coast – Fab weather (hooray) 33c sunny no clouds and beaches to die for Staying near historic town of Guerande. Stayed at Piriac Sur Mer yesterday, great beaches here and at La Baule. Deserted often. La Baule reminded us of Surfers in Queensland, such a huge curve of endless sand. Also went over the Loire River outlet bridge between St Nazaire & St Brevin, such a huge expanse of water. Bit like Confederation bridge in Canada going to PEI from Nova Scotia, only not quite so long. Have seen some lovely places recently. Recommend Angers, Ducs of Anjou territory. Sadly, more minor probs with van so AA / Garage out for us 2moro early. Brake lights stopped, may be tied up with earlier probs and continuous Engine Mgt system light which we had checked out in Switzerland as “minor” wait till UK, so delaying our move onto Brittany for a day or so, no real hardship as weather, area and beaches FAB 1 new slideshow on website Love K&A xxx Update 6/7 Still in Burgundy (just – we are off to Loire in a couple of days) at Lac Marcenay. We really, really like Bourgogne. On the Grand Route de Cremant now. Saw Route de Grand Crus other day. Also, we saw the source of the seine yesterday, a trickle in truth. Can’t believe it is so wide in Paris! The site we are on is owned by Dirk (a Dutch ex-hippie with a French wife) – it’s so quirky, mostly Dutch here. I watched Netherlands Vs Costa Rica last Nite with crowds of screaming Dutch (and drank with them, headache!) I asked if I could be an honorary English supporter, they were more than happy bedecked in orange, lions heads and other strange attire, but what fun….We spent a fab 4 days at and in and around the site at Lac Panthier (near Commarin) – best site we have ever stayed at, lakeside pitch such views and our 1st true Burgundian meal out – gammon and parsley terrine with Dijon mustard drizzle (starter), Bouef Bourguignonne & veg (main), true eglace deux boule - assorted flavours (pud) oh and how could I forget a 1l carafe of local white burgundy, which was better than any white I’ve ever had from a bottle (honest!) plus met a whole host of nice folk of many nationalities. Spent quite a few more days in Burgundy than we originally planned but we love it. Very different to Provence, Cote D’Azur and Rhone Alps. Seen two very different Chateau’s so far (Chateauneuf des auxois & commarin), the 12th century Cistercian UNESCO Abbaye de Fontenay, the 12th century Duc of Burgandie's wine press (still working) and the canal de Bourgogne, so real tourist times with some swimming, sunbathing, reading, chillin and just fun…. Ohhh our times are going too fast, but appreciate we are very lucky to spend so much time travelling …. 1 new slide of pix on the website, 1 to come when I get time later — with Serendipity Girls Designer Dresses. Now in Burgundy, just had a fab Pinot Noir from local Vineyard (hic) in Meursault. From Annecy we went all the way around Lake Geneva / lac leman (Swiss & French sides) Loved Evian, Montreux and much more besides, then travelled over the impressive Jura mountains into Franche-Comte and into Cote D'or area of Burgundy, after another minor hiccup with the van we are fully roadworthy again. Can thoroughly recommend Loughans & Chalon... 3 new sets of slides on the website More probably when we next manage Wi-Fi.... love to all our family and friends Life is a beach.... Love the Med More pix of Grimaud Ville, so old Provence great day in St. Tropez today saw this yacht in Monaco the other day, now in St Tropez, the playground of the rich and famous, one of our fellow ferry brits referred to the helicopter as really 'taking the p', hee hee new pix of port Grimaud and Saint Topless (Tropez) now on website Del Boy and Annie doing cocktails - Hey its officially 34c 93F here today Thats hot and humid, but aren't complaining Latest Pix listening to CSN in the sun on the cote d'azur fab.... my Italian is coming on (not really), discussed, just, Mondial di calcio (football) - world cup with Nico next door, smile, off to the beach this afternoon, still someone's gotta do it... want to see more of our holiday photos, try SLIDESHOWS , enjoy love us xxx "THE END" Image of Carcassonne at night which we did visit, a magical place, this was provided by the younger brother of my old Bonneville infants and juniors school buddy Martin. His brother lives in a property below the castle. The other thing I remember is playing the board game named after this castle, which we had the pleasure of going around on this wonderful 2014 trip Return to Menu SLIDESHOWS The French slideshow areas are Overall Holiday with Images with Text descriptions Overall Holiday, the "Talkies" Folkstone (UK) to the Gorges of Verdon (Provence) Volonne (Provence) to Finistère (Bretagne/ Brittany) Clohars-Carnoet (Bretagne) to Home Every campsite we stayed at Switzerland Monaco Italy Note: Music on "Around France in 80 Days" by Micmac, a band we saw in Concarneau in Brittany, Headlines, the first 2 slideshows are the overview slideshows and videos, the more detailed ones follow Return to SLIDESHOWS This is what we would call the "Talkies" Return to SLIDESHOWS Folkstone (UK) to Gorges of Verdon (Provence) There were 1629 images taken, the first of these slideshows shows those lasting 31 minutes. They are dated from 14th May 2014 to 17th June 2014 and in sequence cover travel and images between these places. Home, Folkstone, Lempdes Sur Allegdon (region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ), Lunel (region Occitania ),Agay (region Provence alpes cote d'azur ), all the following are also in Provence, just a fab place, I remember lavender fields, perfume, baguettes, wonderful food and produce, anyhow here are the places the images are from. Cannes, Nice, Grasse, Port Grimaud, Saint Tropez, Grimaud again including our swim in the Mediterranean Sea, Cavalaire Sur Mer, Le Rouen Salernes and finally the magnificent Gorges Du Verdon. How I remember that gorge and the panic about whether the van would stall and not restart out in the middle of nowhere #scary Take a look why don't you, Provence in the South of France is an area we cannot recommend highly enough, and the toll road motorway make it quite a straightforward drive, but remember it's a long way, and at the toll booths, well at least back in 2014 it was necessary to remember there was both a high level and low-level automatic pay booth, tee hee for vans and cars alike, very clever. Return to SLIDESHOWS Volonne (Provence) to Finistère (Bretagne/ Brittany) This was the middle part of the trip from low down in the south of France right the way back up to see the beaches of Normandie where those WW2 battles and evacuations were held so ablely mastered by Sir Winston Churchill, and many points in-between, plus we had the pleasure of visiting some of the wonderful Chateaus especially in the Loire valley. The 1st slideshow which was reconstructed in 2022 is n minutes long and includes 1678 images. It covers the following regions and details extra places in those regions, those being in no particular order, Burgundy, Bourgogne, Franche-Comte, Pay-de-Loire, Rhone-Alpes, Lac Panthier, Cav-sur-Mer, Lerueon , Vincelle, Saumur, Commarin, Marcenay, Concourson, Guerande, Volonne, Annecy, St Jerioz, Grimaud. The second slideshow from 2014 is 44 minutes long. Return to SLIDESHOWS Clohars-Carnoet (Bretagne) to Home There are 1535 images in this slideshow, and I have included all those that have text on them as well, which I have not done on the other 2 parts of the trip, basically because it is not an even third split of the images being only 13 days from 20th July to the 1st August and on the way back even though we stayed at Delsole very few images were taken, it was mostly travel. Here is a list of the places we traveled through hopefully mostly in chronological order. Carhans, Penmarche (both Bretagne), Finistère, Eckmuhl, Plougasnol, then Normandy, Le Pieux, Deauville, Concarnaeu, Benodet, Abbeville, Etretat, Valery Sur Somme, Honfleur, Miannay, Pointe De Raz, Quimper, Les Pieux, Dinan,St Quay Portrieux, Granville, St Malo (port), Mont St Michel, Huchet and its old castle campground, just fab, Deauville as well which is in Picardy. The 1st slideshow last for 1 hour 13 minutes, the 2nd 31 minutes. Return to SLIDESHOWS Campsites The following is a quick summary of all the campsites we stayed at in France on our 2014 big trip. They are as best as possible in chronological order, but the reality way back then is we didn't always take a picture on the pitch we were on, nowadays we always do. #campsites #motorhometravelsblog #motorhome #majortrip Return to SLIDESHOWS Switzerland This shows our few days camping and driving around Lac Leman or Lake Geneva as we Brits like to call it. What splendid weather and a great campsite and spring waters from Evian. We went through Montreux, Lausanne and Geneva on the Swiss side of the lake entering at Saint Gingolph and leaving again St Julien En Genevois on Highway one. The video which features some lovely music by one of my musical heroes John Martyn is about 11 minutes long, enjoy! #music #maps Return to SLIDESHOWS Monaco We spent a couple of days in and around Monaco travelling there on 3rd June 2014 by the French double decker south coast train (always busy) picking it up near Antibes on the St Tropez line at Biot Gare, station where we were staying at a campsite nearby that you could walk to the station from. Note images also include Frenes Biot campsite, listed as Antibes East. The train went from Biot to Monte Carlo, carefully misspelt in one of my texts as Morte #haha On route we passed the amazingly expensive French Riviera, views to die for, it also went through Menton a town we would take the van through on our route to Italy and Sanremo The 1st video which has all the images in it is 15 minutes long, the second with text and the wonderful John Martyn is 4 minutes long, enjoy. Return to SLIDESHOWS Italy, San Remo We crossed the border at Ponte San Ludovico on highway SS1 past Menton in Monaco which we had been passed on the train, but Monaco is entirely wrapped in France before you get to the Italian border. At Sanremo we met the wonderful Nico and Daniela who are still friends to this day, mostly on Facebook. We could not speak each other's language, but no worry, gifts, coffee, grappa and Nico's brother who could speak English, so he acted as our translator, in later times, Google translate really helps. Note Nico often returns to the campsite at Sanremo, we thought whilst the restaurant and beach views were great and we enjoyed our walk around, the site was a little too cramped for our liking. The pool however and company was wonderful. We stayed at the Villaggio Dei Fiori campsite and went for a lovely walk up the hill outside the campsite and overlooking the bay, seeing the very plush villa's and all the lovely bougainvillea in flower, just so bright and cheerful. We were lucky enough to see the Giraldo de Italia cycle race which was going past. The slideshow with John Martyn's back to Marseille is 10 minutes long, enjoy! #music Return to SLIDESHOWS That's it for slideshows Return to Menu MEMORBILIA (Phone) Our French mobile number #memorabilia #takenfromfacebook It was ordered on eBay in advance and therefore worked when we arrived, hugely useful #timeline Return to Menu AUDIOBOOK Audiobook over some of our images, a selection, with text. This slideshow is 30 minutes long and the audiobook portion at the beginning is 20 minutes long, so you have some fab John Martyn music to accompany the flags depicting which parts of France we were in. #enjoy Return to MENU MAP OF FRANCE Zoom in to find the area you are looking for. Our texted images in the very first slideshow is divided up into these regions (in alphabetical order not geographically). Note Switzerland, Monaco and Italy are included in these groupings of pictures. Around Lac Panthier, Camping Day by Day, Cannes, Cavalier-sur-Mer to Lerueon, The chateaus, Vincelles to Saumur, Commarin to Marcenay, Concarneau and Benodet, Concourson to Guerande, Deauville to Densole UK, Eckmuhl to Plougasnol, Folkestone, Kent to Agay, France, Gorges du Verdon, Grasse to Port Grimaud, Grimaud Ville, Les Pieux to Deauville, Marcenay to Vincelles, Menton to Biot, Mesnois to Burgundy, Monaco and especially Monte Carlo, Nice, Plougasnol to Les Pieux, Port Grimaud & Saint Tropez, Sanremo, Italy, St. Disdille On Lake Geneva, Lac Leman in Switzerland, St Jerioz walk to the Lake, Volonne to Annecy, what a fab place the last one is, where we could relax in the pool whilst viewing the snow covered caps of nearby mountains and then catch the bus into Annecy to see the UNESCO listed prison surrounded by the moat and stroll through the embankment market with cherries, apricots and nougat, heaven. Return to Menu THAT'S ALL FOLKS

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 3 2021 15.16 pm This is a retrospective Blog, we were away between 31st January and 14th June 2017. We went to Singapore for 2 weeks with family, C&A for 3 days in Hong Kong at the end of the trip, twas so sad parting at the end of a lovely almost 5 months. We have now reworked the original HOLIDAY2017 site so if you would prefer to see that instead of reading this blog (note the content is the same, but visually they are very different) please click HERE , thanks MENU Go to 1. Summary 2. Calendars 3. Diary Part 1, Jan-Feb 2017 4. Diary Part2, March 2017 5. Diary Part3, April - June 2017 5a. Audiobooks of the Diaries if you would prefer 6. Campsites 7. Distances travelled 8. Singapore 9. Australia Overall 10. Western Australia 11. The Indian Pacific Railway 12. South Australia 13. Northern Territory, Alice Springs 14. Victoria, Australia 15. New South Wales, Australia 16. Tasmania, Australia with rellies 17. The Cook Isles, Rarotonga 18. New Zealand Overall 19. North Island, New Zealand 20. South Island, New Zealand 21. Malaysia, Desaru what a fab holiday, loved every moment of it huge #tick Suggestion use the BIG TRIP maps to scale in and out if you wish and read the appropriate diary alongside viewing the slideshows. On the diaries each day is labelled so its fairly simple to find the text associated with a particular slideshow #justsayin Australia is made up of States and Territories on this trip we went to all of them minus Queensland and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) we visited those back in 1995 and 2008 respectively (Blogs 163 & 162), thanks for looking SUMMARY Another big trip featuring hired motorhomes but this time including the pleasure of travelling with our dear pals Chris & Allyson, who at the time lived in Alnwick in Northumberland, we had been to their wedding (see Blog 72). For Annie & I this was the 5th time back in Australia, we still have rellies there, I was there as a child and Annie as a teenagers, clearly we didn't know each other out there but both have a true affinity for the place. With our pals Chris & Allyson "If it moves... snap it, if it doesn't... snap it" 😉 In 2017 we explored Singapore, Australia , the Cook Isles & New Zealand with our dear friends Chris & Allyson. At the end of the trip Annie & I spent time in Singapore / Malaysia with our family and Chris & Allyson visited Hong Kong. A lot of planning and pre booking went into this adventure to ensure we had a great time. We flew to Singapore for a stop over of 2 days to break the journey down under. We visited East Coast Park and the wonderful Quentin's restaurant. We arrived in Perth a bit jet lagged but excited and cruised the Swan river to Freo and had a fab day in the Botanic gardens in Kings Park. After a few nights we picked up our Britz motorhomes and after a quick swim off the Indian Ocean Drive we initially explored Monkey Mia (sadly no dolphins due to inclement weather) then onto the tropics of Western Australia Geraldton, Northampton (gallahs and Allyson fear of the clientele 😉 and a spin in Apollo 11 at Carnarvon before doing the loop thru the Wheatbelt and Wave Rock back to Perth via Albany. Esperance and Kalgoolie at this time were off limits due to some massive rains which washed out essential roads. We then took the luxurious Indian Pacific Railway to Adelaide across the Nullarbor Plain. After that its was a quick flight to Alice Springs where we visited the fab Desert Park , ate Roo (Camel was off 😉 ) at the Red Ochre Café , avoided the cockroaches and pondered the insoluble Aboriginal problem. Then it was back to Adelaide to pick up another motorhome to explore some of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) before ending in Sydney for time with families. K&A flew down to Launceston in Tassie to visit rellies before returning to Sydney. From here we touched down in Auckland briefly before spending a fab but somewhat wet and humid week of chillin' in the Cook Isles in the Pacific ocean on the main island of Rarotonga, snorkelling, BBQ-ing or whatever took our fancy, lager at the Rarotonga brewery. Mis planned luggage allowances to Rarotonga meant a somewhat fraught early morning experience trying to retrieve K&As 3rd bag, but all OK in the end 😉. Then its was back to Auckland to pick up another pair of motorhomes to explore both North & South island of New Zealand, crossing between the two via the Interislander ferry. After much Boysenberry ice cream we returned to the UK via 2 weeks with family in Singapore and C&A 3 days in Hong Kong. Saw so much and had such a fun time shared with our pals. What an amazing journey - travel definitely broadens the mind. NOTE: All photos, videos and slideshow content on this Blog were taken by one of the 4 of us! A much more in depth appreciation of what we did and when can be gleaned from the diaries. I encourage you to use the dropdown menus to fully immerse yourselves in the Big Trip, we also have galleries by person as well as headlines by place visited whether country, island or state, #justsaying 😉 Thanks for looking. Covers Singapore, Australia (Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territories,Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania), The Cook Isles (Rarotonga), New Zealand (North & South Islands) & Malaysia (Desaru long weekend break with family) #TICK #TheBIGTRIP This is what our old HOLIDAY2017 home page looked like Return to Menu CALENDERS We show both the before and after plans. Understandable they differ slightly for all manner of reasons, click buttons below to go to each, thanks. History of what the old site pre 2020 looked like is preserved for prosperity, maybe 😉 CALENDARS - BEFORE THE TRIP Pre trip, calendar of our adventures, i.e. anticipation of where we are going and when, it was our combined plan for the travels JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 Flying to Singapore via Dubai leaving January 31st early in the morning. 2 days stay with Doug and family, maybe the 1* Michelin street hawker food, then onto Perth, WA to have a good look around. Maybe a Swan river trip. Then its pick up the motorhomes at Great Eastern Highway and go off exploring. So much to see in WA - Wave Rocks, The Pinnacles, Dolphins at Monkey Mia.... can't wait! At the end of Feb we catch the Indian Pacific Railway, Gold Star Service. MARCH 2017 Having got off the train in Adelaide we will stay in a cabin on the beach before flying up to Alice Springs and bathe in the famous Todd River. C&A are off to Uluru (Ayres Rock). We fly back after 3 days and pick up the motorhomes to explore amongst others the Great Ocean Road (GOR), koala's at Kennet River, wine in the Barossa Valley, the 12 apostles, whales at Warrnmbool, Sale, Mallacoota, Tathra, Eden and so much more. APRIL 2017 In the first week of April we will still be in Sydney, K&A in their apartment with pool in Beacon Hills and C&A off with Laura and Steve having fun. K&A visit John & Diana in Tasmania. We will then stay at the Kiwi Motel in Mangere, Auckland (did the NZ census here in 2013) overnight before jetting off for a relaxing week in the Raina Beach house on Rarotonga. On return its pick up the motorhomes in mangere and off to explore North island. MAY 2017 Mid may-ish we will leave north island and take the motorhomes across on the interisland ferry from wellington to picton, and see the fab queen charlotte sound. Captain Cook knew it well. Then its off to explore south island. Milford and no doubt(ful) sound plus dunedin and a whole lot more. At the end of the month we fly out of Christchurch together to Sydney where we say our good byes JUNE 2017 After Sydney C&A are flying off to Hong Kong for a few days before making their ways back to the UK. K&A will visit family for a few weeks in Singapore and then jet back home from Changi airport. CALENDARS - AFTER THE TRIP Post trip, calendar of our adventures, i.e. where we went and when #loved every moment of it, such lovely shared memories FLIGHT DETAILS FOR THE BIG TRIP 2017 Note the only difference is that at the end Chris & Allyson flew to Hong Kong for a few days and we went to Singapore for a couple of weeks before returning to the UK. What is shown in this gallery is the complete booked flight schedule. Luckily no dates or times changed during our 6 months away, unlike in 2013 when our flight from Perth to Changi was bought forward by 3 hours meaning we almost missed it, the company allegedly had no way to contact us to warn us "as if - internet was working!" ACTUAL CALENDAR FOR THE BIG TRIP 2017 Comparing what was planned against what we actually did, surprisingly there wasn't really that much difference in the schedule, maybe a few days here and there as we hadn't gone to that level of detail. It is worth reading Annie's diary in unison with these calendar views, if you would like to please click HERE To best view the calendars click on full screen, thanks Return to Menu CAMPSITES This is a pictorial history of all the campsites we stayed at our our Big Trip 2017 in both Australia and New Zealand in our hired Britz / Maui camper vans Return to Menu DISTANCES TRAVELLED To recap we travelled in our hired motorhomes in both Australia and New Zealand on our 2017 Big Trip 9337 Miles or 15026 Kilometres, WOW! Distances travelled by Keef & Annie. NOTE Here are the distances we drove ourselves whilst on THE BIG TRIP, HOLIDAY 2017 which by implication as Chris & Allyson didn't go to Tasmania and did far more walking than us and drove the west coast of North island, New Zealand whilst we did the east coast means their total distance is likely to be some what less but in reality probably not by that much. Return to Menu SINGAPORE Marine Parade & About in the City 2 Visits, Start of Holiday 31 Jan-3 Feb the End of Hols 30 May - 12 Jun See Diaries for Annie's write up "Family Time with Doug, Phoenix & Charlie" INTRODUCTION - 2 vists at start and end of the holiday Stay 1 - Sadly just 3 days on route to the southern hemisphere to break the journey but it was a chance to catch up with family and see our lovely grand daughter again. Plus some good eats esp. Quentins Eurasian with family and C&A. The Escher exhibition at Art/ Science was a particular favourite of mine. MRT coming 2023 to a station near you at Marine Parade. Love East Coast Park, helped somewhat in the jet lag stakes. Stay2 - A much longer stay this time around. 2 glorious weeks with family. National Gallery Biennele kids exhibition, Liao Fan Michelin Hawker centre, Singapore Zoo, Wet Wet Wet (Wild) park, Mustafas, Chinatown, East Coast Park BBQ and walks, Parway Parade, The supercool Library and a fab long weekend in Malaysia at Lotus Desaru Beach Hotel and now the Singapore "talkies" videos i.e. with speech (no performing rights necessary) 😉 Return to Menu AUSTRALIA Aussie Adventures, 4th February - 9th April 2017 "From Carnavon in Northern WA, On the Indian Pacific Railway, Thru the Red Centre and then around the Coast Adelaide to Sydney, Plus Popping over to Tassie & Rellies" #tshirts Campsites we stayed at in Australia Return to Menu WESTERN AUSTRALIA Includes Perth (3 days), Freemantle (Freo), Ledge point, Pinnacle National Park, Cervantes, Thirsty Point, Jurien Bay, Indian Ocean drive, Greenhough hanging tree, Geraldton, Northampton, Nerren Nerren, Billabong & Overlander roadhouses, World heritage drive, Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, Shell beach, Denham, Carnavon, Nanga, Hamelin Pool (where the desert meet the sea), Space Museum, Gascoyne River, Port Denison, Badgingarra, Moora, Brand Highway, Avon River, Northam, Crossing the flooded road nr Hyden, Wave Rock, Kalgarin farm stay, Wheatbelt, Snake, Blue tounged skinks, Tin Horse highway, Kulin, Dumbleyung, Bluebird, Mens Sheds, Railway, Farming, Boot fences, Kojonup - possibly the best campsite in the world NOT!, Rosellas, Mount Barker, Porongurup, Albany Highway, Castle Rock at the Porongurup National Park, Brig Amity, Princess Royal harbour, Middleton beach , Scenic drive Wilsons bay, Denmark, Greens pool, Elephant Rocks, Parry beach (for lunch) and the hippy in the van, valley of the Giants red tingle trees and tree top walk, Quokka on the path, Northcliffe eco park and roos plus roos jumping across road at dusk,Pemberton, Augusta, Cape Leeuwin and lighthouse, Leeuwin-Naturaliste national park,Margaret river, cape Mentelle winery, Lenton Brae winery plus tour and ladies picture of a family house in Lenton, Nottingham, we will try and find it, cheeky monkey brewery, Cowaramup, Busselton and the pier / jetty, Bunbury and Koombana bay , plus non dolphin watching, although in fairness Chris & Allyson did see one on their walk. Mangrove board walk, sub tropical flowers, Lechenault inlet and estuary, swimming in the site pool, sunbathing, chilling, intersting sub tropical birds, Avalon beach, Mandurah, Rockingham, Penguin island, seals, little blue penguins, board walks, conservation areas, Freemantle or Freo, Ferries, Van bumps, Rottnest island, Quokkas again, cycle rides, swims, guided tours, walks in the sun, history, lunch, cafes, ice creams, friends, fun, rocks, boats , blowholes, blue seas and skies and ice creams , royal perth hotel, lucky shag bar and aqua bar for our 39th wedding anniversary in perth See the diaries to accompany the videos & slideshows 4th-27th February 2017 SEE THE FULL WESTERN OZ EXPERIENCE, 1hr 19mins Campsites in Western Australia and now the western australia videos with speech, the "talkies" Return to Menu INDIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY (IPR) We have now been on 2 of the most significant railways in Australia, this IPR from Perth to Adelaide across the Nullarbor Plain, and in 2007-8 (Blog 162) on the Ghan from Darwin to Alice Springs, on the Indian Pacific we travelled in luxury in Gold Class, on the Ghan #railway we were overnight in Red class, i.e. sleeping in a chair but what an experience in both cases, we are so privileged Sunday 26th to Tuesday 28th February, Western Australia into South Australia, complete luxury, all inclusive luxury food, wine, beer and spirits plus some fab company along the way ✅ Very kind of the train's staff to help us celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary Return to Menu SOUTH AUSTRALIA Arrived by Indian Pacific Railway to the Adelaide Parklands station, we to BIG4 campsite, C&A started their cricket ground tour. Pool, beach, swimming, relaxing, reading. Adelaide airport, lockers,off to NT for a few days in Alice springs. Glenelg,Oyster bar, sunset walk, Tram, Fringe, Marina pier, Collect the vans, Tanunda, Barossa Valley, Wolf Blass, Stockwell, Angaston, Rowland Flats, Jacobs Creek, Hahndorf, Pioneers Park, Rubble,Everything Germanic, McLaren Vale, Tintara estate, Hardys, Strathalbyn, Langhorne Creek, Milang, White cockatoos or Corellas, South Australian Light railway museum, Wellington chain ferry, Charles Sturt, Lake Albert, Salt marshes, Meningie, Chinese cigars, Birdman of the Coorong, Kingston SE, Rosetown, Larry the lobster, Cape Jaffa historic lighthosue, Norfolk pines, Robe, 9 mile beach, circular town walk, Customs House, Matt Flinders,Chinese memorial, Flag hill, Harbour, Marina, Ray, Arthur Fennell Way, Pier, The Obelisk, Millicent for lunch, Mount Gambier, Blue Lake, Crater Lakes - leg of mutton (empty), valley (green algae), Hentys Monument, Wildlife park, Centenary Tower,Limestone sculpture, Pukeko or Australian swamphen,Town centre, Cave gardens, Sink Hole, Northumberland point, Port MacDonnell, Border crossing into Victoria 28th Feb - 9th March 2017 SEE THE FULL SOUTH AUSTRALIA EXPERIENCE, 18 mins Now the other slideshows mostly with text Campsites we stayed in during our time in south australia, note that when we arrived at Britz to pick up our vans off Sir Don Bradman Way our one was dramatically delayed due to the previous occupant bringing it back late, the company received there fine, but it didn't help us as we lost 1/2 a day so when we returned I claimed it back, they reimbursed us a whole day. The thing I love about all these hired motorhomes is the built in gas BBQs at the rear of the van , just wonderful. Was one hell of a job at Ledge point western australia trying to keep out the wind though, the only downside I could find and cooking fish outside the van on the BBQs is a real blessing, no lingering smells when you are tring to sleep. #hintsandtips South Oz slideshows, read the diaries alongside Camping park on the Southern Ocean that we also stayed in in 2013 (Blog 167) $200 a bottle for the Platinum wine at Wolf Blass but we preferred the Gold version at 1/5th the price. I still haven't washed my hand since Mr Wolf himself shook it way back in 2008 (see Blog 162) #claimtofame #humour #wineries we walked out to the headlands, what an incredibly hot day in robe and now the south australia talkies videos we stayed at Adelaide Shores Big 4 campsite having purchased our site membership back in the UK at a discount #membership Return to Menu NORTHERN TERRITORY 1st to 3rd March 2017 Read more about Helen McCarthy Tyalmuty Flying from Adelaide to Alice Springs over the Simpson desert and the red centre outback, MacDonnell ranges, salt lakes, dirt tracks, Elkira motel, pool, heat, humidity, flies, cockroaches (poor Allyson), Supreme Court house-fab architecture, The residency, Queen & Prince Phillip, Heritage area, RFDS-Royal Flying Doctor Service, Aboriginal Art, Anzac park, Anzac Hill lookout, Red Ochre Grill, Todd River & boat race, Alice springs desert park, Bush Bird display, Nocturnal red centre animals, Dingoes, Many Birds, Great talk from Margaret on bush tucker and medicines, Cinema experience, Roo at the Red Ochre and Pizza , Shuttle to and from airport, Airport displays, Desert scenes and clouds, close up on Adelaide and the shores.... and back in South Australia SEE THE FULL NORTHERN TERRITORIES EXPERIENCE, 10 mins we had a fab time at the Alice springs desert park, hot isn't the word for it, sadly Annie had been unwell so we scooted back to the cool interior after a while before she fainted, she really wasn't well enough to go out for the evening meal neither. keef wanted camel at the Red Ochre grill which the chef suggested wasn't a good move back in 2007-8, still not on, only kangerroo so we settled for piazza at an Italian downtown, most amusing. Also sadly the Starlight Theatre was closed and the guy who sold me my didge and taught us a little bit is now driving the hop on hop off bus around Alice, it felt a lot more run down. witchetty grub man Return to Menu VICTORIA we knew from our previous trip here that this was the place to find these cuddly sleepy creatures, well not so cuddly when you see the size and sharpness of their claws (see Blog 2007-8 162) Entered Victoria from South Australia just after Mount Gambier near Portland, Koalas, Non Fish & Chips, Speeding fines, Frightened waitress, "Kind" man who disconnected my electrics, Cape Breakwater, Discovery bay, Petrified forest, Coastal Walkway, Wind farm, Port Fairy, Poor pies, 41st Folk Festival, busy busy, Flagstaff hill, Warrnambool, Logans beach, no whales but surfers, The Great Ocean Road including Bay of Islands, Bay of Martyrs, Loch Ard Gorge, The Arch, The Grotto, London Bridge, 12 Apostles, Apollo Bay, Scenery and then some, bank holiday weekend, Princeton DOC, Giltbrook river, failed campsites then the 5* motorway service station outside Geelong, Echidnas, 3 Koalas at Kennett River, Snakes, Rock wallaby, Mt Macedon, The hump, Hanging rock, Reserve, Summit, Picnic at Hanging rock, Historic Woodend, Coburg, Melbourne, Federation square, Heritage Trams, MCG, Rod Laver arena, Olympic park, Shane Warne, the Don , Dennis Lillee, Greek Quarter, Chinatown, James Squire brewery , Busy drive out of Melbourne, Mornington peninsular, St Kilda, Brighton, Luna Park, Elwood (keefs old home in pine ave),Beach and pier at Mordialloc, Chris for a swim, Lunch at Mornington, Shopping in Frankton, Drive to Traralgon BIG4 on Princes Highway, Historic Port of Sale, White cockatoos, Lakes Entrance lookout, Lakes entrance connecting Gippsland lakes to the Bass Straits, 90 mile beach, Wood carvings, Fishing trawlers, Wood carvings, nice walks, Orbost, Snowy River, Marlo, Sammy the seal, Where the snowy river meets the bass straits, Banjo Paterson, Quirky Hats, Dredging, Sailors grave beach, cape Conran, Steps, MacKenzie river rain forest walk, Gypsy Point, Kangaroos, Boats, Mallacoota, Pelicans, Harbour, Nasty brown snake warning, Koala at campsite, Lucy's for brekkie, Shady Gully walk and nice plants, Tasman sea lookout, boats and more, Double Creek Victoria 9th to 19th March SEE THE FULL VICTORIA EXPERIENCE, 22 Mins Campsites stayed at in Victoria We revisited Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mount Macedon near Nagambi, this time Keef's knees were not up to climbing so we had a picnic with a guest roo doing a hand break turn 😉 Chris and Allyson did go up to the top, such an eerie place #scary Bad news we got speeding fines, only found out about them when family back in the UK let us know and they were not cheap... 30+ mph in the equivalent in kph looking for Greek restaurants in that quarter, mostly depleted although we did find a yummy one, just had to finish with a nice beer or 3 and now for the state of victoria's talkies videos Return to Menu NEW SOUTH WALES A Potted History Entering New South Wales (NSW) from Mallacoota (Victoria), Eden, harbour & whale museum, Old Tom, Ben Boyd , Whale lookout, Twofold bay, Pambula beach, fishing, roos, birds, Rosellas, Brewery (closed), Farm stores, Horse food, Merimbula, Tura beach, Tathra wharf and beach, Catching flatheads, plaice and salmon (well almost), Bermagui, Dalmeny, Central Tilba Historic Village (went there in 2007-8 but had forgotten its name), Borrell, Meeting up with Steve & Laura, Forsters Bay, Wagonga inlet, Narooma, Wagonga princess, Sexist jokes (not good!),Eurobodalla NP, Mill Bay boardwalk, Rays, Rain (lots), Overpriced fish & chips by campsite, Mogo, Batemans Bay, Kings Highway (B52), Great Dividing Range - no pics too scary driving, Braidswood, Bungedore, Bywong, Goulburn, Marulan (what a fab town especially like the current but actually old farming memorabilia), Mittagong, Rural NSW, Balmoral, Buxton, Thirlmere, NSW Railway museum, Cockatoos, Horses, Silverdale, Warragamba dam, visitors centre, Haviland Park, Narabeen Lakes again, Class driving campaigns, Handing van back at Britz in a new area of Mascot by airport , Public transport (bus/train/bus) back to Beacon hill apartment, Chilling, Views, Pool, BBQ, Movies, Food, Wine, Beer, Friends, Family, Bus to Manly, Manly Ferry, Harbour & Manly views, Voyager of the Seas cruise liner (D&P&C were on it 2 months later), Botanic gardens, Picnic, Mrs Macquarie's chair, Sunsets, Opera, Carmen, Voyager of the Seas, last ferry back, Possum in the park in the dark, Sunny pool days around the Bali hut, No 169 bus route & timetable i.e. the Manly bus from our pad in Beacon Hill, if you are NERDY enough look below to see that full bus timetable, anorak's at the ready, Opal cards, Seeing LION at Warringah Mall on a rainy day , C&As time in Sydney with Laura & Steve visiting Blue Mountains & Parkes observatory , Jervis bay, Snakes, Walking, Rain, Hannah and Connor visited and we had a play in the pool, Balgowlah, Lamb dinner (yummy), Lovely seeing David & Hannah again, heavy rain for a day, bright sunshine, day out in Sydney centre, manly ferry, circular quay, barangaroo wharf, cockle bay wharf, darling harbour, harbourside, Hard Rock Café (no surpise there eh Keef over 50 T-shirts now, Circular ferry trip, Pyrmont bridge, History, Milsoms point, MacMahons point, Balmain East, Luna Park, Emerald Princess, Maritime museum, Endeavour, Sunsets, Rained all day so watched goldstone (poor), noctural animals (good) and oz gogglebox, Train trip to Broadmeadow, Newcastle to visit Annie's cousin Susan, Gosford, Wygong, Hawkesbury river, back from Tassie, Ibis budget airport, Crispy Creme Doughnuts for tea (never again), fire alarm, Flight to NZ #tshirts we stayed 19th March - 4th April 2017, see the associated diary entries SEE THE FULL NEW SOUTH WALES EXPERIENCE, 47 mins The campsites we stayed at in New South Wales Australian ad campaigns are so much better than ours, they are hard hitting and get the message across, try these for size! 10 years apart but still hits the nerve in true oz style. Image slideshow coming up we visited the NSW railway museum , from the outside at least, it was at Thirlmere We stayed at our place at Beacon Hill Sydney near warringah mall and Chris & Allyson did some stuff with Laura, here is the highlights love my trad Bob Marley t-shirt which sadly now is a paint rag but I did wear it on the Bob Marley tour to One Love in Jamaica in 2018 see Blog 125 and now for the New South Wales talkies videos I now have a landscape image of this pool just above my head in the study at home, it was bliss #GIF However for the nerds amongst you and I'm happy to be in that classification here is the bus timetable we found years later from Beacon Hill to Manly which we did often, especially as the stop was just up the hill from our residence with the pool. We used Uber Oz on the last day we left peeing with rain v early in the morning and the guy didn't come, as outside Wi-Fi range had to go back in and get a second so we didn't miss our flight to Tasmania, the second was alovely student who got us there in time, we were understandably a little panicky as well as miffed, i still have $5 credit left on Uber Oz #myexcuse2return NERDSVILLE 169. Manly – City a Sydney bus via Narraweena & Seaforth Our stop Highlighted - full anarak 209541. Belgrave St near Raglan St, 209542. Pittwater Rd near Steinton St, 209543. Pittwater Rd near Pine St,209544. Pittwater Rd near Collingwood St 209545. Pittwater Rd near Balgowlah Rd,209546. Pittwater Rd near Eurobin Av,210030. Pittwater Rd near Queencliff Rd, 210032. IPittwater Rd near Oliver St 210033. Pittwater Rd near Riverview Pde,210034. Pittwater Rd near Western Av,210035. Pittwater Rd near Wakefield St ,210036. Pittwater Rd near Kentwell Rd 210037. Pittwater Rd near Sterland Av,2100111. Pittwater Rd near Warringah Mall,210015. Pittwater Rd near Roger St 210016. Pittwater Rd near Winbourne Rd 210017. Pittwater Rd near Pine Av,210018. Pittwater Rd near Federal Pde,210019. Pittwater Rd near Warringah Rd,209911. Pittwater Rd near May Rd 209912. Pittwater Rd near Pacific Pde,209913. Pittwater St Davids Av ,209996. Fisher Rd near Lewis St,209997. McIntosh Rd near Vale Av,209998. McIntosh Rd near Victor Rd 209999. McIntosh Rd near Beverley Job Park,2099100. McIntosh Rd near Mundara PI,209917. Alfred St near Oceania St,209918. Alfred St near Warringah Rd, 209992. Warringah Rd near Consul Rd,209993. Warringah Rd near Northcliffe Av,210067. Warringah Rd opp McKillop Rd, 210068. Warringah Rd near Beacon Hill Rd (see 24-30 March) 210069. Warringah Rd near Willandra Rd,2100141. Warringah Rd near Earl St,210070. Warringah Rd near O'Connors Rd,210071. Warringah Rd near Goverment Rd, 210072. Warringah Rd near Jones St,208642. French Forest Rd near Patanga Rd,208643. Frenchs Forest Rd near Hurdis Av (Annie's old residence), 208644. Frenchs Forest Rd near Skyline PI,208637. Wakehurst Pwy near Frenchs Forest Rd,208674. Warrringah Rd near Bantry Bay Rd 208638. Wakehurst Pwy near Warringah Rd 208655. Wakehurst Pwy,208712. Wakehurst Pwy near Manly Dam Res,208713. Wakehurst Pwy near Kirkwood St,209254. Wakehurst Pwy near Judith St 209246. Wakehurst pwy near Burnt St,209247. Wakehurst Pwy near Armstrong St,209231. Wakehurst Pwy near Lister Av,209232. Wakehurst Pwy near Castle Cct 209233. Clontarf St near Montauban Av,209234. Frenchs Forest Rd near Montauban Av,209235. Frenchs Forest Rd near Baringa Av,209257. Frenchs Forest Rd near Macmillan St 209252. Sydney Rd near Hope St,209335. Manly Rd near Heaton Av,209212. Manly Rd near Avona Cr,208812. Spit Rd near Parriwi Rd,2088186. Spit Rd near Medusa St 2088187. Spit Rd near Parriwi Rd,2088188. Spit Rd near Stanton Rd,2088189. Spit Rd near Awaba St,2088243. Spit Rd at Clifford St,2088190. Spit road near Military Rd 2088192. Military Rd near Wudgong St,2088193. Military Rd near Lang St,2088194. Military Rd near Belmont Rd,209059. Military Rd near Cabramatta Rd 209019. Military Rd near Hampden Av,208944. Military Rd near Rangers Rd,208913. Military Rd near Wycombe Rd,208959. Military Rd at Bydown Lane,208960. Military Rd at Watson St 208912. Military Rd near Watson St,2000133. York St at Lang Park,200035. Wynyard Station, York St - Stand N,208657. Cemtery Front Gate Hakea Av,208671. Forest Way near Warringah Rd 208697. Naree Rd near Rabbett St,208649. Rabbett St near Holland Av,208664. Warrringah Rd near Bantry Bay Rd,200025. Wynyard Station, Carrington St - Stand E,200021. Wynyard Station, Carrington St - Stand A 208947. Military Rd near Watson St,208948. Military Rd near Wycombe Rd,209021. Military Rd near Hampden Av,209058. Military Rd near Cabramatta Rd,2088176. Military Rd near Prince St 2088177. Military Rd near Lang St,2088178. Military Rd near Bond St,2088179, Military Rd near Cowles Rd,2088180. Spit Junction, Spit Rd,2088181. Spit Rd near Awaba St 2088182. Spit Rd near Bickell Rd,2088183. Spit Rd near Quakers Rd, 2088184. Spit Rd near Medusa St,2088185. Spit Rd near Pearl Bay Av,208811. Spit Rd near Parriwi Rd,209213. Battle Bvde near Manly Rd 209214. Battle Bvd near Seaforth Cr,209215. Palmerston PI near Alan Av,209216. Ponsonby Pde near Palmerston PI,209222. Ponsonby Pde near Panorama Pde,209223. Ponsonby Pde near Sydney Rd 209224. Frenchs Forest Rd near Ellery Pde,209225. Frenchs Forest Rd near Macmillan St,209236. Frenchs Forest Rd near Baringa Av 209237. Frenchs Forest near Redman St 209238.Clontarf St near Montauban Av 209239. Wakehurst Pwy near Castle Cct,209240. Wakehurst Pwy near Lister Av, 209241. Wakehurst Pwy near Armstrong St,209242. Wakehurst Pwy near Burnt St 209243. Wakehurst Pwy near Judith St,209253. Wakehurst Pwy near Kirkwood St,208711. Wakehurst Pwy near Manly Dam Res,208630. Wakehurst Pwy,208631, Wakehurst pwy near Warringah Rd 208639. Frenchs Forest Rd near Skyline PI 208640. Frenchs Forest Rd near Romford Rd,208641. Frenchs Forest Rd near Inverness Av,208617. Frenchs Forest Rd near Patanga Rd 2100142. Warringah Rd near Jones St 2100143. Warringah Rd near Ellis Rd 2100144. Warringah Rd near Oxford Falls Rd,2100113. Warringah Rd near Cornish Av,2100114. Warringah Rd near Willandra Rd 2100139. Warringah Rd opp Beacon Hill Rd, us again on the return journey, 2100140. Warringah Rd near McKillop Rd,2099106. Warringah Rd near Princess Mary St 2099107. Warringah Rd near Waratah Pde,2099108. Warringah Rd near Alfred St,2099119. Alfred St near Warringah Rd,2099120. Alfred St near Amaral St,2099122. Alfred St near McIntosh Rd 2099115. McIntosh Rd near Mundara PI 2099116. McIntosh Rd near Victor Rd 2099117. McIntosh Rd near Vale Av 2099118. Fisher Rd near St David Av,209922. Pittwater Rd near Howard Av 209923. Pittwater Rd near Pacific Pde,210021. Pittwater Rd near Harbord Rd,210022. Pittwater Rd near Carter Rd ,210023. Pittwater Rd near Mitchell Av,210025. Pittwater Rd near Chard Rd 210026. Pittwater Rd near Orchard Rd,2100131. Pittwater Rd near Warringah Mall Stand A,210041.Pittwater Rd near Sterland Av 210042. Pittwater Rd near Corrie Rd 210043. Pittwater Rd near Wakefield St,210044. Pittwater Rd near Western Av,210045. Pittwater near Riverview Pde ,210046. Pittwater Rd near Oliver St 210047.Pittwater Rd near Aitken Av 209547. Pittwater Rd near Eurobin Av,209548. Pittwater Rd near Balgowlah Rd 209549. Pittwater Rd near Collingwood St 209550. Pittwater Rd near Pine St 209551. Pittwater Rd near Carlton St,209552. Pittwater Rd near IRagIan St,209553. Belgrave St near Sydney Rd 209554. West Esplanade Stand B - MANLY Return to Menu TASMANIA Early morning flight from Sydney to Launceston, Car hire, Evendale, Midland Highway, Powranna, Epping Forest, Cleveland, Campbelltown, Convicts and their memorial bricks laid, Nice egg and bacon pies, Wood carvings, Sunshine, Elizabeth river, Loggers, Conara, A4 Esk main road, Avoca, Fingal, St Mary's, Volcanic Mount, Purple possum café, Break O'Day municipality, Cornwall, Gray, Chain of Lagoons, Seymour, Douglas River, Tasman Highway, Bicheno, Picnics, Views, Scuba Divers, whales (if only!), Apslawn, Cranbrook, Swansea, John & Diana - so nice to see them again, wonderful hospitality, 9 mile beach, Mayfield, Rocky hill beach, Spiky bridge & beach, Swansea pier and beach, Freycinet national park, visitors centre, Wine glass bay, Cape Tourville lighthouse, the Road rage guide, Gravel roads, Friendly beaches, sunshine, fun, walks, Surfing, pristine empty beaches, Oyster bay, The Hazards, Coles bay, Triabunna, Maria island, Ferry, Tassie devils, Orford, Prosser estuary, Café, Cricket, Raspins Spit & beach & dunes, Petanque, History, East coast heritage museum @ Swansea, Tarlton, Thylacine (now sadly extinct, lets hope the Tassie Devils and Koalas don't go the same way - please!), Convicts, Family, Up early, Say goodbye, Back to Launceston Airport SEE THE FULL TASSIE EXPERIENCE, 10 Mins and now for the Tasmanian slideshows, enjoy now for the talkies from Tasmania 2017, when we went in 2007 we hired a car and spent 2 weeks "discovering" tassie, i remember being off road and being confronted by a wallaby Return to Menu THE COOK ISLES We stayed on RAROTONGA, Raina Beach House, 10-17 April 2017 "Paradise Home by the Sea" for a change lets have the talkies first for rarotonga our evening out is on here, lovely food, lovely setting, lovely friends and now for the photo slideshows featuring the new yes album 2021 I'm getting a collection of pacific island driving licenses , I already have one from Tonga in 2007 Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND Kiwi Adventures, 9th April - 30th May 2017 "North & South Island by Interisland Ferry, Wellington to Picton" INTRODUCTION NORTH ISLAND We landed in Auckland back from the Cook Isles and picked up our motorhomes and headed north to Cape Reinga, (don't mention the tyre). Love Northlands. We also visited Orewa & Whangerai together before C&A principally did the west coast and us the east pulling in Coromandel, Port Jackson, Papamoa beach, Gentle Annie pass, Hastings before making our way south to Wellington where we met up before catching the Interisland ferry to south island. We also met up at Whakapapa village en route. SOUTH ISLAND We landed at Picton and visited the fabulous Queen Charlotte sound before taking in such places as Nelson (WOW museum of wearable art and classic cars) , Abel Tasman NP , Kaikoura , Christchurch (although sadly still devastated by the 2010 quake), Dunedin & the Otago peninsular, Akaroa, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Te Anau and a whole lot more before returning to Christchurch and a last Lone star meal before flying back via Sydney to Hong Kong & Singapore respectively. Return to Menu NORTH ISLAND NEW ZEALAND Arrived (1st time) in Auckland from Sydney, Overnight then Cook Isles, Walk, Wait, Agapanthus, Arrived (2nd time) from Rarotonga, Cook Isles. 