Three weeks have flown by. I have had a good recharge of the batteries and put inches on the waistline despite hashing twice a week and also doing separate longer walks, the food here is so good and away from the tourist areas also so cheap for example a restaurant in Livardia sold me double pork chop, chips and salad for £6.00..
The current bunch of hashers over here are really friendly and inclusive and I was also introduced to a veritable United Nations of ex-pats who meet in Dora’s bar and they welcomed me into their circle so it has been a really good stay. The down side was keeping myself amused during the day but sitting in the sun reading more than a dozen books passed a lot of time easily and I have a case full of Cyprus goodies as well.
Now it is time to put on sensible clothes in preparation for my return to the frozen north, ‘til next time.
Saturday, 8 December 2018
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Ruminations.
Yesterday after buying enough leather belts to last the rest of my natural life I asked the shopkeeper to recommend a restaurant for lunch and following his directions I found myself the only foreigner in a Cypriot establishment, needless to say the food was tasty and plentiful and half the price of the tourist traps up the road.
Today I went to the British cemetery in Larnaca to tidy up my brother in law’s grave, whilst there I visited some of the other inhabitants who I had known during my time in Cyprus and I realised that the majority of them were younger than I am now when they died, now do I take this as a sign that I am on borrowed time and make the most of what I have left or - no, there is no or, I am going to carry on enjoying life.
Another of today’s contemplations was Cyprus. I have been coming here for over thirty years and the place has changed in some ways beyond recognition, really it is just the same place with better roads and some shinier buildings but compared to the Costas and the Algarve etc it is scruffy, it’s continuing saving grace are it’s people and the food.
Today I went to the British cemetery in Larnaca to tidy up my brother in law’s grave, whilst there I visited some of the other inhabitants who I had known during my time in Cyprus and I realised that the majority of them were younger than I am now when they died, now do I take this as a sign that I am on borrowed time and make the most of what I have left or - no, there is no or, I am going to carry on enjoying life.
Another of today’s contemplations was Cyprus. I have been coming here for over thirty years and the place has changed in some ways beyond recognition, really it is just the same place with better roads and some shinier buildings but compared to the Costas and the Algarve etc it is scruffy, it’s continuing saving grace are it’s people and the food.
Monday, 19 November 2018
Back to the sun.
After a nause with hotels.com over a B&B booking I made for Llandudno on Friday night before I flew out here to Cyprus everything else went smoothly, I am now sitting in the back garden of the apartment I rented in Alethriko in 24C of sunshine before I head up the road for this afternoons’ Hash at Ayia Nappa. The apartment occupies the whole of the ground floor of my hosts Nikos and Vassillia’s home, it is far too big for me, it has a comfy bed and all mod cons but I do have to shower and shave before my hosts family drain the solar heated hot water tank in the evening.
I met up with Paul and Teresa yesterday along with Pauline and Jim and John and Gill as well as some new friends Roger and Mia at Dora’s, a very old fashioned Cyprus bar in the back streets of Larnaca. I was advised that the food was not of the same standard as the beer and the company so I settled for a couple of Cyprus sandwiches last night when I got back to the apartment.
My plan this trip is to relax and recuperate so there will not be too many reports on this blog unless I do have something special I feel I need to communicate.
I met up with Paul and Teresa yesterday along with Pauline and Jim and John and Gill as well as some new friends Roger and Mia at Dora’s, a very old fashioned Cyprus bar in the back streets of Larnaca. I was advised that the food was not of the same standard as the beer and the company so I settled for a couple of Cyprus sandwiches last night when I got back to the apartment.
My plan this trip is to relax and recuperate so there will not be too many reports on this blog unless I do have something special I feel I need to communicate.
Sunday, 7 October 2018
Every cloud............