3 days central area, harbour, wharves, ferries,coast to coast walk (for C&A) , Maritime museum, murals, tepid baths,Britomart, Queens wharf, Quay st, Federal St, Churches, slopes,Hobson west marina, Masters games, Wynyard quarter, amazing architecture,Fish market, Heritage landing, North Wharf, Sarah, Pier 4, Rangitoto, Volcanic explorer tour,Summit views, Motutapu, Lava, Sunshine, Day out in Devonport, The Arcade, Esplanade Hotel,Victoria Road, King & Queens parade, various reserves, Mount Victoria, Clarys, Haircut, Hauraki gulf, Auckland art gallery, Maoiri paintings,The body laid bare exhibition, Joseph at the Civic, Collecting vans at Richard Pearce drive, Mangere, Auckland, Extra hidden costs, Orewa, Beach, Man with tourettes, Orewa beach,Countdown/Pac-N-Save/New World,shells, historic Puhoi, Twin coast highway, Mangawhai heads, Ruakaka beach, Whangerai, Hatea river, Town basin, glassblowing, canopy bridge, Tutikaka, Matapouri, Kawakawa, Ohua, Okiato, Russell, Hundertwasser, Hangi,Clapham clocks, Waterfall , Manawoara, Rawhiti, wetlands, marae, Waimarama bay, Bay of Islands, Historic Russell, pier, boat ramps, ferries, sunshine, exotic sub tropical plants, Tapeka point, Rocky bay reserve, Weka, Paihai, Water taxis, Waitangi, Whangaroa, marlin, wharfs & jetties, Volcanic plus, 90 mile beach, Twilight beach, Tapotupotu bay, DOC, Tyres R Us, Kevin the AAman, Cape Reinga, Lighthouse, Te Paki reserve, Old Kahina tree, Views to die for, Te Paki sand dunes, Broadwood, Kohukohu, Hokianga ferry, Twin coast highway, Rawene, Opononi, Aria-te-aru reserve, South heads, historic Dargaville, meeting up with C&A again in countdown car park, Donelly crossing, loggers, fab kiwi trees, Kaiwaka, farm stay, outside loo with a view, C&A visited lake Kai Iwi on the way to Dargaville, we did east coast, they did west coast, remet Whakapapa village then Wellington, Kaipara coast sculpture park, Helensville, Ginger crunch railway cafe, flat whites, Railways, Thames, Coromandel peninsular & Forest park, Wharf, Ferry, Shelly beach, Colville, Horse, Wahine, Music festival, Buddist retreat, Port Jackson, gravel road,Top of coro, Mercury bay, Tairua, freedom camping, waves, rain (lots),fishing off rocks, Waihi beach, Katikati, murals, Mount Manganui, Pilot bay, Marine parade, Motuotou & Moturiki islands, boysenberry icecream, Papamoa beach, beach street, strelitzia,Maori sculpture, bluebiyou restuarant, chalets, sunshine, relaxing, fun, chatting to guy from england , Pikowai, Pacific coast highway, Te Puke, Thornton, Whakatane, 2 islands, Smokin' volcano, Edgecumbe floods, Mt Edgecombe, Galatea road, sickly horse, Lunch at lake Aniwhenua, autumn colours, Hydro electric dam, Kopuriki, Road only just opened due to floods, Murupara, Maori funeral, Forests, Lake Taupo, Reids Carving, Breweries, Fooderies, Outrigger boats, Tourist info, icecream, Lake lookout, DOC site, Free, Tongariro views, sunsets, fishing boats, great sleep, cold at night - getting so, 5 mile bay site, Motuoapa bay, licorice (spelling haha!) cafe, flat whites, black swans, novelty VW cabins, Desert road, Turangi,National Park, Restuarant (not this time), Tranz Alpine station, Whakapapa village, rain, meeting up with C&A again at the dump station, Visitors centre, Cafe coffee, snow, Chateau Tongariro, Taihape, Gumboots, Spooner hill road, sheep, cows, Gentle annie pass, Moawhango, views to die for, Rangitikei river, Silverdale historic bridge, Valleys, Mountains, Hastings , 1930s architecture,Queens & Railway St, Westermans, Clock tower, Te Mata peak, Ocean beach, Waimarama, Blue cod, Fish & chips St Aubyn st, Surfers, Havelock north, Duart house and gardens, Murals, Wineries, Tukituki river, Kairakau beach, reflections, Paua shells, ice creams at waipawa, Waipukurau, Lake Hatuma, Wanstead, Wallingford bridge, sheep (again), Porangahau, Never finding the beach down the gravel road (cooks tooth), Longest name of place in the world (no don't ask me to spell it ;) ) ,Pacific Ocean, Cape Turnagain, Our hero Capt Cook, Herbertville, Wimbeldon, Route 52, Pongaroa, Eketahuna, Pagans, Hippies, Sacrificing virgins (ok maybe not!), Electricity, Late at night, Kiwi country, Herberts store, Steak & Cheese Pies, Museum, Masterton, Wool shed, Joseph Masters, Queen Elizabeth park, Aratoi, Maori ripoff, Tinui, Anzac church & cross, Castlepoint, Deliverance cove, Riversdale beach, Wairarapa wine region, late night into Martinborough, Memorial square, Pain & Kershaw, lake Ferry, Lake Okone and spit, old motorhomes, Cape Palliser, Paua shells, Palliser bay, Ngawi, Tractors, Rock lobster, Road slips,Putangirua pinnacles , Wellington Top10 campsite (so changed), Harbour from Pencarrow head to Lyall bay, shells, ferries, Ward island, Wellesley college, Eastbourne, Day bay,Wahine disaster,Moa point, Middle earth, Trolley buses, Waterfront at night, Te Papa, Macs Brewery, Curry, up early for Interislander ferry, Traffic jams SEE THE FULL NORTH ISLAND EXPERIENCE, 1hr 55mins north island campsites including our all time fave papamoa beach now for the north island slideshows, there are a lot of them we were here for quite a while, the first is prior to slipping in and then off to cook isles then back such fabulous art work at kawakawa love russell and kiwi's and weka's and weta's if you can find them fun on the ferry after getting Chris's tyre fixed they returned to Britz in Auckland to get a solid repair before moving on, we took the scenic route down the quiet west coast of northlands, avoiding highway 1 a very different coalville #smile #humour loving this site Papamoa possibly the best campsite in the world, Darlington beach nsw ain't bad either #campsites #hintsandtips Met up with C&A again here, chris had his hand down the dunny sluice trying to retrieve the water tank lid I think that had how shall we say "get mislaid" loving this spelling bee and now for the north island talkies Return to Menu SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND 11th -29th May 2017, see the accompanying diaries A Summary of some of the things we did and saw Arrived in Picton from Wellington on the Interislander ferry, Early morning start, Very wet day (haha welcome to south island), Shakespeare bay, Queen Charlotte Sound, Queen Charlotte drive, Ngakuta bay, Havelock, Green Mussels (yummy), Read all about mussels opposite (please) its very informative, Lady from Auckland, Freshness, straight from the sea, Long windy wet drive to Nelson, Town centre camp site over a bridge with a stream, nice calming stream noises, WOW museum and classic cars, so many clever costumes (see the slideshows), Lippydeema, Lord Maharajah and the Star bride, Goodbye Versaille starring Mrs Du Barry's monkey, Ishmaelian wingflapper to name but a few... go on look, you wont be disappointed.... What's the line "WOW makes Lady Gaga look like a librarian", Amazing Bras, Cars were Minis , Locomobiles, Vauxhall Vivas, Shaguar and many more, Tahunanui beach reserve , Board walks, Lunch, Winery areas, Pears, Apples, Kaiteriteri, Beach front history, sunsets, Wilsons ferries, Beached Whale pub, Fire, Singing barman, Rugby - Christchurch Vs Wellington, Abel Tasman National Park, The man who emptied his loo in the water area and covered it with leaves (Yuk! Sick!), Abel Tasman boat trip, Totaroa, Awaroa, Medlands, Tonga Quarry, Torrent Bay, Bark Bay, Picnic, Coffee, Wind & Sun, New Zealand fur seal, Adele island and many other islands, kayaking, Solar panels, Tides , Motueka river, Kahurangi National park, Low cloud, Hinetai hops, Tapawera,Railways, Old police stations, Wooden Cow, Eels, Lake Rotoiti, Mr Angry and his boat, St Arnaud, Lake Rotoroa, Wet feet, nature walk, Red toadstools, Trees, colourful leaves, Buller river, Murchison, Heritage area, Fuel fillup, Buller Gorge Swing bridge, Waterfalls, Earthquakes, Floods, 2010,1929,White creek peninsular circular walk, Wagtails, Wekas, Bushline walk, Araki waterfalls, Logging on the buller,Springs junction for a pie lunch, Lewis pass, Waiau river, Kaikoura range, Road to Kaikoura Highway 70 via Rotherham and Waiau as SH1 closed due to Kaikoura earthquake 2016, Kaikoura camp site, Fish & Chips in town at No2, the best one (Tiki Takeaways) was sadly closed, Fyffe Quay, Old House chimney remains, Mountains, Snow covering, Boardwalk, The Point, Seal colony, No fishing, Smells, Views, Seals asleep on boardwalk and rocks, Road back, Many roadslips, Woodchester, Monet autumn views, man with coffee, Rejoin empty SH2 via Waiau, Christchurch, Britz office, Extra bedding, C&As van fixed - brakes/ headlamp bulb, Ours for internal light only, School party and rain at Christchurch Top10 site, Blue route bus into Bus station, Ballantynes department store, Devestation, Sad, Cathedral, Customs House, Chalice sculpture, Vintage trams, New Regent Street, Murals, Container City, Quake museum, Kiwi humour in the face of adversity, Columbo street, Mexican restaurant, Workman everywhere, often playing, Rain, Loosing each other on ring road around the airport, Sheffield pies,West coast road, Lake Lyndon, Castle Hill, snow, mountains, roads, State Highway 73, Kumara Junction, Great alpine way, Grasmere, Lake Pearson, great farming flats, Cass laggon track, Otira gorge and viaduct, Jackson tavern, Arthurs pass, Arthurs pass national park, Waimakariri river, Railways,Tranz alpine, Bridal veil falls and lookout, Visitors centre, Cobb & co stagecoach, Devils punchbowl bridge,Kumara gold town, Theatre, Hokitika, Tasman sea, Old town, Signs and chairs, Glow worms, Rainbows (lots of them), Ross Gold mining town, gaol, Heritage walk, Gold panning, Chinese influence, Jones flats, Museum, De Bakker cottage, Philip Ross May (local hero & Historian),Autumn colours, Mine shaft, Catholic church, Mining Memorabilia, New ross gold mine, Hari Hari, Guy Menzies, 1st solo flight Oz to Nz, Southern cross junior, Lunch, Whataroa river, Glacier flights, Rain, Glacier highway, Franz Josef wet walk, receding glacier, pain in knees , Lake Ianthe, Fox Glacier, Blue lake, Moraine, Haast valley, Bruce Bay, Stones for messages, Lake Matheson walks and views, Cafe, Coffee, Snow cover peaks, Knights point lookout, Whale watching, Mother and calf, Fox Glacier ski village, Pollax point peaks, Haast village, Haast campsite, Sunset, Eeerie colours on the peaks, Having to move pitches as the power didn't work at Haast Top10, Haasy-Jackson Bay road, Oturu, Harbour, Fan tails, Oturu river, Whitebait, Lobsters, Bridges (many), Neils Beach, Shearwaters, Hannahs crossing, Jackson Bay, Wharf (dodgy), Visitors centre, Whalers chimney remains, Whale (sighted by Annie), Pioneers, Fishing community, Return to Haast, Fuel station out, haast pass, Cameron Flat, Lunch, Mt Brewster and others, more snow, Mount Aspiring, Lake Wanaka, The Neck, Lake Hawea, Boundary Creek, Makarora Jack, Albert Town, Hawea, Wanaka, Snow predicted -2 it didnt arrive (hooray), Cold at night, Wanaka shore line, Luggate, Old motor cars, Town hall, Luggate - Cromwell Road, Tannersley estate vineyard, Lake Dunstan, 45th parallel, Lowburn, Mountain reflections, Cool seed pods, The Remarkables,Cromwell town - both new and old, Printing presses, Horses, Cartwheels, Paua art,Fruit town, sunshine, Goldfields, Kawarau gorge, Roaring Meg, Hydro power, A J Hackett bungy jumping, Warm outdoor fires, kawarau bridge, Shotover gorge, Queenstown campsite, Lake Wakatipu, Rainbows, Snow, Lumsden junction, Kingston, Old railway bridge, Garston, Mossburn, Stock crossing, Te Anau, lake Te Anau, Picture drome, Library, Coffee, Float planes, Kelpler track, Layby with Kea, Naughty alpine parrots - Kea, Car stripping trims, Homer Tunnel, waterfalls, Road slips, Rain, Milford sound lodge and camping ground, Milford village, Cruise terminal, Milford Mariner (our nature cruise boat), Nature cruise, NZ fur seals, Heron, Milford Sound is one of the true modern wonders of the world, Sigh loved it and nice to do it with pals, Low clouds, Mitre peak, The footstool, Sindbad gully, Many cruise liners, Massive crowds, Fur seals, Coffee, Warmth, Winds and cold,Tutoko Historic Suspension Bridge , Valley and river, Hollyford river and lookout, The Chasm walk and Kea (again) , Homer tunnel return, Mirroe lakes, such reflections, Ta Anau again, pitch where we camped in a tent in 2008, still there by the roses, Mossburn deer capital of NZ, red tussock grass, Lumsden, Gore, Clock tower and art gallery, Balclutha for a fab fish & chip lunch, Southern scenic highway, Dunedin, Otago peninsular (right hand coast), Taiaroa head scenic reserve, Royal Albatross centre, Prince Charles, Pilots beach, Blue Penguins (see video part 4), Portobello, Company bay, Broad bay, Wycliffe bay, Hooper inlet, Sandfly bay, Cape Saunders, Pilot beach viewing platform, Waiwhakeheke bay, Lighthouse, Dick Road, Allan beach, Sheep branding, Flotsam & jetsam, Lovely beach flowers, Highcliff road (scary and roadslips but great views), Dunedin city, Signal Hill lookot and memorial, University Oval cricket ground Dunedin, Baldwin street (the steepest in the world and I have the t-shirt somewhere to prove it!), Dunedin station lit up, travelling back to Portobello around the peninsular at night spectacular lights, Dunedin Vogel street murals, Blueskin Road, 19 Fathoms Foul memorial, Robert Falcon Scott memorial, Blueskin bay, Quarentine and Rakiriri islands, Waikouaiti and river, Karitane, Seacliff lookout, Pies in Waikouati village, Bushy beach reserve, Hide, Yellow eyed penguins, Oamaru victorian precinct, Jetty, Friendly Bay,Farmers market, Grain stores, Brewery, Distillery, Station, Picture frame, Steam punk (lots of it - class),Fat controller and the steam railway,Rakaia - salmon capital and goal, Banks Peninsular, Hilltop views, Akaroa, French very french, Jetty, Cinema, Passport office, Monet, Bedroom with a view, Churches, Roses, cats, Barrys bay, Little river, Silo stays, Over the hills in the rain, Gebbies pass, Dyers pass,Sugar loaf scenic reserve, Riccarton, Apollo motel (room11), Lone star last supper, Early rise, nice family, Airport off to Singapore (us), Hong Kong (C&A), tears, coffee in Sydney airport airside, Great times SEE THE FULL SOUTH ISLAND EXPERIENCE, 1 hr 57mins south island campsites To see the Dunedin Albatross live webcam, click here Albatross Cam To see Milford Sounds top 6 waterfalls click here Milford Sound Lodge and Camping was where we stayed Top 6 Waterfalls what can I say #wow museum of wearable art near nelson wow both glaciers had receded in about 10 years #COP26 Queenstown, dangerous and extreme sports watching not doing, some snow around as well especially when we were travelling time for the steepest street in the world I have the t-shirt already at the end of this we returned to Singapore and more time with the family, we all 4 flew via Sydney and said our tearful good byes Return to Menu Whilst with family in Singapore we had a luxury weekend away in Desaru, Malaysia, pretty close by ferry from Singapore MALAYSIA, DESARU Desaru Resort , Bandar Panewar,Johor Coastline 3 Day Weekend Break - 9-11 June 2017 "Family Time with Doug, Phoenix & Charlie" INTRODUCTION - 3 Day Break A long weekend away in Desaru, Johor travelling by ferry from Changi ferry port by the MV Falcon 3 to Tanjung Belungkor ferry terminal in malaysia and then transported by people mover provided by hotel 35km to the beach resort. Nice facilities, 2 pools and a waterpark plus really good food and a colonial feel to the lawn and buildings plus charlie loved the old fire engine and bird house. All in all a fab family weekend away. Lotus desaru, 113 images covering amongst others tangjung belangkor, ferry from changi, the reach, buffet restaurants, paw patrol, early swimming to keep cool, amusements, tigers, block e, last rivers, meals, seafood, mexican, boats, rickshaws, fire engines, parascending, seabass, seaside fun, holiday in the sun, 3 day long weekend, mv falcon 3, fireworks, waterfall, relaxation, palm trees, taxi rides, seaview restaurant, steep down to beach, teratai coffee house, hibiscus, limbongan maju, marina island, love prata, block e room 407 and now the fun slideshows and now the talkies Return to Menu AUDIOBOOKS

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 3 2021 14.22 pm This is a retrospective Blog, we were away between 22nd January and 23rd April 2013. 92 glorious days on what we affectionately termed our "3rd holiday of a lifetime" well in print at least. Suggestion use the BIG TRIP maps to scale in and out if you wish Another big trip featuring hired motorhomes but this time including the fabulous wedding of our son Doug and his beautiful bride Phoenix plus in Australia we stayed with our niece Hannah and her hubby in Sydney as well as visiting lifelong friend Chris's daughter Laura who likewise lived in Sydney and rather coincidentally already knew Hannah and David from travels. We went back in 2017 with our dear pals Chris & Allyson (see Blog 168) If you want to see the full reworked site click on HOLIDAY 2013 , thanks, you will also be able to listen to the Audio book of Annie's diary there as well should you so choose to do. We joined the BIG 4 campsites whilst in Australia which certainly saved us money on our overnight camping. We also signed up with Top Tourists Parks (by 2022 they have been renamed G'Day Parks ) Just a couple of tips for fellow motor homers. In New Zealand we joined the equivalent site clubs which were called Top 10 and Kiwi Holiday Parks campsites. MENU Go to 1. Summary 2. Trip Calendar 3. Certificate for crossing the Nullarbor Plain #tick 4. Route, Flags & Money 5. Diary 6. Malaysia Overall 7. Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 22-24 Jan 2013 8. Malaysia, Kuah Town, Langkawi Island, 25-27 Jan 2013 9. Malaysia Langkawi Boat Trip, 28-29 Jan 2013 10. Malaysia, Doug & Phoenix's Wedding, 30 Jan 2013 🌠 11. Malaysia, Berjaya to Penang 31 Jan-2 Feb 2013 12 . Malaysia, Georgetown Penang 3-5 Feb 2013 13. Malaysia, Malacca "The Historic State" 13-14 Apr 2013 14. Old Skool Malaysia #nerd 15. New Zealand Overall 16. New Zealand , Orewa 6-8 Feb 2013 17. New Zealand, Tutakaka Coast 9-11 Feb 2013 18. New Zealand, Keri Keri 12-14 Feb 2013 19. New Zealand, Coromandel 15-17 Feb 2013 #paulmcartney 20. New Zealand, Bay of Plenty 18-20 Feb 2013 21. New Zealand, Hawkes Bay, 21-23 Feb 2013 22. New Zealand, Tongariro Area, 24-26 Feb 2013 23. New Zealand, Taranaki, 27 Feb - 1 Mar 2013 24. New Zealand, Back to Auckland, 2 - 5 Mar 2013 25. Australia Overall 26. Australia, Vaucluse, New South Wales (NSW) , 6-8 Mar 2013 27. Australia, Sydney Area, NSW, 9-11 Mar 2013 28. Australia, North Shores, NSW, 12-14 Mar 2013 29. Australia, Tasmania, 15-17 Mar 2013 30. Australia , Tasmania & South Australia, 18-20 Mar 2013 31. South Australia, 21-23 Mar 201 32. Coffin Bay National Park, South Australia, 24-26 Mar 2013 #dolphins 33. The Nullarbor Plain, South to Western Australia, 27 Mar - 1 Apr 2013 34. Last 2 visits in Australia and all of Singapore continued in Part 2 35. Diaries for Malaysia and New Zealand available in Part 3 36. Diaries for Australia and Singapore available in Part 4 SUMMARY Read the Diaries, Look at the Slideshows, See the You Tube Videos, Use the Drop down to Explore, 3 Days at a Time (mostly) Have Fun OVERVIEW 2013 We have been lucky enough to spend 3 months away again recently, firstly in Malaysia where our youngest son "Mr Douglas" got married on the lovely island of Langkawi. Our time in Malaysia included Kuala Lumpur (KL to its friends), Langkawi , Georgetown (Penang) and latterly Melaka (Malacca - the Unesco World Heritage site) via Johor Bahru (JB to its friends). We then hired a Motorhome for a month to travel around the top half of North Island New Zealand (NZ). We had already spent 4 months seeing North & South island of this lovely country back in 2007/8 and wanted to see the places we missed out on last time, namely Cape Reinga, 90 mile beach, Hot water beach and the forgotten world highway. After NZ we returned to Australia both of us for the 4th time. Starting in Sydney with family & friends we had a great time. Then Tasmania again with family we flew into Adelaide to pick up our motorhome to travel the Nullarbor plain from east to west but this time with a built in external gas BBQ, bliss! Including our previous trips to OZ we have now travelled around the outside from Cooktown (QLD) to Geraldton (WA) plus Broome, Kunnarra, Darwin (NT) and thru the middle on the Ghan including Alice & Uluru. We have been to all States and can thoroughly recommend Oz to anyone wanting an adventure. We HEART Oz & Nz big style. We finished our trip with 2 weeks in lovely Singapore with Doug and his new wife "Mrs Phoenix". If we tot up the miles / kilometres we drove on this trip we can say we drove the equivalent of the distance from London to Tashkent (Uzbekistan).It is nice being back in the UK now to our own little Motorhome with a whole host of new & exciting trips to look forward to . This blog shows some of our best pictures and Anne's diary as a memory of a truly wonderful time. Love K&A . We drove 7253 miles in total whilst away in both hire cars and motorhomes. Summary of total miles driven 7253 In Motorhomes 6369 (2559 in NZ, 3810 in Australia of which 742 were crossing the Nullarbor Plain), In Cars 884 (Sydney 187, Langkawi 342, Johor 2 Melaka 355) I suggest you read each section visited in conjunction with the appropriate days dairy, thanks for looking As Moonfruit died on 7th December 2021 my previous HOLIDAY2013 site which contained our BIG TRIP in 2013 (sometimes we called it the third holiday of a lifetime 😉) was migrated by Yell to WIX. I have decided to incorporate it here into my motorhome-travels blog uk site as an insurance against Yell increasing site charges quite substantially once a year is up, it will then be easy to remove the migrated site if I chose to. This is what the old HOLIDAY2013 home page looked like More Intro images from our 2013 wonderful trip Return to Menu CALENDAR Return to Menu NULLARBOR CERTIFICATE Return to Menu ROUTE, FLAGS & MONEY This is our Round the World Ticket (RTW) summary to show where and what Flags from the places we visited and when we visited them, it shows the duration of stay in each country Currency converters we used, obviously current way back in 2013 Here are the currencies we used on our third holiday of a lifetime (actually Annie & my 4th visit), both notes and coins Return to Menu DIARY Complete DIARY written by Annie, for ALL 91 DAYS of our THIRD HOLIDAY OF A LIFETIME, thanks for looking, love Keef & Annie x The reality of course if you include our time living down under as kids this is our 4th holiday of the lifetime. Each page on the Diary video slideshow is set for 20 seconds which hopefully is long enough to read each page, clearly if it is not either rewind the page back and/or halt it playing to complete your read or if the reverse is true I suggest doing a "fast forward" Return to Menu MALAYSIA Including amongst others Langkawi,Penang, Malacca, Georgetown , 1st visit 23rd January to 5th February , then the second visit 12th April to 14 April, 17 days in total We were in Malaysia twice during our 3 months away. Initially for Doug & Phoenix's wedding on the lovely island of Langkawi and then again when we visited them at their home in Singapore where we slipped back over the border via Woodlands crossing into Johor (JB) before driving up to the Unesco World Heritage site @ Malacca (Melaka in Malay). Our 1st stay in Malaysia was initially centred around Kuala Lumpar (KL) using the Hop On Hop Off bus (HOHO) to look at various things then onto Langkawi then for 3 days at the end in Georgetown Penang another Unesco World Heritage site at Cheong Fatt Tze's Blue Mansion. Annie kept a diary and you can read that here on the website day by day as well as see the pictures we took as memories on each day. If you prefer to speed that viewing up you can view the slideshows for this country on each of those days. Malaysian HIGHLIGHTS:- Doug & Phoenix's wedding Unesco Blue Mansion Georgetown Exotic Fruits Chinatown & Little India, Georgetown Evening tour of Malacca Food @ Concorde Inn KL Mr Li's tea house Melaka Monkeys on Bunting Island & Basah Bahai Pregnant Maiden Lake Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt from Malacca & Batu Ferrighe Penang Nasi Goreng Malaysian LOWLIGHTS:- Bumps on island boat hop Langkawi Rats in roads & smells on Melaka River Now the Malaysian slideshows and the Malaysian talkies Return to Menu MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur, 22-24 Jan 2013 Arriving from the UK and Snow to 30c & Jet Lag & Discovery, Malaysia 22-24 Jan 2013, Kuala Lumpur , plus a verbal reading of the diary covering amongst others concorde inn , leaving uk in snow, istana negara / national palace, menara tower, st marys cathedral, petronus twin towers, batu auch, batu linting, year of the snake, china town, burial poles, malay traditional housing, national museum, dataran merdeka square, cricket, colonialism, poverty, endless motorcycles , lovely hibiscus flowers, hop on hop off bus tour , no of images = 121 in selective slideshows KL slideshows, read in conjunction with diaries #justsayin Return to Menu MALAYSIA, Kuah Town, Langkawi Island, 25-27 Jan 2013 Arriving from KL and meeting up with family at the De Baron Hotel, Malaysia 25-27 Jan 2013, Kuah Town, Capital of Langkawi Island, plus a verbal reading of the diary covering amongst others leaving the Concorde inn KL and flying to Langkawi island, De Baron Hotel, hire car, lovely swimming pools, sunset views and strolls, no durian in lifts, Taylor Swift's red, straits of Malacca, jacaranda trees and pods, family arriving for wedding, 1st meal of tricky curried prawns at sunset, air con, such fun! The no of images in the selective slideshow is 51 Our selective slideshows with music and / or speech will show some of the scenes we saw and record our memories, here are the Kuah Town slideshows Return to Menu MALAYSIA, Islands Boat Trip Plus Pantai Chenang, Langkawi Island, 28-29 Jan 2013 Beras Besah & Dayang Bunting Islands, Parascending and Waterworld, Malaysia 28-29 Jan 2013, Islands & Pantai Chenang, plus a verbal reading of the diary covering amongst others palau (or islands), salat began nyior, dayang bunting, beras basah island, palau tuba, kentut basah island, underwater world, pantai chenang, family fun, lunch at yellow beach café, smelly drains, taxi, hire car, sunsets, parascending, birds, fishes, reptiles, rain forest gardens, sun burn, ice creams. No of images in selective slideshow = 126 Plus Brian's video of fun in Langkawi pre Wedding Return to Menu MALAYSIA, Tangjung Rhu Resort, Langkawi Island, 30 Jan 2013 Doug & Phoenix's Wedding, Tangjung Rhu Resort with family and friends, karaoke, food, ceremony on the beach, wedding breakfast and chinese tea ceremony , beach skittles and the band, a lovely day ,the number of images in the selective slideshows is 93, so so happy for them both The top Wedding Pictures, many many more obviously on the slideshow and now all those lovely wedding slideshows, enjoy, we certainly did That's all Folks Return to Menu MALAYSIA, Berjaya to Penang 31 Jan-2 Feb 2013 Leaving family after the Wedding, Oriental Village, Elephant rides & Lebanese meals then goodbyes and onto Penang, Malaysia 31 Jan-2 Feb 2013, Skycab, Oriental Village, Berjaya resort, Plus Reading Annie's Diary, covering amongst others airport, berjaya hotel resort, eagle quay, shops, batik, pantai chenang, pantai kok, seawed crisps, penang, bayview hotel, Georgetown, drove 225 miles on langkawi, hire car, taxi, permata kedah, Langkawi jewel of kedah, skycab, cable cars, oriental village, mount machinchang, family, parascending, Lebanese meal, farewell to Brian & Gina, Craig & Leanne, Doug & Phoenix, 51 images in the selective slideshow. The 31st January was Chinese New Year that Year and now the slideshows Return to Menu MALAYSIA, Georgetown Penang 3-5 Feb 2013 Stayed Bay View Hotel, Saw UNESCO World Heritage Mansion, plus a lot of this historic Town, Malaysia 3-5 Feb 2013, Georgetown Penang , 2 selective slideshows includes reading diary, covering amongst other the blue mansion, UNESCO world heritage, lonely planets top 10 visits, cheong fatt tze’s mansion, Penang bridge, Georgetown, bay view hotel, batu ferringhe, town hall, wedding poses, china town, little India, temples, incense, the esplanade, industry, shop houses, hard rock café, hard rock hotel, lazy river, the Beatles memorabilia, Penang, airports, Air Asia flights. There were 133 images. The Beatles #music #classy #fabfour Return to Menu MALAYSIA, Malacca "The Historic State" 13-14 Apr 2013 Stayed at Mr & Mrs Li Wee's traditional Tea House with Doug & Phoenix, Malaysia 13-14 April 2013, Malacca “The Historic State” plus reading diary, Melaka or Malacca, city of bridges, mr and mrs li wee, tea house stay, unesco world heritage site, melaka river, cruises, jambalan tan bin seng, chan koon cheng, old bus station bridge, kompung morten, wateredge walks, shop houses, bastion Victoria, jonkers walk, night market, mr li’s taxi trip, famous chicken and rice, fortress st john, chetti village, museums, Maritime museum, jonkers gallery, many churches, early Christianity, mosque by coast, sila tanggalhan, street kebabs and portugese shell fish restaurant by the harbour, orang utan shop, great to spend so much time with doug & phoenix, west ham drinks glasses, 112 images in the selective slideshows and now the Melaka slideshows OLD SKOOL MALAYSIA an example of what the old website looked like, i.e. the very first version in 2013 what Moonfruit called its V6 release, height of technology way back when 2 files 1st detailed day of Doug's wedding page, 2nd Malaysia overall, 3rd MF responsive page for Malaysia Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND North Island only , including amongst others Papamoa beach, Russell, Whangamomona and Cape Reinga, 1 visit 6th February to 5th March, 28 days in total We returned to New Zealand which we both love and found we loved it even more. We just (careful Keef, others have to work) had one month here this time as opposed to our 4 months last time and that was all spent in the top half of North Island going back to see the things we didn't have time to see last time. This meant much more time in Northlands, The Bay of Islands, MataMata & Hobbiton plus Whangamomona (the Republic's capital) - where the current president is a sheep and the previous one was a dog hee hee oh and lovely delightful days of R&R on NZ's superb beaches. Like 5 years ago this was the best summer they had ever had . A kiwi @ Orewa said you poms have history we have beaches. So true! Our Mercedes Sprinter 313 motorhome was good but not as good as the equivalent one in OZ. We picked it up in Auckland and returned it there. We definitely miss the land of the long white cloud. We drove 2559 miles in NZ. Kiwi HIGHLIGHTS:- 35th Wedding Anniversary Cape Reinga, Russell, Keri Keri & Whatuwhiwhi Forgotten world highway Art Deco Napier Lake Taupo & Kinloch The Coromandel Peninsular Hot Water Beach Hobbiton at Matamata The wonderful Papamoa beach, Ocean drive Lamb curry @ Kiwi Airport Motel And completing the NZ census Orewa beach & revisiting Waves Motel All the fab Campsites we stayed at during our 2559 miles of North Island exploration The friendliness of all the Kiwi nation, Big Tick LOWLIGHTS:- None UPDATE: this is so well known as a road sign in New zealand that it appeared on Griff Rhys Jones travel programme about NZ in 2021 #fact Campsites we stayed in in New Zealand Kiwi slideshows Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND, 6-8 Feb 2013 Orewa Northlands including Auckland, Orewa, Bream Bay Area & Whangarei New Zealand, Northlands 6-8 feb 2013 auckland, orewa, bream bay area, whangarei, covering amongst others 63 selective slideshow images,auckland airport, kiwi airport motel, orewa, auckland, norfolk pines, pohutakawa trees, red fronzes,surf club, waves hotel revisit, top 10 sites at orewa and whangerei, aratoa way, bream bay, helicopters, mangawhai, mangawhai heads, info boards, maori fables, ruakaka beach, waipu cove, spolit soil contaminated by cows, sunshine, relaxation, deep joy in northlands. We were previously in Orewa & Whangarei in 2007 and then again in 2017. See blogs 162 and 168 respectively. and now the slideshow Return to Menu New Zealand, Tutakaka Coast 9-11 Feb 2013 Northlands including Whangarei, Tutukaka Coast & Russell ,New Zealand, Northlands 9-11 feb 2013 whangarei, tutukaka coast, russell, covering amongst others 133 selective slideshow images, whangarei, tutukaka coast,russell, hatea river, pouihi carvings, clapham clocks, boardwalks, top 10 sites, raeburn house, town basin, kauri factory, whangarei falls, otuihau,sandy bay, ngungunu, tutukaka marina, whangaumu bay, whale bay, church bay, beach baches, designer houses, wooley bay, posh yachts, poor knights islands,air roots on trees,pohutukawa trees, matapouri rocks, oakura campsite, whangaruru, flowers, BBQ's, the strand, museums, pompallier mission, weak, kowharewa bay. and now the slideshows Return to Menu New Zealand, KeriKeri 12-14 Feb 2013 Northlands including KeriKeri, Cape Reinga, Whatuwhiwhi & Mangonui , New Zealand, Northlands 12-14 feb 2013 keri keri, cape reinga, mangonui, apihara, whatuwhiwhi, covering amongst others 174 selective slideshow images, kerikeri, whatuwhiwhi, ahipura, cape reinga,okiato, opua, haruru, haruru falls (revisit scenes of our camping with the boys on our gap year 2007-8 see Blog 162, thanks), waitangi, waitangi river, rainbow falls, Christ church, waipekakoura river, keri keri, millionaires view, kumara, whangaroa, woodland walk, stone store, st james church 1868,kerikeri basin & woodland walks, mission house, cavalli islands,matauri bay, st pauls rock, marlin hotel, blue marlin, mangonui, doubtless bay, mill bay suites where we stayed 2007,karikari peninsular, parakerake beach and bay, waipapakauri, mitimiti stream, te kao, state highway 1, sheep, ahipara, kiwi parks and top 10 sites,awanui, kaitaia, brancott estate, BBQ's, karikari coastline and now the northlands slideshows Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND, Coromandel 15-17 Feb 2013 Northlands including Matakohe,Coromandel Peninsular & Hot Water Beach New Zealand, Northlands 15-17 feb 2013 matakohe, coromandel , hot water beach, covering amongst others 113 selective slideshow images, matakohe, coromandel peninsular, hot water beach, apihara, bamboo, 90 mile beach, dargaville river, arapohue, matakohe, banana bread,our new step, arapaoa river, citrus fruits, twin bridge gorge, dargaville revisit, the kauri museum , post offices, pioneer church, log haulers, helensville, art work, brynderwyn, kawau parau inlet, murawai, black sand, coromandel town, tricky roads, views to die for, matarangi, whitianga, sunsets, bruises from steps. We just so love the Coromandel, Wayne & Greg from the Greenlane Motor Inn in Remuera Auckland (from our Gap year in 2007-8 see Blog 162 ) ran a holiday business there before moving to Auckland, the last time I spoke to wayne they had moved back again. Coromandel slideshows coming up #withlove Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND, Bay of Plenty, 18-20 Feb 2013 Bay of Plenty including probably the best campsite in the world - Papamoa beach holiday resort Kiwi Camping & Holiday Parks site , #hintsandtips #campsites see the site map on Blog 168 our revisit in 2017 (tip use the menu to go to North Island), this site ranks alongside the BIG4 Lake Darlington beach in NSW Australia that we stayed at a couple of time on our gap year, see Blog 162 (tip use the menu to go to New South Wales Australia), Hobbiton, Rotorua and Gisborne , New Zealand, Bay of Plenty 18-20 feb 2013 papamoa beach, rotorua and gisborne, covering amongst others 145 selective slideshow images, papamoa beach, rotorua, gisborne, matamata, hobbiton, hobbit holes, sam wise gangee,lord of the rings, peter Jackson, hahei beach, frodo, bilbo baggins, waiha beach, james cook, farthing woods,te karaka, papamoa beach, ocean drive, fave campsite in all the world, precious, dragon inn, gandalf, party tree, mount manganui, waioeka, opotiki, top 10 campsites, kiwi campsites, whakatane, white island (smoking again in 2017 sadly a death trap dec 2019), whangamata, beaches, young nick, otahu river, ocean beach, hauturu island, maukaha rocks, karangahake gorge, paeroa, waikino, railway café, bay of plenty,i-site, maori poles. Bay of Plenty slideshows Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND, Hawkes Bay, 21-23 Feb 2013 New Zealand, Hawkes Bay 21-23 feb 2013, wairoa, napier, taupo, earthquake, covering amongst others 103 selective slideshow images , rotorua, mount doom, lake rotorua, boysenberry icecream, hoki poki, ruepehi, sunken gardens, art deco, black swans, fejioa, bungee jumping, wairoa, napier, taupo, earthquake, huka river, criterion hotel, 1930s, kinloch,lake tuito, marine parade, museums, artwork, hawkes bay, whaiapunga falls, pohutakawa trees in bloom, top 10 site taupo, bay view, gisborne, wairoa river, waikiki lagoon, picnics, mohaka river, viaduct, berry farm and berry ice cream, kiwi parks, fruit ice creams, yummy, kaweka forest park. Hawkes Bay slideshows Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND, Tongariro Area, 24-26 Feb 2013 Including Tongariro area, 35th Wedding Anniversary & the Forgotten World Highway ending at the Republic of Whangamomona, want to see an aerial view of the Republic's national celebration day, yes then click HERE New Zealand, Tongariro area 24-26 feb 2013, whangamomona, national park, ruepehi, 35th Wedding Anniversary, covering amongst others 203 selective slideshow images, whangamomona, national park, tongariro, mount doom, ruapehu, 35th wedding anniversary, day & meal, volcanoes, active and otherwise, the shaky isles, aotearoa, maori influence, chateau tongariro, black swans, lake rotiari, station restaurant, kumara, forgotten world highway i.e state highway 43, gravel roads,tranz alpine railway, tawai falls, gollums pool, makatote viaduct, waikato river, totara, pohutakawa, republic of whanga, turangi, tracks, tongariro national park, targarakau gorge ,tapu island, whakapapa village, desert well maybe, huka falls, moki tunnel, hobbit hole, ohakune, raetihi branch bridge, mangateitei stream, waimarino old name for national park railway station, tongariro river, motuopuhi, otunui riverboat landing, taumarunui, herlihy’s bluff, stratford, taranaki, whanga, tahora, republic, passport stamped, heritage trails. and now the slideshows for the alpine area in summer plus of course the peoples republic where we got our passports stamped for Nz$1 dollar #tick #fact #humour and now a special our 35th wedding anniversary, another great meal at National Parks Railway restaurant café, we went their first in 2007-8 (see Blog 162 ) with Craig, Doug & Phoenix.... indeed we spent our 30th wedding anniversary on South Island travelling on the Tranz Alpine #railway from Christchurch to Greymouth, use the Menu to look under south island on that blog, and our 40th wedding anniversary was our cruise covered by Blog 125 Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND, Taranaki, 27 Feb - 1 Mar 2013 Including Taranaki area, Whanga, New Plymouth, Waitomo, Hamilton amongst others, New Zealand, Taranaki area 27 feb – 1 mar 2013, new plymouth, waitomo, hamilton, covering amongst others 145 selective slideshow images, whangamomona, new plymouth, waitomo, hamilton, te rewa rewa bridge, douglas, forgotten world highway, tupare gardens, hallard gardens, kiwis, BBQs, cape light house, doves, east end beach, fruit wines, plum, boysenberry, whakatane, flowers, stratford, all things Shakespeare, the bard, otorohanga, strathmore, mount taranaki, cape egmont, opunake, egmont national park, visitors centers, rugby, hamilton gardens , taumarunai, whanga, wanganui national park, fitzroy beach, waiwhakaiho river, tupare house, orangery, ferns,sir ed hillary, top 10 sites, waikato river, kiwi house, bought kiwi as replacement for phoenix (lost original found in dressing gown 2019 stored in our garage ), greenslade house, hayes paddock, turtle lake, hamilton gardens, rogers rose garden, paradise gardens, Chinese scholars garden, Japanese garden of contemplation, Indian char bagh garden, Italian renaissance garden, English flower and American modernist gardens, te parapara Maori gardens. We returned to the Kiwi House in Otorohanga principally to buy Phoenix another kiwi soft toy as she had lost it, Annie found it in a dressing gown pocket in the garage much later so Phoenix now has 2 #lovely The Taranaki area is also the place on our gap year where we visited the guy who was an obsessive Elvis collector #weird #nerd to revisit these gems see Blog 162 We also camped and got soaked in New Plymouth on our Gap year when the kids joined us for a trip around part of North Island. I do remember the Came gates at the campsite there and Len Lye's wand in the wind and now the Taranaki slideshows Return to Menu NEW ZEALAND, Back to Auckland, 2 - 5 Mar 2013 Back to Auckland via Papamoa Beach, Karangahake Gorge & More, New Zealand, Back to Auckland 2-5 mar 2013, a lovely return visit to the wonderful papamoa beach 2nd time, karangahake, manukau city, kiwi hotel, covering amongst others 47 selective slideshow images, , papamoa beach, manukau city, kiwi hotel, Auckland, ocean drive, beach road, sunsets, chillin, 2nd visit this time to our fave campsite, kite surfing, wake boarding, mount manganui, beach strolls, ice creams, reading, tea breaks, karangahake river and its fantastic gorge, bridges, info boards, goldmining, suspended walkways, talisman mill. the truly wonderful Papamoa beach, 2nd visit on our return to Auckland, and slideshow of all the photos to go with it For New Zealand 2013 that's all folks #GIF Return to Menu AUSTRALIA Australia Overall, All States & Terroritories except Queensland, Northern & Australian Capital one visit 6th March to 6 April, 32 days in total We returned to the wonderful world that is Oz both for the 4th time, once in our youth when we lived there, Sydney & Melbourne respectively and then 3 times together as a full family in 1995 with Craig & Doug then on our own after retirement in 2008 and now in 2013. Australia is such an awe-inspiring place of extremes and vastness. We wanted to experience and see things (mostly) that we haven't done before this time. But we loved spending time with family and friends in Sydney & Tassie as well. Much love to you all , you know who you are and thanks for looking after us so well. We HEART Bondi, well maybe *smile*. On my bucket list was travelling across the Nullarbor, this was a true epic journey similar to travelling on the Ghan #railway from Darwin to Alice in 2008. NOTE as this was updated in 2020 we have also been again in 2017 . Anyhow take a look at our treasured memories via Anne's dairy and our pictures. AUSTRALIAN HIGHLIGHTS:- Sydney, Tasmania - friends & rellies Coastal walk - Vaucluse to Watson's Bay Bruny Island Adelaide shores Outback Australia & Coober Pedy Opals Cromer stay and North Shore beaches, plus coastal salt water pools Port Lincoln & Coffin Bay Nat Park Crossing the Nullarbor, Ceduna to Norseman (1194 kms / 742 miles in total on the crossing - 3 days) Esperance and the fab Great Ocean Drive Peel Zoo, Pinjarra Indian Ocean Drive Geraldton & Picnic on Port Denison shores Driving in our hired Britz van 3810 miles & seeing "loads" LOWLIGHTS:- Slow puncture via cracked wheel rim crossing Nullarbor Having to pay my $120Nz fine picked up near Apihara, Northlands, NZ Australian slideshows by Keef & Annie 2013 Campsites we stayed in in Australia and now the aussie talkies video, enjoy Return to Menu AUSTRALIA, Vaucluse, New South Wales, 6-8 Mar 2013 Arriving in Sydney, Staying with Family, Vaucluse area exploration, Australia, Arriving Sydney from New Zealand 6-8 mar 2013, from Auckland, Sydney, Family, covering amongst others 110 selective slideshow images, from Auckland, Sydney, family, watson’s bay, doyles, fish and chips, posh restaurant, kookaburra, riley, hannah and david-such hospitality, vaucluse, gap bluff & Jacobs ladder lookout, banksias, bottlebrush, cat ferry, darling harbour, diamond bay, south shore road, signal hill reserve, dog walking, lorikeets, Sydney opera house, jorn utzon, shark beach, parsley bay, sydney harbour bridge, Vaucluse house, nielsen’s reserve NSW national park, ice cream, boardwalks, clarke reserve, south head signal station, fisherman's wharf, manly crossing, Robertson's park, circular quay, garden island, cruise liner, queen mary 2, water taxi, ferries, campbell parade, Bondi beach, water dragons, shark beach. Return to Menu AUSTRALIA, Sydney Area, NSW, 9-11 Mar 2013 Around Sydney area, Budderoo