After my experience of yesterday evening I wasn’t up to preparing my evening meal so I ent to check out the bar, snack bar, restaurant and shop which all turned out to be one establishment and not very appealing so I headed back to my lonely shed only to be accosted by some Polish guys I had said hello to on the way out, they invited me over for a beer which was accompanied by slices of cold sausage and followed rapidly by some kind of clear hooch which tasted like a fruity vodka, they are over here working on a computer infrastructure project and living on site to keep expenses down, isn’t it amazing, half a dozen guys from what was a country behind the iron curtain and they all speak reasonable English and now French, they say that besides the English they got from school the rest came from Friends and other TV programmes. I left there feeling a bit woozy only to get nobbled by the Bulgarians a few vans down the road they said I had to join them for a drink because I had stopped off at the Polish camp but these guys were hospitality in itself I was given a glass of red wine and a bowl of something that resembled goulash, just what I needed to soak up the alcohol. They were over working on the same project as the Polish guys and included in their crew a Latvian guy, and two Italians and for the most part they spoke in Italian but again they all had enough English to ask questions and understand my answers. Needless to say I slept well last night.
It was hammering down this morning so I stayed where I was until it stopped before venturing out I had initially planned on visiting Versailles or the Louvre but the place was so busy that I abandoned the attempt and picked up some grub before returning back to the campsite. I did learn some things about driving over here, changing lanes is the norm and signals although the etiquette are not mandatory nor are the speeds in different lanes so undertaking is quite acceptable and flashing your lights if someone is going too slow is not illegal as it is in the UK, once you accept all this everything falls into place and there is consequently very little use of the horn.
When I got back I passed the main Polish caravan where one of the guys was having a cigarette on the deck and nursing his head, the main man on the Bulgarian van was cooking lunch for his buddies and invited me to join him but discretisation........ starting that early on the red wine was not a good idea with tomorrow’s drive to Calais in mind so I did the sensible thing and said thanks but no thanks.
It was hammering down this morning so I stayed where I was until it stopped before venturing out I had initially planned on visiting Versailles or the Louvre but the place was so busy that I abandoned the attempt and picked up some grub before returning back to the campsite. I did learn some things about driving over here, changing lanes is the norm and signals although the etiquette are not mandatory nor are the speeds in different lanes so undertaking is quite acceptable and flashing your lights if someone is going too slow is not illegal as it is in the UK, once you accept all this everything falls into place and there is consequently very little use of the horn.
When I got back I passed the main Polish caravan where one of the guys was having a cigarette on the deck and nursing his head, the main man on the Bulgarian van was cooking lunch for his buddies and invited me to join him but discretisation........ starting that early on the red wine was not a good idea with tomorrow’s drive to Calais in mind so I did the sensible thing and said thanks but no thanks.
North again.
Yesterday was wind down day, I did manage to visit the museum that was closed earlier in the week and it was excellent, well worth the entrance fee.
I spent the rest of the day filling the car up, buying food for tomorrow’s 360 mile trip to Paris and then chilling out, the temperature got up to nearly 30C but the forecast is for cooler weather especially as I head north but it did mean I could wear the shorts and T shirt probably for the last time this year. Wrong it was sunny again this morning, so shorts again.
That was a long drive away from the toll roads, I stopped for a picnic at the halfway point and arrived here at Eurocamp Paris just after 5pm. After all Billy’s recommendations I was really looking forward to the experience but it was not to be. The reception was closed and after phoning the number scrawled on a piece of scrap paper stuck to the window the smelly little oik turned up took my name and ticked it off in the book and then gave me a folded up piece of paper and asked if there was anything I wanted to know. Obviously staff training is not a high priority with Eurocamp. It turns out the the folded up paper contained the caravan keys but it was the wrong van so he sorted that out then I had to drag all the necessary information out of him and go and find my new home for the next two days. I would have been better going to Rhyl! When I saw the outside of the grubby caravan my heart sank, it did not look anything like the illustration in the brochure and when I opened the door I nearly fainted from the cloud of obnoxious perfume that hit me, obviously some kind of air spray to hide the musty smell of the place. I know I did not book the premier class of caravan but this is real economy class and having just come from a wonderful isolated gite at less than the price of this shed I was not impressed. However, after thoroughly airing the place one opening the wine things got a little better, let’s see what happens tomorrow.
I spent the rest of the day filling the car up, buying food for tomorrow’s 360 mile trip to Paris and then chilling out, the temperature got up to nearly 30C but the forecast is for cooler weather especially as I head north but it did mean I could wear the shorts and T shirt probably for the last time this year. Wrong it was sunny again this morning, so shorts again.