NP, Kangaroo Valley then on to Cromer , Australia, Sydney area 9-11 mar 2013 Around Sydney with Family then on to Cromer, covering amongst others 110 selective slideshow images, around Sydney with family, the rocks, masks, Sydney centre, darling harbour, rose bay, double bay, ferries, jet cats, spray can artist, kangaroo valley, sea cliff bridge, Bondi junction, Bondi bay, beach, sunsets, bald hill, oxford lookout, military road reserve, street musicians, camp cove, friends, family, kangaroo valley, our spray can art work bought, cromer cottage hire, minnimurra falls, southern highlands, camp cove, woolongong, lyre birds, aussie humour, opera house, lyne park rose bay, bay street double bay, coal cliff, grand pacific drive, fishing, budderoo national park, cromer, goldie the labrador, 155 willandra rd stay, private pool. We had some fun times with niece Hannah and her family and Chris's daughter Laura, especially a big feed up at Doyle's in Watsons Bay... as the Danes would say, possibly the best fish restaurant in the world 😉 🌠 ✅ SYDNEY GALLERY and now the slideshows from the Sydney area Return to Menu AUSTRALIA, North Shores, NSW, 12-14 Mar 20 North Shores Sydney, Cromer, North Bridge, Heads, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park (NP) Australia, Sydney North Shore 12-14 mar 2013 cromer, eco boat, pittwater, north heads, covering amongst others 170 selective slideshow images, north shore with family & friends, cromer, eco boat, pittwater, north heads, west head lighthouse, palm beach, ocean swimming pool, jelly fish, aboriginal rock carvings, fish, ku-ring-gai chase national park, lion island, apple tree bay, barrenjoey lighthouse, pittwater, bayview, bobbin head, church point, freshwater beach, reserves, west head lookout, commodore heights, manly beach, manly town, illawong point, whale beach, Scotland island-so love it, red gum , scribble bark, gum trees of all sorts, surfing, north heads, waratah, new south wales (NSW), northbridge, boating, battery powered eco boats, meal at lauras, hordern park, cabbage tree boat harbour, broken bay, port jackson, willungra track, black cockatoo, basin aboriginal engraving site, guringai land, hawksbury sandstone, empire marina, bobbin head inn, kalkari, birrawanna track and now the slideshows from sydney north shores going on a water picnic on Steve's eco boat, battery powered, middle harbour blissful north heads and barren joey lighthouse very burnt out by bush fires Return to Menu AUSTRALIA, TASMANIA, 15-17 Mar 2013 North Shores Beaches & Flight Down to Family in Tasmania, Australia, North beaches & Tasmania 15-17 mar 2013 collaroy, curl curl, hobart, covering amongst others 70 selective slideshow images, collaroy, curl curl, Hobart, dee why, beaches galore, salt water pools, narabeen beach and lakes, family, cromer goodbye, flight to tasmania, hobart, family, apple juice, sorrel, ss carnival in port, huon valley, roses, stanley and florence twight reserve, long reef, aquatic reserve, ranelagh, maple tree cottage, north huon road, chicken coop, river derwent, mount nelson, lookout, howrah, hobart harbour, signal hill, truganini reserve, bicentennial park, mount stuart lookout, tasman bridge, sandy bay, wrest point, sleeping maiden range, we revisited John & Diana in 2017 as well as our earlier visit in 2007-8, these are covered by blog 168 & 162 respectively. Finish of North shore and tassie slideshow Return to Menu AUSTRALIA, TASMANIA & SOUTH AUSTRALIA, 18-20 Mar 2013 Visited the fabulous Bruny Island once more, we so love this place Bruny Island, Family in Tassie then Off to South Australia via Melbourne, Australia, Bruny Island to Adelaide shores 18-20 mar 2013 , bruny island, cygnet, family, hobart, covering amongst others 51 selective slideshow images, bruny island, cygnet, family, Hobart, berry ices, coal bay, lookout, skink, alonnah hotel, coal point,the neck, adventure bay, home hill winery & restaurant, eating wallaby, huon river,kettering, car ferry,cygnet, the red velvet lounge, b66 road thru bruny island, revisit from 2008, lunawanna, great bay, simpsons bay, lennon road, fish and chips, captain cook 1776, the endeavour, penguin rookery, views to die for, halloumi cheese and sweet chill dip for the first time, a lifelong favourite now, left tassie for adelaide via melbourne (rang mum), picked up britz campervan, adelaide shores campsite, south australia now the slideshow, featuring adventure bay, cygnet, bruny island, hobart, mount wellington, signal hill lookout and a whole lot more Return to Menu AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, 21-23 Mar 2013 Glenelg, Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy & Opals via Stuart Highway , South Australia, Glenelg & Coober Pedy 21-23 mar 2013, adelaide, glenelg, port augusta, coober pedy,covering amongst others 215 selective slideshow images, adelaide, glenelg, port augusta, coober pedy, roadhouses, pimba road house, joeys, milk fed, glendambo road house, port augusta, big 4 campsites, woomera, eerie, sunsets, drive in cinemas, outback, opal, mining, lake patawalonga, adelaide shores, west beach, flies, glenelg, beaches, trams, port wakefield, museums, underground houses, Serbian underground orthodox church, miners and boot hill graves, port pirie, salt water lake, winch hill, rockets, swimming pools, outback flower gardens, holdfast bay, tarniwarra park, crystal brook, john eyre, charles napier sturt, john mcdougall stuart, eyre highway , sturt highway , stuart highway , dingo, emu, eagles, roxby downs, andamooka, road trains, woodys outback resort glendambo, rfds royal flying doctors landing strip outback, stuart range campsite,big4, opal inn hostelry, blowers, murals, oasis tourist park, jospehine’s gallery bought annie opal here, coober pedy historical society and heritage trail, saint elijah’s church, minnie berrington, old timers mine museum,marree, oodnadatta track, kangaroos, in the bush saw 1 roo, 13 emus, 2 dingos, 1 fox & 10 eagles. OUTBACK TRAVELS GALLERY, on the way to Coober Pedy, Mining community #humour #outback the campsite at coober pedy, indoor pool was the ONLY way to cool off #hot baby roos cared for at the gem store what an interesting place #fact map Return to Menu AUSTRALIA, Coffin Bay National Park, SA, 24-26 Mar 2013 Coober Pedy, Port Augusta, Coffin Bay Nat. Park, Dolphins & Elliston, South Australia, Port Augusta to Elliston 24-26 mar 2013, port lincoln, coffin bay NP, elliston, covering amongst others 134 selective slideshow images, coober pedy, port augusta, port lincoln, coffin bay NP, Elliston, almonta bay, yangie bay, arno bay, avoid bay, port Lincoln, birdlife, dolphins, marinas, reefs, franklin harbour, golden island, cowell, gums, road trains, left coober at sunrise, long journey, 6 hours back to port augusta, lake eyre, salt lakes, lake gardiner, stuart explorer highway, arid lands botanic gardens, aussie humour re shark fin, 144 stuart hwy, port augusta , botanic garden, tracks, spencer gulf, whyalla, port bonython, franklin heritage hotel, mount dutton, cowell, slow puncture, turned out to be cracked rim, great australian bight, dolphin pod 40 strong magical, boston bay, south shields. the old ghan #railway was wonderful and the museum, narrow gauge stuff slideshows coming up including whyalla steel town it was probably just after port augusta that we started to get a slow flat in the front passenger tyre which we didn't really notice, longer term it became a big problem across the nullarbor eventually having to take it into Britz in Perth, note when we tried calling from the SA / WA border campsite it was Easter weekend, once fixed they told us the rim was cracked and should never have been hired out to us #scary Return to Menu The Nullarbor Plain, South to Western Australia, 27-29 Mar 2013 The Wonderful Nullarbor Plain from Ceduna to Caiguna Roadhouse, Australia, Crossing the Nullarbor Desert 27-29 mar 2013, Elliston, Ceduna, Nullarbor Desert, covering amongst others 180 selective slideshow images, Elliston, Ceduna, Nullarbor Desert,Nullabor plain, eucla telegraph station, head of bight, nullarbor lookout, border crossing, quaratine station, western Australia, southern Australia, border village campsite, caiguna roadhouse, ceduna foreshore, yalata, dingos, roe plain, trees, eagles, eagles nest, weird golf course, elliston bay,emus, coastal path, eucla, great Australian bight, pelicans, venus bay, hampton tablelands,longest golf course in the world, murphys haystacks,smoky bay, start and end of the nullabor, marked with smart signs, madura roadhouse,mundrabilla, roadkill, rfds-royal flying doctors, big 4, head of bight visitors centre, madura pass, aboriginal land, murphys haystacks, inselbergs, streaky bay, piers, diggers hats, blue tongue skink, southern right whales, flies, kondole, anangu peoples, marine park, bunda cliffs, nullarbor national park, , leeuwin way, whales, sand dunes, delisser sand hills, east-west telegraph service & station at eucla, munrabilla station, 200km from gate to farm house, cocklebiddy, highway 1 the eyre highway, moodini bluff, 90 miles straight at caiguna, nuytsland nature reserve, eucla national park 1st Nullarbor crossing gallery sadly by now the deflating tyre was a real issue and it was easter AUSTRALIA, WA, 30 Mar - 1 Apr 2013, Caiguna to Norseman, Great Ocean Drive Esperance & Albany , Completing 1,194 kms/ 742 miles of Nullarbor Crossing 2nd Nullarbor crossing gallery Australia, Caiguna to Albany,30 mar-1 apr 2013, caiguna, norseman, nullabor, esperance, albany, covering amongst others 155 selective slideshow images, caiguna, norseman, nullabor, esperance, albany, the 90 miles straight stretch of the nullarbor, balladonia roadhouse, hotel, museum,twilight bay, blue seas, old cars, fourth beach, the nullarbor plain, limestone head, seal island, great ocean drive,mistaken island, mount clarence lookout, camels, memorial gardens, founding fathers, maps, animal droppings, outback, golf course, rigs, road trains, beaches, rocks, sea swells, west beach, crossing certificates, west beach, winnebegos, redex rally, the pink lake, reflections & chemicals, great white sharks, ngadju people, quandong, shameful native citizens act, eyre highway, historical crossing, the nullarbor highway, skylab crashing over, balladonia, blue haven beach, sunshine & blue seas, observatory island, dempster head, chapman point, twilight beach road on the great ocean drive, ned kelly garden gnomes, salmon beach, twilight beach, nine mile beach, castleton beach, ravensthorpe,welstead community, board shorts, bibblemun track, clarence downhill, frenchmans bay, middleton beach, top tourist campsites, stayed multiple times Return to Menu That's all here continued on part 2 of Blog 167, last 3 parts of Australia and all of Singapore

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 2 2021 17.11 pm This is a retrospective Blog, we were in Canada between 18th May and 25th July 2010. 4/8/2010: Stayed with David & Cathy in Edmonton for 5 days but visited Lesser Slave Lakes, then picked up our campervan / motorhome (Canadreams) in Calgary and travelled for roughly 9 weeks across to the east seeing all provinces (apart from Yukon, NWT & Nunavut) plus dropped across the US border into upstate NY & Maine including the wonderful Bar Harbor, so combined with our 99 trip we have now crossed from one side of Canada to the other (it is the 2nd largest country on earth) Flew back from Halifax Nova Scotia Suggestion use the BIG TRIP maps to scale in and out if you wish See the full HOLIDAY 2010 site click HERE MENU Go to 1. Summary 2. Campsites we stayed in 3. Pre Travel 4. Canada Overall 5. Alberta 6. Saskatchewan 7. Manitoba 8. Ontario 9. Quebec 10. New Brunswick 11. Prince Edward Island 12. Nova Scotia 13. Newfoundland 14. Labrador 15. USA Overall 16. Upstate New York 17. Maine 18. Read the overall Diary 19. Listen to the Diary Audio book That's all folks!!!! As Moonfruit died on 7th December 2021 my previous HOLIDAY2010 site which contained our trips to Canada in 2010 in a hired motorhome plus Florida in 1997 and our trip to British Columbia in 1997 (plus briefly visiting pals David & Cathy & family in 1999 in Edmonton, Alberta) was migrated by Yell to WIX. I have decided to incorporate it here into my motorhome-travels blog site as an insurance against Yell increasing site charges quite substantially once a year is up, it will then be easy to remove the migrated site. Across Canada in a motorhome 2010 when joined up with our 1999 trip to British Columbia it means we have travelled all the way from Vancouver Island in the west to the Trans Labrador Highway (TLH) in the east See Blog 92 which is associated here for more details This is what the old HOLIDAY2010 site used to look like #nerd #nostalgia SUMMARY OF OUR 2010 TRIP ACROSS CANADA IN A MOTORHOME 2010, Alberta to Labrador (we did British Columbia in 1999) Plus NY & Maine in the USA 92 Days travel - 18th May - 24th July 2010, 1769 Photos, Approximately 4200 miles Edmonton to Halifax, west to east, including Newfoundland & Labrador, Prairies, Ontario & Quebec, Maritimes. So now been across whole of that part of North America if one includes our 1999 trip (blog 166) covering Vancouver island, British Columbia and into Edmonton, Alberta. Calendars After Trip Before Trip apologies for including folks names off our calendar sheets (oops ) Table of Days & Photos Schedule Full OLD slideshow Lets have a look at the flags of each Canadian province, just to show we have been right across Canada , Keef snapped these flags en route Return to Menu The Campsites we stayed at Return to Menu PRE TRAVEL CANADA - Pre Travel 2010, Canada & two US States (New York & Maine) Pre Planning on big trips always pays off Here's a list of some of the thinks we researched and gather pre travel Assorted pre travel documents, held here for safe keeping and nostalgic reasons 😉 🌠 ✅ Return to Menu CANADA OVERALL, across the provinces ACROSS CANADA IN A MOTORHOME 2010, Alberta to Labrador (we did British Columbia in 1999) plus NY & Maine in the USA in 2010 87 Days travel Canada - 18th May - 24th July 2010, 1769 Photos, Approximately 4200 miles Highlights Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Seeing the Harveys (dear friends), Dauphin, Wrestling with the badly sorted Steering wheel on the very windy Prairies, Maid of the Mist on Niagara Falls, Red Bay Labrador, Canada day in Fredericton, Gaspe peninsular, Mounties museum in Regina, Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, seeing Moose plus potentially more importantly achieving travelling from one side of Canada to the other - all provinces (Canada does provinces, America does states-BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island (PEI), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland (Newfie heaven) & Labrador Time zones across Canada for our trip Canada Day 2010, its a big thing, we were in Fredericton, New Brunswick Overall videos / slideshows with speech i.e the Talkies Return to Menu ALBERTA 11 Days in Alberta, Canada - 18th - 29th May 2010, 219 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective. We have now been from one side of canada to the other in a motorhome, BC to Labrador, loved it, fabulous countryine hat, head smashed in buffalo jump world heritage site, snow at high river end of may, the campsite said happy christmas (smile) when we arrived, 2 caravans were ruined by falling branches weighed down by weight of the snow, plus cardston, high prairie, staying with dear friends david & cathy and family, west ed mall, dawson bridge, perogis, tyrrell heritage centre, fort ed, winterton lakes np, bow river, border with montana glacial park,red deer, calgary, brand new motorhome, hoo doos at willow creek, blackfoot tribe and many more gems, we have now been from one side of canada to the other in a motorhome, BC to Labrador, loved it, fabulous country Alberta map, showing some of our travels Return to Menu SASKATCHEWAN 5 Days in Saskatchewan, Canada - 29th May-2nd June 2010, 79 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective amongst others we covered saskatchewan landing,saskatoon,regina,visiting the RCMP "mounties" academy, chapel and museum in regina , goodwin house, red river cart, wanuskewin heritage centre , heritage, prairies, railways, swift current, elbow, davidson,cree, matis,lakota tribes, hudson bay company, meewasin park plus we saw bears and we have now been right across canada in a motorhome and we loved it #FACT our route in saskatchewan Return to Menu MANITOBA 3 Days in Manitoba, Canada - 2nd-4th June 2010, 67 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective covering macgregor, duaphin, dryden, winnipeg , winnipeg beach, riding mountain national park, clear water (lac) lake, assiniboine river, shellmouth resevior, steinbach, bears, moose , mennonite heritage village @ steinbach and all ports in between. We have been from one side of Canada to the other in you include our 1999 trip (covered in Blog 166) Return to Menu ONTARIO 15 Days in Ontario, Canada - 4th-20th June 2010, 372 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others nipigon, wawa,elliot lake, new liskeard, musselmans lake, toronto,niagara falls,1000 islands boat trip from gananoque, percy lake, ignace, sault ste marie, wabigoon lakes, agimak lake& beach, rossport, terrace bay, pays plat, thunder bay, the great lakes-superior, huron, ontario & dipping my toe in them, niagara on the lake, Sinclair cove, mounties, ottawa,aguasarbon falls, lake superior national park, latchford, spanish, temigami, temiskaming shores, bobbie rosenfeld olympian & park,stouffville, niagara botanical gardens, floral clock, devils hole whirlpool, st Lawrence river, gananoque town and harbor, rideau falls, river and canal, byward market, haileybury the home of Annie's rellies (uncle ralph and extended family i.e. cousins in Canada and Australia and uk) & all ports in between. We have been from one side of Canada to the other our travel thru Ontario province , continuing the route west to east, like the great explorers we are 😉 Return to Menu QUEBEC 11 Days in Quebec, Canada - between 10th June & 13th July 2010, 178 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective visiting amongst others montreal, quebec city, fort quebec, queens governors residence, chateau frontenac, saguenay fjord,tadoussac,trois pistoles,gaspe,bike race, the citadel, st lawrence river, lac timiscaming, les escoumins, bardville, ferry, grande grave, campsite juneau, cap de rosier, forillon national park, camping baie de gaspe, riviere au renard, basilica notre dame du quebec, rocking chairs, kayaks, l’heritage 1, light houses, boardwalks, musicians, rooftops, skyscrapers, robbie burns in montreal, maison maillou, point a la recommee, dolphins, possibly whales, sunsets, provisional and national parcs & all ports in between. All very french "trois service sil vous plais" which sadly is about as far as my french got asking for the campsite, very weird as we crossed the bridge from ontario to quebec province how suddenly the language in the air changed dramatically. tres chic. our route across, loved the truly wonderful quebec city and taking pictures in front of the world class chateau frontenac #majortrip Return to Menu NEW BRUNSWICK 14 Days in New Brunswick, Canada - between 24th June & 25th July 2010, 78 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others alma, campbellton, lighthouses, miscou island, lamere island, kouchibouguac np, bay of fundy np, provincial parcs, butlands lobster, beaver tails, art and art galleries, music, arcadians, micmacs, mcadam station, cape jourmain, confederation bridge, sea dogs ice hockey, covered cedar bridge tunnels, hopewell rocks, grand anse, baseball, bog walks, plant life, harbors, sun and rain in equal measures, magnetic hill, magic village, bathurst, val-comeau, cap egmont, moncton, saint john (as opposed to st johns in newfie - i.e. newfoundland ) looking for annie's rellies, petitcodiac river, possum in the road kill cafe, fredericton for canada day 1 july (a huge celebration) and lots of places in between. #humour #tshirts our route around new brunswick province, a lovely place, especially bathurst, such views, and the reality of the height level distances on the bay of fundy from high tide to low tide Return to Menu PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND (PEI) the holiday island or as it is sometimes rather unkindly referred to as "spud island" because obviously of the potato growing 7 Days in Prince Edward Island, Canada - between 27th June & 25th July 2010, 90 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others PEI a holiday resort , summerside, anne of green gables house @ cavendish, charlottetown, many heritage buildings, crossing the fab confederation bridge arriving at borden-carleton, meeting up with friends - the lovely Harveys (david and cathy) friends,we made 2 visits here ,saw live music, the bottle house ,tigish,cape egmont and lighthouse, north cape, north point lighthouse, victoria, georgetown, spud radio, lobsters, energy institute, queens wharf, lucy maud montgomery (author of anne of green gables), sand sculptures and cedar cladding plus saw a lot of other places on the island. Return to Menu NOVA SCOTIA 11 Days in Nova Scotia, Canada - between 8th & 25th July 2010, 294 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective visiting amongst others the wonderful bay of fundy, many heritage buildings especially at annapolis royal & lunneburg, highland games at antigonish, watching someone's awning bend in high winds at the campsite, wolfville, crossing the fab confederation bridge near mayfield (NB) ,cape breton NP, peggys cove @ st margarets bay, halifax and KEITHs beer (got the t-shirt) ferry from sydney to newfoundland, far too much fizzy pop in fast food joint (free refill - never again!), cap le moine,cheticamp,cape breton,cabot trail,pugwash,bog walk, pictou,glenora distillery the only single malt in canada, ingonish, broad cove campground, joe’s scarecrow visited by billy connolly and us (sadly close 2011),highland np, louisbourg and the fortress, wolfe and the french, halifax, murray-mackay bridge, pier 21, prospect,shelburne, port maitland beach, cresent beach, yarmouth, digby, lockeport and more . #tshirts #scottish #whiskey Map of our trip across Nova Scotia Return to Menu NEWFOUNDLAND lovely people, often somewhat disparagingly referred to as Newfies by the other provinicials , tee hee see what I did there 😉 plus we loved our moose sightings, there are a lot of them in newfoundland, even along highway one! 6 Days in Newfoundland, Canada - between 11th & 16th July 2010, 158 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective visiting amongst others l'anse au claire, st johns (as opposed to st john in New Brunswick NB) fab harbour views here, moose by the roadside,t he wonderful gros morne national park, gander, bonavista, conception bay, st marys, icebergs floating past, st anthony museum and the size of a polar bear, this one we have annie standing alongside which totally dwarfed her - he the bear came in on a floating iceberg and terrorised the town, i can completely see why, ferry at st barbe to Labrador and a very early morning sailing in rain and mist, we parked in the ferry carpark overnight so as not to miss it, port aux basque, deer lake, grand falls windsor, corner brook, fab whale museum and houses at scilly cove (now winterton) home of annie’s rellie john masters, indian harbour,steady brook,3 mile rock, long beach, pynns brook, springdale, grate cove, gambo, the perlican, nymph island, portland creek, little hearts ease (such a lovely name),red rocks, noddy bay, st lunaire-griquet, the arches NP ,ss ethie, bonne & shallow bays, gunners cove, cape ray and wreckhouse brook. now a map of our travels in newfoundland what a fab place, from the bottom to the top and that very early morning ferry to labrador Return to Menu LABRADOR Misty morning ferry ride plus making it to the start of the TLH #tick 2 Days in Labrador, Canada - between 12th & 13th July 2010, 51 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective visiting amongst others the ferry apollo departing st barbe newfoundland at an ungodly hour and arriving at blanc sablon, l'anse au clair (where we camped overnight), forteau, travelling the jersey trail, l'anse au covert, l'anse amour, red bay including the museum and look out at old whaling station,saddle & capstan islands, start of the trans labrador highway (gravel and permafrost) oh and black fly galore on the pinware river bridge. We have been from one side of Canada to the other in you include our trip back in 1999 see Blog 166, thanks for looking map of what we did in labrador especially the world heritage site at red bay, what a fab place Return to Menu USA OVERALL, only 2 states of the 50 5 Days travel in the USA - 14th-15th June Plus 4th-5th July 2010, 82 Photos, Approximately 538 miles covering Maine & Upstate New York. By 2020 we have been to the following states - Florida, Maine, New York, California, South Carolina, New Orleans, Montana Now for our 2010 Talkies video in those 2 USA states we visited, namely New York State and Maine, how could I forget some classics "trash" pardon Mam, plus the lovely "hummous" misunderstanding somewhere in Canada on this trip, oh and "bread & milk" just past the gun ammo Sir & Mam in Lincoln Maine Return to Menu UPSTATE NEW YORK 2 Days in Upstate New York (NY), USA - between 14th & 15th June 2010, 28 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective visiting amongst others a fraught crossing at lewiston into the states because of the hired motorhome, and on return "mam I've told you to remove those sun glasses, I want to see the whites of your eyes" (smile), niagara falls (both canadian and us sides), rochester, banal local tv about geese "sh***ting on boardwalk", oh and trash can episode at the very nice campsite on the lake edge, watertown, apples & cherries, country stores, hummers plus crossing back to Canada near wellesley island, youngstown & the boss, oneida lake Return to Menu MAINE 3 Days in Maine (ME), USA - between 4th (Independence day) & 5th July 2010, 69 Photos, the summary slideshow is selective, visiting amongst others bar harbor, lincoln, bangor, crossing the border at a small centre near mcadams, shopping for milk "near the guns, rifles and bullets, sir!", 4th july at campsite near bar harbor, flags, burgers and beers, plus crossing back to canada , lobster rolls (yummy) from gas stations, miles not kilometres and cheap gas. Return to Menu

By keef and annie hellinger, Dec 1 2021 08.21 am This is a retrospective Blog, we were away from 26th October 2007 to 18th September 2008, visiting Fiji Islands ,Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, not quite a year but we have called it our GAP YEAR, didn't do it when we were younger as most do so did it as we retired 😉 See the Original Site Migrated HOLIDAY2007-8 in its themed Green and Yellow by clicking HERE Take a look at the overall travel blog route map here MENU Go to 1. Summary, Timeline & Calendar 2. Overall Recap Videos 3. Postcards & Letters home 4. Diary part 1 - Days 1 to 160 5. Diary part 2 - Days 161 to 329 5a. Diaries as an Audiobook if you would prefer 6. Pre Travel 7. California - USA, LA & San Jose 8. The Pacific Islands 9. Fiji - Vitu Levu but mostly Vanua Levu 10. Western Samoa - Savaii & Upolu 11. Tonga, Tongatapu & Atata Islands 12. New Zealand 13. North Island, New Zealand 14. South Island, New Zealand 15. Stewart Island, New Zealand 16. Australia 17. New South Wales, Australia 18. Tasmania, Australia 19. Western Australia 20. Northern Territory, Australia featuring the Ghan 21. South Australia 22. Victoria, Australia 23. Queensland, Australia 24. Singapore 25. Hong Kong 26. Old Site Photo Page Downloads As Moonfruit died on 7th December 2021 my previous HOLIDAY2007-8 site which contained our Gap year down under in 2007-8 was migrated by Yell to WIX. I have decided to incorporate it here into my motorhome-travels blog uk site as an insurance against Yell increasing site charges quite substantially once a year is up, it will then be easy to remove the migrated site if I chose to. Note this is intrinsically linked to Blog 97, see the 3 associated blogs at end of post, thanks for looking OUR GAP YEAR "DOWN UNDER" - 2007-8 On the 31st July 2007 I had the opportunity to take early retirement and a redundancy package from my then employer, which afforded us the opportunity to travel and realise a life long dream of returning to Australia the place of both our youths. Whilst planning that opportunity and packing up our property (we let it through an agency to Polish railway workers, which helped provide additional funding for our adventures) we decided to also cover my cousin in California, New Zealand, Hong Kong and a few of the Pacific islands, namely Fifi, Western Samoa and Tonga (inspired initially by my love of Rugby, esp. the Fijian 7s rugby). Annie took early retirement as well, leaving her employ a couple of months after me during which time I had done most of the planning, bookings, hiring and packing, both house and travel stuff. So come the 26th October 2007 it was time for the off. What an adventure, what an opportunity to spend so much time together and the added bonus of the boys and Phoenix coming out to join us for Xmas in New Zealand. Use this website to read the diaries, see something of the planning that went into a gap year, study the timeline and most of all feast your eyes on all the supporting pictures, slideshows and videos with commentary. Note now redundant (Dec21) I have kept the original website pages created on return from the gap year but by implication technology-wise they look and feel a bit old and clunky but you can get to them if you wish through the "go to oldschool" buttons where appropriate, many thanks for looking, maybe it will give you inspiration to undertake your own gap year, we reflect upon our fab times often even now! UPDATE Jan 2022 Put a lot of effort into making the HOLIDAY 2007-8 site work so now reestablished Headline images for each place visited GAP YEAR TRANSPORTATION : Below is the detailed summary of our round the world travels in 2007-8, where we travelled on trains, boats and planes and a whole lot more for 10½ months through America, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore & Hong Kong - starting and ending at Heathrow interestingly our Round The World (RTW) ticket said we started and arrived at Heathrow Terminal 1,but by the time we returned Heathrow had been reorganised and we came back to the now infamous Terminal 3 (T3 Tears as it is known in our family) Return to MENU Recap Videos of 2007-8 HOLIDAY Return to MENU Postcards & Letters Home Return to MENU Pre Travel These words from 2007/8 were written before we left when we constructed the old photo website, which we used on our travels to let people back home know what we were doing or possibly more importantly that we were still alive. A few pictures and details were added pre-travel to show what we expected and had planned to do. The reality as always was probably slightly different but the big picture in the plan we fundamentally achieved and we are very proud of that fact! (Note our original words written on our travels are in ITALICS ;) ) You will see them at the start of each page. They were culled from our old Graphicorp website. NOTE: it was Polish railway workers who rented our house, we paid A$31 each for a 6 month Australian Visa and that Samoa has since swapped to the other side of the international date line, which makes travelling from Fiji to Samoa to Tonga, which we did a whole lot easier. “where did we lose that day?” We leave on the 26/10/2007!!!! A few things as we prepare for our GREAT ADVENTURE. It has been interesting packing, getting lodgers (we now have a bunch of Austrian engineers) and generally booking the trip. In between we have been visiting / saying our goodbyes to various friends and relatives (you may be in the rogues gallery here!!!) we will miss you all but remember a year isn't that long and technology (one of Keef's favourite words) will keep us in touch. It just ain't like Vasco De Gama's day these days....Bon Voyage, and hopefully enjoy the site All overall feedback on this site should be directed to keef.hellinger@ntlworld.com Note: You can leave ratings against any photo, we would love to see them UPDATE 2020 You can no longer do this Pre travel we had both a time difference chart and currency converters Return to MENU USA - California, Los Angeles & San Jose / Morgan Hills NOTE all words in ITALICS were either written on the trip or before we left (labelled HISTORY) Cali-Forn-I-A here we come UPDATE 31/10/2007 Now left U S of A Arrived safely in Morgan Hill, CA. It's ace!!! Comms: both phones don't work but eMail OK Visited Monterey, Carmel & Big Sur with S&T along the fabulous Californian Highway 1, now one of our New Wonders of the modern world Went for a walk in the Santa Monica County Park and ate really, really well... Went up to the Henry Coe State Park on the back of Morgan Hill (wow, xclent)..Alas have to leave 31st Flight back to LAX, then on AirNZ to Fiji 2350 HIGHLIGHTS Seeing Sherree and Trung again, Monteray & Big Sur LOWLIGHTS None HISTORY Things are starting to shape up. We are staying with my Cousin Sherree and her husband Trung for 4 days and gonna see the Beach Boys coast. Big Sur, Monterey etc. Flight Delta Airlines 7772 LAX to SJC We will be staying in Morgan Hill at the bottom end of Santa Clara County 27/10-31/10 .... "Whatever"...."Awesome"!!! California is a lovely place and the coast along highway 1 truly spectacular. Some of those views will live in the memory forever and images of fields of pumkins, wow! Summary: USA 7 days , Day 1-7, 26/10/2007 - 1/11/2007 TIMELINE See Los Angeles and San Jose for diary write ups, thanks EXTRA INFORMATION From our travels, our Holidays, The Gap Year,USA 26 Oct-1 Nov 2007 - California, Los Angeles & San Jose, with family, video now broken into 2 parts in nov2020 ,morgan hills, Monterey, highway 1, carmel, san fransisco images, Californian state parks, santa clara county, leroy anderson lake, reservoir, fishing, quicksilver mercury mine, walks, snakes, henry w coe state park, outside loos, eagles, bald headed, kingfishers, birds & plants, candlestick park, cannery row, steinbeck, clam chowder, rocky creek bridge, sunsets, the big sur, sister hazel, pacific ocean, humming birds, Harley d’s, spindrift inn, jacuzzi’s, gazebos, Travelodge , lax, airports, bush fires, pelicans, bush turkeys, sunset restaurants, compulsory tips, cousins, pumpkins, Halloween, seals, sea otters, harbours, whale watching trips, marinas, arts and crafts market, museums, sardines, garden centres, wild life, town squares, panorama, tranquil, sheep, Japanese food, grits, brekkie out, wharfs, fun times catching up, sherree & trung’s hospitality, big tick NOTE Diary days 1-7 the talkies appears under both usa and fiji Return to MENU INTRODUCTION to the wonderful Pacific Islands. From our travels, Pacific Islands Overall, 1 Nov-10 Dec 2007,featuring Fiji, Western Samoa, Tonga, such fun, travel to many parts on numerous islands,including 250 images being a summary of the much larger individual islands video now broken into 5 parts in nov2020, , covering plus a whole lot more the following,Savaii, aggie grey, apia, savusavu, atata island, alofaaga blowholes, my tongan driving license issued by the king (smile), captain james cook, sewaka platform, airports, harbours, town, tropical flowers, markets, music, outriggers hotel, insel fehrman hotel, vatu the dog, buses, ferries, auala harbour, salealonga, bougainvillea, boxing, fishing, breadfruit, pelehake, tongatapu main tongan island, nadi, cocktails, coconuts, cruise ships, cyclone daman, earthquakes, Richter scale 8.2, fale shook, nuku’alofa, traditional dancing, museums, cannibalism, hibiscus, local beers, water salination stations, festivals, carnivals, hot springs, Houma, tonga 5th most corrupt nation on earth signs, international dateline hotel, jean-michel cousteaux resort,kaati-ni, vunu road, kava, halafuolafa beach, upolu, seabreezes resort,banyan trees, 3 sisters café, labasa, sugar cane, lorries, conflicts, rocks, princess tui (yuk!), vailima, Robert Louis Stevenson, lovo meals, taro, kings palaces, lava rocks, garlands, vanua levu, miss pacific islands competition, maota, mapu'a 'a vaea blowholes, mongoose, urata, sopu, ports, orchids, pinapples, mangoes, guava, banana bread, samosas (best in the world), paradise cove, cross island road, outriggers boats & hotel, motootua, Savaii lagoon beach resort, pigs, restaurants, Roy & Lisa, music, black rose, roseiloa, peter the keyboard player, royal sunset island resort, rugby, leper colonies (sad!),strelitzia, bird of paradise,princesses & kings 7 palaces,traditional dress, straw skirting, viaola,waterfalls, xmas greetings 2007, coral quays, reefs Return to MENU FIJI NOTE all words in ITALICS were either written on the trip or before FIJI WORDS Bula, Bula UPDATE 13/11/2007 Now left the lovely Vanua Levu We took the bi-plane Sun Pacific flight FJ105/106 from the main island (Vito Levu) to Savusavu on the southern coast of the second island (Vanua Levu) where we stayed in Sekawa Beach Cottages for 12 days (2/11-13/11/2007) Excellent local Fijian beer and we had 2 sessions on the grog, 'mind expanding' local Kava.... Juicy in the Sky with Diamonds..with Roy & Lisa (our hosts)...comes from a pepper plant root which is poundered to a powder which is rinsed in a muslin bag with water into a trad wooden bowl with 3 legs . Although 'ceremony' is common to all South Pacific Islands the bowls are different Contact phone was 011-679-822-0460 and Anne's mobile worked only for Text 2 Wifi Internet cafes in Savasavu Hired car for 3 days Went to Labasa (capital....Very Indian) , Jean Michel Cousteau (JMC) Dive resort and part of the Hibiscus highway. Rained a fair bit but managed 3 swims. HIGHLIGHTS Roy & Lisa's company, Biplane flight (absolutely the best views ever), Tropical fruit, Trip to Vanda & Tukai's children's schools, Savusavu bay , Sugarcane Express, Banana cake and samosas at Nadi Airport LOWLIGHTS None although JMC a little overated even if it is in the 1000 places to see before you die My most vivid memories are of those clear blue skies, humidity, the rattle of thunder, greenery, fresh fruit delivered daily by Roy & Lisa, Fijian music especially Black Rose (Rosiloa) who we still listen to today and the lovely view from our balcony. Summary: FIJI 12 days , Day 8-19, 2/11/2007-13/11/2007 Days 8-19 of the diary for Fiji stay Return to MENU WESTERN SAMOA Day 19 to 34 in the diary NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip. Talofa Lava Folks! Western Samoa not American Samoa for us....... UPDATE 28/11/2007 Now left Samoa Alas!!! Final pictures for Samoa posted We are sad to leave but 15 days of this heat 90+ at night and humid, boy humid...is taking its toll We stayed 1 night on Upolu in the 1848 (that old?) Princess Tui Inn in Apai (13th) We had booked 2 but it was bad so stayed 2nd day in Insel Fehrman hotel (note previous big German influence in people and architecture) where we had lunch (if only) with the Ms South Pacific pageant, then we hired a car for 15 days and went by ferry to Savaii where we stay in the Savaii Lagoon Resort, Beach fale (idyllic). This was a beachfront cottage with its own private beach lagoon with snorkelling on the doorstep plus swimming with turtles 15mins away. 10 nights in paradise and a chance to tick off two of the top1000 things to do before you die! (RLStevenson House on Upolu, (ace) , Hotel Safua Savaii (crap). Take a look at Savaii Lagoon resort via your web browser to get an idea (2021 I unlinked it as the site is still not secure)....Then we came back to the main Island of Upolu to the Outrigger hotel for another few days and saw the whole of that island. The hire car enabled us to travel around all of Savaii & Upolu, we have seen more of it than most Samoans now (alas...they can't afford to travel) Because of the international dateline on our travels we have had no 1/11, 2 13/11's and only a smidgen of the 28/11. Our 16.5 hour epic at Falealo International Airport (45 mins from the capital Apia pronounced 'R-PEA-A') was a delight in how to get no sleep The Samoans sure know how to treat a family members arrival at the airport as a party... HIGHLIGHTS Savaii Beach, Lava flow and blow holes, Ms Samoa, Villages and their gardens (fine if not immaculate) and Robert Louis Stevensons House LOWLIGHTS Long wait at Apia airport in the heat & humidity for a 1hr flight to Tonga Walking outside our beach fale for a private dip in the sea lives on as well as the pineapples growing there and the short hop to the restuarant next door for freshly caught fish with chips, yummy! oh and the taxi driver who ripped us off, git! can i say that, guess i just have, trying to drive us to the other side of the island to a hotel when insel fehrman apia was just down the road, oh and hot being able to close the window in our red jeep, luckily no tropical downpour at that time. Summary: SAMOA 16 days , Day 19-34, 13/11/2007-28/11/2007 Return to MENU TONGA - Tongatapu Island & Atata Island NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip. The Friendly Isles - Malo e lelei UPDATE 10/12/2007 We have now left Tonga. Grim last day with cyclone and quake, plus we saw on the news from NZ some sort of coup/riot, we are investigating. Anyhow even though we enjoyed it pleased to have got out. Last day at 8.45pm house, tables and everything shook. seems to have been a quake nearby, deep underground , no tsunami warning, storms raging. Cyclone Daman. But apart from that things we did were,visted Atata , idyllic desert island, hired a car on the mainland (Tongatapu) for 3 days and leisurely went round everything over 2 days (i guess you could do it in a 1/2 day) and on the 3rd day went to the Cultural centre. Saw trad outrigger boat, Houma Blowholes (ace), National Holiday procession for King Tupou 1st on 4/12, village traditional dancing and a cultural dance eve at the International Dateline Hotel. Tonga is slightly different from Fiji and Samoa....All the ladies wear what appear to be mats over their skirts, and sometimes the chaps as well. Plus visible signs of protest against goverment in the streets. Great inequality , see some of our pictures! In Nuku'alofa town we saw the Kings Palace, had lunch in the 2 Sisters (often, its ace!) and Robinas Express cafe. She is half tongan/ quarter japanese and a quarter german and is gr8 (forceful business lady with 'high' connections) generally the town is not that inspiring but the market excellent HIGHLIGHTS Atata Island, Blowholes, 2 Sisters restaurant and village dancing LOWLIGHTS cockroach, rat, tongan tummy, dead sea krate (the worlds deadliest snake) on atata beach, cyclone daman & earthquake HISTORY Boy most of the reviews we have read of Tonga denegrade its infrastructure and believe it or not their people...bad stuff...we keep an open mind and are really looking forward to it....We will be staying at Nukuma'anu cottages, Vuna Road Sopu (check it out on Google Maps below, near the Black Pearl appartments, it may well be closed 2020 but there is still an internet listing stating " Malo e lelei and welcome to Nukuma’anu Cottages. Ideal for a holiday getaway or business trip, Nukuma’anu provides four self contained cottages, just minutes from downtown Nuku’alofa. Children are welcome. Fully air-conditioned, oceanfront views and free parking, all surrounded by the privacy of a beautiful lush tropical garden and with our friendly & helpful staff, Nukuma’anu is perfect for the discerning traveller" ) on Tongatapu (the main southernmost group of islands) in the Executive fale cos guess what they have 24*7 internet....no water (joke)....now thats not bad for reports of a decaying infrastructure...more when we arrive. We are there 11 nights 29/11 to 10/12 ...have just found Nov is close of parliament and last year at this time there was civil unrest, fires and looting....Oh dear, let's hope no repeat this year.... Remember the Fale, Robina, Nuku'alofa market - coconut drinks, Black Rose (Rosiloa) album bought in market, New Eagles album downloaded, outsized washing,tonga's stonehenge, Captain Cook monument, cockroaches, earthquake & cyclone and getting out alive. Summary: TONGA 11 days , Day 35-45, 29/11/2007 - 10/12/2007 Return to MENU NEW ZEALAND overall NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip. New Zealand HISTORY Arrive 10/12/2007 for 4 months including Xmas & New Year on the beach initially staying in the Greenlane Motel 7 nights 10/12/2007 onwards whilst we select a camper van. The best we have seen so far is a 4 berth Maui with a buy-back option on it....either you sell it privately or they take it back at a reduced price when we arrive in Christchurch North Island HIGHLIGHTS Too many but if we are forced to limit them Having the Boys and Phoenix over, Tongarira National Park, Akatarawa rd, Coromandel Peninsular, East Cape oh and trip on Vince & Greg's boat in Auckland Harbour with Phoenix LOWLIGHTS hardly any but 2 days rain in nearly 2 months, oh and the latest Nick Cage movie South Island HIGHLIGHTS Again too many but Milford Sound, Mt Cook Nat Park, Queenstown, Stewart Island, Queen Charlotte Drive, Southern Alps & Glaciers, Our 30th Wedding Anniversary, Dunedin, the Weather (best summer / autumn for 10 years), Paul Henry (journalist) & oh the Poms beating the Blackcaps at Test Cricket LOWLIGHTS Having to leave and some Kiwi drivers CONTACT Our Kiwi mobile number was +642102226963 Most remember being with Doug,Craig & Phoenix, Boysenberry, wine, Sav Blanc,Mount Ruepehi,Havelock North, Te Mata, lovely Kiwi people, sunshine,warmth,bubbling hot spings, huka falls jet and a generally great time which meant we just had to go back in 2013 . Reviewing the history we didn't buy a motorhome, far to expensive @ £76k and risky re selling it on at the end. We hired cars and bought camping gear instead which we sold onto an english couple at the end of the holiday. They lived just outside Christchurch. The nick cage movie was National Treasure. Best summer exceeded when we returned in 2013. Kiwi drivers are not that bad, no probs in 2013. We love the place even more now having been back for a second time, and now a third in 2017 . Summary: NEW ZEALAND 118 days , Day 46-163, 10/12/2007 - 5/4/2008 Return to MENU NORTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND Including Auckland, Coromandel Peninsular, Hawkes Bay - Wairoa/Napier/Gisborne, Tongariro Nat. Park, Raglan & the East Cape NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip. North Island UPDATE 5/2/2008 We have now left North island. Te Ika-a-Maui (North Island): Weather quite choppy as we left via the Interislander for Picton. Before that we had travelled complete length of Wellington Harbour, Eastbourne to Lyle Bay (by airport) , ace views, read for hours in sunshine. Went to Parliament buildings and art gallery plus saw National Treasure Nick Cage movie (DON'T). Saw start of IRB Rugby Sevens in Wellington Camped 5 nights at Seaview, Wellington. Went to Te Papa Museum and 7's concert Stayed o/night in Greytown, went across 42k single track mountain pass (Akatarawa rd), oh what views! plus car stuck in sand on beach(oops) Camped in Levin and visiting local beaches, went to Uni & Rugby museum Palmerston North!!! Gr8. Stayed at Havelock North, Hawkes Bay wine region outside Hastings for 3 days. Was 32c & humid. Camped at Wairoa and went to Lake Waikaremoana (ace). Travelled down East Cape in drizzle from Hicks bay to Gisborne, some interesting stuff including longest wharf in NZ. Stayed in motel overlooking Hick's bay on the East Cape having travelled from Coromandel down the splendid Pacific Coast highway (mountainous, rugged and remote). Spent 3 days camping on the Coromandel peninsular, ace weather (28c) and scenery, Driving Creek Bush railway a must!!! Chillin day spent mostly doing 'retail therapy' at Slyvia Park Mall. Went out on the harbour on Greg & Vaughan's boat and did some seafishing....gr8 fun. plus we saw World Champs Windsurfing and played crazy golf on sea front! went up the sky tower and to the ice bar (Lenin's downtown) in eve and had sushi/ sashimi. Sad day (11/1), Sir Edmund Hillary (born Orewa NZ, resided Remuera just down the road) died (we have seen his statue and tributes!). been surfing at Raglan and seen Kiwi's (live) at Otorahanga as well as glowworms at Waitomo. Also New Plymouth (west coast) - ideal for Doug & Phoenix who went to Plymouth Uni...surfing, eating and chillin. Spent 7 days camping between Rotarua & Lake Taupo then onto the Tongariro Dual World Heritage National Park (Beyond ace!) Plus spent new year in Finn McCoulls' Irish Bar in Taupo with Boys & Phoenix. Seen and done loads, boys & P did sky diving. We all went on Hukafalls Jet boat (360deg spins - ahhhh!) Nice Xmas day initially on beach surfing the waves, then rain so Xmas dinner inside. Completed working our way around Northlands, via Twin Coasts discovery route ending in Orewa. Swimming with Dolphins, Whangarai Falls , amazingly after the boys arrived they stayed up and we all visited beaches & aquarium. Doug searched in City of Angels for having a UK passport and being born in Wellington (shropshire not NZ ,LAPD!!!!), booked campsites including 'swimming with dolphins' Visited Piha and Karekare beaches (site of Jane Campion's the Piano) on Tasman coast, W.Auckland, Previously Chatted online to Doug on his B'day,plus spent day on St Helier's beach. Harbour cruise, Auckland Botanic Gardens, Orewa, Warksworth and coast from Martin's bay to Sandspit. We have just booked ourselves in for Xmas & Boxing day on the beach in Orewa with Craig, Doug and Phoenix. Take a look at The Waves Website to get an idea....Currently based in Remuera, 5 mins from downtown Auckland Its good to be back in civilisation. We love the place even more now having been back for a second time in 2013 which was spent in the top half of North island. We remember Remuera, travelling with the boys and Phoenix, under canvas for 55 nights, experts in putting up and taking down a family tent, our Toyota estate, Tongariro, shark poo, boysenberry wine, sheep shearing, Came gates and Old for New Plymouth. We also returned again in 2017 . Summary: NORTH ISLAND 58 days , Day 46-103, 10/12/2007 - 5/2/2008 MORE INFORMATION From our travels, our Holidays, North Island New Zealand, Gap Year 2007-8, 10 Dec-31 Jan, with family, summary of the much larger video now broken into 5 parts in nov2020 , auckland, family visiting, xmas, coromandel, wellington, rotorua, lake taupo, fishing, sky dive, sky tower, fishing with wayne & greg, remuera, the piano, camping, driving creek railway, Dargaville, baileys beach, mangonui, botanic gardens Auckland, marina, harbour, skytower, Papamoa beach, te papa, orwea, ohope, coalville, discos and thai birthday meal,are te uri, bottle nose dolphins, new Plymouth, sheep shearing, boysenberry wine, icecream, taupo, marina, aquarium, waves motel,the mad butcher, te kuiti, sheep, karekare, huraru falls, golden springs, waiwere, whangarai falls,raglan, surfing, hi di hi, matakohe, kauri museum, puhoi, Palliser bay, sky diving, tree lookouts, hastings, greenlane motel, waihi beach, hastings, hobbits, wairoa, strange bbqs,interisland ferry, northlands, kiwi fruit, gorges, shark poo, missing brulee, tairua, mount paka, manawatu gorge, paihai, Waitangi treaty, blue lakes, Tongariro, whakapapa village, mount doom, lower tama lakes, skydiving, napier, Gisborne, Opotiki, Wanganui, pohutakawa trees and blossom, piha,te marua, te mata, tuhirangi rugby, lake onoke, akatarawa road views & smells, wai-o-tapu geothermal wonderland, waipu cove, chicken and hen islands, waitekeri ranges, Westpac stadium wellington North Island, The Talkies i.e with speech Message home to Mum from North Island NZ, postcards via that link in the Menu Return to MENU SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND Including Christchurch (Before the Quake), Akaroa, Milford & Doubtful Sounds, Mount Cook & Queen Charlotte Sound via Interisland Ferry NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip. South Island UPDATE 5/4/2008 We have now left the 'Shaky Isles' Finished with 4 days in Christchurch. This included Hagley Park, Botanic gardens, City Centre Art gallery, Cathederal, beaches and Gondola. Sold campgear via Trade Me to Andy & Family, Rangiora. Asburton, visited Peel Forest / Mt Hutt and the Big Tree Timaru for 3 days, nice motel / restuarant..Aspen on Kings! Went to the SUPERB Mt Cook Nat Park Camped at Lake Benmore for 3 days (with own en-suite ....'bloody luxury' Camped in Oamaru (home of the penguins) for 4 days Dunedin (Celtic for Edinburgh, and yes it does have a Princes St & a Fringe) for 3 days Gr8 City Take a look at our baby royal albatross @ the Webcam Website Stayed o/night in Balclutha. Drove thru a v hot Central Otago (32c) upto Alexandra and back out. Visited the Catlins Awesome!! 4 days in Invercargill and 2 on Stewart Island We really liked SI Went to Bluff Visited gr8 museum with Henry the Tuatara@ Invercargill. Went to Milford Sound (best yet!) wet in morning/ sun in afternoon, best way to see it. We took 350 pictures, shows it was ACE!!! Camped in Te Anau (Fjordland Nat Park), for 4 days. Visited Doubtful Sound Camped in Queenstown (Shotover gorge) for 4 nights. Went on a 4WD offroad LOTRs tour (ace!) Visited Arrowtown, the great road to Glenorchy and went up gondola to the home of tandem parscending, luge, heli bike and bungy (Wow we did none of these dangerous sports!)Travelled thru the Haast pass and thru glorious Glacier Lakes in Mt Aspiring Nat Park. Stayed in Haast overnight having seen the wonderful Glaciers & Lake Matheson. Travelled thru a very wet Arthurs Pass (ace with imagination!) and spent 2 days in Hokitika on West Coast. Camped for 4 days at Akaroa, on Bank's peninsular. 30th Wedding Anniversary, really enjoyed the Tranzalpine train & our drunken meal in the eve!!! sightseeing in Christchurch (best city in NZ for me!). 5th ODI Blackcaps Vs England in Christchurch , we would have won if rain and Duckworth Lewis didnt intervene! Visited Oxford via scenic highway 72, stayed in Kaiapoa. Went from St Arnaud to Lake Rotarua (ace) and then via SH67 down to Springs Junction and across Lewis pass (again) to Amberley. Visited Marlborough wine region, Blenheim stayed in St Arnaud (ski area) near the oh-so-lovely Lake Roto-Iti. We were in a log cabin which Annie loved. Spent 3 days camping in Kaikoura . Went whale watching and saw sperm whale, hector dolphin (rare), albatross and NZ furry seals Saw Atonement in 1930's hall (with Intermission), thought film had broken! Went to Reefton Rodeo, ace! Then on thru Lewis pass to Hamner Springs. It has been wet, wet , wet spent night in 'electric light' motel in Reefton. Plus 2nd night (so far) in car after mega electrical storm. Camped in Greymouth. Saw Pancake rocks and SH6 to Greymouth - better in our opinion than 12 Apostles and gr8 ocean rd. Plus stayed o/night in Westport and then drove to Kamerea, fun area. Very wet day and night again, such bad electrical storm we had to sleep in car for 2 hrs at Pakawua. Drove to Westport via Buller river gorge (wet but superb!) 2.5 in of rain overnight in Pakewua, needed - Went on Farewell Spit Eco Tour, 6.5 hrs across sand to farest north on South Island west coast. Camping at Pawawau beach for 3 days. Caught 2 salmon on Anatoki river and ate them Visited the Abel Tasman national Park via a 5&1/2 hr boat trip in hot sunshine, spectacular Arrived via ferry, choppy in Cook Straights but gr8 views in Queen Charlotte Sound. Nelson (which we both liked) where we saw WOW (World of Wearable Art & Classic Cars) Amazingly different and classy!!! Take a look yourself @ The WOW Website to get an idea....Anne has the 2006 official programme which we will bring back with us but it has IPR so we cannot reproduce here There was also a spin off exhibition in Christchurch based on wearable flowers The Jenny Gillies Website I haven't yet made reference to the wonderful Dunedin which we both really liked and the lovely little penguins, a magical moment. Summary: SOUTH ISLAND 58 days , Day 103-163, 5/2/2008 - 5/4/2008 , incl 2 on Stewart Island MORE INFORMATION From our travels, our Holidays, South Island New Zealand, Gap Year 2007-8, 1 Feb – 5 Apr, such fun, travel all over,including 434 images plus a summary of the much larger video now broken into 8 parts in nov2020, covering plus a whole lot more the following, picton, queen charlotte sound, cricket in Christchurch for my birthday, 5th ODI Blackcaps vs England, Collingwood, Prior, Pieterson, queenstown, trans alpine railway, 30th wedding anniversary, akaroa, greymouth, holitika, abel tasman national park, Dunedin, albatross, queenstown, pancake rocks, milford & doubtful sound, anatoki, salmon fishing, banks peninsular, lake roto-iti, lake Rotorua, Kaikoura, bungee, lake matheson, mount cook, sir Edmund Hillary, penguins, Blenheim, trams, omaru, barry bay, knights point,te anua, farewell spit, blowholes,bluff, the caitlins, fox & franz josef glaciers, Invercargill, ashburton, glenorchy,hamner springs, honer tunnel, keas, weka, kawa, kaiteriteri, Cromwell,kekeno, cape foulwind, lake benmoe,moeraki boulders,Littleton harbour, Marlborough, Westport,karamea, Palliser bay, punakaiki, sir joseph ward, shotover gorge, pukawau,Amberley, reefton, rodeo,st arnaud, tew ae wae, cable cars, seals, sealions,mauhinapau walkway,waikuru beach,nelson, wow museum, Timaru, haast, takiroa, sheep street, the steepest, niagara falls nz, boot hill, cadburys Dunedin, Christchurch cathedral & city before the 2011 earthquake, ross, festival of flowers, split apple rock, whales fluking, lord of the rings @ WOW, botanic gardens Christchurch, interisland ferry South Island, the Talkies videos Video home to Mum from South Island, postcards under that on the menu Return to Menu STEWART ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND Diary Stewart Island HIGHLIGHTS Kaka bird on our balcony, hire car trip, Oban, Walk in the national Park LOWLIGHTS None A really nice place, one of the comments I remember was a plaque in the National Park saying "is there a mainland?" Day 142 - Saturday 15th March 2008,Stewart island Up early, parked up car in Bluff Then took catamaran ferry across Bit choppy but not 2 bad Took 1 hr Collected by Isaac and stayed in Kaka cottages Liked SI walked around Oban a bit and spent some time in the South Sea Island Hotel (the only pub) Then had meal Excellent in the Hotel Nice day,we met Isaacs (host at Kaka cottages) Remember the roaring 40s wind England doing well against the blackcaps as seen on TV screen in pub in Oban, which is where most travellers seem to congregate. See SI piccies mixed in with the Catlins Day 143 - Sunday 16th March 2008,Stewart Island back to Invercargill Hired a Ford Ka for 4hrs on the island There are only 27km worth of roads (most of which are gravel) even though it is the size of Singapore 98 % is forest and the Rakiura National Park Returned on 6.30 boat after time in pub (again) and then A drove back to Invercargill Evergreen motel, visited Lee Bay, Rakiura track, Braggs Bay, Butterfield beach (which we walked) Thule Bay (which we walked to) indeed all we could drive to.cost $60NZD for ½ a day, for a manual tin box which is twice what we were paying a day for the Toyota Camry but hey it was worth it Stewart island is lovely watched last king of Scotland on TV in Invercargill, spoke to Isaac our host at kaka cottages at least 3 times and a Kaka who landed on our balcony whilst we had breakfast.Shame a lovely 2 days on Stewart Island had to end. Summary: STEWART ISLAND 2 days , Day 142-143, 15/03/2008 - 16/03/2008 Return to Menu AUSTRALIA overall all States & Territories except ACT Covers both Eastern, Central & Western Australian States in Motorhomes from motorhome-travels blog NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip. HISTORY Oz Overall Australia 10 England 12 ...no no...thats just not fair to our antipodean brethren: Arrive 5/4/08 in Sydney from Christchurch Flight NZ0783 for 5.5 months Again we will get a campervan here. We are heading first down to Tasmania to visit / stay with my 1st cousin once removed Diana & John who live there. Really looking forward to seeing Tassie (I have been there once about 45 years ago) and taking their advice on what to see CONTACT Our Ozzie Mobile No is +61406837909 but after 23/5/08 +61417186533 NSW HIGHLIGHTS Sydney and everything about it, still best city in the world, Silverton, Wentworth, the Sapphire Coast esp. Tathra, Hyams Beach, Botany Bay, the WONDERFUL Blue Mts, Jenolan Caves, the superb Palm Beach, the Entrance/Norah head, Port Stephens peninsula, Port Macquarie (incl Billabong Wildlife Park), Fredo's pies, Cresent Head LOWLIGHTS Agressive driving skills(?) of some Sydneysiders Tasmania HIGHLIGHTS Bruny Island, Stanley, Great Western Tier, Mt Wellington, East Coast, Port Arthur, Freycinet Nat park and seeing Diana & John again after 7+years (We think it was that long but its a guess ?) LOWLIGHTS None really except Strahan Motel wasn't good value for money, £150+ as car rally was on Western Australia HIGHLIGHTS Wave Rock,Kalgoorlie, Esperance, Ocean Beach-Denmark, Valley of the Giants Canopy Walk, Perth, Margaret River, Freo, Rottnest island, Broome, the magnificent Cable beach & the even more magnificent Kimberley/Geikie Gorge LOWLIGHTS Great White attacking guy at Middleton Beach, not as much natural wildlife in Kimberley as we would have thought Northern Territory HIGHLIGHTS Mindil beach sunset market, Darwin, The wonderful Ghan (new & old), Alice Springs, Uluru / the Olgas, Andrew Langford Didge playing, oh and the nice meals in the Red Ochre Grill LOWLIGHTS Hardly any apart from maybe the very obvious divide between white and black, but despite being dry most towns had v drunk local aboriginals, sad! South Australia HIGHLIGHTS Adelaide North, Barossa Valley, Flinders Ranges and wild life, Renmark, McLaren Vale (home of Shiraz,Hic!), Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo island-especially the Koalas, Victor Harbor & horse drawn tram to Granite island, Mac's Fish &Chips @ Robe, Mt Gambier LOWLIGHTS Fish & Chips in the Ozone Hotel Kingscote, KI Victoria HIGHLIGHTS Mildura, PS Melbourne, the Grampians, Ararat, port Fairy, Warrnambool & the GREAT Ocean road (one of the most scenerific places in the world in our humble opinion), the eerie Hanging Rock, Mitchelton Vineyard (Nagambie), Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, 90Mile Beach, Lakes Entrance, Snowy River, the Wonderful Mallacoota & Gipsy Point. LOWLIGHTS Only that we had more days of rain , wind and colder temperatures than we would like but hey who's complaining , we had a gr8 time! Queensland HIGHLIGHTS Surfers Paradise, Catching up with Peter Birtles, Brisbane, Australia Zoo, Glass House Mtns, Buderim, Noosa Heads, Maryborough, Bundaberg & the Coral Coast, Rockhampton, Mackay's beaches, the SUPERB Daydream island(for our 30th honeymoon), Bowen, Picnic Bay-Magnetic Island, Townsville, Rollingstone, Dunk island, Fishery Falls, Cairns esp Hogs Breathe Cafe, Kuranda, Lake Morris, Clifton Beach, Port Douglas (esp Brit winning swimming gold!), Cape Trib, Daintree River, Cooktown, Charters Towers (esp the Hospital for Annies big toe!!! Thx to them), Gem field area (Emerald, Sapphire, Rubyvale & Willows), Roma, Surat (Cobb & Co museum), Emu eggs at St George LOWLIGHTS Humidity on odd occasions, but hey we ain’t complaining We visited every state i.e New South Wales (NSW), Victoria(Vic), Tasmania(Tas), Western Australia (WA),Northern Territories (NT),South Australia(SA).We remember so much of this fabulous trip, read on but motorhome hires & camels and sunset at Broome beach is right up there with the best of it. See our 1995 trip here and we just had to go back for our 4th , but hopefully not final time in 2013.No question Annie & I love Oz both as children & adults FACT! Annie and I both love Australia from our experiences as kids & adults FACT! Summary: AUSTRALIA 169 days , Day 163-326, 5/4/2008 - 15/9/2008 Return to Menu NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA Including Sydney, Animals - Koalas & Roos,Port MacQuarie, Coffs Harbour, Up & Down the Coast, Katoomba & Outback NSW NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip UPDATE 15/9/2008 We have now left the “first state” and Oz Stayed in the Holiday Inn Sydney Airport on the last night, sad to leave but also keen to return and see folk back in the UK. A superb holiday!!!Spent last 5 nights in Sydney party-ing Stayed 4 nights at Narabeen. Had a gr8 last day in central Sydney (11/9) Walked the beach and dunes of Narabeen for a last paddle (12/9) and watched the beach volleyball in Manly (13/9). 29c Hot, Hot, Hot! Previously - camped in Diamond Beach for 2 nights...you could hear the waves! Just down the road from Forster-Tuncurry. Camped again at our favourite campsite Darlington Beach above Coffs Harbour for 3 days. V sunny for 2 days, got sunburnt. the day b4 weather was BAD. rain and floods galore on 5/9 similar to UK Camped in Armidale after an “interesting” day Koala spotting NOT! Camped in Gunnedah, Koala capital of the world, New England, NSW Camped in Dubbo o/night Before that in Bourke (you don’t know Oz until you have been to Back o’Bourke) Went on a 4WD tour of Lightening Ridge, one of the weirdest places we have ever been, nomad/hippies/miners and then did some successful fossicking in the afternoon. Rained hard all day temp dropped from 33c to 16c overnight! Crossed back over into NSW (from Queensland) for the 4th and final time near Hebel, Outback QLD. Camped at Lightening Ridge, home of the Black Opal for 2 nights UPDATE 24/7/2008 Now left NSW for the 3rd time, having moved up to the Gold Coast in Queensland, but we WILL BE BACK!!! Camped in Tweed Heads, 1k from Coolangatta in QLD Travelled here via Lennox Head, Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads, Hastings Point,Pottsville Kingscliff. Camped in Ballina. Drove there via Grafton, Casino & Lismore. Spent 4 days at Lake Darlington Beach campsite, 25 mins above Coffs Harbour, sub tropical luxury (2 pools & 2 hot tubs)! Beach / Pool or Pool/ Beach...decisions/ decisions! Our friendly roo couple and Joey visited our campervan 3 nights running Came here from Nambucca Heads. The weather is so good and the beaches so nice we are lingering in this area. Its a hard life but someone has gotta do it. Travelled to Nambucca Heads via TR 12 & 14 from South West Rocks where we stayed for 2 days. Temps again 23c Previously spent time on Crescent Head beach. UPDATE 15/7/2008 Current - camping in South West Rocks for 2 days. It was very hot 2day, 23c and we spent a lot of it on the beach. Travelled here on tourist route 12 from Kempsey. Previously - Drove up from Port Macquarie to Kempsey after gr8 day at Billabong Wildlife park (see the piccies) and lunch in pancake house in Town Camped in Port Macquarie (PM) for 2 days, we love the place. "Life's a beach then you die" PM has 11 beaches, we saw 3 oh and temps of 22c and sun help! Also saw the Koala hospital. Take a look at The Koala Hospital website to get an idea, read some copies of Gum Tips.... Drove to PM having visited Port Stephens area where we camped at Anna bay o/night. Immense sanddunes (highest & longest in Southern hemisphere. Stretch to Newcastle. Visited the wonderful Palm beach then drove up Pacifc Hwy (Nat1) past Lake Macquarie and the Entrances area (sea lakes) Camped at Narabeen lakes, Sydney North Shore Visited Annie old school and house and place of work Snow in OZ 4 Us 9/7/2008 on way back from Jenolan Caves, bad news! Camped at Lithgow. Saw Blue Mts at Blackheath from Evans & Govetts lookouts (ace) and the overwhelming Jenolan Caves Staying in Katoomba having seen the Wonderful Blue Mts and Botany Bay . Sneaked a 2nd view of BMts on morning of 9/7 as v sunny. Beforehand we stayed overnight in a motel (luxury) in the Sutherland/ Cronulla suburbs of south Sydney as no campsites and late! Travelled all the way up the new Grand Pacific Drive (NSW answer to Vic's GOR, maybe!) from Shoalhaven Heads to the Royal Nat Park via Kiama, Shellharbour, Wollongong and Sea Cliff Bridge to mention a few sights. Stayed at Shoalhaven TT site. Travelled from Batemans Bay thru Basin view, St Georges basin, Sanctuary Point, Jervis Bay Nat Park V sunny 20c+, best day weatherwise for a while From Tathra to Batemans Bay, where we stayed. Met 2 very nice ladies whilst we watched the Dolphins off Tathra Head, chatted for an hour. Sunny & warm, 18c Returned to NSW for the 3rd time on 4/7 from Victoria Drove thru Eden, the Sapphire Coast Hwy into Tathra where we camped on the beach front. V sunny day UPDATE 9/6/2008 Left NSW for the 2nd time Drove from a very wet Outback NSW down the Silver City Highway across the border into Victoria & Mildura via Wentworth. before that we visited Silverton Ghost town (scene of Mad Max) and Broken Hill. Rained all day so went to see the new Indy movie! Arrived in NSW on 7/6 from Peterborough, SA via the rather desolate Barrier Highway, Emu count 4, Wild Goat count and Road Trains huge! Camped in Broken Hill for 2 days UPDATE 12/4/2008 Left NSW for 1st time Sydney: Gr8 days - Visited Victoria gallerys, China town & Gardens, Rozelle Bay and Paddy's market Taronga Zoo & saw Swan Lake ballet @ Opera House Plus visited Watson bay, Manly & Paramatta river via Sydney Ferries. Monorail (all stops), Endeavour and the Maritime Museum, Darling harbour & Imax Also spent the day doing the tourist stuff, open topped bus round city centre, plus to Bondi, Rose Bay and Double P(B)ay, ace weather Arrived Sydney 5/4/2008. Going to see Swan Lake ballet @ Opera House 10/4 Arrive 5/4 staying in Travelodge Wentworth, just down from Hyde Park for 7 days We visited the Opera House and saw swan lake, Palm beach we loved, Port Macquarie & the Koala hospital, Lightening Ridge quirky bottle houses and opal. See our 1995 trip here and we just had to go back for our 4th , but hopefully not final time in 2013 . It wasn't we also returned in 2017 . Summary: NSW 46 days , Stay 1 Day 163-170, 5/4-12/4/2008,Stay 2 Day 226-228, 7-9/6/2008, Stay 3 Day 253-273,4/7-24/7/2008,Final Stay Day 310-326,30/8-15/9/2008 ALSO THE 1st 6 Slidesshow reference this detail summary tuned by Men at Work #classic and now the Talkies video New South Wales – Australia 3 visits, 46 days in total Part1 of 6, during the period 5 Apr-15 Sep 2017 From our travels, gap year, New South Wales – Australia 3 visits, 46 days in total, during the period 5 Apr-15 Sep 2017, in 6 parts reconstructed Nov2020, including 297 images being a summary of the much larger collection, covering plus a whole lot more the following,Darlington beach, arrawarra, Sydney, corindi beach, gunnedah, luna park, opera house, harbour bridge, ferrys, manly, watsons bay, doyles, scotia, broken hill, Ballarat, bendigo,brewarrina, bush melons, turtles, Byron bay, cadmans cottage, camel rocks, sandunes, port stephens, diamond beach, big 4 campsites, motorhome travels,charlotte arch, jenolean caves, lightening ridge, opals, circular quay, Chinese gardens, harbourside, coffs harbour, big banana, naff ozzie icons, crocodile Dundee, outback, botany bay, darling river, bourke, pandanas, beaches to die for, tropical birds, classy ads, dingoes, ice cube restaurant,emus, billabong park, port Macquarie, woolongong, Pittwater bay,Flynn beach, pelicans,roos, lennox point, fishing, galahs, fredo’s pies, Kempsey,fruit bats, botanical gardens, gilbert st, manly, where annie lived, Gosford, govetts leap, bridal veil falls, grose river, govetts creek, the Liverpool plain, hastings point, hat head, Nambucca head, national parks, hebel, wurrumbungle NP, snakes, jubilee caves, caves house, floods, Bellinger river, imperial cave, black head lagoon, narabeen, wattle, hyams beach, squeaky sand, mrs macquaries chair, mystery bay, seacliff bridge,surfing, south west rocks, kiama, blowholes, kookaburra, ku-ring-ai chase, leura,lifeguards, bore holes, hot sulphur springs, nyngan, cobb and co, bellambi beach, Lithgow, trangie, mad max, silverton, beach volleyball,Mitchell highway,myall lakes, joeys, monorail, norah heads,north haven, camp cove, pitch d6 darlington, bbqs,cresent head,tuggerah lakes, crocs maybe?,palm beach, woy woy,possums, whitegum lookout, quoll, banksia, tahra, wapango creek, sea food platter, shark nets, shell harbour, Sherman, Sherrard falls, dorrigo, split rock, st George, sturt, tamworth, country music, terigal, ocean drive, the orphan, blue mountains, katoomba,smoky cape lighthouse, dubbo, thunderbolt kid, urella, tilba, sapphire coast,top tourist campsites, trial bay, bondi beach, reids point, lookouts galore, copacobanna beach, wicked vans, woolgoolga Return to Menu TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA Including Huon Valley, Visiting Rellies, 2 weeks exploring , Queenstown, Strahan, Freycinet & Lake Clair Nat Park, Cradle Mountain & Launceston NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip UPDATE 30/4/2008 Now left Tassie, the Holiday Isle Had a nice meal with Diana & John at Mures and said goodbye at the airport, they were both so kind! Visited Port Arthur 'penal colony' site 2day, staying last night in Sandy Bay We were in Taranna in lovely Summer Cottage for 2 days. Swansea overlooking the rookery of penguins. Had a gr8 day coming down the East coast and seeing the WONDERFUL Freycinet Nat park. St Helens. Walked to St Columba waterfall & visited Derby!. Plus stayed in Launceston for 2 days. Drove from Burnie to Launceston via Gr8 Western Tiers. Smithton out to West point, back via Stanley & the Nut to Burnie, alas Dismal Swamp closed!!! Tullah to Smithton via the wonderful Crandle Mountain- Lake Clair Nat park. Gr8 day and saw lots of 'regeneration' burns. Still xclent weather for Autumn, 21c+. Queenstown to Tullah via Strahan / Zeehan & Rosebury. Huon valley to Strahan / Queenstown. The Targa Tassie rally is on between Strahan/Zeehan & Queenstown. Previously - Visited Salamanca/Museum (Hobart) plus 7 mile beach & Opossum Bay. Bruny Island Tasman Peninsular (ace) plus finally sorted i/net in oz although Vodaphone ain't off the hook yet! Visited Mt Wellington, Mt Nelson & Hobart Pleasant days in Ranelagh/ Huonville with D&J, who have been absolutely wonderful hosts and looked after us amazingly well. Arrived Hobart 12/4/08 from Sydney (Quantas) for 2.5 weeks leaving Tassie 30/4/08 for Perth, 9.5 hrs via Melbourne (Jetstar & Quantas) We remember Huon Valley, Mures, Strahan, builders walking past our bedroom window, the lovely Bruny Island and the views from the neck and adventure bay sands, and mostly seeing John & Diana. See also our 1995 trip Blog 163 and we just had to go back for our 4th but hopefully not final time in 2013. It wasn't we also returned in 2017. You can see those blogs here 167 & 168 respectively. Summary: TASMANIA 18 days , Day 170-188, 12/4/2008 - 30/4/2008 Now the specialist wood carving we went to see outback Tassie and now the Tassie talkies video Return to Menu WESTERN AUSTRALIA Including Perth, Rottnest, Quokkas, Norseman thru Kalgoolie, Esperance, Albany, Margaret River, Busselton, then fly to Broome & Cable beach, Camels & Sunsets NOTE all words in ITALICS were either written on the trip or before we left (labelled HISTORY). UPDATE 21/5/2008 We have now left Western Australia Flew via Kunnunarra into Darwin (NT) past Lake Argyle Previously - Did superb 16hr trip into the Kimberley thru Fitzroy Crossing to Geikie Gorge and to cap it all they played the Shawshank Redemption on the screen in the 4WD on the way back, bliss! Before that we went into Broome town (35c 2day) and town beach plus lovely meal at Som Thai in eve Spent 2nd day chillin by the pool, ace, 33c again, then caught bus (with other 100 people) to Cable beach and watched the sunset, beyond words, you gotta do it. Flew into Broome, hot 33c @ 8pm after handing back the campervan in Perth @ 1pm, sorted campervan for our Adelaide to Sydney incl Queensland trip Went to Rottnest (Rotto) Island, lovely day. In Freo (Fremantle) for 2 days. Travelled up from Bunbury via Mands (Mandurah) and all the beaches of the City of Rockingham. Stayed in Bunbury. Visited Margs, Prevelly, Yallingup and Busso Margaret River (wine region) after travelling from Northcliffe via Pemberton, Augusta and Leeuwin point where the Southern Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. In Northcliffe stayed at an Eco Caravan Park, where we had our own friendly roos. Plus walked the lovely Valley of the Giants canopy walk. Breathtaking piccies don't do it justice Previously - Albany on the coast, before that Jerramungup (26c), travelled over 300k along SH1 in the south thru 'world famous' (supposedly) Fitzgerald River Nat Park Hmmm! Our campsite has a tame roo called Priscilla. Day+ in Esperance (28c) , what a change of colours after red plains we found deep blue oceans and supposedly the whitest sands in the world!. Stayed in Norseman (33c), start of the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor, alas we aren't doing it! Maybe in another lifetime! Stayed in Kalgoorlie for 2 days (31c but our campervan claimed 38c), Gold mining capital of the outback. We loved K-B, gr8 place! Visited Narembeen Town, then drove 71km straight single tar/dirt track to Great Eastern Highway then 350Kms thru to Coolgardie, where we camped. Hot , tired but enjoyed changing landscape 26c Visited Wave Rock (28c wow!) nr Hyden, camped in Narembeen. Picked up campervan, drove thru the Shire of York to Quairading where we camped, 22c Nice warm days in Perth (24c+) 2nd tram ride out to Burswood etc We like Perth, it has a nice feel Arrived at Hotel (not the best) after long journey, hot and tired. Slept in and then had a gr8 day in Perth , boattrip to Freemantle and Tram trip around town HISTORY Arrive from Hobart via Melbourne in 9.5hr journey on Jetstar/ Quantas 30/4, staying in the Mountway Apartments, Central City Perth Leaving Perth after 3 days city/ 14 days Campervan (Britz Elite) then on 16/5 to fly to Broome. Staying Broome until 21/5 in Ocean Lodge Hotel Cable Beach and have a organised bush trip thru Aboriginal Community North to Geikie Gorge and a Darngku Aboriginal Heritage Cruise Then flying via North Airlines to Darwin touching down at Kununurra We remember the Geikie Gorge trip, Wave rock at Hyden, the wonderful Broome, Fitzroy crossing, beaches at Esperance and seeing the start of the Nullarbor at Norseman. In 2013 we actually crossed the Nullarbor Plain (no trees) see blog 167 for details Summary: WESTERN AUSTRALIA 22 days , Day 188-209, 30/4/2008 - 21/5/2008 and now the WA talkies video, such lovely voices 😉 🌠 Return to Menu NORTHERN TERRITORY Including Darwin, Mindil Beach, a Fab Trip (Red Class) on the Ghan #railway to Alice Springs via Katherine & Tennant Creek, Buying a Didge, Uluru, the Olgas & Sunset Heaven NOTE all words in ITALICS were either written on the trip or before we left (labelled HISTORY). UPDATE 29/5/2008 We have now left the Outback State Loved NT. Nice, remote and relaxed. Flew out over the various deserts, gr8 views. Bought a Didge from Andrew made by aboriginal who lives between Katherine & Ddarwin, Top end. Also visited Old Ghan Museum, train spotters that we are! Plus had a Didge lesson and went to the marvellous Andrew Langford's Sounds in Starlight Theatre for a contemporary Didge show and joined in. Plus 19hr round trip from Alice to see Uluru & The Olgas, immense! Wildlife count to Uluru and back was 3 camels, 20+roos, 4 dingos, numerous birds and bats. Spent the day in and around Alice by Explorer bus. Arrived on the Ghan (Gr8 fun) in Alice Springs (cooler at 27c) from Darwin via Katherine (4hrs), Tennant Creek (5hrs but night) after 27hr journey, not for the faint hearted! Average 33c in Darwin. Went to Art & History Museum Darwin (we liked Darwin) Plus Gr8 day in Darwin, visited the town, did the tourist bus (tour tub), chilled by the infinity pool and went to the sunset market at Mindil beach, spectacular Arrived and met the v helpful Lorraine at our apartment in Darwin HISTORY Arrive in Darwin via air from Broome 21/5/2008 and then catching Ghan on Sat 24/5 @ 9am thru to Alice Springs stopping off at Katherine for 4 hours. (We will see the gorge + town) In Darwin we will be staying in a Central Motel (Unit 1 @ 4 Barossa Street, Larrakeyah) and taking trips out and about in NT for a few days. In Alice we are staying at the Aurora Alice Springs for 4 nights and taking a 17hr trip to Uluru & the Olgas in Red Rock country on the 27th, looking fwd to it! Darwin is a fabulous place and was my top city after Sydney. The Ghan journey we will remember for the rest of our lives and the school of the air in Katherine as well as visiting the magical Uluru (and not being allowed to take pictures, its a sacred place) and staying in Alice, seeing the Starlight theatre performance and having Andrew Langford try out our Didge before we bought it. See our 1995 trip blog 163 and we just had to go back for our 4th and 5th trips in 2013 & 2017 respectively. We visited Alice again in 2017. We travelled in 2 motorhomes in our 10½ months away, the one on the eastern side being our home for 105 days. If you want to learn more about motorhomes, click here. No question Annie & I love Oz both as children & adults FACT! Note our reenactment of the £10 POMs in 2017 western australia at Freemantle (Freo) Summary: NORTHERN TERRITORY 9 days , Day 209-217, 21/5/2008 - 29/5/2008 Day 209 shared with Western Australia and Day 218 shared with Southern Australia. MORE INFORMATION From our travels, gap year, Northern Territory Australia,9 days in total, during the period 21-29 May 2008, Ghan, Alice & Uluru, in 3 parts reconstructed Nov2020, including 159 images being a summary of the much larger collection, covering plus a whole lot more the following,Darwin, stations, tenants creek, sunset, mindil sunset market, museums, poems, artist, infinity pools, Katherine, Devonshire teas, didge, Andrew Lansford, aurora hotel, Unit 1, 4 Barossa st, Larrakeyah, Darwin, nice land lady , food, drive to ghan station, cyclone tracy 1974,museums, salt lakes, tropical flowers, Gibson and simpson deserts, aborigines, mount connor, albert Namatjira, artist, graveyard alice, telegraph & signals stations and museums, the old ghan, camels, the tub tour, stolen generation, river Katherine, sounds of starlight theatre, spray can art,the olgas, early morning coach trip, sunset picnic at uluru, cave art,school of the air, walking around the base of ayres rock (old name), red class travel, world hepatitis day, sleeping rough, red ochre café, camel steaks, roo steaks, telegraph camel men, history, traversing a very hostile terrain , baobab trees, frank gorton poetry, tea towels, ballooons, jim's place road house, singing dingoes, rock paintings and images of the past, lasseter highway, past kings canyon - coach swapping point NOTE this one is shared with South Australia plus the NT talkies video Return to Menu SOUTH AUSTRALIA Including Adelaide, Mt. Gambier, Milang, Princes & Southport Highways, Victor Harbor, Flinders Range Nat Park & Koalas on Kangaroo Island NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip UPDATE 21/6/2008 We have now left SA, the Festival (or Wine) State Good look around the Crater lakes at Mt Gambier on our last day in SA. Very sunny and about 15c. Before that a big day driving, 450+k to Mt Gambier along Princes & Southport Hwys. Annie 270+k, Keef 180+k Camped in Milang on Lake Alexandrina, the mouth of the Murray River Visited Victor Harbor (on the best side of the Fleurieu Peninsula) Stayed on Kangaroo island for 3.5 days Ace place We saw 10 koalas in the wild and had one (Cuddles) who was in a tree outside our campervan for most of the day before that we camped in Cape Jervis on the wonderful Fleurieu Peninsula Annie has put up piccies of the boys in the campervan Camped at Aldinga Beach having travelled thru Adelaide Hills/ Mt Barker, Hahndorf, the lovely McLaren Vale (Shiraz hic!) Returned to SA for the 2nd time on 12/6 arriving in Murraybridge where we stay 1 night at the Long Island Marina park from Mildura (Vic) via Yamba, Paringa, Renmark, Berri, Karoonda. UPDATE 7/6/2008 We have now left SA for the 1st time crossing over into NSW Drove from Peterborough along Barrier Hwy to Broken Hill We had previously camped in Peterborough, steamtown. Had a great day in the Flinders Ranges Nat Park. Emu count 20+, Roos 50+ and birds galore plus spectacular scenery. Previously - Spent the night in Hawker (hub of the ranges), didnt get far today thru semi arid desert because of torrential downpour Before we had camped in Quorn (capital of the Flinders Ranges) having driven up from Clare Valley thru Mt Remarkables Nat Park, across the Goyder's line into the semi arid area of SA. Camped in Clare Valley (famous for Riesling) after 2 wonderful days in the gorgeious Barossa valley, Hic (the Shiraz is immense)! Also spent 2 days including the 1st day of winter by the rooftop pool in 23c and v sunny, even managed the odd swim in between naps Strolled thru town in the eve. Plus 2 meals in new Indian opposite Hotel (ace) Went on tourist bus around Adelaide and out to seaside at Glenelg. Staying at Rockford Hotel, v central. Warm & sunny 21c We remember Cuddles & Kangaroo Island, Adelaide, the wine regions of Barossa, Clare & McLaren Vale and especially Chapel Hill port, D'arrendburg Magpie & all the famous vineyards or wineries as the Aussies call them. See our 1995 trip here Blog 163 and we just had to go back for our 4th in 2013 , and 5th with our dear pals Chris & Allyson in 2017. See blogs 167 & 168. Summary: SOUTH AUSTRALIA 19 days , Stay 1 Day 217-226, 29/5 - 7/6/2008 , Stay 2 Day 231-240,12/6-21/6/2008 EXTRA INFO From our travels, gap year, South Australia, 2 stays,19 days, during the period 29 May-21 Jun 2008, Kangaroo Island, Victor Harbor, in 3 parts reconstructed Nov2020, including 156 images being a summary of the much larger collection, covering plus a whole lot more the following, Kangaroo Island, Victor Harbor,pichi richi railway, the original ghan, tropical bird, Glenelg, milang, aldinga beach, cape jervis, ferry, sheep, difficult time reversing onto ferry, smells of animals, wine, mclaren vale, clare valley, Barossa valley, Jacobs creek, hahndorf, tanundra, buying a light, remarkable rocks, silverton, mad max, flinders range national park, emus, roos, koalas, cuddles, botanic gardens,Adelaide oval cricket ground,king William street, hop on hop off bus, metro, American river, penneshaw, flinders chase NP, sturt highway, film crew on our ferry, gramps wine, penfold wines, harbor tram, horses, chapel hill wines & ports, boardwalk, Peterborough, adventure before dementia, lake patawalonga, reeves point, mount connor, mount gambier, the mighty murray river, many naff ozzie icons in towns, lighthouses, weird terrains, tropical flowers, beer, waterfalls, mount remarkable NP, beerenburg, eagles, banksia, echidnas, wellington, ferries, wild and interesting birds, pelicans, pines, quondong pie, paranga, bread fruit, bush melons, old stuart railway station, causeway, western kangaroo island , woolshed flats, Wilpena pound, wombat poo, wolf blass wines, and the man himself, handshake, never washing again, Richmond grove wines, clair, quorn, laura, c j dennis, the sentimental bloke, orrock views, jacksons quality breads, corrugated iron shower blocks, railways, ss buffalo restaurant, col. William light plus the SA talkies video Return to Menu VICTORIA , AUSTRALIA Including Grampians, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mount Macedon, Mallacoota, Melbourne (revisit Keef's homes), Great Ocean Road, Nagambie Lakes, 12 Apostles, Mitchelton Wines (Preece, Yummy) NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip UPDATE 4/7/2008 We have now left the 'Garden' or 'Place to Be/ On the Move' state] Spent our last day in Victoria at the wonderful Mallacoota & Gipsy Point before x-ing the border back into NSW. We camped at Mallacoota in Croajingolong Nat park, drove 320+k to get there from Sale where we camped. Drove from Mornington down the Gippy Hwy (Oz short for South Gippsland Highway) along 90 mile beach. Mixed weather, wet windy & sunny. Saw 2 huge sea eagles, one of which alas had a baby lamb in its grasp! Camped on the Mornington Peninsular @ Mornington. Stressful day driving thru Melbourne City, not easy! Visited where Keef lived as a boy at Elwood. Gr8 day in Melbourne centre plus visited Lalor where Keef also lived as a boy (as well as caulfield, now posh suburb)! Before that camped in Nagambie lakes by the Mitchelton Vineyard (home of Preece). Visited Hanging Rock (Mt Diomedes). Camped in Macedon in the Gr8 Divide ranges. Travelled up from the GOR via Geelong (past Karianda park, come on you Cats) Camped at Kennett River (Gr8 for wildlife spotting) in Otway Nat park, GOR (Koala count 9 over 2 days) Revisited Loch Ard Gorge & 12 Apostles after severe weather warning overnight and boy did we feel it The van 'rocked' ! We stayed in Port Campbell on the GOR (Great Ocean Rd) saw most of the 'world class' GOR The pictures just cannot do it justice Beforehand we had travelled from Port Fairy to Warrnambool (camped 1 night in each) where we whale watched at Logans Beach and saw the Flagstaff Hill nightime Sight & Sound show Beforehand that we toured the wonderful Grampians, oh what views! Spent day in Ararat doing the touristy things, J Ward & Gum San plus the wonderful views from One Tree Hill. Back in Victoria for the 3rd and final time. Camped at Ararat in the Grampians region for 2 days having travelled thru Casterton, Hamilton and a whole stack more familiar Scots named-towns UPDATE 12/6/2008 Left Victoria for the 2nd time, we will BE BACK! Left for SA on the Sturt Highway (A20), v sunny and warm 18c. We liked Mildura a lot, walked around the town, had great icecream sundae (MT Kosioskos) Went on the PS (Paddlesteamer) Melbourne down the Murray River Arrived in Mildura (wonderful place) on 9/6/08 (2nd stop in Vic) via Silver City Highway, 300k. Camped here for 3 days. Nice site (Apex Park, Riverbeach) by river. UPDATE 30/4/2008 First touch down for 4 hours at Tullamarine Airport on route from Hobart to Perth, rang Mum We remember the Grampians, Picnic @ Hanging rock in Macedon, Mallacoota and the fabulous great ocean road and especially getting a pic of the old car as it went under the sign. Summary: VICTORIA 18 days , Day 188 (for 4 hours) then Stay 2 , Day 228-231, 9/6-12/6/2008, Stay 3, Day 240-253, 21/6-4/7/2008 EXTRA INFO From our travels, gap year, Victoria, Australia, 3 stays, 18 days,during the period 30 Apr- 4 Jul 2008, the 1st only 4 hours at Melbourne airport en route from Hobart to Perth, a long flight, rang Mum from there, in 4 parts reconstructed Nov2020, including 223 images being a summary of the much larger collection, covering plus a whole lot more the following,Melbourne, lalor, mornington peninsular, sale, great ocean road, old cars, sale, malacoota, mount macedon, nagambie lakes, picnic at hanging rock, long climb up, painful legs, bendigo, maits rest, roos, murray steamers, mitchelton winery, preece, art work on labels, apollo bay, shipwrecks, torquay beach, surfers, kennett river, best place for koalas, lyre bird mile, London bridge – is fallen down, mornington, beach huts, picnics, 12 apostles – now only 7, visitors platform, family parks, Mildura, bay of islands, black swans, the grampians, Chinese miners, avoca, bay of martyrs, huge grey roo, mount defiance lookout, derrick street, lalor & pine ave, elwood (where I lived as a child), Ararat, federation square, flagstaff hill, Griffiths island, port fairy, gypsy point, mt Diomedes, lake entrance, tower hill reserve, emus, 90 mile beach, koala cove café, kookaburras, aireys inley, marine parade wood carvings, loch ard gorge, lock 11, logans beach, whales, warrnambool, mckenzie falls, Melbourne cricket ground, flinders street station, trams, miller falls, halls gap, mount victory, pelicans, maccabah restaurant, the ps Melbourne, seaspray, reed lookout, swampgully campsite, rosella, sale harbour, telstradome, the arch, rabbit island, stratford upon avon (ozzie version), emigration museum, tsindos Greek restaurant,william buckley, white cockatoo, woodend, the murky yarra, yorkeys knob plus the victoria state talkies video Return to Menu QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA Including Daydream Island, Airlie Beach, St. George, Atherton Tablelands, Daintree, Port Douglas, Cape Trib, Emerald Gem Fields, Cairns, Kuranda & Salties, Cooktown NOTE all words in ITALICS were written on the trip UPDATE 30/8/2008 We have now left the “Sunshine/ Smart/ Tropical/ Outback” state Crossed over the border back into NSW near Hebel. Camped in St George, 170k from QLD/NSW outback border. Previously - camped in Roma overnight and before that Emerald and Willows Gem fields for 3 days. Went fossicking 2 days running and found 13 (lucky for us though) sapphires. 1st day easy, 2nd real diggings (hard work in blistering sun 27c, wow not sure how they did this years ago) Drove to the gem field area over 500k driven down Gregory Developmental road Camped in Charters Towers for 2 days. Slowly making our way back to Sydney via Outback QLD &NSW Got to Charters Towers via a marathon 550k drive down 2 developmental roads (gravel with central single tar track) Interesting Camped in Atherton, got there via Mareeba and 350kms Before that camped in Cooktown for 3 days. Cooktown is as far north as we can get and its developmental road only opened as a sealed road in 2006. Cape York & Weipa are strictly 4WD and mostly closed in the wet season. Visited Daintree & Cape Tribulation (ace) from Port Douglas (PD). Camped in Port Douglas for 4 days. Drove to PD via Cairns North Beaches which are v good. Had a gr8 day in PD before returning for a well earned swim in the pool Hot&Humid here , 28c with humidity 48% Camped in Cairns for 3 days. Much has changed since we were last here 13 years ago, now a big cosmopolitan city! Went back to Kuranda for the day, ace place and into the rainforest to Lake Morris (amazingly steep climb) Also camped in Fishery Falls below Cairns for 1 night. We camped here with the boys 13 years ago. It has changed a lot including removing the cowboy swing doors from the local pub! Camped in Rollingstone (yes Mr Jagger it really is a place!) gr8 pool beach front location 10/8 yahoo GB gets 1st gold for cycling to rival ozzie bragging about 1st swimming gold Camped in Townsville (Woodlands) for 2 nights. Went to Magnetic Island for the day. Arrived in Townsville from Airlie beach via Shute Harbour & Bowen. Spent one of the best days ever on Daydream Island in the Whitsundays.Camped at Airlie Beach , Whitsundayshire for 3 days. V nice weather! 26-28c Even went for a numerous swims in both sea and pools plus numerous beach paddles. 19c at night whilst 20c in day in Nottingham, can’t be bad! Above the Tropic of Capricorn in Mackay and its getting hotter by the day 28c Went via Rockhampton (gr8 place) Stayed in Benaraby just below Gladstone. Travelled there from Bundaberg on Coral Coast via Agnes waters & 1770. Note this is the southern end of the Gr8 Barrier Reef. Camped in Bundaberg after travelling from Maryborough (ace place!) via Hervey Bay Travelled from Caloundra to Maryborough (home of the author of Mary Poppins) via Buderim & Noosa. Getting much hotter as we move towards the tropics, 23c to 27c Camped in Caloundra (busy, only got into 4th site) on Sunshine Coast for 2 days. Had an ace day in the best zoo in the world, Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo in Beerwah oh and saw Glass House Mountains at the end of the day. Spent a gr8 day in Brisbane. Camped in Aspley a northern “suburb” of Brisbane for 2 days. Went to visit Peter & Lorraine Birtles & family at their home in Warner for a lovely BBQ Peter is an old colleague & friend from Boots in Nottingham and it was lovely to see them. They looked after us extremely well, thx. Went to see the wonderful Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, with Miami City & the Isle of Capri!!! Arrived in QLD across the border from NSW on 24/7/2008 camped in Biggera Waters Nr Labrador on a v v wet Gold Coast We visited every state i.e New South Wales (NSW),Victoria(Vic),Tasmania(Tas),Western Australia (WA),Northern Territories (NT),South Australia(SA).We remember so much of this fabulous trip, read on but motorhome hires & camels and sunset at Broome beach is right up there with the best of it. Summary: QUEENSLAND 37 days , Day 273-310, 24/7/2008 - 30/8/2008 EXTRA INFO From our travels, gap year, Queensland, Australia, 37 days,during the period 24 Jul – 30 Aug 2008, all the way up the coast to Cooktown, in 7 parts reconstructed Nov2020, including 223 images being a summary of the much larger collection, covering plus a whole lot more the following,woombye, naff ozzie icons, Rockhampton, mackay, bundaberg, tropic of Capricorn, bernaraby, Caloundra, maryborough, mary poppins, pamela lyndon travers, pl travers author, 1770, captain james cook, surfers, surfers paradise, venice, miami, Daintree, cape tribulation, crocodiles, salties, yandina, cannonball trees, port douglas, cairns, magnetic island, airlie beach, airlie cove, daydream island, the whitsundays, scarface the croc, snakes, big 4 campsites, noosa, noosa heads, Russell crowe, bush turkey, national parks, cairns, the sunshine coast, the big pineapple, nutworks, macadamias, avos, ettamoga pubs, buderim ginger, ice creams, Atherton, tablelands, sharks, rays, sea cucumbers, starfish, daydream swimming, mermaids, sunshine galore, sugar canes, fishery falls, rollingstone, billy tea, fishery falls, cooktown, endeavour river, death by salty, yorkies knob, monitor lizard pets, breaking hired chairs, abel point marina, agnes water, strelitzia, kuranda, railway to cairns, palm cove, willow gem fields, outback, charters towers, hospitals, annies bad toe, weird cowboy with terrets, cattle markets, emerald, kent street, mission beach, flagstaff hill, elephants, watching beccy addlington win gold, mission beach, mount coot-tha, Brisbane, bougainvillea, fake sea, a j hackett bungee cairns,car stickers, tropical flowers, multi monuments, cassowary, crystal cascade campsite, Australia zoo, cardwell, hard rock café, gordonvale, surprise creek, barron falls, waterfalls, murdering point, winery, port, wonga beach, koalas, butterflies, lorrikeets, saunders beach, fish dinners, jade buddha restaurant, lake morris, isley hills, nelly bay, eagle street pier, paddlesteamer restaurant, palm cove, pine islet lighthouse, riga sister city to cairns, bowen, baz lurmahn, Australia the movie, rod laver tennis hero, suncorp stadium, rednault bar, stubbies, melons, sir Thomas brisbane, saunders beach, stingers, jelly fish, 7 mile beach, the giant mango, biggera waters, gold coast, strangler fig trees, wombats, past hartleys crocodile farm – now sadly closed, the old bruce highway, historical museum re highway, clancy, marine turtles, saphhires, banged the van, oops, childers where annie went in the 60s, promenade pool @ cairns, the meating place – tee hee, the lost $20 refund and now the queensland talkies video Return to Menu SINGAPORE 2008, a very short stop Just passing thru, touchdown at Changi Airport for refueling and change of plane We had about 1½ hours here Maybe you can argue we were doing a reccie for Doug & Phoenix in advance. Really we were just passing through both on the way out in 1995 and the way back here in 2007-08. We remember the slick fast transit monorail from one terminal to another, not eating gum and in 1995 being woken up for my 7th meal in under 7 hours. Back for 2 weeks to really see it in 2013 with the lovely Mr & Mrs Hellinger (Mr Douglas as our son became to be known by 2013) .Plus again in 2014, 2018 and 2019. Just click on the Singapore TAG to see all the associated Blogs Diary Day 326 - Monday 15th September 2008, Sydney 2 Hong Kong via Singapore Long day flying, watched lots and lots of movies on the flight Up about 4.45am , flew at 8.05am although it was 15mins late going Good airplane, Air Singapore had to swap at Changi and use posh fast shuttle train to our next gate The luggage got transferred automatically for us from one plane to the other Taxi at HK was a hoot Service guy wrote down the hotel in Chinese for the driver who we had fun communicating with by hand signals Kowloon a long way Over lovely bridge and under tunnel 45 mins drive Went to wrong hotel then had to go to New SD all fine £75 a night stayed 3 nights Hot 35c and 100% humidity, what we saw today,Airports and movies, who we met, Shuttle guy @ Holiday Inn Sydney who was annoyed we had loaded on our own bags. Jobsworth! Getting on the plane went very quickly when one considers it, taxi driving thru market to San Diego (wrong hotel) was amusing, took 1 picture of Changi airport only! Plus remembering my Dad with love, who died on this day 6 years earlier. Summary: SINGAPORE 1½ hours , Day 326, 15/9/2008 Return to Menu HONG KONG Kowloon Island NOTE all words in ITALICS were either written on the trip or before we left (labelled HISTORY) Hong Kong UPDATE 18/9/2008 We have now left Hong Kong and after a long flight and many movies & meals via Air NZ39's hospitality we are back in the UK. Greeted at T3 Heathrow on England's green and pleasant lands by Craig with the traditional taxi airport card held up saying "AGEING HIPPIES", We rest our case Great times, we will miss them but also glad to be back!!! UPDATE 14/9/2008 We are now likely to be out of online contact until after we arrive back in the UK....Intend some intensive retail therapy whilst in Hong Kong Staying at New San Diego Hotel in Mau Lam St,Jordan, Kowloon (thx D&P for suggestion) . Peak Train, Hong Kong, Amazingly steep. This travels up to the top of Mt Victoria Alas as 36c and 100% humidity the views of the harbour were very obscured . Computer nerdsville or Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, Poor annie had to suffer many hours of Keef in 7th heaven.... PS Geek status achieved. V cheap for current technology, Lunch at Bubba Gumps Shrimp House was a real highlight. Noted Wok shaped sky terrace Mt Victoria Peak and HK in World Monopoly game , and quite right too!!! It is a fascinating place. Bird Market, Prince Edward, HK with lovely original wooden cages and oh so colourful birds. Took fab picture of Light &Sound Show, Waters Edge, with science museum in background. V pleased with this shot.We saw the show at Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) HISTORY - Spending 3 nights here.....more when we get there We remember the taxi driver instructions in chinese and him trying to drop us at wrong hotel, humidity, Macdonalds for breakfast (bad news), Nathan Road, Star ferry, Metro, Bakeries,fenicular railway, smog, humidity again... nice place , birthday meal @ top of mountain DIARY Day 327 - Tuesday 16th September 2008,Hong Kong Breakfasted at McDonalds Nathan Road, Jordan Then got Urban Day pass for the MTR (Metro) ($50HK-£4) Went to TST and walked to star ferry Crossed to Central ($8HK-63p) Walked across bridge up into IFC mall Had juice and muffin then back on Star Ferry Went to Hard rock Café for drink and t-shirt then onto Sham Shui Po for Computer bits Knackered as hot and humid (36c/ 100%+) back to hotel to flake Went to sleep and only had bits and pieces from Bakery on MTR for Tea. Met loads of very nice folk who helped us whenever we looked at a map even though we weren’t lost. Celebrated Keef’s 54th B’day spent in Hard Rock Cafe (TST) and Computer Nerdsville , Sham Shui Po, plus lunch up Mt Victoria via Peak Train & saw a Wedding on Star Ferry. Probably for a magazine. Day 328 - Wednesday 17th September 2008, Hong Kong Breakfasted at McDonalds Nathan Road, Jordan Then got Urban Day pass for the MTR ($50HK) Then went up to Central and walked thru business district to the Peak Train went up to the top, alas very humid and unclear views but had great birfday lunch at Pappa Gumps Shrimps etc Then back to TST for light and sound show (spectacular) then back to hotel for a rest Had bits from bakery for t plus 2 bowls of fruit the hotel left. met loads of folk esp American gi (retired) and Chinese girlfriend from Schezhan.Enjoyed Tram ride, night lights and music show, retail therapy. Day 329 - Thursday 18th September 2008,Hong Kong 2 England and Home!!!! Very little sleep and alas Keef was sick overnight so jaded when we caught taxi back to airport K put poor guy off by giving him misleading airport terminal info Finally got to T1 gate 3 for Air NZ, long flight 12hrs 20mins which went quickly Craig collected us at Heathrow glad to be back Had fish and chips from Sandiacre fish bar at Craig’s then managed to stay up to 10pm then flopped No real jet lag at all..can’t wait for the next hols!!! THE END for now, watched 4 movies the best of which was a Kiwi movie called 2nd hand wedding, met a Nice girl from Guangzhou who was studying at Bristol (2nd year) reminded us of Phoenix. Loved Arriving at t1 not t3 Heathrow. Craig’s sign saying AGEING HIPPIES Summary:HONG KONG 3 days , Day 327-329, 16/9/2008 - 18/9/2008 kowloon talkies video Return to Menu OLD SKOOL PAGES Feel free to have a look at the PDFs from the old Moonfruit site before it vanished Dec 2021, thanks for looking Audiobooks That's all folks #GIF

By keef and annie hellinger, Jul 14 2018 12:13PM Possibly the best campsite we have stayed in the world over after many a year of camping and travelling. We can highly recommend this 5star unique site, if you want to see all the sites we have been to in the UK take a look on the home page Run by a couple from the UK, both from Cornwall, who have a motorhome of their own which gives them a great insight into what people want. It is a small family site with a limited number of hard standing pitches and the wifes attention to detail on a beach theme design is sublime. Nearby is White Strand a blue flag beach. I would have to say that the shower and washroom facilities are possibly better than ours at home. 5 STAR... If you are in the area motorhome travels suggest you give it a try. Note: For cyclists it even has a cosy bike barn where you can bed down for the night Its in the Ireland Green book campsites. There are 2 of these , suggest you pick them up from any tourist office and often the campsites themselves have them Another campsite we would recommend in Ireland because of its private beach and Eco set up by owner Chris is the Clifden Eco beach site , it only gets 4 stars however as if busy (and it was when we were there) there really are not enough showers... only 2 unisex for whole site can be tricky To see our full trip to Eire (Ireland) please look at associated blog 129, thanks Travel Route Videos associated with this trip where motorhome-travels can highly recommend this site

By keef and annie hellinger, Jul 6 2019 04:38PM Motorhome trip No38 : May 5th – July 3rd 2019 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS (home)->Faroes & Iceland via Holland, Germany & Denmark ->NOTTS (home) 5257 miles MENU Introduction Diary Calendar (3 months) Campsites (1) Faroes Slideshows (8) Iceland Slideshows (11) The Talkies (3) Full Slideshows with Audiobook (3) Audio Diaries (3) Tags / End of Blog James Bond #spoileralert on Kalsoy Arctic Circle (+ Arctic Henge, Wiltshire's equivalent ) The Wild Arctic Way (the Wild Atlantic Way in Eire ) Introduction What a fantastic 2 months away, scenery to die for, lovely people, couldn’t have asked for better weather in Iceland, as an example the preceding June it rained non stop for 28 days. We had 16 consecutive days of 24 hour sun. You get used to the sun falling and then re-arising moments later. It just never got dark in either the Faroes nor Iceland so it was really weird when returning to Germany via Denmark when it did go dark. This trip meant along with our previous trip to Scandinavia ( Blog 100 ) we have now been to all the countries in Scandinavia in our lovely Wendy house, VW Autosleeper Clubman Anniversary motorhome #proud Suggest using the menu to find your way around this blog if you want to dip in and out of specific bits, or you can of course just carry on from here and go all the way through, the choice is clearly yours Here is a selection of some of our photos to get you started, you can also see them with others across our motorhome-travels via the gallery in the dropdown, enjoy. Back to the Menu Diary It is worth saying that the Faroes has 18 islands connected either via Ferry, Bridge or undersea Tunnel. Some we weren’t able to do especially Sandoy… ferry over subscribed and the far north islands as the tunnel at 3.1m was a little too low for comfort when taking the van thru. The Smyril line provide you with a booklet for download of the Faroes campsites. A selection of our fave places where Gasadalur on Vagar, Torshavn campsite views of Hestur, Kaldbak on Streymoy,Vestmanna, Gjogv on Eysturoy, Hosvik, Saksun (both Streymoy),Vikings at Leirvik, Trollanes on Kalsoy. See the pictures to get a feel. We loved it , a week and a half is probably enough but you are guided by the ferry timetable! Also glad we went there 1st before Iceland, I think on balance it’s the right order. Iceland is a magnificent place to visit. Absolutely bowled over by it. Apart from my scary 2nd day morning climbing over the mountain out of Seydisfjordur in driving snow and winds where you could barely see the road, much less that it was surrounded on both sides by frozen lakes… it was all a joy! Get an Iceland camping card if you are staying more than 2 weeks, sites are plentiful in the east, south west, western fjords and the north… not so in big stretches of the southern coast. Sites are not great but mostly adequate with the exception of Reydarfjordur, Isafjordur and Siglufjordur which are wonderful. If you are not using the card it can be very costly. Reyjkavik for example is not part of this scheme and about £39 / night. Take as much canned food, rice, pasta etc with you that you can fit in your van to control your expenditure. Sadly whale watching for us at Husavik was off, foggy and blowing a hoolie! A selection of our fave places were Reydarfjordur (east) and areas out to Nordfjord, whole of the western Fjords, Vatnajokull NP, Jokulsarlon Lagoon Icebergs,Porshavn (north),many of the lovely fjords and Waterfalls, the Kerfla active volcano area (north west) , Siglufjordur (north),Husavik (north), Grindavik (south west) and as a city Akureyri. See the pictures to get a feel. We went past Sumburgh head , the Shetlands en route , if you would like to read about our time in the Shetlands see Blog 82 , thanks Sunday 5th May 2019 Having packed the van in advance we set off once again for Harwich, we had booked into the Castle Inn just outside Harwich but when we saw that it was just a pub car park decided against that. We stopped in Harwich town for a good look around, including the harbour area with the Boat that rocked from the film of the same name featuring Bill Nighy, the garden areas, sea front, real ale beer festival on the pier, old town areas, most nautical, a nice fish and chip supper and finally decided to park up opposite the care home on the front. Went to bed early as up early for ferry to Hoek Van Holland tomorrow. After seeing the campsite last time and this in future if we are going across to Europe via Harwich, we would do the same. Not really having seen Harwich before we would rate it, a very interesting place with history, Samuel Pepys and the Mayflower, men of war ships built here 1660-1827, the treadwheel crane, Gill cartoons, house of correction and fab architecture. Monday 6th May 2019 As we were effectively wild camping, we got up early, it was a very quiet night, and drove the short distance to the port and joined the ferry queue for 8 a.m. The Stena line ferry was not leaving until 9 a.m. so we had our breakfast and read in line. The ferry was incredibly empty of passengers, mostly cargo lorry drivers who get sleeping quarters on board. We wouldn’t be surprised if this service dies like many of the DFDS services, as just not enough passengers. Eventually sadly it will probably only be possible to cross at Dover to Europe making journeys up to Scandinavia very long. Indeed, this trip is that already. Back in the day when we were in the Orkneys you could go to the Faroes via Aberdeen – Stromness – Lerwick – Torshavn, indeed we did think about it back in the 80s but as the kids were very young gave it a miss. Now you can only go either flying from Copenhagen or as we are doing ferry from the top of Denmark. On board we sat and read in the café and had lunch there. Annie didn’t fancy any of the movies, having fallen asleep just when Harrison Ford died in the last one when we saw the latest Star Wars movie in 2016. Keef went to see the hustlers movie with Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway, quite amusing but I and only one other were in the cinema. On arrival we faced the same issue at the same roundabout with our TruckNav but eventually mastered it and got out of Rotterdam, then drove back to Gouda, missing however the right turning for the Klein Amerika Aire behind the Library which meant we travelled the narrow canal side roads, not clever, lucky no one coming the other way. Eventually got there, parked up, no electrics as all slots taken for that but no worry, still a very convenient site #recommended We walked into Gouda again and visited the cheese shop where they last told us that we had a royal heir. We bought quite a few nice cheeses. We love the town of Gouda. Tuesday 7th May 2019 Up early having part filled the water tank at the aire and set off to join the A1 bypassing Utrecht, Apeldoorn and onto near Osnabruck where we headed north entering Germany still on the A1 past Bremen (almost the same route as on the way back in 2016) Turned off at K15 through rural Buntberg and onto Heidenau, Germany. It was quite a weird site and we stayed almost alone in the grassed motorhome section outside the main entrance, however it had a barrier which was control by a payment machine, took us quite a while to work out what you need do with your credit card but once in we were ok, filled to the top with water and set up the electrics. The facilities were quite a way off through the bigger site. We had a bit of a look around got changed and went to the Greek restaurant on site for an evening meal, all very nice, then to bed, we had driven for about 4 hours and done 270 miles through two countries, just a wee bit tired. Wednesday 8th May 2019 Left the Heidenau campsite for Flensburg today, just below the german border with Denmark. Luckily the barrier opened for us and we didn’t remain trapped inside that strange campsite field, we had lost all confidence in the auto payment scheme and its automated control, we would never stay there again although the traditional wooden hut with woodland creature carvings was a joy. Anyhow it was back onto the A1 and turned onto the A7 near Rosengarten, then bypass the amazingly busy Hamburg, there is always a hold up there in our humble opinion and this time was no exception, a huge port had massive roadworks pulling traffic down into 1 lane most of the way around, when crossing some of the bridges on route we got a glimpse of just how large the port is. I have a certain allegiance to Hamburg as it was the port my ancestors used to escape the Pogroms back in the 1880s. After Eidelstedt we turned off the A7 onto the E45 and steadily made our way north from Saxony into the state of Schleswig-Holstein and Flensburg, here we turned off onto the B199 to the very nice site we had pre-booked at Medelby, we would use that site again to break the journey on our way back from Iceland. Mr and Mrs Lund a nice Danish couple run the site, we were on pitch one , huge green open fields, fab facilities block, lots of space, nice indoor pool, although we didn’t use it, and outside seating area for an ice cream which we did do. All in all, a very pleasant stay #recommended Thursday 9th May 2019 Packed up after brekkie and left the Lund’s, checking out and saying goodbye, we will be back as Arnie once said. So back along the B199 having had a quick look around the area and re-joined the motorway E45 up across the border into Denmark, there we a few borders crossing folk at the checkpoint, but they took one look at our number plate , UK, and just waved us through. On past Kolding and Vejle which we had seen in 2016 and through Arhus to our ACSI campsite at Lisbjerg called Aarhus camping off Randersveg. It was in a very green area, nicely laid out, we were on pitch 83. Set up and had a good look around and used the facilities. They had nice little huts for kids to play in, a huge outdoor chess set, and flowers blooming everywhere, a very nice site, we had driven for about 2hours 10 mins and 120 miles to get here from Germany. We then left our marker on the pitch and set off to have a look around Arhus, a university town, that we had not been into in 2016. Quite nice in parts but not that interesting, some unique Danish architecture though, the Danes are so good at design, have a look at the Danish images if you want to see what we saw in Arhus. We then returned to our Roholm mose area campsite in Lisbjerg. Friday 10th May 2019 Left Aarhus camping site and travelled the hour journey via the minor road to Odum and then back on the E45 motorway turning off onto the 507 through the big town of Randers , its huge hospital and bridge across the Gudena onto Hadsund across the Marianger fjord. At Hadsund we called into a Lidl to do our food shopping, we like Lidl both for price and layout in goreign lands, they often keep the same layout so it makes it easy for us to find stuff. After stocking up with provisions it was on from Hadsund to Oster Harup heading out on the 541 road towards the coast and going along the coastal road turning at Aals which was a very interesting old village with nice traditional buildings. It was only 20 minutes to Oster Harup. We parked up in what is quite a touristy area and went for a nice breezy walk around the marina, boardwalks and jetties plus had a look as some of the for hire coastal holiday shacks, which all had fab views and Danish style. Quite impressed. This was a true seaside town. We then carried along the coast to Egense where we waited for and caught the ferry across the Limfjorden to Hals. An interesting experience as you had to purchase your ferry ticket via a machine before travel, clearly saving them work on the chain ferry for this short journey. What fun. Fab views out to sea as well. From Hals we carried on up the coast to the larger town of Frederikshavn (havn meaning port in Danish) We stopped in the town centre but weren’t sure of the parking charges or how to pay so decided just to drive around as much as we could seeing the big port area which felt very industrial, so we then moved onto our campsite for the night at Hjorring. It was only a 45-minute drive through Sindal and some very green hilly terrain. A large site with not many people on it, we set up on the grass with electrics , the first thing we saw was a huge mountain hare, fascinating, as we had arrived quite early in the afternoon we went for a brief walk around the large site and then returned to chill, listen to music, read, eat, and bed. Happy bunnies as they say. Saturday 11th May 2019 No rush today our ferry doesn’t leave Hirtshal until 3 p.m. Had a leisurely breakfast , packed up the van, disconnected the electrics, wound up the rear steadies, made sure the cable flaps were pushed in, step and waste bucket securely stored away in the side pannier and then saying goodbye to the campsite guy, he was very friendly, we initially went into old Hjorring parking in the supermarket area for free. Had a good look around the older area and gardens, especially liked the old warehouse. We then set off the short 25-minute drive to Hirtshal, Jutland from Horring. We had been here briefly in 2016 but did not visit the port. Some aussies we met back then were using it to get to Norway. We stopped on the hill approaching Hirtshal town to take a lot of photos then Keef realising he had forgotten to bring his hat and gloves and it was going to be cold went along the port area to a fishing type shop and bought his Icelandic hat and gloves, I am so proud of them, I even wore them at night when we did the NC500 in 2022 as it was so cold ( Blog 177 ). We then had a good look around town having paid to park. After that we had lunch and then drove from town to the port to join the queue for the Symril line ferry. In the queue we saw some outlandish motorhomes, one from guys from Czech Republic which was a true outback almost armoured vehicle with solar panels for power plus a huge lorry transporting what can only have been a bridge under wraps. We eventually got on the ship but not without some interesting stuff, Annie had to go on as a passenger leaving the van and being driven to the gang plank. I waited patiently in line as was the next to last vehicle on the ship, boarding 20 minutes after the scheduled departure time ha-ha #scary. Parking was reversing and wedged in as close as possible but as I am right hand drive, I had to shimmy over to get out of the motorhome. I carried lots of stuff with me and had to wait ages to get the lift to our floor and our cabin where Annie had been waiting ages a little worried that the boat would leave without me, as if, ha-ha. Nice cabin had all we needed for our 3-day , 2-night boat trip. I think we were on floor 13 but could be wrong. Our ferry was the MS Norrona. As it departed, we went outside sunny and windy on deck 8 to wave goodbye to Hirtshal, Denmark… next stop Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Denmark, but the Denmark bit is another story I will cover later. Went into the bar on deck 5 for coffee, cinnamon bun and keef bought his new fave chocolate covered liquorish, a Faroese delight! Keef went outside to take some pictures as we went past Sumner Head on the Shetlands, where we had been way back when (2001), see Blog 82. Sunday 12th May 2019 At sea. The MS Norrona by Symril Lines, wholly owned by the Faroes, has fab food. Whilst queuing for some drinks for us a guy started up a conversation with us, he lived in the North of the Faroes but had been working away from home in Norway. He was so friendly and indeed at the end of the trip as we got off in Torshavn gave us a book of the Faroes and his phone number and said if we were in his area come and visit him and his family how kind is that! Sadly, we didn’t have time to do so. Mealtime was allocated by the lady at the door, breakfast, lunch and dinner. On our first dinner the table allocated was already full so we went back to let her know, not repeating a camping pitch calamity we experienced in 2016, ha-ha. They shifted us to nearby tables with apologies. We struck up a conversation with the folk on the table who were teachers , with fab English, returning with their teenage school party from a singing visit to Copenhagen. They invited us to their decktop concert given by the teenagers at 10 p.m. It was lovely, lots of traditional Faroese folk songs and they even did a few classic tunes in English especially for us, just wonderful, we slept reasonably well that night although as the winds and waves got up it was especially rocky, we found we had to cling on to get dressed. We watched the TV in the room briefly to get a hang of Danish culture but mostly ads. Keef watched a Danish subtitled version of Morse, ha-ha. Not one I’d seen before. Monday 13th May 2019 The ship finally docked in Torshavn harbour at 6 a.m. and we went up on deck to get our first views of the Faroe Islands, just magical as the sun had already risen, indeed this far north in the world at this time of year it hardly even sets, not sure I’d want the reverse of total darkness in winter though. It took a while to get off the boat, cargo first, and the smell of fish near out van was intense, they carry in frozen storage containers and sometimes they defrost, ugh! We drove off the ferry up to the car park by the sports stadium and had a snack and a drink whilst planning what we would do this morning as not allowed in the campsite until 1 p.m. We then drove back to the harbour area and parked in the car park area by the ferry and had a good look around there taking many photos of our ship, before it departed for Iceland. We then drove back to the empty car park near the marina and more central for town, looked for pay machines, couldn’t find any so naively assumed it was free. We then went off for a long early morning walk around the marina area and along some of the back streets. Although sunny grateful for hats and coats as a bitter wind. When we returned the car park was full of shoppers and workers. We had what seemed to be a parking ticket under the windscreen, as it was written in Faroese I couldn’t read it, asked a nice lady next to us who said we had to pay a fine as we were not displaying the timer clock, which you set to say how long you will be there based on your arrival time, e.g. if you arrive at 10 a.m. you set it to 10, then if you are only allowed to stay for 2 hours the wardens know and will issue a fine if you overrun. Clearly as new arrivals we knew none of this, a different culture. She told us we had to pay the fine at the local police station, it took us a while to find it, Keef had a bit of a row with the Chief of Police claiming it wasn’t a great way to greet tourists, I had to pay about 200 Danish Krona £25. The police chief claimed it was the ferry’s responsibility to tell passengers of these rules, I told him they hadn’t and if I was him and they wanted the tourist economy he should use his position to influence them, anyhow his secretary told us we could get the clock disk from any petrol station so we did, now we know what to do we would not fall foul of that again. Anyhow despite this totally un-transparent process we had a nice morning, arrived at the campsite, locked, rang the number on the gate and the lady who lived nearby came and checked us in, and we got coins for showers and washing machines and hooked up overlooking the sea, a lovely view, and a nice site. Did some cooking, cleaning and washing and then relaxed for the rest of the day. Tuesday 14th May 2019 Had a shower, pretty good facilities, talked to some folk in tents in the very high winds today, so glad we have progressed to a motorhome at our age, breakfasted , had a look up at the traditional dwellings overlooking the site and the sea, and then headed back out of Torshavn centre along to where they are building the new hotels and turned right out of town. Initially we visited Kaldbaksfjordur, so many waterfalls on route which the drizzle helped to swell. Had a lovely look around, took some photos, so quiet so peaceful. Even the sheep were trying to get out of the rain and the road. Saw quite a few salmon farms in the fjord. We then decided today we would not use the 550 tunnel to get through the mountain which became a firm favourite in latter days and often essential. So we turned back into Torshavn at the opposite end and headed south west to Kirkjubour, the mist high up was so close to your nose, meaning you could hardle see anything, so glad I was going slowly as a Faroese guy pulled out right in front of me from a side road going so fast he could easily have hit me, he just didn’t see me, a lucky escape but quite shaking, so I drove even more slowly to Kirkjubour, luckily hardly any traffic. We parked near the bus station, basically the end of the line. Had a look around the grass thatched tourist house which doubled as a bus terminal. Then we walked up the road to the oldest inhabited house in the faroes, named Roykstovan. Free entry and very interesting it was, we then walked further up to the now derelict St Magnus ’s Cathedral, it had no roof but was under repair as a historic building, it was even true that the nearby domkirke (church) with fab views across to kirkjuboholmur island was also being repainted and repaired after a winter bashing so we couldn’t enter as workman were busy. What a lovely setting though really liked Kirkjubour. The stromo island mountains were still in mist as we made our way back to Torshavn, highway 54, so once again I took it easy and safely. From here we headed out to our campsite at Vestmanna, also on the island of Streymoy, 40 minutes back out of town on the 550 through the mountain and past Hoyvik (a place we would later come to love). The road to Vestmanna was so scenerific, we were stopping endlessly to take pictures. We went through Leynar and Kvivik on the 40 and around the fab bay between Valur and Vestmanna, holding the hydro electric plant on its mountain side, self-sustainability for the locals. The campsite was fine, interestingly with metal hoops concreted into the ground to tie vans and caravans down during high storms, not something I have come across before. The lady who ran the site was just lovely, a sea captains wife, he being away fishing off Greenland in a huge floating canning factory, you learn something new every day #tick Nice facilities, nice new showers and inside rooms Her English was great, we even broached the subject of the whale killing festivals and understood her culture but not the practice, she said dried whale meat was a treat for the Faroese people, we have seen images of the mass blood and culling during their festivals #notnice for us Brits. Had a very nice stay here, so much so we decided to return later on in the holiday. Wednesday 15th May 2019 Now as far as we can go on Stromo island in the west, had a leisurely breakfast then traversed our route back just past Leynar, which we stopped at for both the views and a look at the village or town if you prefer, then onto highway 40 to join the tunnel (vagartunnelin) across to the island of Vagar. You must pay your toll for the crossing in a petrol station which we did and kept the receipt, it was the price as well for the return journey. Vagar Island has the Faroes airport on it and quite a few Americans come over to trek. We decided we were going to see the whole of Vagar today and set off up to Gasadular in the northwest of the island. Initially we stopped at Sandvagur, parked up and walked to the church which like all Faroese churches was locked, sadly they have had a spate of thefts from churches on all islands, so it was a government directive. We walked over the bridge and had a look around some of the houses, all very interesting. Lots of school kids walking around. It was then back on the road past miovagur and all the way along the edge of sovagsvatn (vatn means lake in Faroese) , great views, then we joined the Buttercup route (road 452) just past sorvagur. This ran all the way along the edge of the sea inlet, fab sunshine and great views of the island of Tindholmur with its pointy rock side. Lots of pictures were taken. So much better weather today, how lucky were we. There were lots of waterfall and towards the end we got a glimpse of the small island of Glasholmur. We had to take the tunnel to emerge at Gasadular. What a place parked up and went for a walk down to see the cliff edge waterfall called mulafossur. We then came back through the island to have a look at the campsite we had proposed staying on Vagur, just awful, looked like camping on a garage forecourt so we decided to give that a miss and travelled back through various tunnels to Kaldbakfjord and this time took the coastal road down to Kaldbak to have a look at the ancient church and the village, all amazingly interesting and well worth the visit. We then returned to the site at Torshavn, rang the warden lady and booked in again for the night. It wasn’t very busy. We met an American couple who had returned on the ferry from Iceland but because of the cargo going to Hirtshal were told they couldn’t get their Motorhome off in Torshavn and had to wait for it to be returned on the next trip out, they were loaned a car and a caravan whilst in the Faroes. It was their honeymoon, I would have been furious with Symril line, just not acceptable. Thursday 16th May 2019 Up early for a shower, put our coins in it was freezing water, had to call the lady out, no recompense of money but an apology, these things happen, she got someone out to sort it. Whilst she was there I got her to sort the padlock on the chemical toilet disposal lid, it was still locked from winter which surprised me as meant no camper up to May had ever emptied their waste unless they did it down the loo, not good. Anyhow the warden couldn’t open it, so I struggled and eventually freed it, the lock had rusted in the inclement weather. So, it was a late start for us , we went back into Torshavn and had a look around the town, and walked up to the parliament buildings. Then it was back to the Torshavn campsite to relax, lovely views outside our campervan window. Friday 17th May 2019 Time to leave Torshavn again, it really doent take very long to get anywhere on the Faroes so as we liked the lady in Vestmanna so much we went back there this time taking the road over the top of the mountains rather than through the tunnel to the top of the west coast of Streymoy, Stromo island, just spectacular views from the top and clear enough, mostly, for us to take pictures. Wow! We settled into a slightly different pitch this time refilling our water which the campsite lady helped us with, what a lovely lady. We relaxed after another walk around Vestmanna, there being some craft shops on the harbour area and some lovely bridges and boats to look at, all in all a lovely day. Saturday 18th May 2019 Said our goodbyes to Mrs Campsite, sea captain’s wife, and returned as far through Streymoy as Oyrareingir and joined highway 10 heading northeast as far as you can go on Stromo. Why it is called both Stromo Island and Streymoy I’m not quite sure, maybe one is English the other Faroese, but who knows. We stopped at Hosvik to have a walk around the harbour, keef picked some wildflowers for annie to press in her book. Lovely yellows everywhere, no wonder it is called the buttercup route. At Hvalvik we turned off onto the single track road to Saksun where we parked up for a walk around, past the old museum with its grass roof and down to the church on the coast. A nice place, we then returned and carried on up the 10 to Haldarsvik where we stopped to see the sailor’s memorial and the town houses with goats and sheep kept on a cliff edge. The church was closed but as the vicar was there we asked if we could come in as from the UK, he said yes which was so kind, some lovely views through fascinating windows, then it was back in the van and onto the end of the road at tjornuvik a traditional fishing village, parked up with view of the rock stacks known as the giant and the witch we had some food then went for a lovely walk through the village where we came across a brit who had lived there for 14 years with his Faroese wife, she had wanted to retire their when they retired in Birmingham. He still had his accent, they sold pancakes to tourists. We walked all the way around and along the coast with vegetable plots that would have severe wind bashing. How did they ever grow anything I wondered? Then we left drove back down and across the bridge from Streymoy to the island of Eysturoy and all the way up roadway 62 to the town of eidi to our campsite for the night on a football field outside the town, its facilities were the changing rooms ok if you don’t mind a communal shower, haha, but keef did use the showers in the morning. We pitched just next to the goal posts, as it was a weekend it was quite busy. We went for a walk outside the site along both the lake and the coast looking for whales. An interesting place to stay, we saw the church as well. Bit breezy over night. Sunday 19th May 2019 Eysturoy Island, packed up from the football field, no water fill or chemical toilet disposal so filled all our water bottles in the changing rooms, very cold wind today whilst packing up blistering in off the sea, so grateful for my Icelandic hat and mittens. We left but not before hearing the whooper swans on the lake and having one more look, and photo opportunity, at eidi’s magnificent church, quite a population here and they had 2 campsites, wonder on reflection if the non-ASCI one would have been better, who knows. We then drove the 20 minutes initially to funningor , a little village off the main road and then onto the magnificent Gjogv (pronounced gee-oar-gee) where we camped for 2 nights. The road was very windy and steep with some very interesting inclines both up and down as it helped traverse the 882 metres high mountain called Slaettaratindur. Funningor village was off the main 662 and was clearly a tourist visit as we saw coaches, but the approach road was probably too narrow to get down to the car park, not for us, however. Parked up and had a lovely walk around the village, little bridges, livestock, river views, lot of old traditional dwellings, all very interesting, we really liked funningor. So, then we came back out of the village traversed our route back up the 662 and turned up to Gjogv up the 632. It is the highest point north in Eysturoy you can get to by road with fabulous views over to the island of Kalsoy which we visited later. Anyhow great site. You had to check in up at the huge hotel and gift shop. The motorhome park was out on the cliff edge a bit of a way away. All hard standing, reminded me of Sango Sands, Durness Scotland (see Blog 177) although not quite so windy. There was only us and our next-door neighbours who were Austrian. We found the key they had provided for us for the facilities block did not work, but as the kind Austrians were leaving they swapped keys with us. The site left the block open initially which meant 3 coach loads of tourists visiting the village trashed the place. We decided to lock it up after that just for our use once they had been cleaned, and very good they were, showers, loos, wash sinks all heated with flowers and perfumes and nice smelling soaps. Loved this site. Monday 20th May 2019 Keef cooked breakfast outside on the griddle and even sat out for a bit, blanket, hat, scarves and gloves reading, admiring Kalsoy views and watching our ferry the Symril line Noronna go past. After breakfast we went for a long walk around the village, all very green and peaty, trad houses, farming, bridges, old school houses and what remains of the old chain hauling system to get down to the very steep harbour bottom, a very nice walk and then back to the site to chill for the rest of the day, this area was probably our favourite in the Faroes although we do like the town of Torshavn, especially its old Faroese costumes shop. Tuesday 21st May 2019 Sadly, we had to leave our fab views and pitch 2 at Gjogv, we loved it here, so relaxing. Then we drove south through Eysturoy almost as far south as you could to our site for the night at Aeduvik. We travelled along the edge of the magnificent funningsfjordur inlet outside Gjogv, the road was flat surrounded by that unpronounceable mountain (Slaettaratindur) tee-hee. We stopped briefly at Skipanes for a photoshoot on the 662 especially the tulips, this was a halt we would get to know quite well in our time on the Faroes. We then joined road 10. Got some great views of skalafjordur inlet and then turned off past gotueidi onto road 70 stopping at sydrugota, gotugjogv and nordragota, all very interesting, on our way up to the larger town of fuglafjordur at the end of the road as far east as you can go on Eysturoy. At Nordrugota we had a good walk around the harbour, visited the blasatova heritage museum , but it was closed, would have been interesting , the sideways standing man artwork along a town square, this artist is famous throughout the Faroes. Can’t find his name though, Joannis something is memory serves me right. At Fuglafjordur we had lunch on the harbour area which also doubled as a campsite with electric hook up, if only we had know #camspites. Keef saw a giant jelly fish in the water. The long jetty had many pieces of rusted metal arches, done to look like whale bone arches, all very interesting. After this we returned back to highway 10 and down the skalafjordur with views across to Skala, which we would visit later, and onto Aeduvik. We had to ring for the guy to come and check us in, it was deserted. We did see the start of construction of a tunnel over to Streymoy we had seen the other end just outside Torshavn, what a difference this will make in travelling times when complete as it goes under the sea to link the 2 islands. The site had nice views was quiet and a great heated room, comfy chairs and big screen TV, after dinner we went to relax in their and watched Faroese TV a first, English subtitles helped ha-ha. Wednesday 22nd May 2019 Left Aeduvik on the 687 going past the current Faroes football stadium, lots of tributes to when they beat Austria in a world cup qualifier, and just outside town up in the hills and the mist was the remains of the old Viking parliament and settlement, very interesting to us descendants , then we retraced our route back to Gotueidi alongside the inlet, such fab views, and then through nororagota where we turned on to road 70 and parked up by the church at Leirvik. We walked backed to the best-preserved Viking settlement in the Faroes for a good look around. We then drove through the Nordoyatunnelin which connect the islands of Eysturoy and Bordoy. As the lady warden at Torshavn had told us that many of the tunnels on Bordoy and Kunoy were old and therefore very low ceilings we decided not to explore any further in these islands but stayed on Bordoy and went straight to the port town of Klaksvik, the largest town in all the northern islands. We had to wait in line for quite a while to get our ferry to the islands of Kalsoy, the one we could see across the water for our pitch in Gjogv. It was £44 for the ferry return, not bad for quite a lengthy journey on a small car ferry. So glad we went. We had pre booked our campsite on the island of Kalsoy in the tourist information office in Klaksvik and had to call in to see Olivia Dogg Friofinnsdottir, the lady I’d sorted all this out by email before our trip, what a helpful lady, we paid the 150 Danish Krona fee . So, we had instructions of where to go to. We arrived at Sydtadalur off the ferry and it started to rain, the mist making it a little tricky to see that well along the coast, Kalsoy being a very long thin island with only one road way really down its east coast. Stopped at Husar to let most of the locals ferry traffic past, us being tourists who want to travel at our own pace. We loved the remoteness of Kalsoy. We drove all the way north on Kalsoy , the road up to about Mikladalur was fine but then we entered 2 very lengthy badly lit lowish tunnels to get up to the top at Tollanes (subtitled the end of the world) ha-ha. Parked up with quite a few tourists and went for a nice and interesting walk around the village and across its huge village green populated by many sheep, and goats roaming free. We learnt that before the tunnel out to Trollanes was built in 2010 only 2 families lived out in this remote area as it was a 3 and half hour up over the mountain to get back to relative civilisation at Mikladalur, our views was the village was not civilisation either. After Trollanes we returned through the tunnel avoiding the school party with torches who were walking back through it with the teacher barking safety instructions, not great as so dimly lit inside the tunnel. At Mikladalur we pulled up near the statue of Kopakonan, the famed statue of a mermaid, the seal woman of Mikladalur. 007 Kalsoy is now famous for the place James Bond (Daniel Craig) dies in no time to die. We then went to the campsite which was actually in the car park for Kalsoy united , it had electric hook up, and the amenities building was wonderful. We filled up with water, the wind was strong and chilly however and our electric cable flapped against the edge of the van for most of the night. Glad we had stayed on the island however, a very interesting place but I suspect because of the James Bond connection will be so much busier after 2022. #spolieralert #notimetodie Return to Menu Thursday 23rd May 2019 Up early, had a shower, wonderful facilities, then drove back along the coast road early back to the ferry terminal, which was just a road queue, as we were catching the first ferry across there were not many people waiting. Got on and showed our ticket and then enjoyed the fabulous view of Kunoy on the Bordoy outcrop, on the ferry on the way back , it had a light dusting of snow even towards the end of May. The ferry journey only takes about 30 minutes. The next few days we were going to stay at the Fuglafjordur harbour campsite and continually return under the tunnel to see all of the outer northern islands but as the tunnel heights were dangerously close to the top of our van we sadly took the decision to return to the Torshavn campsite for 4 days , we were booked in for the last of those but I rang the lady warden who said it would be no problem as not very busy yet. So back in Klaksvik we had a good look around, quite an impressive town it is the Faroes 2nd city after Torshavn, then it was back across the tunnel from Bordoy to Eysturoy at Viking Leirvik, also a nice place. Once back at Skalafjordur near Skippanes we decided to drive the length of Skala fjord on the other side through Skala to the end at Strendur and then back, at the time the tunnels back to near Hosvik were not built but I’m sure they are now which would certainly cut down the journey. It was then back across the bridge to Streymoy, and we stopped for quite a while again at Hosvik harbour, a place we are very fond of. It’s on the buttercup route and is probably the place we have seen the most buttercups. Pulled up the van on the harbour and used the benches provided for lunch and reading in the sunshine, we watched folk repairing their boats and walked around eth old harbour boardwalk again. Just so relaxing. After hosvik we returned to the Torshavn campsite with our sea view for the remaining days on the Faroes. Friday 24th May 2019 Took the van into Torshavn centre and parked in the small car park where the ferry to Nolsoy goes, we watched it fill up and go before walking through town past the hotels and restaurants, we visited the oldest street, costume shop and community buildings, all very pleasant then it was back to the site for the afternoon to relax. Saturday 25th May 2019 Up early we set off again to the south west of the main island back to Kirkjubour, this time there was no fog so easy driving, where we joined the queue to get on the ferry to Sandoy island, without realising as it was a weekend and Sandoy was a favourite spot for the locals to go and they get travel priority , we realised there was a risk we could get there and not get back and our ferry onto Iceland was tomorrow, this was a risk we could not take, so decided to quit and get out of the queue. We then drove back to the Magnus Cathedral and pulled up for a relaxing time looking at the speed boats in Hesturfjordur and looking over to Hestur island. All very nice before we returned to the Torshavn site , a little disappointed that we did not get to sandoy but also relieved there was no chance of missing the Symril line. We went to bed early Sunday 26th May 2019 We just stayed in the site today and relaxed, lots of eats, chocolate and generally relaxing, thing we went for a little walk along the coast wall and saw the castle but nothing strenuous, we were moving on tomorrow. Monday 27th May 2019 We had to be at the ferry terminal 3 hours before it leaves for Iceland which was 2 p.m. We heard the ship coming in from Hirtshal to Torshavn in the early morning, so it was already in dock. No great rush had showers and breakfast, read for a bit, filled the van with water and did dump station duties. Then finally broke camp and joined down to the check in and had our papers and tickets checked then joined the boarding queue. Not that many vehicles were joining so the public queue was short but the cargo lorries one was very long. This is the main mode of product movement between Denmark, The Faroes and Iceland. We were both allowed to stay in the van to board this time, parked behind what seemed to be a fish container well the smell would indicate that, ensured all windows and doors locked, we took our overnight stuff and valuables up in the lift to the cabin. This time I think we were on floor 15 , one off the top. Settled in had a nice evening meal and then just one night’s sleep and we would be in Iceland, so looking forward to it, we loved the Faroes but maybe a week and a half would have been enough, however ferry crossing times would not have allowed that anyhow. So, onto the next stage of our fantastic journey. Tuesday 28th May 2019 We both slept we even if it was a little rocky. Up early packed and then went down for breakfast and very nice it was to. We were then called over the tannoy as the boat docked at 9 a.m. in Seydisfeyordur, Austerland, Iceland which borders both the Norwegian and Greenland seas. It is the most easterly town in Iceland. Get ready, your next adventure begins. #tick Here is a list of top towns by population in Iceland, we visited quite a few of them on our journey but tried to stay as remote in general as we could, it is what we like. We got off the boat amid flurries of snow. It was cold and I mean cold. We drove through the town to the campsite near the old church, we checked in and hooked up to electrics and immediately put the fire on, so grateful for Icelandic hat and gloves whilst setting up. We then went for a long walk around Seydisfjordur, around the lake, through the old streets, into the church, back to take pictures of the Norrona in port, and inside the ferry terminal for a warmup and pick up tourist brochures. We then visited a craft shop on the lake edge, all very interesting, back past the school, town hall and into the supermarket to buy a few things especially Skir youghort why wouldn’t you, note food prices are extremely high in Iceland, expect to pay for a basket of goods what you pay for a whole trolley back in the uK, but that is the nature of the beast. Wednesday 29th May 2019 It had snowed quite a bit overnight. Because of the snow and the more mountainous area in the north we decided to go around Iceland clockwise. This meant heading south first. Anyhow we bit the bullet and left to go up over the mountain, my most scary drive ever in the van, driving snow meant we could hardly see anything even with the wipers on their fastest, the road was so covered in snow you could not see it and on either side of the road, wherever that was, with no barriers or markers was frozen lakes #scary #frightening, I drove very slowly, we seemed to climb and climb on the highway 93 on what is known as the Seydisfjordur mountain pass , all 17 miles of it, past Heidarvatn at the top and onto Egilsstadir, the relief as we started to descend was palpable. We had made it. I’m sure the views were spectacular as we can attest to as we returned at the end of the holiday when the weather was so much better but on this day, we only stopped at one huge waterfall for a photo opportunity but otherwise it was just a case of get out and be thankful otherwise we could have spent quite a while hemmed in in Seydisfjordur. We visited the museum in Egilsstadir, very interesting, lots of cultural stuff and especially liked learing about moose and winter survival techniques. After a good look around this town and discovering its supermarkets and petrol station, we replenished the diesel just in case, we headed out on highway 1 (the main circular route around Iceland) through the fabulously scenerific mountain pass and valley to our favourite campsite in Iceland at Reydarfjordur (note I got the spelling wrong on my images) tee-hee, hardly surprising the difference between sound and spelling with some of the Icelandic names. We set up on the site on the only hard standing we could find in case of heavy snow, near the amenities block which was very good. Couldn’t work out how to pay until a lady came along in her car and knocked on the window. We now know as stayed here again at the end of the holiday. Its lake, river, waterfall, mountain views, ducks and clean air made it a pleasure to stay here. Thursday 30th May 2019 We left Reydarfjordur having had a good drive around the town and harbour area and headed east out around the fjord the 12-mile drive to Eskifjordur, on highway 92, stopping initially at the point at stromholmi at the tourist viewing point. Along the fjord edge there were masses of wild lupins growing making it just so colourful. We had to cross the bridge on the 950 to get into Eskifjordur past the swimming pool and onto have a look at the campsite there, not good, far too hilly and in fairness to close to last night’s site. Across the bridge is the Helgustadir Spar Mine. Having had a good look along the harbour front we returned and travelled under the tunnel on the Nordfjardarangong coming out in beautiful, lush green farming deep valley countryside full of livestock near Holar. We then drove all the way to the tip at Neskaupstadur on the 92. This only took a further 15 minutes. The tunnels in Iceland are a whole lot better than those on the Faroes. We then returned to Eskifjordur and back through Reydarfjordur heading south and turning back onto main highway 1 all the way down to where the river dalsa met the fjord. We briefly stopped in Faskruosfjordur at a craft shop where we talked to the very nice lady there who told us currently because of overfishing her husband’s boat was holed up in port so times were hard. However, she then told us in the next breath she was driving to Reykjavik and back the next day to do some clothes shopping. A 16-hour trip, what, she must be nuts, it would mean travelling at night which I guess she would be used to, but in the dark, moose elks and all, no way! After Faskrousfjordur where we also had lunch, and tried to visit the Aurora exhibition we had found out about at in the amenities block at Reydarfjordur, which was sadly closed, we went onto see the gardens of the rock lady at stoovarfjordur, the volcano (benign hopefully) , craft brewery and post office (shut) at breidodalsvik, had hoped to get fish and chips here we eventually pulled into Djupivogur a nice harbour, and the campsite behind the café on the harbours edge, it was quite a touristy area, but the site was ok for one night. The facilities weren’t great but we set up, had a tea and then went to the café for a lovely meal of fish and chips, and looked at the kiddies books, ha-ha. The curry batter on the fish was a very enjoyable novelty. It took 1 hour 30 minutes of driving from lunch to tea with a bit added on for photo opportunities obviously, ha-ha. Friday 31st May 2019 Packed up the van and had a quick look around the harbour area before driving our around the Djupivogur headland to see the eggin I gledvik egg sculpture display not far away, at gledivik or merry bay in English, truly amazing, we parked up and walked from one end to the other. So pleased to have seen this, found it on one of our many tourist brochures. Just classy when we consider they were hand ground by the artist and his crew. We then stopped at the waterfall between hnaukar and hvalnes for a view of the magnificent waterfall there, it also had a statue claiming to be the site of the birth of Christianity in Iceland. We then travelled across the longsvik grit bowl a weird gravel shelf that in fairness folk had lived on back in the day, but such poor farming land. The wind wiped up across it and to this day we still believe there are bits of grit buried in the window frames. We had been warned but had no choice, we stopped at an information board at one point where a young couple were trying to start their outdoor stove to cook on but really with no hope, the winds were far to strong and even if the flame did ignite it would sadly be pebble-dashed with grit. It took about a further hour and a half from here to the town of Hofn where we were staying for the night. We had lunch in one of the less windy areas along the way. As we approached Hofn we could see the Vatnajokull glacier in the distance, the largest glacier as far as I know in the world, and certainly in Iceland, its huge, going from south coast to almost the north one, sadly receding nowadays because of global warming. We went in the Hofn museum , very interesting, and had a nice walk along the harbour and saw all the ice-breaker ships. We even had a look at Hofn beach. The lady at the check-in office wouldn’t let us in before 3pm so we read in the van and then set up on our pitch, hard standing and grass with fab views, there were 2 Dutch couples in front of us who set up awnings attached to their small VW vans, not clever in those high winds, took them forever. We liked this site, it had nice surrounds and Keef went to explore and almost got blown off the cliff, tee-hee whilst taking pictures, still even if cold it was sunny, we liked Hofn a lot. Saturday 1st June 2019 At Hofn I looked at the speedo in the van and realised we had now driven 2000 miles and loved every moment of it. Just found out Vatnajokull is Europe’s largest glacier, that settles that then. We filled up with water at Hofn Camping before setting off along the south coast with fantastic views of both the sea and the Vatnajokull glacier. A truly wonderful drive of just over an hour and 50 miles to the Jokulsarlon area. We parked up in the free car park, wrapped up warm and set off for some fabulous views of blue icebergs, highlighted by the clear light. Initially it was teaming with tourists from the many coaches that stopped there. You could also do a boat trip around the sea water fjord to see the ice bergs close. We didn’t do that. After a while all the coaches left and apart from a few motorhomers we had all the views to ourselves. We took lots and lots of pictures not having seen this since St Andrews in Newfoundland Canada in 2010 at iceberg alley, just a wonderful site, we even saw bits break off and float out to sea. Duck tours had finished for the morning session, tee-hee. We stopped at the memorial at hjallanes on route to Jokulsarlon. We then drove a further 2 hours 20 minutes along the south coast moving into the south region from what was officially the eastern area of Iceland arriving at Campsite Vik at about 3.30 p.m. We saw Skatafell on route and some great scenery, lakes mountains and rocks carved by glacier movement. A big campsite with limited electrical hook up but we found one. It had reasonable facilities in a long block at the end of the site. The strange, shaped office and cooking area was full of back packers so we decided to cook in the van. It had been a long journey today so we read, relaxed and went to bed early. We will have a look around Vik tomorrow. Have a look at the slideshow of images of this fascinating section of our journey. Sunday 2nd June 2019 Up early, had to do one thing at a time, electricity wise this morning as very low amps on the electricity. So, it was kettle, then hot water, then heating, as more than one outley and the trip switch flipped and Keef was forever outside resetting the electrics, not great, indeed the worst we had come across on our travels so far, reminded us of our French trip in the van in 2014 ( Blog 71 ). We noticed at the site that people were arriving and using the showers and then driving off, all for free as Camping Vik had no barriers or look out plus we saw one family obviously driving go Reykjavik who had the son laying down in the back of their low level van, totally illegal, who all popped in for a shower then popped off, as it was so busy us paying customers didn’t bother, grrr. We then drove out of the campsite at Camping Vik up to the church and had a walk around taking in the magnificent views of the nearby Katla geopark. We also visited the village and the weird Britannia type sculpture outside the main Vik hotel on Austervagur. We then drove the short 15-minute trip off the main Highway 1 down to Reynisfjara beach which was part of the Katla (active volcano) geopark. This beach is noted as the most dangerous in Iceland because of the freak sneaker waves. We parked in the rough carpark and walked down past the café onto the mostly black sand beach, with views of the rock stacks just off the coast called the Trolls fingers (Reynisdranger) we also saw the cave and basalt fingers collectively known as Dyrholaos and what looked much like London bridge that we saw on the Great Ocean road in Victoria Australia in both 2008 and 2017 or Durdle door in Dorset in the UK, on Iceland their equivalent is called Dyrholeay. A very interesting beach, as always there were a whole bunch of young tourists right on the beach edge foolishly tempting the freak waves despite the explicit warnings #fools The board showed the most recent deaths, a Chinese man and an American woman who had already visited 5 times. From Reynisfjara we returned to the main highway and continued on clockwise past the incredible volcanic terrain of Katla’s geopark, with its larva rock covered over by a thin green clear air growth that remined us of oakmoss, just not sure what it really was. From here it was a 35-minute drive to the town of Skogar in Sudhurland (or south land) and the magnificent waterfall called Skogarfoss, just breath-taking, see the images. From here we drove onto hvolsvollur where we had lunch in the larva centre carpark before paying to visit a very interesting museum where we learnt about Iceland's volcanic background, indeed its heritage was to rise out of the sea as the result of an undersea eruption. It still has many active volcanos, witness the one that bought much of the worlds air flights in 2010 to a halt called Eyjafjallajokull . The museum had sights, sounds, shaky replicas to make you feel you were there and facts galore, we learnt a lot. Heads full and buzzing we travelled onto our campsite for the night at Stokkseyri, limited but perfectly adequate facilities and a real bonus Icelandic ponies just behind our pitch, the area was quite flat after what we have travelled through on the south coast. The sunset was fab. Monday 3rd June 2019 We left our campsite at Stokkseyri initially visiting the nearby coast and walking around the small village and harbour wall area. Then today was a true tourist day, we drove the 2 hours plus initially along highway 1 turning just past Heidarbaer onto highway 30 to do the 190-ish miles of the Golden circle , views of ingolfsfjall initially, then stopping at haukadalur in the huge tourist car park there and walking across with the other millions to see the geothermal hot water area with its bubble and trouble. We watched the main water explosions of Strokkur and Geysir and we then drove onto Gulfoss and walked up to see the amazing waterfall there, quite spectacular. We then turned back down through the Golden circle via miodalur near the apavatn lake via the very weird but huge pingvallavatn down to selfoss , and the along the hugely geothermal rocky volcanic south coast where many of the active volcanos still exude their fire every now and then, hopefully not when we were around, through porklakshofn stopping at the stamper crater which was amazing as was the road surface, just so bumpy, this is where we believe we lost our front mud guard / wheel cover. Anyhow it was then on to the fabulous Grindavik area which we truly rated #recommended and finally onto our campsite for the night up on the coast at Sandgerdi. It was a very long drive today but hugely satisfying in terms of all we had seen, loved it all, amazing waterfalls, lakes, and volcanic scenery, just spectacular. Thank you, southwest Iceland. We have to say that in a way the Golden Circle even though hugely touristy is the least interesting part of our trip so far, is that sacrilege? We went past the famous Blue Lagoon which wasn’t open. Have a look at the slideshow of images of this fascinating section of our journey. The campsite at Sandgerdi caused us no end of electrics fun, we just could not get the ones we were on to work, so we moved and couldn’t get that to work either, spoke to a very nice lady married to an Englishman who said in general the electrics on this site were dodgy but she told us one point shared with her’s that did work, she had tried it, so we plugged in there , yippee success, we had wasted ages on this. When the attendant came for his money we complained, he said he knew about it and were in the process of fixing, sometime never, as long as he had his dosh he didn’t seem overly concerned #notgood Tuesday 4th June 2019 Packed up and left Sandgerdi early and visited Keflavik airport where we had landed in transit on our Canada trip back in 2010, parked up and had a bit of a look around, didn’t stay long as thought we may get charged for parking, skinflints that we are, tee-hee. It took 1 hour about 38 miles into Reykjavik from the campsite. The trucknav helped us navigate our way around Iceland’s capital to the campsite, a large, gravel site laid out in long rows to accommodate a very large number of caravans / motorhomes. We chose one right at the back with grass at the back facing the National Sports Stadium and pool complex at Sundlaugavegur 32. We checked in at 1 p.m. had a look around the facilities, filled up with water then went outside the gate where the Hop On Hop Off Bus (HOHO) stopped. We bought a 2-day ticket and proceeded to do our usual complete rooue around back to the site to get our barings. Second time around on this 1st day in Reykjavik we got off at the opera house whilst it was waiting to do its circuit and took photos of the lovely harbour area, the opera house and Videy island in the bay on which Yoko Ono had built a memorial to John Lennon, called the Imagine Peace Tower . Indeed, there are so many tributes now to JL on our travels i.e. Durness, Scotland ( Blog 177 ) we may have to adopt him as well as James Cook (JC) as out travel hero. We rejoined the bus and returned to the campsite, knowing the sort of places we wished to get off and explore tomorrow with our HOHO bus pass. Here is a write up about the Durness stuff , indeed In My Life off rubber soul which he wrote was inspired by childhood stays at the croft in Durness. We thought the campsite was very expensive for what you get but I suppose it was the capital of a very expensive country so probably to be expected. Wednesday 5th June 2019 Got on the bus again outside campsite and got off at stop 2 to walk around the old harbour area including see there was a brewery tour, which sadly we did not do, but we did see the maritime museum and the various boats in the harbour, including the very old dry dock Gullborg and ice breakers a plenty. We loved walking around this area including the old warehouses converted to craft shops, amazing murals, chain bikes, so clever, plus old trad buildings in bright colours looking out onto Kollafjordur, there was even a Greenpeace boat in harbour, we had last seen one in Auckland harbour back in 2007. We then walked back towards the Art Gallery and Craft market, sadly both were closed but we peered through the glass to get a feel of what we were missing. Opposite the Kollaport market was a permanent heritage display with boards about Reykjavik’s maritime history, all very interesting especially the Viking and Scottish links, we then walked into the centre of the city restaurant area, some very disturbingly strange menus i.e., puffin & whale, not to our taste but respect their culture. The area even had an old steam railway engine on display. We then re-joined the bus and got off at the Tjornin stop walked around the lake, called in at the council building to find a doctor’s for Keef’s incessant cough which we would do later, we went to the Hard Rock Café nearby for a chocolate milkshake and then walked back to the doctor’s surgery, had to wait a while and pay about £30 for an appointment but got anti-biotics prescribed which eventually cleared it up, Annie would get it later, read on (Isafjordur hospital). After the surgery we caught the bus back around to the Opera house from the nearest HOHO bus stop, this bus was the last of the day, so we had to catch an ordinary bus back to the stadium which we managed without much trouble. Like Reykjavik, it has a nice feel. Thursday 6th June 2019 Left the campsite and had to visit the dump station down near the cruise ship terminal, ha-ha what a welcome for the tourist to watch Keef emptying our waste, class eh? Then after refueling we left Reykjavik and headed north, stopping at the far end of Hvalfjordur in the sunshine for lunch overlooking a mass of lupins in flower. After this we carried on to our campsite at Varmaland now in West Iceland. We called in at Leira where there was a campsite which we didn’t rate and was busy with folk in the thermal swimming pool next door. The total journey was about 60 miles on highway 1 over the long hvalfjardagong bridge across open water, very interesting, great engineering. We called in at Borganes on route for a few provisions and to look at a craft shop, just too expensive. The Varmaland campsite was basically an open field and quite lumpy at that , we found the best bit we could , and laid the cable across the muddy track to one of the few electric hook up. No way to pay we eventually were able to when a young lad (presumably) the farmer’s son arrived in a car and knocked on our door, luckily we had cash as they don’t generally accept card in these remote places. Friday 7th June 2019 We left the Varmaland camping site, Vesterlund 311 and headed back to Borganes turning as we got towards the town onto the exquisite highway 54 with just such fab views eventually along the Denmark straits. We stopped at the viewing point just past Hjardaharfell after it had turned into highway 56, where we got out and had a walk over some of the open volcanic landscape with Hraunsfjardarvatn views in the background, what a spot, just magical, took loads of pictures. Many people had stopped here to walk right down to the lake, we didn’t. We then carried on the 56 turning back onto the 54 then the 58 into the historic fishing port at Stykkishholmur at the end of the Borgerland peninsular. Loved the village , walked around the harbour, talked to the fishermen landing huge catches of lumpfish, famed for its red caviar. The views of Landey island in the background were fab, we listened to music from folk performing in front of the fancy sheep van. We walked around the heritage area and museums then we left the harbour car park and drove up to the church high on the hill, a very modern building, great photo opportunity. We then left to travel into the snaefellsnes national park area, such scenery. We went anti clockwise around the highway 54, some of the best scenery so far, with the snow covered Snaefall mountain in the centre of our road loop which hugged the coast. The north coast views were the Denmark Straits.We visited Grundarfjordur then headed around to our campsite at Tradir camping near budir . We visited olafsvik harbour and the lighthouse at rif and the tourist info office at rif, which was busy. The site had a nice café area. I got us coins for the shower, sadly some parents had allowed their child to totally flood the shower and when I put my coins in there was no hot water. I lost it Keef with terets, I stormed into the office wet and cold and let them have both barrels, they accepted there was something wrong with the boiler, and let me use the lovely shower for free in the hotel area, wonderful, I also negotiated the same for Annie, the views at the site were great but there was a lot of distance to walk. If you want to see more images click here , thanks Saturday 8th June 2019 Left Tradir campsite after taking a look around again at the sea and the beach. Such a nice area, not the best site as the amenities (before the Terets) were poor and nowhere near enough if the site was full. The café looked nice though as an added facility. Here is a little summary of Budir which sums up the area well. Búðir is a small hamlet in Búðahraun lava fields in Staðarsveit, which is in the western region of Iceland, on the westernmost tip of the Snaefellsnes peninsula where Hraunhafnará falls to the sea, the original old name of Búðir having been Hraunhöfn. I filled up with water before leaving then we set off back across on Highway 54 to Borganes, stopped here again and got some provisions before using the main A1 route north stopping again at Bifrost for a rest almost 2 hours into the journey and had a look at what seem to be the deserted lava hotal there. We then turned off the A1 near Klettsia onto the magnificent high 60 up across the mountains heading north, spectacular views on this road all the way up to alfheimer where it merged with the 54. Despite the signs luckily at this time of year you didn’t need snow chains, can’t imagine taking the van up over this road in winter, it would be so scary. We stopped at Laugar a very small village off highway 60 which had both a hotel and a geo thermal pool, the campsite was very bumpy and lumpy and the facilities were not yet open, we found the best compromise site we could to be level and put the ramps on. As time passed a few more motorhomes pulled up but it was very sparse. Eventually the girls arrived to open and clean the facilities, presumably from the hotel. They collected our fees. We can safely say this is the worst campsite in Iceland that we stayed at. If memory serve me right it was off highway 60 to the right, may even have been a little way up the 61, can’t remember. Sunday 9th June 2019 Called in at Reykholar on route today and discovered a campsite we will use later. Today I convinced Annie to go off road, we headed west on 17 miles of gravel road to Flokalundur around the fabulous twists and turns, mountain climbs and bridges , it took and age and shook just about everything in the van, we only did about 20 mph, once we reached the campsite we decided that we could go no further on this road, had hoped to use the gravel road to go all the way around the peninsular but chickened out. The fire had come off the wall and needed refixing. The campsite was nice with lovely views of the coast, we parked up, hooked up, went for a little walk then relaxed after what had been quite a harrowing drive, realising we had to go back over it tomorrow, reflecting on Chris’s flat tyre in NZ back in 2017 we were going to be mega careful, just cannot afford a flat tyre this far out in remote Iceland. Indeed, we didn’t see that many other vehicles on the whole journey and the ones we did we stopped for in essence in passing places on a single-track gravel road. Monday 10th June 2019 We then left the campsite at Flokalundar and travelled very slowly back along the gravel road with the Denmark straits on our right, yet again majestic scenery and all bathed in glorious sunshine. Once off the gravel track and back on tarmac on highway 60 we turned south past Bjardarvatn lake on the 607 down to the town of Reykholar, this road took us along superb coastal scenery again, with so many inlets on the Denmark Straits with lots of salmon farms our in the clear waters, when the tide was out there were lots of rock pools. We filled up at the fuel station at the entry to the town of Reykholar, diesel is expensive this far out, but you just must do it. We then drove through the town across the many coastal rock bridges to the harbour where there was a herring canning factory, some yummy smells NOT! The local green dredger ship was in the harbour used to pick up the mass of strangling green weed but also the lovely nutrient used for gardening, seaweed which was plentiful. After that we returned through the village to the campsite alongside the road opposite the church. It was on a lovely farmers field. We hooked up along the fence edge in the flattest bit we could find although in general it was mostly flat. The sun was out, the facilities were good. The lady in the office who had seen us arrive provided a hose through the wall so we could get water in the tank. She filled the hot tubs for us as well with sea water. We got changed in the massive changing room / shower block and had a lovely time in the hot tub using the facilities to shower and change on the way out. Just so relaxing sitting in it looking out on the mountain ledge surrounding the valley, all green and sparkly in the sun. This campsite is one of our favourites and the lady farmer was so helpful, so much so that we returned to it again later in the holiday. We had a bit of a walk afterwards down to the old houses and playpark with an old heritage wood. We had our meal outside tonight on the table and chairs as so mild and sunny, just blissful. Tuesday 11th June 2019 A long drive today so we set off early leaving the lovely site at Reykholar , we will be back, and travelling on the highway 61 past the turning for Husavik, which we will return to later and along the Greenland Sea on our right. I was a magnificent 3-and-a-half-hour journey which we loved every moment of, seeing fosses (rivers) a plenty, snow melts and frozen lakes on the mountain tops. This area is called the western fjords and in our humble opinion is the best scenery in the whole of Iceland and let me tell you there is a lot to choose from. We stopped at Reykjanes just off the highway as needed diesel. It was a very odd pump system which took a credit card, eventually ha-ha, but not funny at the time, quite frustrating. Whilst here we had a quick look around , there were tourist coaches parked up outside what seemed to be a somewhat run-down hotel whose real attribute was a geothermal full sized Olympic swimming pool outside. We circled mojifjordur and skotufjordur and then stopped at the heritage house in Litibaer, from here we walked down the country path to the waters edge, the town folk had kindly left a pair of binoculars, very powerful ones, to allow visitors to see the seal colony on the outer rock crop. Another family in front of us had borrowed them but passed them onto us and we saw the seals, just lovely, so like seeing wildlife in their natural habitat. We then went on around the fjords stopping to look at some spectacular waterfalls, emboldened by the melting snows from above, and next stopped at Sudavik where there was an arctic fox centre, not really the right season for us. The mountains here are breathtakingly high and sadly they had an avalanche in the village not that long ago #scary Sudavik has an active volcano as well. After Sudavik we carried on into the city of Isafjordur and as we approached, we saw a cruise liner just coming into port. We had a quick drive around the city to get our barings, quite a big place, lots of supermarkets and fuel stations. The campsite was just off the main road up by the waterfall surrounded by lovely lupins in flower. The site had a river running through it off the waterfall and was landscaped on various levels. We chose an upper one with close views of the waterfall. The facilities were at the other end f the site in the valley but very good. We were staying in Isafjordur for 3 nights which was a very good choice. See the images Wednesday 12th June 2019 Annie had the same bronchitis I had so we visited the cities hospital and waited until she was seen by a doctor who prescribed anti-biotics , they were all very pleasant and helpful, the consultation cost about £25 and the pills themselves a further £30 so at Iceland prices a bargain. After this we went back into the harbourside area parked up and had a good look around. A very interesting city. We then drove out to Boulungavik and Flateyri through a myriad of tunnels the first we have seen and been under with a traffic intersection in to cope with conjoined tunnels, all seemed to work very well. Both these places were interesting but especially Flateyri with its fish drying racks on the outskirts and the book museum in the high street which we walked around as well as the harbour. The guy in braces in the bookstore museum was a 3rd generation family member and showed us around the home, just so interesting. We bought some cards and took lots of pictures. A very nice day, back to the site to eat and relax, walked around the site down to the amenities block to fill up our water bottles, sat outside for quite a while catching the sun’s rays. Thursday 13th June 2019 A campsite day today, washing, reading and eating outside and getting sunburnt in Iceland, now just how good is that it was a surprisingly hot and sunny day. Not much else to report today. Friday 14th June 2019 Packed up and drove up to the entrance on the upper road for the campsite, where the motorhome service station was, after 3 days the water tank was empty, and we needed do dunny man. The site is called the Tunguladur. So refilled with water and a clean blue loo we went to the supermarket on the way out of town, wow those chiller tents where they keep the meats etc are cold, tee-hee. We also filled up with diesel before setting off again. We drove back along the 61 through Sudavik and all the other twists and turns up and back down fjord after fjord off the Greenland Sea overlooking the island of Vigur which still had a dusting of snow on it. There are 4 long fjords on this journey, but we loved all of them, such scenery, the best. Stopped at Amernes point for a while to take in the views. We then drove across the Greenland Sea over the 2 islands of Hrutey via the road bridge, a stunning construction. Stopped again seals and binoculars. Finally arrived at our campsite in Drangsnes overlooking the island of Grimsey late afternoon, big grass field site, we were the first on it, small amenities block but perfectly adequate. Set up and had a cuppa. A few others arroved later in the day. All tourists from other countries. The total journey from Isafjordur to Drangsnes was about 150 miles but took well over 4 hours with some of the roads around the fjords, but I am not complaining, spectacular stuff, it’s what Iceland is all about, I don’t really get this feel anywhere else in the world apart from maybe New Zealand. Saturday 15th June 2019 Left the site at Drangsnes and had a good look at the town along the foreshaw, lots of holiday cottages, but a lovely old school house and church, there were 3 hot spring pools along the front for general use, as we had come into the town yesterday we had seen those along with endless plumes of steam emitting from the waters edge, this was quite a lively active volcanic area hence the public baths for all to use. Keef went over for a closer look, sadly one of them had so much gunge in it you would never want to use it. As it was blowing a hooley decided not to try even the perfectly OK ones. We then left Drangsnes and headed back out around the fjord to join the 61 through Holmavik and stopping in Husavik, which is the whale tour capital , we went down to the harbour and around the church and old town areas, a very interesting place , we will be back. We carried on to Hvammstangi our campsite for the night parking up on the flattest bit of grass land not too far away from the limited number electric points, so our long cable stretched. The field backed onto the heritage church with its picket fence, after setting up and having our usual cuppa we went for a walk to have a look at the church, all very interesting. Quite liked the area and the sunsets were just wonderful, had tea, relaxed and went to bed. Sunday 16th June 2019 Left the site at Hvammstangi after breakfast and disconnecting. Drove the short distance to the town and its harbour where we parked up and had a good look around. A very interesting place with both the seal centre and palmason house, a traditional style trader dwelling and fish house with dried fish hanging out on the wooden construction we had seen often as we did on the road to Flateyri, but this time close so we could examine the drying process, all fascinating. After a good look around, we drove onto Blonduos about an hour further north with views of hunavatn on our left, until that is the fog set in off the sea and we could hardly see anything. We refuelled here and then parked up in the old town and did a walk around what is the heritage walk with information cards in front of the old houses and church, a very interesting place. We then drove a further 30 minutes up the skaginn peninsular to the seaside town of skagastrond and from there across the peninsular on the 744 to Saudarkrokur with its giant horse statue, not impressed with this place if we are honest, saw the campsite there which looked to be on the back of some industrial works. Anyhow we moved onto Hofsos around the next bay and up the next peninsular as the 744 turned into highway 75. This took a further 40 minutes. At Hofsos we stopped for a good look around the old harbour area with its sea bridge and fishing houses in old dark weatherboard, a fascinating place and then drove back out to a layby just outside the main town with fab sea views where we parked up for lunch, the area was quite touristy with lots of coaches. We had seen quite a lot today already, loved every moment of it. After lunch we drove onto the fabulous Siglufjordur which would be our home for the next to days. Surrounded by mountains still with snow and lupins on them to create colour. The site was in the harbour and very busy but small with good facilities which sadly were also shared with tourists. It took an hour on the scenerific highway 76 to get to Siglufjordur from Hofsos. Parked up and set up we walked to the local supermarket and had a walk around the town gardens and shops. Asked a guy at a fish store about fish and chips but he said they only supplied wet fish to shops, not cooked it, shame, still we returned to the van to eat and take in the truly tremendous views, we absolutely loved Siglufjordur. A huge tick. Monday 17th June 2019 The day started off sunny we had a lovely walk around the harbour area after breakfast and a nice shower in the amenities. Today was Iceland’s public holiday and the pub at the front of the pier thronged with Icelanders making merry. So like Siglufjordur, the views, the harbour, the long trad wood building that doubled as a restaurant and the carved wood characters on benches outside. We even got to look close at many of the fishing boats in harbour. Opposite the site across the bay was a posh hotel and holiday lets, this is a popular place with both home grown and foreign tourists, so glad we had a pitch in what is a small but compact nice central site, great for walking anywhere #recommended Saw lots of hire vans where you raise the roof and sleep up top, a little chilly we would have thought in this mountainous area. The day sadly turned to mist and murk later in the day with endless drizzle which was such a shame. Tuesday 18th June 2019 It rained most of the night. Had finally stopped after breakfast so we packed up quick and said our fond farewells to Siglufjordur one of our fave places in Iceland along with Isafjordur but there were many. We headed out around the lake on the 76 to Olafsfjordur about 20 minutes away a quaint touristy town then onto dalvik on the 82 with views out across to the island of Hrisey. All the area around here and the river (or fosse) frindland svarfadardalur was green and lush mostly with a sea of blue lupins. From here it was onto the second city of Iceland and the 1st of the north Akureyri another 45 minutes away at the head of the sea fjord. We parked up on gravel in the harbour area, took some photos of cruise ships and then used the boardwalk to come back into what was the old town hall or Hof and now a shopping area with theatre , cinema, and museum, all very interesting. It was blisteringly cold with winds whipping in off the sea. We then came out and attempted to walk along the preserved heritage fishing industry high street with its information boards and old buildings, quite a history lesson we both remember well. We then drove the short distance to the oddeyri district of Akureyri, where we parked up and walked around the old heritage buildings and cultural museum and church, the nonnahus is famous, nonna being a celebrated Icelander. We then drove up the mountains to see akureyri from above, great views back down to the harbour, we decided we much preferred akureyri to Reykjavik. We now left and out through the tunnel 30 minutes’ drive to the spectacular waterfalls at Godafoss, almost as good as Niagara in our humble opinion. We then headed north on the 845 to our campsite for the night at Heidarbaer, it is also subtitled the Husavik Highway no 85. A very thermal area, crops grown in greenhouses heated by the steam of hot springs, we had a little drive around. The campsite was grass and muddy at that with only a few electric hookups but we got one. The pool at the site was thermal waters and basically too hot to swim in. Wednesday 19th June 2019 - Arctic Circle Packed up from the site , it was raining so not much fun, and headed off back up the Husavik Highway no 85 to initially Husavik then onto the Vatnajokull National Park at Asbyrgi. It is fascinating to think that the national park stretched from the south to almost the north coast of Iceland, just amazing. We stopped in Husavik for a good long look around, parking initially in the supermarket car park on the coastal road then driving around the town centre, many hotels for tourists doing whale watching, plus a fab old church we had come across before. It took an hour driving to get to the national park. At Asbyrgi we parked up and had a educational visit at the visitors centre learning once again about volcanoes (Krafla in particular) but more importantly about Vatnajokull, Europe’s largest glacier by far. So much of Iceland is covered by it, but sadly because of global warming it to is beginning to shrink. After the visitor’s centre, we drove through the park a bit to see what Krafla had done to the landscape after it last exploded, amazing lava crater and valley edges, such weird rock formations now very verdant with grass and wildflowers, especially lupins a true feature of our Icelandic travels. We then carried on for another hour on the 85 initially north along the Greenland Sea but turning sharply right just past the Prestholalon lake and across the most northerly peninsular in Iceland to Ruafarhofn the most northerly town in Iceland. We were determined to get into the arctic circle which wasn’t that much further north so we travelled out on its gravel road past the lava works park or arctic henge with its copy of Wiltshire’s finest (Stonehenge), a tourist attraction under construction, but one had to wonder how many people would travel this far north to it. Anyhow we did make it officially to the arctic circle, pulled up and took lots of photos as memorabilia #arcticcircle #fame #achievment #tick After this we returned down the gravel roads into Ruafarhofn again. This whole place including its hotels and harbour were very run down. It had a feel of a utilitarian Russian hovel. Sorry, that was rude wasn’t it but accurate. The old church plus the campsite were potentially the only redeeming factors. The rest could do with a big dose of TLC (tender loving care) #fact We were initially the only people at the campsite and could not work out where to pay. Someone as is normal in Iceland came to collect our fees, we showed our Iceland Camping card which if you haven’t got one, I would suggest is essential. Our campsite had a lake just over the hill surrounding the site, presumably protection against flooding. I climbed up for a walk and a look at pistilfjordur. After tea we bedded down for the night, amenities block was fine and one other lot of campers joined us, they asked for help with their van the next morning, can’t remember what it was about but we helped get it sorted, something to do with their water I think. #proof #arcticcircle Thursday 20th June 2019 - Wild Arctic Way We left the Arctic circle this morning returning on the 874 out of Ruafarhofn and turning east onto the 85, also known as the wild arctic way (similar to the wild Atlantic way we saw on our trip to Eire Blog 129 in 2018) taking that road over the hofaskard stopping at the viewing point at the top, just spectacular views from here looking down and around, still unmelted snow everywhere and almost the end of June shows how this this is. The Greenland Sea was easily visible from here. It took about an hour into the port town of Porshofn where we saw school parties doing roadside clearance and gardening for all, very good stuff, community spirited. Porshofn is a big fishing community, the church was lovely and the harbour activity, views and information boards. #fabroutes #4000miles We then travelled back all the way along the wild arctic way back to the west coast of this most northerly peninsular and then as we hit the coast turned right to travel north up to Kopasker, here we could look out amongst the lupins at Viknafjoll’s snow covered tops. From Kopasker it was an hour’s trip back to Husavik where we parked up on the outskirts high up and watched the whale watching boats leave harbour, we had lunch here as the sun shone on the opposing peninsulars mountains, just blissful, do like Husavik and surrounds. From here after lunch it was back once again to the site at Heidarbaer, this time we patked in the front field and ran our cable through the woods to the few electric points that they have, we made sure we arrived before the masses came to get one and had learnt our lesson from last time about the muddy field behind. We met a nice german guy also camped around the front with the most massive motorhome, pop outs and a small car parked up a ramp at the back in its hind garage. The next morning, we watched and filmed him using the pulley system to get the car up the ramps back into the garage, what a palaver. I looked at the speedo, today we had done 4000 miles on the clock on this trip. Friday 21st June 2019 Some Icelandic for you, husbilar = motorhome, tjaldstaedi = tents, hjolhysi = caravan, fluent, eh? NOT! We left Haeidarbaer and travelled onto the Myvatn lakes area and travelled all the way around them. Once around the lake we pulled into the car park in front of the visitor’s centre and had a good look around it and learnt loads. A volcanic crater lake, views fab, the downside was the number of pesky black fly. After Myvatn we carried onto the truly wonderful Krafla volcanic lava fields area off highway 863. This is a hugely touristy area as it is an active volcanic area, boardwalks provided , steam, colour in lakes , it so reminded as of the artist palette thermal area near Rotorua in North Island New Zealand, click here to see. On route from Myvatn lakes as we climbed the mountains we stopped at Reykjahlid to see the sulpurous lake, bubbling and smelling just like stink bombs of your youth. We climbed that mountain above it and stopped at the viewing spot, amazing views all around. Then it was onto Nammafjall. After a good look around the lava fields we said goodbye to Nammafjall got back on the road and turned off back up to the edge of the Vatnajokull National park on the 862 and stopped in the car park for Dettifloss. We walked a bit across lava fields probably about a mile and a half to the waterfall, spectacular views. We then returned to highway 1 and turned off down a long gravel road taking it slowly to the farm campsite we were to stay at that night, called modrudalur farm , the highest campsite in Iceland. What a lovely yet quirky place, clearly a tourist mecca, we were greeted with goats at the site office chewing their way through campers back packs, hilarious. Checked in, it was both a restaurant, shop and café as well as the campsite office, all very helpful. Found ourselves a level pitch , parked up , had a cuppa and then went off for a bit of a walk. This road is closed in winter, snowed in obviously as so high up. Saturday 22nd – Tuesday 25th June 2019 Left the farm campsite, nice weather, travelled slowly up the gravel track avoiding the coaches travelling too fast and spraying grit and stones onto my window screen, don’t need it broken. Rejoined highway 1 and travelled back to Egilsstadir in just over the hour stopping on route to have a look at the river from a picnic viewing spot, sadly graffiti has even made it to Iceland. In Egilsstadir we filled up with diesel , went shopping in the supermarket buying some gifties for family and friends, and went again to have a look at the campsite we had looked at on day 2 of our Icelandic adventures, we decided it was not for us, and took the decision to return to the lovely campsite at Reydisfjordur so we travelled back through the magnificent valley cut by glaciers , eyvindardalur, to get there, river , huts and viewing points for photo opportunities, we stayed for 4 nights relaxing and going for walks into town and along the harbour, just so pleasant there and hugely relaxing. Parked up in the same spot as we had before and paid the lady for 4 nights when she came around in the evening. We walked around the lake, saw lupins, waterfalls, newly born chicks, info boards, bought some stuff at the local garage and just generally lapped up the good weather, suntans all round. Wednesday 26th June 2019 Did dunny man, filled up with water. Left our lovely home for the last 4 days at Reydisfjordur and travelled back through the spectacular valley to Egilsstadir and then back to the Seydisfjordur campsite we had started at as we arrived on the ferry in Iceland, what a whole different day and a month’s advance of weather makes, the views up over the mountain tops on the fabulous highway 93, the Seydisfjordur mountain pass, were breath taking, we stopped at Heidervatn, which we couldn’t even see last time for a photo shoot. There was still snow on the mountains and iced lakes on either side of the road but you could see them all, we stopped at the Gufufoss waterfall for a good look around and took some pictures. Wonderful and warmish. We went through the village of bjolfsvirkjun as we descended once more into Seydisfjordur. Went to the campsite which was already hugely busy, the ferry was in, and everyone was obviously either there to catch it tomorrow or had just arrived on it, we got one of the last electric hook-ups cramped in between two vans close on either side, if fire regulations were an issue this would have been forbidden. Anyhow once set up we went for a lovely long walk around Seydisfjordur in the sunshine, what a nice place it is. Even saw the gardens. There was also a cruise ship in the harbour, so the place was full of American tourists. After a fab walk, a visit to the shop for more Skyr and chocolate we came back to the van for a meal. Early to bed as an early start joining the ferry queue 3 hours before departure. The van next to us had diesel heating so quite noisy all night, I did ask him what it was the next day as not come across this before, I know now, the disadvantage is its shared with your driving fuel obviously so if you are travelling long distances in remote areas it is an issue. Thursday 27th June 2019 Up early packed and joined the MS Norrona boarding queue at 7.30 a.m. Boy it was busy, way more so than when we came across from the Faroes. When they collected our ticket we told them that Annie’s legs were not great, which is true, so they let her stay in the van with me this time. Eventually we drove on about 20 past 10, reversed into position in the hold and slid across to the passenger side to climb out with our overnight bags and headed up in the lift to our room. Had a nice lunch and evening meal, walked around the deck for exercise and views. Slept reasonably well. Friday 28th June 2019 At sea all day, knew we stopped in the dark at about 3 a.m. at Torshavn but that was quite a quick stop of about 30 minutes just to onboard and offboard a few vehicles. Saturday 29th June 2019 Had a nice breakfast on board and then went up top to watch as we went past Sumner head off the Shetlands and later started to see the Danish mainland past some of the outlying rocky islands. We eventually docked at Hirtshal and after a while we were able to go back to the van and disembark. Now we had a long journey driving all the way through Denmark on the motorway, to near Flensburg and turned off back to the nice campsite we had been at in Medleby on the way up. Pitch 2 this time, it was 1 last time, I think. Sadly, Annie was not well overnight and was sick a couple of times, we cleared up the damage on the duvet and she drank a lot of water which helped. It was not great as we had a lot of driving tomorrow. Sunday 30th June 2019 A long tedious drive back through Germany past the massive usual hold ups around Hamburg but the good news was Annie was slowly recovering, not feeling so bad she was able to take on a little food. We arrived at our campsite Osnabruck on Bullerby lake, which doubled as an outdoor swimming pool for locals, quite a nice site, good pitch with views and very hot weather so we were able to set up outside and have dinner out there. Keef strolled down to the lake to see what was going on and although it was hot decided against a dip, it didn’t look that clean. Monday 1st July 2019 Left the Bullerby lake site and travelled the 170 miles onto Leiden in Holland, the early home of Rembrandt a hero of mine. We got to the town about 2pm and drove around looking for somewhere to park, even though there was a festival on, there was nowhere, very frustrating would like to return one day and go in by bus for a long look around. Checked in at the Acsi campsite at Leiden, a huge site with full restaurant, café, shop and a free mega swimming pool. After setting up we walked back out of the gate and into the village of Rijnsburg, named after Rembrandt. A lovely village, many flowers nice posh houses and lots of waterway channels and all seen in lovely sunshine. After returning to the site, we sat out in the café and had an ice cream. Tuesday 2nd July 2019 The ferry back to the UK wasn’t due to leave until 2.35 p.m. so it was a leisurely breakfast , did all the usual motorhome chores, packed up and left in good time for the hour journey from Leiden to the Hook of Holland i.e., Hoek Van Holland port at Rotterdam via the Hague, a very interesting area of mostly large embassies. Joined the queue for check in reasonably early. Got on the ferry and then heard the announcement that sailing was delayed. Finally got back into Harwich at 7.45 p.m. The A14 was a nightmare and closed in many places, so we finally got back home about 3 a.m. Knackered but happy, a lovely time, can well recommend the Faroes and Iceland. Back to the Menu Calendar The calendar here shows our day by day activities and whereabouts… enjoy x Back to the Menu Campsites Back to the Menu Faroes Slideshows Back to the Menu Iceland Slideshows Back to the Menu The Talkies Features our discussions, observations etc in our own words... covers both the Faroes & Iceland Covers both Faroes & Iceland, not talkies but all the images from our old windows phone and the antequated iPad at the time Back to the Menu Full Image Slideshows with Audiobook intro Part 1 is 53 minutes long and covers from home to all our time on the Faroe Islands i.e the period 5th to the 26th May 2019 and includes that audiobook Part 2 is 42 minutes long and covers from arriving in Iceland at Seydisfjordur in the snow to arriving outside the heritage church at Hvammstangi in the north of Iceland, i.e. its Iceland part 1 with audiobook for the period 27th May to the 15th June 2019 Part 3 is 29 minutes long and covers from visiting the harbour area in Hvammstangi Iceland to mostly the northern and eastern areas of Iceland to returning home i.e. its Iceland Part2 17th June to 2nd July 2019 Audio Diary That's all folks! #motorhome #motorhometravels #travelsin2019 #campsites #majortrip

By keef and annie hellinger, Jul 8 2018 05:06PM Motorhome trip No34 : Saturday June 16th- Friday July 6th 2018, 21 days A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->Ireland (Eire) ->NOTTS 1995 miles MENU Intro Diary Slideshows 2018 History 2000 Audiobook Travel Routes The End OVERVIEW We had a fab time in Ireland especially the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) – Sli an Atlantaigh Fhiain (in Gallic) on the west coast from Kilrush, co Clare right up as far as Fanad Head Lighthouse on the Fanad peninsular co Donegal. It was especially great as the weather was amazing for the whole time. We used the ferry from South Wales – Fishguard to Rosslare co Wexford. We stayed on a Apple tree farm in the heart of co Tipperary which was 1st fab cider smells everywhere (did you know Bulmers is from Cahir?) and we experienced our 1st ever campsite eviction at Bennettsbridge. Haha the pitchfork battle with the farmer lined up with his tractor and golf buggy. In terms of cities/ towns/ sights we loved Galway (esp Shop street music & food & atmosphere) , Cahir, Bansha, Carrigaholt, Clifden, Renvyle, Athelone, Spanish Point, Mullaghmore, Ballyshannon, Lough Eske, Muckross Heads, Slieve League Cliffs, Magheraroarty, Aran Islands, Inishbofin island , Tory Isles, Lough Gill, Parkes Castle,Rosses Point, Ramelton, Carrick on Shannon & Adare… we liked less Tipperary, Limmerick, Sligo, Donegal, Bundoran (kiss me quick hats), Portlaois (prisons and speed humps) & Letterkenny. The Irish are so friendly and chatty. Achill island co Mayo & parts of Donegal are breath taking scenery. Had a fab time in the Dog & Duck Athelone on Lough Ree where I watched England Vs Columbia with some lovely friendly folk and 3 pints of fab Guinness. We actually left 3 days earlier than planned after a combo of too much kids holiday noise and missing the Wicklows. No worries we had seen lots and loved it. We will go back again in 2 years time to complete the lower section of the WAW by ferry Holyhead – Dublin (the trip back from Fishguard home thru Wales is a little too arduous at 6.5 hours) then thru Wicklow Mountains (which we missed due to SatNav malfunction… or was it user error ;) this time) then Cork to Kerry and up the WAW as far as Kilrush (Kil means rock!) then the fastest route up to Malin Head in Donegal then thru Causeway Coastal route in NI back to Dublin. Read our DIARY or if you would prefer to hear it as an audiobook click HERE See the WAW in stages , there are 14 of them , 5 of which we are left to do which we are doing in our trip in 2023. The total length is 1600 miles approx and we have approx 400 left to do, 100 in the north from Kilcrum to Malin Head and 300 in the south from Tarbert to Kinsale through counties Kerry and Cork. Can't wait to complete it, what fabulous scenery.a Note we returned in 2023 to complete the Wild Atlantic Way. See Blog 194 . Return to Menu DIARY At 2500 kilometres the Wild Atlantic Way is the longest single coastal route in the world, certainly surpassing the Great Ocean Road in Victoria Oz which we have also done. If you want to read more about the WAW CLICK HERE If you want to see a slideshow of our previous visit to Eire in 2000 please look under the FAMILY page on this site under the by year category, or by clicking HERE , if you wish to go straight to the slideshows, click HERE , thanks for looking See our video of the complete Wild Atlantic Way in both 2018 and 2023 and this is represented here by the WAW posts / signs we captured on film #legend Notes (hopefully useful to other motorhomers) 1. Last week and a half of our hols was school hols in Eire , from the weds they get 3 months off in Eire but less half terms. 2. Many towns have heights barriers on car parks and charge parking fees , not exactly motorhome friendly 3. Many campsites charge extra for electrics and showers (ranging from 50c to Euro $1.50) 4. N roads (equivalent to our A roads) & M roads – great, R roads (our B) variable and very bumpy esp in Donegal, L roads (our C) very very variable… avoid if poss ;) 5. Most signage doesn’t say “how far” but brown tourist signs great and WAW history and signs wonderful 6. Get both green books for campsites and always carry small change (i.e euros) for showers 7. Electric splitter useful for outside cooking (we used both tappenyaki and double ring as so hot indoors) 8. Diesel fuel cheaper or about the same as UK, petrol more expensive 9. Best campsites – Doonbeg Strand Camping co Clare, Clifden Eco Beach campsite co Clare 10. Get the Office of Works help sheet if you are interested in cultural history.loads of very interesting places to visit on your travels Actual route (see maps) Leinster Day1 … Counties Wexford Leinster Day19-20 … Counties Offaly, Laois, Kildare, Wicklow, Wexford Munster Day2-7… Counties Waterford, Tipperary, Limerick, Kerry, Kilkenny & Clare Connaught Day 8-12 … Counties Galway, Mayo, Sligo Connaught Day 18 … Counties Leitrim, Rosscommon Ulster Day 13-16… County Donegal, Fermanagh (NI) Key to Irish counties All mileages are approximate – as planned before travel. The reality is we did 1,995 miles from home and back with 2 3.5 hr ferry crossings DAY1: Sat 16/6 :Visited wonderful friends Neil and Marice in Southerdown, Vale of Glamorgan for a lovely lunch and catch up. Stayed Caravan Club site St Davids south wales… SA626PR… 270 miles 4hrs 30 mins Booked Update: 2hrs 30 mins 174 miles to Neil’s CF32 0RW then to St Davids 2hrs 98 miles Total 4hrs 30 mins 272 miles,1/2hr drive to Ferry Fishguard – Rosslare DAY2: Sun 17/6 Ferry leaves @ 13.10 (have to be there 1hr early) Stena 75464818 Booked Arrives Eire 16.25 mins Journey ferry 3hrs 15mins Then 24 mins 11 miles drive to 1st campsite Stay at Ferrybank caravan park Private site over the bridge and owned by Local swimming pool $31 52°20'41"N 6°27'10"W acsi inspected Wexford Great views DAY3: Mon 18/6 Wexford co Wexford – Cahir co Tipperary 75 miles Looked at Wexford & Waterford 2hrs 15mins… side turning to Wellington bridge R733 which didn’t really work (a square loop back onto main road) outta Wexford into New Ross, a very interesting place on River Barrow ancestral home of JFK and old ship. Campsite is the ACSI Cahir one The Apple Farm N52 ACSI 1255. Lovely people lovely shop lovely smell lovely strawberries, apple juice and cider… try Con’s craft cider! DAY4: Tues 19/6 Cahir co Tipperary – Rathkeale co Limmerick 50 miles 1hrs 30 mins… visited Swiss Cottage at Cahir, fab visit and Cahir is a great heritage town, really liked it. Tipperary & Limmerick town en route. Adare is rated as the best visit in Ireland and have to say it was fab if a little busy! Stayed at Adare Camping And Caravan Park, Drehedtarsna Adare Limerick LK (Rathkeale area) DAY5: Wed 20/6 Adare campsite, Rathkeale co Tipperary -Tarbert Island co Kerry - Kilkee Co Clare 32 miles 50 mins… goes along Shannon river edge, caught Shannon Ferry to Killimer, Killrush… i.e Kerry to Clare approx $25 takes 20 mins then stayed at Strand Camping Killard Road, Doonbeg Doonbeg CE one of our fave campsites ever, very small owned by English couple, great showers pitches, facilities. Saw Ballycrinan shingle beach, Moyne , Carrigaholt (lunch by the waves), Kilkee (Victorian seaside town), Spanish Point (and the man who could gab for Ireland ;) ), went go to Loophead lighthouse R487, then returned up west coast of clare etc etc Gained extra day from original plan by missing out Green Acres campsite (yuck!) White strands beach nearby is deserted and possible one of the best blue flag beaches in Eire! BASICALLY FROM NOW ON WE FOLLOWED THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY – Killrush to Fanad peninsular DAY6: Thurs 21/6 Doonbeg Co Clare -Lahinch Beach-Doolin Total: 30 miles 50 mins… 1st bit of journey to Lahinch beach is 20miles 38 mins then coastal route R478 thru Luogh-Roadford-Doolin / Doolin Pier Met Mr & Mrs Welwyn Garden City and Pete & Jane from Cambridge whom we also remet at Clifden beach Eco site later , basically cos annies leg was playing up we abandoned walk into famous Paddy O’Connors bar in Doolin from Doolin Pier Stayed at Nagles Doolin Camping, NAGLES DOOLIN CAMPING GPS 53.0176827, -9.3945482. Visited Cliffs of Moher site on route, wonderful but hugely touristy DAY7: Fri 22/6 2nd day at Doolin Pier campsite (very noisy in eve as weekend and we pitched next to kids playpark, note to self DON’T DO IT AGAIN ;) )but Boat cruise Bill O’Briens boats to Aran Island, Inis Mor (biggest but called in at Meain & Oirr isles as well) $30 pp Fab day out in the sun and did tourist bus around island… glad we got out of mr wee’s first bus ;) Great jumpers tops bought Stay at Nagles … DAY8: Sat 23/6 Doolin - Galway Total: 48 miles 1hr 50 mins… 1st bit of journey to Burren was via Murrogh and Ballyvaughan… Stayed at Galway City Caravan & Camping Park, Ballyloughane Rd, Renmore, Ireland…visit lough (lake) atilia and river corrib Not the best campsite in fact the worst E$34 and most expensive, lunch at site by Galway bay in sun, fab then caught the 402 bus into Eyre square from opposite campsite and had a great time in Galway city, esp music pubs food etc in Shop street Our fave Eire City…. Had dinner with my Galway girl in a flash restaurant Swiss campers we met at Doolin also here and went in and back on our same bus, although verbal comms tricky we did a lot of hand shaking and back slapping ;) DAY9: Sun 24/6 Galway-Cleggan beach Galway - Clifden Total: 59 miles 2hr 7 mins… via various lakes and the 12 pins mountains, Stayed at Clifden Eco Camping & Caravan park, Claddaghduff Road, Wild Atlantic Way, Clifden,Co. Galway,H71W024… Loved all of Connemara, River Owenglin. Chris at Eco site had it for 8 years, knew couple at Doonbeg Strand Camping. He kindly gave us slot 1 overlooking the beach, Keef swam in the Atlantic, v cold. Outside cooking on tappenyaki (fun) plus caught up with Pete & Jane from Doolin again DAY10: Mon 25/6 went to see Omey island (didn’t drive across as tidal sand bar but you can park up at the start and walk) and then saw Cleggan ferry to Inishbofin Island (30 mins) £17.50 return pp 11.30 return 1… missed out as didn’t have time – it is the island of the white cow. Connamara National Park, v busy, not much space for motorhomes. Lonch by lough in Connamara mountains (such fab views). Letterfrack, Louisburgh, Renvyle (busy but lovely harbour) plus Cleggan to Westport Co. Mayo Total: 43 miles 1hr 27 mins Where we filled up on fuel. Then Westport –Keel West R319 over Achill isand (via bridges) Saw Killary fjord and one of the circular coastal routes on Achill , aasleagh falls, Mallaranny, Keel bay Croaghaun Total: 38 miles 1hr 13 mins then stayed at Keel Sandybank caravan and camping park, Achill island, co Mayo DAY11: Tues 26/6 Keel West – Ballina, co Mayo . Went to see the fabulous Keem Bay, wild scenery, amazingly steep road but so so worth it. Also did the 2nd coastal loop road on Achill which was wonderful. Don Allum the 1st man to row the Atlantic both ways landed in Achill island. Johnny Kilbane boxer. Doohoma, Ciede Total: 65 miles 1hr 56 mins then stay at Belleek Caravan and camping park, Faranoo, Ballina Co Mayo. Great map of the Wild Atlantic Way here DAY12: Weds 27/6 Official start of 3 months school hols…. Much more busy at sites from now on Ballina – Sligo, Co Sligo. Total: 37 miles 57 mins Continued on on the Wild Atlantic Way, saw Ballina Quay. Pronounced Bal-ina not like the ozzie Baleena ;) Many Kiwi and Oz names came from Eire, the Famine exodus presumably. Visted amongst others Innishcrone, Split rock, Aughris head, (great pub and bunnies) ,Killglass, Easkey R297… Lovely Mr Wippy in Strandhill town shop plus fresh fish from stall from man from Devon… nice on griddle with salad …. Yummy All near Sligo City, Stayed at Strandhill camping and caravan site.Strandhill rd Sligo, beautiful views of the sea but a very dangerous cliff edge and rips so sign said no swimming or paddling… did anyone take any notice ? rules seem to be made to break in Eire possibly along with driving road rules…. Debate??? DAY13: Thurs 28/6 Strandhill - Sligo, Co Sligo- Ballyshannon, co Donegal …. Bally means on a river in Gallic , taught in schools compulsory from juniors (xclent) Ulster Nr NI (UK) Ulster then back to Ballyshannon campsite, co Donegal Then to Ross Point (home of W B Yeats – William Butler, Bro John Butler (rich Irish family name) a painter (see his pic under Keel Bay pix) ) , Deadmans point, Drumcliffe Friary, Yeats graveside & St Columba, Spanish Armada view , Classiebawn castle at Mullaghmore (where lord louis mountbatten was killed) Total: 40 miles 1 hr 4 mins Road goes along the coast. Stayed at Lakeside caravan and camping, Beleek rd, ballyshannon, Co Donegal. Manged by Mungo who had a huge US pop outs van and offered to buy ours off us – No way Jose! Note very busy at weekends OK otherwise, nice Liverpool/Welsh couple next to us and our pal from Austria with doggie. It is an ACSI site No 1253 and as we had gained 2 days from original plan got 2 days at E$19 Acsi price. DAY14: Fri 29/6 2nd day at Lakeside campsite Ballyshannon – supposedly Irelands oldest town (but we saw a few of those) but definitely the birth place of Rory Gallagher. Nice cooked brekkie on griddle outdoors in the sun, plus Irish white pudding – yummy. Supposedly live Irish music on site & restaurant – just Sat for music but I did watch a rather boring Belgium vs England 2nd 11 world cup match with no atmosphere but 1 pint of Orchard thieves. We are Sunday dinner when we came back there later for a second stay and very good it was too DAY15: Sat 30/6 Ballyshannon, co Donegal along the WAW in co Donegal to Dungloe co Donegal, Rossnowlagh and beach, Donegal town itself, Castle and music festival in town square, not a great city / town, the fab Lough Eske at Arnold point, Fish town Killibeg allegedly Irelands major fishing port and like Grimsby you could smell it coming, but harbour very nice. Shopped here in Supa Value. Muckross Head, lunch at Creenveen, Slieve league cliffs, Glencomcille (folk museum not great tho’ too new)Stayed at family park in the green book at Dungloe after yet another Mr Whippy 99 Nice family who ran it, very friendly and chatty DAY16: Sun 1/7 Dungloe - Ballyshannon, co Donegal our only bad day weather wise… low cloud sea mist and very very windy. We went via Kingcasslach, Cnoc Fola (the red sea), Gweedore, Magheraroarty & beach, Queen of aran fishing ferry (passengers only) to the Tory isles, Doe Castle view for lunch, an Irish Romeo & Juliet, Island Roy view (just) and the bridge across , Fanad head and lighthouse. Realising the weather was bad and we still had a 100 mile round trip on very minor roads to Malin Head (star wars fame) and end of WAW we turned back thru Ramelton (Lifford) on the river Lennon, Letterkenny (big town) N13 , N15 , Ramelton had lovely flowers, old castle, and fishing (pity it was drizzling), back thru Donegal & castle, Ballyshannon town and Rory Gallagher (its famous son) then to campsite again for nice Sunday dinner. I had Irish beef, Annie had turkey and gammon… Yummy DAY17: Mon 2/7 Ballyshannon co Donegal, Ulster via Cartronbog & Drumshanbo to Battlebridge, co Leitrim on the edge of Lough Allen (this road slipped over the border briefly into NI unbeknown to us at Beleek co Fermanagh and we stopped to see Lough Melvin on the road to Garrison before going back into Eire. Back in Eire we saw the lovely Parkes castle on Lough Gill co Sligo (again - want to read about the spanish armada captain cuellar) and W B Yeats trail and had lunch on Gill Total: 42 miles 1 hr 16 mins Road goes along the edge of the lake. Tried staying at the Allen centre , Curraghill, Drumshanbo, co Leitrim but it is now a Luxury leisure park on the lake with chalets to buy, the campsite has long since gone so we found a new one in the green book at Battlebridge called Beirnes (not bad facilities, not great position tho) DAY18: Tues 3/7 Battlebridge co Leitrim - Athlone, co Roscommon via Strokestown House(owned by the Mahons), Gardens and Irish National Famine Museum & Roscommon on the edge of Lough Ree . Had lunch of quiche and salad in the café plus the best lemon meringue pie we have ever had (apart from Annies he says quickly )Total: 53 miles 1 hr 46 mins Stayed at Athelone, Ballykeeran ACSI site No 1252 $19 in season. Visited Dog & Duck pub to watch football ENG vs Columbia with lovely Irish people. They shook my hand as I left and wished the team well ;) wonderful DAY19: Wed 4/7 Athlone, co Roscommon-thru co Offaly - Portlaoise , co Laois (known as Queen’s county) to Bennettsbridge co Kilkenny via quick look at lough Ree, Athelone town, Tullamore, Killbeggan Distillery, Lilliput (don’t bother – its not Jonathan Swifts ancestral home, that’s Dublin)Total: 50 miles 1 hr 18 mins Tried Staying at Laois (pronounced Leash) camping and caravan, r445 portlaoise, clondouglas,mountrath rd 53°0'29"N 7°22'19"W Portlaosie co Laois, even tho we called in at a tourist office in Heritage town Abbeyleix (lady very helpful) where thye thought it was open then decided it wasn’t, we spent a long time trying to find driving almost as far as Montreath – Our satnav (or me) cocked up and took us towards Kilkenny city rather than the Wicklow mountains which is disappointing but as it would be a 200 mile round trip we decided to can it and do it on our next visit to Eire. So we stayed at Nore Valley Park, Bennettsbridge, a kid friendly site in the Green book, bad choice! This was the scene of our first ever campsite eviction… the battle of the Pitchforks… appalling campers DAY20: Thurs 5/7 Bennettbridge, woke up decided as we would probably do 3 days of kids screaming at Enniscworthy site we would reorg our Ferry and come back today, giving us a little more time to prepare for grand daughter minding – Visted Nicholas Mosse pottery in Bennettsbridge which was fab, Annie got a nice blue jug (handpainted) We watched them working and there was some great history around the grain mill and waterwheel. We then stopped for lunch at Johnstown Castle Gardens outside Rosslare for lunch and a lovely stroll around the gardens and lake, very tranquil, peacocks and our last 99 Flake of the hols (at E$2 I can highly recommend) Alas the castle was under redevelopment so sadly closed. Then it was ferry from Rosslare 6.20pm, arrived Fishguard Sth Wales 9.40 pm… then 6.5 hours of fairly gruelling driving back thru South and North wales coming out at Welshpool – Shrewsbury borders before any “fast” roads DAY21: Fri 6/7 Arrived back home as the sun was rising about 4.30 am after comfort break, coffee and pasty M54, 3 hours sleep but caught up the next day….. all in all a fab hol in the Wendy house and the best summer since 1976, can’t be bad Return to Menu SLIDESHOW VIDEOS We stayed at one of the best little campsites ever on this trip, the Strand campsite, read all about it on the associated Blog 130, thanks my hero rory gallagher, born here, member of taste before going solo, sadly died young Return to Menu HISTORY Our family holiday to Eire back in 2000 #motorhome #motorhometravels #travelsin2018 #campsites #majortrip Return to Menu AUDIOBOOK Return to Menu TRAVEL ROUTE VIDEOS Return to Menu THE END

Created by KeefH Web Designs , June 9th, 2023, 8.49 AM A Travel Blog by KeefH Web Designs Motorhome trip No54: May 10th - 31st 2023 NOTTS-> Beeston Castle, Holyhead, Dublin, Then traverse the whole of the outside of Ireland, both Northern Ireland and Eire, finishing back in Dublin port, ferry to Holyhead (again) then Home, A Mixture of Camping Europe sites, Caravan and Motorhome Club Sites (M&CC site), Brit stops and ACSI affiliated -> NOTTS 2158 miles Prefer to listen than read a blog, click HERE for the audiobook. MENU Introduction Calendar The Full Wild Atlantic Way Maps and Travel Route Panoramas Highlights / Lowlights Campsites Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 The Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland Dingle Peninsular Ring of Kerry Béara Peninsular Accident High / Low Oil pressure issue Audiobook Tom Crean Hero, a History The End INTRODUCTION A Travel Blog of our trip to Ireland between 10th and 31st of May 2023. 3 lovely weeks, 22 Days in the Wendy House motorhome, travelling right the way around the Irish "continent". So many fabulous views, almost too many to chose from but our highlight I guess overall was achieving finishing the Wild Atlantic Way. Our detailed diary of exploits is included under each of the 3 weeks travels and each day is accompanied by a slideshow with U2 music, well how could I not. It was interesting that in Dungarven town there was a picture of U2 on a visit to their favourite barber who looked more like Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. #smile We travelled in all just over 2000 miles and loved every moment of it. However having traversed the whole of the Wild Atlantic Way and been all the way around it is unlikely we will sadly ever return, too many other places in the world to "discover" but you can never say never! On reflection once again it surprised us that there is no evidence or checks for border crossing between Eire and Northern Ireland and vice versa. Only an indicator on the Sat nav we have crossed over on the way up (DAY3) showing miles instead of kilometers and nothing as we crossed Lough Foyle by ferry , extremely weird when one considers Stormont parliament won't sit until Brexit issues are sorted, but what do I know? #justsayin Must say May is a great month to chose for all the lovely flowering gorse, azaleas and rhododendrons. Return to MENU CALENDAR The day by day calendar to help give an overview of the detailed given under weeks 1 to 3. One thing I can say is pre trip i estimated the travel distance just under 1000 miles, the reality was more like double, mostly because of the 3 peninsulas, Dingle, Ring of Kerry and béara but also because the Wild Atlantic Way really is the longest coastal route in the world (allegedly) although I dont know how that compares to Australia's coastal route which in fairness in many places you can't get to the edge of so maybe the boast is true! #tobeproved Created using AI by KeefH Web Designs, see what fun Annie and I had! And now a reel / short created using AI #geek Return to MENU THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY Stretching from Malin Head in county Donegal, (our favourite county for many reasons, namely lack of people and so much more wild scenery and fab sandy empty beaches) all the way to old Kinsale Head in County Cork (one of the largest counties in Eire). It is 2500 kilometers in total and therefore the longest coastal route in the world. It has been lovely to travel its full length. Its taken us two trips to do it basically either side of the COVID pandemic , you can see the first bit back in 2018 under Blog 129. The rest i.e. Malin head to Fanad lighthouse in the North and Tarbert on the Shannon River , county Kerry, to Kinsale Head, county Cork in the south. Just so so pleased to have been given the chance to do it, what scenery, what geography , what people, what food, what Guinness. This video shows all the Wild Atlantic Way (WWW) signs we stopped at, they are constructed at what they consider to be the key viewing points. Here is the complete route we travelled in a graphic, what a joy! If you feel like learning a lot more about the wonderful Wild Atlantic Way feel free to click HERE Return to MENU MAPS AND TRAVEL ROUTE This shows a map of Ireland (northern Ireland and Eire combined) which you can use to locate the places I am talking about along with a full scale map of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) and mini WAW maps I took photos of along the way alongside a humorous small video of our route created by KeefH Web Designs using a clever app I found. #enjoy #humour If you feel like learning a lot more about the wonderful Wild Atlantic Way feel free to click HERE Taken on our travels in Downing's village Donegal by the beach and Bantry Bay town centre co Kerry but covers our route through both Kerry and Cork to the end of the Wild Atlantic Way at Old Kinsale head. Return to MENU PANORAMA Here are some of the highlights of our trip recorded as panoramas or from within the van to show off some of the spectacular scenery that is available, especially along the Wild Atlantic Way, maybe give it a visit sometime, if we have wet your appetite #hintsandtips Click on each to expand the panorama, the Powerscourt estate one will take you to their website as will the Glenveagh National Park. #enjoy Return to MENU HIGHLIGHTS / LOWLIGHTS I'll list them here, probably can't include every highlight there were just so many of them, for lowlights really the stand outs were all to do with the van , an accident (now sorted) and a system malfunction (fix scheduled in). So... Highlights: browns bay, gyles quay walk, glenvagh, powerscourt, finishing the WAW, mickey finns pub redcross, malin head, ballymastocker strand, ice cream at old kinsale head, huge ice cream at redcross, ring of kerry, valentia island, inch strand, connor pass on dingle, mount (slieve) brandon, seaborne ovation cruise ship, bantry bay views and bantry town , lunch at south pole inn, chat with master brewer married to tom crean's grand daughter, the Giant's Causeway, clever audio app for Powerscourt, bushmills whiskeys, causeway coastal route, magheracross viewpoint, Tom Crean history via south pole pub and brewery in Kenmare, stone circle Kenmare, roy island view and the Harry Blaney bridge, revisiting the apple farm, cahir Lowlights: accident, oil noise, spiddal midges, caseys rip off attempts at downings, many of the very narrow roads, parking at inch strand , endless stories about Finn McColl joining Ireland and Scotland (grr!) , headphones failing for Giant's causeway audio, Cork - what a nightmare to drive thru, barrier at the river bann marina campsite, rude german at spiddal campsite, 6amp electrics at Eagle point site, really caught us out as no one said, thought our electrics issue was to do with our accident, cold showers at the apple farm. Return to MENU CAMPSITES Here is a video showing all the wonderful, and not so wonderful campsites we stayed at. Fridge, cooker and all #haha Return to MENU WEEK 1 10th-16th June 2023 Here are the slideshows of pictures we took using 2 phones and a camera. DAY 1 - Home to English Heritage's Beeston Castle in Cheshire, then via Conway Castle in North Wales to Holyhead, a brief windy look out on the harbour front and then to our Brit stop in the carpark of the Holland Hotel. Very convenient for early morning ferry plus nice food and ale. DAY 2 - Up early at the Holland Hotel car park, short drive to Holyhead port, ferry to Dublin, it left early, quite empty, then thru the toll Dublin tunnel (3 euros) and on up the M1 by Balbriggan, difficult to get to the beach, Bettystown and onto the wonderful Gyles Quay near Dundalk which apart from a lovely American couple from the mid west who were tenting, she used to work for United Airlines so they got cheap flights and it was hugely cold in their home state, good move. Really interesting chatting to them. Her favourite band was YES so that got us off on a great footing. We had views on the bay and went for a walk down to it and its beach. Saw lads swimming off the boat launch after work. What a great place, our second fave view / site / pitch of the whole trip after Bantry Bay. DAY 3 - showered and packed up the van and rejoined the M1 pulling off again to visit the Slieve (mountain) Gullion area, before joining a coastal road to take us around the outskirts of Belfast, where we took a rest at the very nice Jordanstown Loughshore park overlooking Belfast lough. Here we went for a lovely sunny walk with great views. Even the historic Belfast shipyards , the scene of the construction of its most famous yet most unreliable Titanic. Saw the Stena ferry Belfast - Liverpool. Wonder how busy that was? We then visited the wonderful Brown's Bay on the Larne peninsular, so unspoilt, had a lovely walk on the strand (beach) even watching the young horse being trained. She had drawn up with a horse box and parked just behind us in the car park. Brown's bay was once a smugglers paradise and you could see why #haha Fab weather again, truly loving going away in May. After Browns bay we re-traversed our steps to get off the peninsular as no other way off, and headed north to the the campsite at Drumhegalis near Ballymoney, the home of the famous motorcyclist Joey Dunlop OBE. We had wondered why so many motorcyclist were on our ferry and we were to find out over the next few days. The Causeway coastal motorcycle race was on starting in Portrush. Loads camping at our campsite as well. Nice campsite on the River Bann. DAY 4 - as we had 2 days at the campsite we set off for our prebooked visit to the Giant's Causeway, tip get your tickets online in advance , it gives you free parking in the car park and boy was it busy. More tourists (us included) than you could shake a stick at #hintsandtips You get an audio, exhibition and a chance to walk down (bit steep for us oldies) and back up (easier) to the basalt outcrop that is a world heritage site for obvious reasons. Amazing views, amazingly sunny, there are 3 walking routes or if you really don't want to there is a bus at a reasonable price, but wouldn't advice it as the queue for the way back reminded me of Oxford street in the crush at Xmas #teehee After a lovely time we had lunch in the van in the car park, visited Bushmills distillery, one of the oldest in the world , got its royal charter in 1608 to buy expensive whiskey for our son Doug who is bit of a collector. Then visited the viewing point at Magheracross which gives fabulous sea views as well as views of Duncluce castle, a destroyed relic of the MacDonnell clan. I discovered that (and we are into Genealogy) my Great Grandmother who was from Galway had the surname O'Donnell which in gaelic means of Doneghal which I am extremely proud of because it is our fave county, so wild, remote, and quiet with birdlife and flowers to die for. A great day out before returning to the site for one last walk along the river Bann, even more bikers today. PS loved the Led Zep 4 inspired inner sleeve of the nymphs crawling over the causeway, what a great album that is (reminded by memorabilia in their exhibition. DAY 5 - left the campsite at Drumaheglis, under the usual barrier which required a key code for motorhomes, bit annoying and drove up to port rush and port stewart, very crowded with both motorhomes parked everywhere and bikers, it was the Joey Dunlop memorial North West 200 bike race. Lovely beaches however. Then it was off to Magillan point on the Northern Irish side of Lough Foyle (a huge prison here as well) to catch the Lough Foyle ferry across to Greencastle on the M V Stratford ferry into Eire and what seemed to be the start of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW). Weather not great at this point but it did get better as we headed up to Malin head, the most northerly point in Ireland. We had lunch here with great views. Pretty windy makes you wonder what it would be like here in the heights of winter. The van was rocking whilst we ate. We then headed back down the Malin peninsular and around the next peninsular down to our campsite at Downing's village, a true golfing village, 3 courses, various golfing hotels and an induced upmarket feel and cost which meant when I paid old man Casey for the campsite he had inflated the price by 10 euros a night, bless him NOT!!! On the way there we passed Doe castle a WAW sign we had seen before back in 2018. It is the tragic Romeo and Juliet story where Aileen Mac Sweeney's father murdered her lover as he was from the rival clan , so she threw herself out of the castles tower in despair, not quite the Rapunzel story we know and love. DAY 6 - decided we would have a day out in the Glenveagh national park. Not too far away from Downing's village. Packed up at caseys, no need to leave our "in residence" sign as site completely empty bar us. Arrived in national park car park, visited exhibition / visitors centre and watched the film of the history of the house and gardens and owners throughout time. Quite some juicy stories here, to read the gossip click HERE . If you would like to know more about the Glenveagh national park click HERE , thanks. We loved the house and its stories, murder, homosexuality, rich Americans, and a host of visiting celebrities that had slept there especially the media shy Greta Garbo, our pal Kev's book " Greta and the Labrador " is well worth a read. Other celebs included Errol Flynn, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe. We also loved walking around the garden, just so wonderfully laid out and a world variety of plants. The blue Himalayan poppies a big plus, have tried growing myself and germinating in the bottom drawer of a fridge, all to no avail. We had a snack and wonderful coffee in the cafe before catching the bus down to the house and gardens, a 4km walk we decided to pass on as quite undulating terrain. Bus fare return was cheap and they ran often. #hintsandtips Drove back again passed Doe Castle. In the evening went out for our booked meal at the Downing's Bay Hotel, golf clubs and golfers everywhere #teehee It was also my first pint of Guinness in Ireland, what a joy! DAY 7 - Packed up after having what was in fact a luxury shower. Old man Casey had tried to rip us off saying 2 euros for a token for a shower (£1.71) , we whinged and he gave us both one for free. We then took the van down next to the Downing's Bay hotel and went for a walk on the beach, amazing sands. We then drove around the rather narrow but spectacular Rosguill peninsular stopping to get great views down onto both the campsite and the amazingly deserted yet long curved sandy strand. It was a lovely route all the way around this peninsular ending up back in downing's village. We then headed off across the Harry Blaney bridge, which we had done back in 2018. This time we actually got a view of Roy Island across the mulroy bay. We then headed up to Fanad lighthouse, we stopped short of it in 2018 because the weather was so so bad, but this time we could read the history bards and even went down to the WWW sign by the lighthouse. Great views over the cliffs from there. We then came back down through the other side of the Fanad peninsular, through Letterkenny and on down to Rossnowlagh beach and our campsite, near Ballyshannon home of Rory Gallagher (a hero of mine) stopping briefly to take in views of potentially the best beach (strand) in the whole of Ireland in our humble opinion, Ballymastocker strand. Even better than Inch on the dingle peninsular. It was an extremely hard life , back breaking work, at the turn of the century on the bleak and remote Fanad peninsular. Here is the talkies video we took. That is it for week 1. Return to MENU WEEK 2 17th-23rd June 2023 Here are the slideshows of pictures we took using 2 phones and a camera. DAY 8 - A relaxing day at the Boortree campsite here in Rossnowlagh. It should be noted that when we tried to find the site yesterday there is only one signpost to it and that is obscured by the warning sign that says road is liable to flooding at high tide, anyhow we eventually found it. No reception, you have to ring the lady who gave us the entry code for the amenities block and assigned us a pitch. The first night there were French, German and Yorkshire folks staying, the second day, i.e. today we basically had it to ourselves. A lovely walk on the mostly deserted beach. Nearly all holiday cottages empty, lovely butterflies, saw surf school and the empty life saver station. We then returned to the site to chill in the sun, sadly because of the wind that was literally true, so we ate inside. A very relaxing day. The lady hd told us , beyond her control, that the electricity was off 9-4. I pestered her at the end of the day since it was not back eventually it returned about 5p/m so not too bad. DAY 9 - Left our relaxing site reasonably early as had quite a distance to travel today from Donegal to Galway. On route kit started raining quite heavily and lasted for a good bit of the day, our only really bad day weather-wise. We tried to have lunch in Ballyhaunis. Much of Eire's towns stary with Bally meaning "place of" in Gaelic. I actually learnt 2 words of gaelic at our campsite in Spiddal tonight, every road sign in Spiddal is only in Gaelic. So my proud words are Mna and Fir (ladies and Gentlemen) #teehee Just outside Ballyhaunis we did stop at a picnic area that doubled as a memorial to Michael Coen. A bit of history for you. Michael Coen was an IRA volunteer from Lecarrow, Ballyhaunis and was captured, tortured, murdered and his body mutilated in retaliation for the killing of William Stephens, kings forces, in Ballyhaunis on 29 March. No wonder things can sometimes get tense, a little scary actually! Spiddal campsite was probably the worst we stayed at, muddy, midges to drive youw insane, and a rather rude german guy (note i like germans having lived there in my yoof) who pulled up much to close to our pitch and chucked our electrics cable out of the way without so much as a by your leave, not friendly! Showers very very average, but site as closish to anne's cousins house. Ps driving through Galway was a nightmare, almost as bad as Cork. Tuam seemed quite nice. DAY 10 - We left the Spiddal site at a reasonable time, couldn't wait to go, got bitten to death by midges whilst packing up, not great! Had to drive back through Galway so called in at a Lidl on the outskirts to get some gifts for Ralph and family. Annie hadn't seen Ralph for about 55 years. We arrived in Oranmore a little early for our meet up at 10.30 am so killed a little time doing our own food shopping in Tesco's Oranmore. If only we had known Ballynacloghy was a little further from Oranmore than we suspected, anyhow we still arrived at Ralph and Emma' lovely house in good time. It was a lovely few hours, great to catch up, what a lovely setting , we walked to Ralph's huge garden and saw views of Galway bay. His polytunnel was the largest I've ever seen with great produce growing, well jealous. We had lunch and then sadly had to depart for the long drive to Tralee , the county town of Kerry. Wonderful hospitality and such a nice man. Now what can I say about the Rose of Tralee #teehee you sing it, i'll hum it! The Woodlands campsite was really nice , especially our neighbours the rabbits. DAY 11 - Put our "in residence" sign up on the pitch and headed off to a great day exploring the Dingle peninsula, slea head drive. We started in Blennerville where we filled up with diesel, stopped at the nature reserve and took some pictures especially of Blennerville windmill. Then it was onto the Dingle peninsula. Ballycurrane was fun but we got slightly blocked in by fishermen and their vehicle / boats. No worry got out of it with a 90 point turn ;) We then climbed to Mount Brandon viewpoint, great views, chatted to a aging cyclist who told us if we thought this was steep try Connor's pass so we did after a quick walk around the very quiet village of Brandon. Interesting public houses there! What can we say about Connor's pass it was truly spectacular, a real highlight. we even had a 99 icecream at the top. It was then onto the Tom Crean inspired South pole inn at Anascaul for lunch and a bit of history. We coincided with zillions of walkers finishing their charity walk and coachloads of American tourists catching up on the local hero. But we still got fed and very nice it was too, washed down with a half of the black stuff! Not easy parking there so we parked over the little bridge and stream and walked in. Same was true parking wise at Inch strand, we had hoped to walk on the beach but boy was it busy being a weekend. Anyhow after that we went back to our Woodlands campsite at Tralee via Castlemaine. A truly great day, about 130 miles driven and lots to see in a day. DAY 12 - Packed up early and set off back into the town of Tralee to have another look around, what a very nice town Tralee is, then we set off to explore the most wonderful Ring of Kerry. We started at Rosbeigh Strand which looks over to the Dingle Peninsula and Inch strand, and you could see how in the past the two were joined by sands. Amazing views. We then visited ballycarbery castle and the old barracks, a slice of france in ireland. Then onto views of scariff island and over the far bridge to valentia island. Eventually we stopped in the wonderful Sneem for a walk through the town and across the Sneem river, oh and the statuatory ice cream, it was a very hot day. Then it was back round to Killarney to finish the truly spectacular ring of Kerry. The Muckross national park is nice, went their and to the house with my parents back in 2000 . We camped at the White bridge site, the lady in charge was hugely helpful. We had a great night. DAY 13 - Up early, filled up with water, replaced their reserve sign (a nice touch for arrivers) and went into Killarney to have a look around. Parked in main street and did some gifts shopping. Then headed past house and gardens out to Killarney castle, past the many jaunting cars (horse and trap). The castle and lakes were magnificent , you can take a boat trip into the national forest. Alas we didn't have time, Set off from here to Kenmare, not the town we remember as much more commercialised, however we spent time at the Tom Crean brewery (see here for more detail) and i bought 8 unique beers. The stone circle (oldest in Eire) here and its lanteen tree surrounds were great. The Trump Loy on some of the houses was very interesting as well, no idea how they see out of those windows but maybe with the tourists that is the aim #whoknows After Kenmare we started the beara peninsula ring. Tried looking for our old cottage in Tuosist but so much changed, foolishly went off on a very narrow coastal road where our accident happened, the less said about that the better. Eventually after driving through the WAW coastal roads we reached Eagle point campsite on Bantry Bay, the best (apart from electrics) we stayed at. What views! DAY 14 - Day spent at Eagle point campsite in Ballylickey on the waters edge of Bantry Bay which is where our pitch was, very nice belgian guy next door to talk to, watched the kayakers, ate, drank, read and generally relaxed, both the long journeys of the last 3 days and the minor accident had taken their toll but it was good to just recharge the batteries. Amazing sunset over the waters edge. Went for an extended walk around the site as well. Here is the talkies video we took. Return to MENU WEEK 3 24th-31st June 2023 Here are the slideshows of pictures we took using 2 phones and a camera. DAY 15 - After packing up the van to leave we left Eagle point campsite (sigh!) and started with a stop and good walk around the heritage town of Bantry, a lovely harbour area with lots of historic buildings and boards to aid your understanding of where the town had come from. Even bought some screws in an old fashioned hardware store to try and improve the stability of the external gas flue which had been a bit mangled in the accident. The fabulous Sheep head drive is very recommended, bit scary in parts, but the views, oh the views. The Seefin www signpost view points are a must. After coming back along the easier western coast of this incredible drive we went thru the town of Clonakilty home of Michael Collins, yes that Michael Collins . Clonakilty was a very busy town. From here it was out towards Timoleague and our campsite at Sexton's. We will always remember with some fondness the old owner for (in a broad Irish accent) "flying low" whilst talking to us #smile The site didn't accept card, cash only, so they let us delay until the next morning. DAY 16 - Left campsite and found the ATM in the coop on the outskirts of Timoleague , got euro cash out at an extraordinary high exchange rate, went back and paid the campsite for our stay. Then explored both the town and the friary of Timoleague, which sadly was mostly a locals graveyard but a nice imposing building built on the edge of the estuary of the Argideen River which we then drove along across the old bridge and nature reserve to Courtmacsherry to learn all about the sinking of the Lusitania. It was then back to Old Kinsale head to complete the full Wild Atlantic way, only taken us 5 years, but I think you can blame the pandemic for that! At the head we had a lovely icecream and pie with coffee and enjoyed the sunshine. Kinsale itself was a very busy but interesting town, we strolled around many of the back streets as well as the harbour area . Clearly a tourist weekend visit for people from Cork. After that we had the mis-pleasure of having to drive right through the centre of Cork and the old dock areas, a town we have visited in the past but because of the volume of traffic a town I would be happy never to see again. Sorry folk from Cork! Once through cork we headed out to our campsite at Blarney. We had considered the Brit stop at Cobh but having met other travellers realised the 5 pitches would all be taken. Blarney is a lovely site, nice flowers, nice warden and pitch and putt course should you want attached for a fee. DAY 17 - Broke camp , is that the right expression, did the unsavory dunny man job, a little more tricky these days with the broken cassette door needing to be gaffer taped up (sorted when we return home and I have my tools). Sadly no sight of the castle these days as screened off not like back in 2000 when i queued to kiss the blarney stone, not something I can imagine was open during the pandemic. Then headed off into county Waterford and Dungarven, made sure we didn't need to traverse our steps back through Cork which was what the sat nav was trying and forced it through Mallow (where the much advertised national garden show was on at the Cork racecourse) sadly we didn't have time although I would have loved to visit, then Fermoy a nice town where we stopped for lunch and a spot of food shopping, and Lismore and Dungarven. Parked up by the sea front , still the Atlantic on this corner of Ireland. Walked along past the castle and around the town looking for ice cream, it was hot. Lovely harbour side with eateries out in the open. After Dungarven town, a real must if you are visiting, it was on up very narrow roads to our Getaway eco campsite, a very interesting site. More tomorrow. DAY 18 - A very relaxing day at the Getaway eco campsite in Kilnafrehan East just outside Dungarven. Interesting shower block, you had to be quick to the tin shed as 12 pitches and completely full. A tenting area as well. Went for a nice walk around the site, wetlands which are big for sewage etc. out in the countryside, a great idea and good for wild life, the goat island and a long chat with the lovely lady owner in what doubled as a camp kitchen and snug for tenters. She showed us some of the images of the work that had gone on to create the site. Her house was an old thatched croft that had much history as indeed was the Nook camp kitchen. We then cooked outside at lunch time and had a few tipples, well why not, after all it was a relaxing day. DAY 19 - Stayed here back in 2018 and so wanted to go back, just a lovely site and lovely people. See Blog 129 if interested in that visit. Anyhow we set off from the Eco site back to the main road and it was quite a short journey to Cahir, went into the town first but remembered it all well so didn't park up and walk around. We traversed our steps back to the Apple farm on the outskirts of Cahir. Bought apple juice (by the bucket load) , con's cider (the farm was first started in Tipparary by Cornelius Traas, of dutch / irish heritage) , strawberries, plums, and apples. So glad we got there early able to pick a prime slot and 16 amp leccie, good news. Set up the table and chairs. It became very busy and almost full by the end of the day. Had a good wander around to look at the workings of the farm, including the cider press, polytunnels and outside orchards. What a great campsite cant recommend it enough #recommended Only downside the next morning was the cold showers, tip use the one in the loos not those at the end of the barn. We also went through the wonderful tourist town of Adare, as always amazing busy but worth a visit. This shows our time there in 2018. DAY 20 - left the Apple farm amd took the very long drive up through Eire to the Wicklow's via the outskirts of Dublin and main motorways, they are quick and empty but have a few tolls on them which in fairness are not that expensive and cut your journey time. Visited the wonderful Powerscroft house and gardens near Bray with great views of the Wicklow mountains. The house burnt down a while ago but the gardens are spectacular, especially the variety of world trees, some labelled by those celebs that planted them. Princess Grace of Monaco, PM Bob Hawke of Australia to name but a few. For a keen gardener it was a delight, some pretty tall sequoias and redwoods as well as the formal bits, had a great chat with the lady gardener. Before starting our walk we watched the exhibition movie to get some background and had coffee and cake outside in the sun, just fab! after our tour with audio commentary on your phone (clever) we did some shopping in the gift shop. Then it was onto our campsite at Redcross for 2 nights. Also not very busy. Having set up we went up to the Mickey Finn pub attached to the site for an evening meal. Nice craft ales as well. DAY 21 - Spent the day relaxing at the Redcross site, a nice site and very quiet. We were in the silent garden, the adults only section. It is a very well laid out site. We went for a walk around the whole perimeter which takes you through fields of animals, we spotted, donkeys, llamas, pig, goats, deer and alpacas, maybe there were more. On return from our walk we went (again, what spoilt near septuagenarians we are!) to the Mickey Finn craft pub for lunch and chatted to a lovely family from Newry on the next table. The publican even allowed me to pose behind the bar. After that we went over the road for the largest 99 flake ice cream we have ever had and sat outside eating them in the sun, bliss! The afternoon was spent relaxing before the long drive home tomorrow. DAY 22 - the long journey home. Up at 5, quick shower, no brekkie as prepped the day before. Left before 6, it was a longer journey back to Dublin port which is north of the city than I had anticipated and the high /low oil warning light and alarm had started going off again when you accelerate or decelerate, very annoying , getting fixed back home. Lots of toll charges and tunnels to get to the port one of which you had to pay online within 24 hours. I did it whilst we queued for the ferry. A very smooth crossing, not busy, a bit of duty free shopping and then the long drive home from Holyhead. Stopped for lunch on the way back and arrived home about 5 pm so about 12 hours travelling. Sadly when we got home we found we had been burgled, not a great welcome home and the stress of police and forensics and insurance for days, we loved the holiday, just not the return, oh well S**T happens Here is the talkies video we took. Return to MENU GIANTS CAUSEWAY 13th June 2023 Want to know more about the Giant's causeway click HERE . We had a fab day there, day 4 of our holiday, there is a bit of a write up HERE . Return to MENU DINGLE PENINSULAR, COUNTY KERRY 20th June 2023 Feel free to read the write up on DAY 11 . I've included a detailed map of the peninsula so you can relate to the text. It was a lovely day 130 miles all around, so worth a visit. Return to MENU THE SPECTACULAR RING OF KERRY, COUNTY KERRY 21st June 2023 To read the words of this lovely day trip click on DAY 12 The drive and exploration around the ring of Kerry is truly spectacular. It was about 112 miles from Tralee to Killarney all the way around, what sights, what memories. Return to MENU BEARA PENINSULAR, COUNTY KERRY 22nd June 2023 Read about our trip around the Beara peninsula HERE . This video will give you an insight, its good but preferred the ring of Kerry. Sheep head drive however is a remote must, get to the end. We gave way to all manner of tractors, true hillside farm land. Return to MENU ACCIDENT ON THE BEARA PENINSULAR, 22nd June 2023 Sadly between Tuosist and Lauragh on the R573, a very narrow road which on reflection we should not have taken, 2 cars in tandem on the other side, old guy and his wife in the first car and his son in the second. So wish he hadn't just stopped with his rear at an angle outwards. He expected me to get around him but we had a deep water channel at the edge of the road on the passenger side so there was no way I was going to ditch the van, hence it was very tricky for me to get around him. Sadly my gas outlet flue caught his car. I jumped out and asked him if he could move. He said no, so I had to carry on which scraped teh side of our van and completely crushed the gas flue and ripped off the loo cassette cover door. We exchanged insurance details. Since returning home I have fixed it all up myself so no real hardship, just rather annoying when you are touring, note to self don't go down narrow roads and I mean very narrow road when octogenarians are travelling on them #smile #hintsandtips Return to MENU HIGH / LOW OIL PRESSURE ERROR 30th & 31st 2023 Started after our long journey from Cahir to Powerscroft Estate, thought it was lack of oil so put and extra litre in. No sign of oil leaks though. likely to be the sensors at the top and bottom of the engine that monitor the high and low oil pressure . Maybe because of how bumpy the roads have been something has been shaken loose. Anyhow it is going into the garage for fixing, way beyond my vehicle skills. Just a tip for others, the noise is totally and utterly distracting when travelling, why would any designer worth their salt invent something like this. Return to MENU AUDIOBOOK This is an audio book of our 22 days away. Its also on Sound Cloud. Return to MENU TOM CREAN - HERO, ANTARTIC EXPLORER We visited both the South Pole inn on the Dingle Peninsular at Annascaul, county Kerry and the Tom Crean brewery at Kenmare, county Kerry. What a lovely chap Bill is , an ex London fireman who is married to the hero Tom Crean's grand daughter. We (well I) had a lovely chat with him about craft beers and he told me how the big players in Ireland like Guinness were trying hard to force the smaller players out of the market place. Now that really is unacceptable. We had a lovely meal in Annascaul. If you want to see and read more visit the Dingle peninsula DAY 11 Read more about this undoubted hero Return to MENU THAT'S ALL FOLKS Return to MENU

Created by KeefH Web Designs , January 14th, 2023, 9.12 AM A Travel Blog by KeefH Web Designs Not The Motorhome trip No 19 : December 21st 2022 – January 13th 2023 INTRODUCTION Go straight to MENU if you would prefer. Total distance travelled throughout the trip was 16562 miles, quite a way eh? and for us almost septuagenarians a bit of a bigger challenge with the jet lag but hey how nice was that trip and how lovely to spend so much time with our Singaporean family x #missingUalready The last family travel blog I wrote was for our trip to Florida and Disney with Craig & Leanne and family. Read BLOG 183 . Coincidentally when we visited the Jewel, the world's largest indoor waterfall at Changi airport for the day they had a celebration of 100 years of Disney, i.e. from Steamboat Willie, our visit last year was for 50 years of the Theme parks. For us this was our first ever trip to Thailand and a great experience it was on every level. you can read in more depth about it here on the travel blog under Thailand. On reflection I think Chiang Mai, the second city was great choice in terms of culture, history, scenery and cuisine. We loved every moment of our fun time with family here. MENU Highlights Calendar Travel Blog Route Singapore Part 1 Chiang Mai, Thailand Singapore Part 2 Audiobook That's all Folks HIGHLIGHTS This video is almost 2 minutes long but gives you a flavour of what KeefH Web Designs can do with the very powerful Clipchamp and a great introductory overview of what leads onto the full highlights in the next video #enjoy This slideshow contains all the "highlight" images for the trip with a textual heading at the bottom of each slide and covers both Singapore, Thailand, Christmas, New Year and Annie's birthday in "heading" terms, a huge highlight of Annie's birthday apart from time at the art market in the morning was the B Sam Cook restaurant Phoenix had cleverly arranged beforehand from Singapore which in our humble opinion should have been Michelin starred. The owner was wonderful, the musician who played lots of Coldplay songs and the food and endless aussie wines were a wonderful experience. I chatted to the owner , "Chef Boy" as he likes to be called, he was not interested in Michelin and stardom, just wanted to carry on doing what he was doing and making people happy. His 91 year old granny's duck recipe was a true highlight, cant fault it. I attach the menu here for all to see. I think Annie had a pretty good birthday so thanks family and friends who sent her cards, pressies and messages of good will #christmas #food #newyear #welcome2023 This video is 7 minutes 50 seconds long but is well worth a watch to get an overview B Sam Cook's restaurant birthday menu. Note the restaurant had feedback left from most countries around the world pinned to the wall, they now have some extra's from Singapore, England and China #tick #michelinstarredorshouldbe If you would like to know more , it is a boutique hotel as well please click HERE , thanks If you want to see much more of our experience there and maybe hear some of the musician's music click HERE . Go to MENU CALENDAR, TIMELINE & MAPS I have created this video using Clipchamp , some of my pictures from the trip and some of my videos, and screen captures from every day of the lovely family holiday in Singapore and Thailand via Google Maps timeline which has clearly captured (as it does) my movements via GPS on my phone, which creates quite a nice visual memory via the maps plus a highlights from Google themselves of the trip on my phone. So here is that video! Its 5 minutes long. Return to MENU ROUTE MAP This video was created using the phone app Travel Boast where I drew out the major places we stopped at on route. It then draws out the route with a car driving to Heathrow then planes to Singapore, Changi and Chiang Mai, Thailand and a van we travelled in in Thailand out to the elephant poo poo park and the Elefin hillside farm to see, feed and ride elephants. I then hooked in its 3 formats I had created into one You Tube video. Landscape, Portrait and night maps. I joined them together with some relevant images and music using Microsoft's Clipchamp. See what you think, i think it brings the journey to life and adds to any travel blog #newfeature The thing I do find out of kilter though is its estimated distance which at 16775 213 miles more than the 16562 miles we recorded on the trip. Close but not close enough in my humble opinion, but way better than blog 71 . I am also surprised that altering the dimension from landscape to portrait with the same data alters the mileage by 3 miles, now that is truly weird. PS love the animated transportation, cool. Return to Menu SINGAPORE PART 1 21st-27th DECEMBER 2022 From our travels, this is the full slideshow of images, created by KeefH web Designs in Jan 2023 and features amongst others Christmas wonderland by the bay , light and sound show with knobs on. Visiting Santa. Christmas dinner at Muddy's murphy's in Orchard Road. Shopping. Eating. Paddling at East Coast Park. Friends. Jet lag. Heathrow Terminal 5 meet and greet or rather not meet nor greet #disappointing Let the adventures begin. Our first visit in 4 years to family. Presents, Grandkids, and fun fun fun #tick. Eating premium Durian, being kindly given freeze dried durian from China to transport un-smelly like back to the uk. I hadn't worked out how to use AVS Video editor to rotate incorrectly inversed or 90 degree rotated images by this stage but got it right for all other slideshows of holiday images, sorry about that. So here we go, its 7 minutes 40 seconds long and features some fab music by Be Bop Deluxe, now who remembers them? The talkies video associated with the first half of our stay in Singapore, great to finally meet up again in their homeland, after 4 years mostly because of Covid restrictions and Keef's operation. Anyhow the video is 11 and a half minutes long and covers amongst others a fab Xmas meal cooked by Jona, Christmas wonderland by the bay, carols, a visit to Santa, these fake Santa's (as Charlie tells me) kept having to change due to wearing an outfit in that heat, and their height, accent, hair, glasses etc. also changed, but who cares, its all part of the magic of Xmas time #haha Christmas lunch at Muddy Murphy's in Orchard road, now a bit of a tradition, great food and atmosphere and they now brew their own beer, what more can a fella want, family, friends , food, wine and beer, great times, take a look. Created by KeefH Web Designs. Note this video is not available in Russia because of the Andy Williams song accompanying the light and sound show at Christmas by the bay but as this is the only country You tube excludes, frankly my dear I don't give a damn! #haha Go to MENU THAILAND 28th DECEMBER 2022 to 2nd JANUARY 2023, CHIANG MAI There were some 800+ images of our fab time in Thailand so I have split that into 3 slideshows running respectively for 12, 15 and 12 minutes. Note batches 2 and 3 have no soundtrack done deliberately. The first has Beth Hart covers of Led Zep stuff which I decided just wasn't peaceful enough for this blog but I can thoroughly recommend her album. She is a great guitarist. So to our travel blog image slideshows created by KeefH Web Designs, January 2023, which cover such visits as the night market, with a performance (well weird song and dance routine by the Lady Boys) , 2 riverside restaurants, warm comfortable temperatures, fab mountainside views from both within the town of chiang mai and outside it in countryside to a distance of some 50 kilometers. The Elefin hillside café and Elephant farm for feeding and riding said animals, tropical flowers, Tuk Tuks, modern day fire engine red Tuk Tuks, haggling, street food, fab thai cuisine, spicy thai sausage, garden worms, Yuk! Buddhist temples, art markets, not being able to get a taxi on new years eve back from Nic's restaurant of the city outskirts, having to pay over the odd via the Shangri La hotel to get back, but a very pleasant driver to the rescue plus grab drivers who didn't know their way. Tiger Kingdom, Elephant poo poo paper process and creative work done by the Hellingers #result Oh and listening to Charlie about how cold the hotel pool was and she had a wet suit on, the redeeming factor was the splendid jacuzzi pool side. You cant fault the hotel, it was luxurious and the help your self buffet breakfast a true plus, where they attempted to cater for every nationality which meant ones choice was great. Curry for brekkie was right up my street but don't mention chicken sausage, please. I had now worked out how to use AVS Video editor to rotate incorrectly inversed or 90 degree rotated images by this stage so I sorted that so hardly any transposition happens unless I missed them by accident #fingerscrossed not too many, if there are I most humbly apologise, but in general every photo taken by myself, annie, D&P and Charlie are here. Thai greetings สวัสดี ครับ (sawatdee khrap) Hello (male) สวัสดี ค่ะ (sawatdee kha) Hello (female) or as I pronounced it in Singlish "SAY-WHAT-TEA-CAR" (badly #teehee) Listen here to the greeting plus a bit more on Soundcloud, thanks The talkies, this is a collection of all the video recordings taken during our fun times in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is about 29 minutes long. #christmas #newyear It contains some slow motion footage. It covers visits to Chiang Mai's night market, its food hall, jacket potatoes with cheese for us, still full from Shangri La hotel lunch, a variety of Thai food for D&P, haggling over prices, travel in Tuk Tuks, eating by the riverside some great Thai food, yummy spicy, bundling into modern day Tuk Tuks those red fire engine types, they have no bus services, and watching in awe as Phoenix argued every driver down to 100 Baht #genius I wouldn't argue with her. Visiting art markets times two. Many street markets, The Elephant Poo Poo paper place outside Chiang Mai , using a lovely large van driver who spoke little English but conversed happily with Phoenix (mandarin or Cantonese I'm not sure which?), he took us to local food markets, temples, the Elefin hillside café an hour and a half outside Chiang Mai to both feed and ride the elephants, and when we were stuck took us back to the airport and our Scoot plane back to Changi. #greatbloke The time in Chiang Mai went very quickly but it was a lovely time, New Years eve fireworks and food out at Nic's with kids playground, sparklers, lit up balloons, and caps. Keef did the classic of asking the Grab taxi lady if she was a student supplementing her studies, oops she said I'm in my 40s #haha then the wonderful birthday meal for Annie (21 again!) at B Sam Cooks over the bridge. The old town walls and views of the mountain ranges are lovely in Chiang Mai and the temperature is nice at this time of year, warm but without the Singapore humidity. Anyhow don't take my word for it, see the video created by KeefH Web Designs below. Go to MENU SINGAPORE PART 2 2nd-13th JANUARY 2023 From our holiday travels Singapore Part 2 Full Image Slideshow, created by KeefH Web Designs, Jan 2023. Includes amongst others Family , friends, fun. The Jewel waterfall at Changi airport. What amazed us about this fabulous piece of engineering as Doug had pointed out was how on earth they got such a large upside down bell of glass (no seams in one piece of heavy glass) into position, it acts as the bottom chamber of the waterfalls recycling systems and we visited it on basement 2 level as well as seeing the waterfall at every level up to the top at level 5, a true experience. It looks different at each level, and the monorail running right next to it as well as the glass walk way must be fab although we didn't do either of those. Avatar 2, great, we had a whole day out here the newest touristy thing we have done in Singapore, we have sadly done many of the others in the past and this trip was about spending time with our family and playing with the grand children which Covid has prevented for quite a while and so glad we were able to spend what's that annoying phrase "quality time" with them all. we used MRT, buses. suffered humidity. amusingly Charlie always tells me she is cold when they visit us, I tell her in response we are always to hot and sweaty, what's the line, Singapore is ideal for 3 showers a day #haha grandkids back to school. BBQs on the beach. ice creams . I12 katong and ice creams, ballet aborted, busted shoes and flip flops. Alfie's 1st day at first steps. Geylang library visit. Great music accompaniment by Al Stewart, sadly Soho needless to say is blocked by You Tube in St Pierre and Mustique but I don't believe I am that worried by that, not sure how many motorhomers are on that island #smile so to the slideshow of images for Singapore part 1 The talkies, this is a collection of all the video recordings taken during our fun times back in Marine Drive 61 near East Coast Park in the Marine Parade area of Singapore and includes family fun with the grandchildren, Thomas brio is a specialty for little Alfie, eating at both restaurants, hawker centres (non air conditions) happy don don kopi food court (non air con) for paratha and BBQs on the beach with Doug & Phoenix's friends. Charlie now back at Ngee Ann Primary school (cycling thru ECP) and we had the pleasure of taking and collecting Alfie at his new nursery First Steps. We had a day out at the Jewel at Changi airport which is new since our last visit to family. An amazing world largest indoor waterfall, impressive and they ad a 100 years of Disney display up and running. We also saw the new Avatar movie, boy Singaporean cinema's are badly over air conditioned #freezing Shopping was mostly Daiso, Fair Price Xtra and Finest, plus the book shop. We used buses and MRT easily now with our own UK credit cards and fairly cheap it is too in comparison to the UK travel. D&P got us taxis and grab as need be #hintsandtips It is about 23 minutes long. Got to try out lots of slow motion stuff in this one which Charlie and I loved, we started it in Thailand, she auditioned for the remake of Chariots of fire for me , ha ha, plus sk8tr gurl. It was so sad to say goodbye to them but we will be back hopefully for Charlie's 9th birthday Go to MENU AUDIOBOOK OR THE TRAVEL BLOG Note if you are using Microsoft Edge browser you can use Ctrl+Shift+U to read aloud, there may be alternatives on other browsers, i must confess I've not found it that great so SoundCloud is the way forward for me as a published audiobook. And now with an image sideshow as well, just for good measure. Go to MENU THE END Thanks for reading folks, that's it for this travel blog featuring fun with the family and our first trip to Thailand, we especially loved that new discovery so huge thanks to Doug, Phoenix and family for a whole new experience, change is the spice of life. Go to MENU

By keef and annie hellinger, Sep 29 2014 06:12PM Motorhome trip No19 : September 23rd – September 28th 2014 A KeefH Web Designs Travel Blog NOTTS->EAST & WEST SUSSEX->NOTTS 552 miles George 3rd may have said “Bugger Bognor” but we say we LOVE the place! Took the “Wendy house” away for 6 days down on the south coast visiting family, friends, our old haunts and some nice restaurants and pubs en-route. The weather was really good even got a bit of a tan. We stayed at Chichester Lakeside view holiday park in the tourer area via our ACSI membership . Amazing value at €12 per day. It has nice lakes, an outside pool , bar with free Wi-Fi, shop and café and perfectly adequate facilities. They are not the newest but you get what you pay for. The only downside is the A27 noise and the fact that they put the height barrier to the field on at 5pm every day even though you have paid £10 deposit for the key fob to get in the front entrance. Still no real complaints the weather was mostly good! Whilst here we visited Chichester (Chi), East & West Whittering, Bracklesham Bay,Bognor Regis where we met 39 years ago, Felpham, Middleton on Sea, Elmer, Climping, Littlehampton (main & west beach), our dear friends Mike and Alison in Selsey, Pagham, Birdham, Chi Marina & Bosham. See the pix! We then drove onto Brighton via Worthing and stayed at the Brighton Caravan club site at Whitehawk in the east of the city. We took the bus into town to the Old Steine and did the usual touristy things. Pavilion, Lanes, Pier, Dome, Beach, Promenade as well as a lovely meal at our Niece Laura’s restaurant – Cocktails & Burgers (Giraffe) in North rd. Mixed weather but hot and humid! Saturday we drove to Lewes and stayed there all day, a really interesting historic town, architecture, quirky markets, steep streets, lovely gardens, vistas, Anne of Cleeves house, fish & chip dinner in high street pub, fab Harveys ales and 6 free Vinyl LPs from local record shop…. Result! Sunday we visited Laura, Ben and Obi (lovely dog) and had breakfast at Jamie Olivers before driving back home, all in all a fab week away, brought back many wonderful memories and created a few more! Anyone else have any Motorhome / RV experiences in Sussex UK they want to share? If so leave a comment on this blog and we will get back to you, regards Keef & Annie 218 Photos available in the SLIDESHOW Bosham Harbour 🌟 Bosham is a charming village located on a small peninsula in Chichester Harbour, West Sussex, England. Here are some interesting facts about Bosham: Historical Significance: Bosham has a rich history dating back to Roman times. The Romans used Chichester Harbour as a port, and Vespasian (before becoming emperor) is said to have had a villa in Bosham. The first parish church was built around 850 AD and allegedly over a Roman basilica. An enormous sculpted marble head, known as ‘the Bosham Head,’ was found in 1800. It might have been part of a statue of Emperor Trajan that stood at the harbor entrance1. Christian Heritage: Bosham is reputed to be the oldest established Christian site in Sussex. St. Wilfred brought Christianity to the South Saxons around 680 AD. King Canute (also known as Cnut or Cnut the Great) is associated with Bosham. He famously commanded the waves to retreat from here2. King Canute Connection: According to legend, King Canute’s daughter drowned in Bosham Mill stream, and her final resting place is believed to be below the foot of the chancel steps in Bosham’s Holy Trinity Church. King Harold (of the Bayeux Tapestry fame) set sail for France from Bosham3. Natural Beauty: Bosham is picturesque and a thriving center for sailing. Chichester Harbour, where Bosham is situated, is a sanctuary for migrating wildfowl and offers great walks along the sea shore4. Next time you’re in the area, consider visiting Bosham and exploring its fascinating history! 😊🏰🌊