That was a long drive away from the toll roads, I stopped for a picnic at the halfway point and arrived here at Eurocamp Paris just after 5pm. After all Billy’s recommendations I was really looking forward to the experience but it was not to be. The reception was closed and after phoning the number scrawled on a piece of scrap paper stuck to the window the smelly little oik turned up took my name and ticked it off in the book and then gave me a folded up piece of paper and asked if there was anything I wanted to know. Obviously staff training is not a high priority with Eurocamp. It turns out the the folded up paper contained the caravan keys but it was the wrong van so he sorted that out then I had to drag all the necessary information out of him and go and find my new home for the next two days. I would have been better going to Rhyl! When I saw the outside of the grubby caravan my heart sank, it did not look anything like the illustration in the brochure and when I opened the door I nearly fainted from the cloud of obnoxious perfume that hit me, obviously some kind of air spray to hide the musty smell of the place. I know I did not book the premier class of caravan but this is real economy class and having just come from a wonderful isolated gite at less than the price of this shed I was not impressed. However, after thoroughly airing the place one opening the wine things got a little better, let’s see what happens tomorrow.
Wednesday, 3 October 2018
Explorations and ruminations.
Monday’s visit to Sarlat was a completely different experience with no market stalls and shoppers clogging the streets, if fact a lot of the shops do not open on a Monday so it is the ideal time to explore the medieval quarter which is mostly pedestrianised and of course parking is also much easier.
Lidl has made as much of a penetration in France as it has in the UK but Aldi is trailing behind and their stores are not as large but they do sell an amazing houmous, have you ever noticed how many different spellings there are of this word, nearly as many as the different recipes there are for it on line.
The French love their dogs and I am with them on that, also on all my trips here over the last twenty years I cannot remember seeing any doggydoo which is the opposite of my first visit to Paris in the late seventies when walking along the pavement was akin to taking part in a marathon hopscotch competition. The other thing I have noticed is there are not so many cats around, this is particularly noticeable to me as the village I live in is overrun with them which probably accounts for the declining songbird population in the area. I am not against cats per se and I know that they do a good job of keeping vermin down in certain situations but house cats should be treated like pet dogs, not allowed out unless on a lead, one of the reasons that I propose this no doubt shocking proposition is that over here with a lower cat population there are a lot more song birds and they are less frightened of people and animals than they are back home.
Anyway back to exploring, yesterday’s visit to Les Eyzies de Tayac started well at the very informative Pole International de la Prehistorie, a centre providing lots of friendly information but then everything stopped, the main reason for the trip, the Musee National de la Prehistorie was not open, this seems to be a national trait ie we are open on these times except when we don’t want to be, so tough on you visitors who have travelled all this way only to find we are closed!
On the other hand today’s trip to Bergerac and the surrounding area was a complete success. Bergerac is a small pleasant city with a medieval heart near the covered market and it is especially vibrant on market day with all the visitors unlike Sarlat which feels more like a film set. I would recommend the Rue Des Fontaines with its pavement cafes and restaurants for lunch. However I joined the queue at the local sandwich shop with all the students and it was well worth it, my ham sandwich was an embarrassingly long baguette full of ham, salad, cheese, egg and mayonnaise, I am glad I took my book with me, I was there a while. From there I went on to Eymet, a Bastide town and then Issigeac another medieval town both worth dropping in to find out their history and of course enjoy the ambience, otherwise known as local wine.
Well thank you for putting up with my mini rants and I hope that this paints a picture of the places and things that I have seen.
Lidl has made as much of a penetration in France as it has in the UK but Aldi is trailing behind and their stores are not as large but they do sell an amazing houmous, have you ever noticed how many different spellings there are of this word, nearly as many as the different recipes there are for it on line.
The French love their dogs and I am with them on that, also on all my trips here over the last twenty years I cannot remember seeing any doggydoo which is the opposite of my first visit to Paris in the late seventies when walking along the pavement was akin to taking part in a marathon hopscotch competition. The other thing I have noticed is there are not so many cats around, this is particularly noticeable to me as the village I live in is overrun with them which probably accounts for the declining songbird population in the area. I am not against cats per se and I know that they do a good job of keeping vermin down in certain situations but house cats should be treated like pet dogs, not allowed out unless on a lead, one of the reasons that I propose this no doubt shocking proposition is that over here with a lower cat population there are a lot more song birds and they are less frightened of people and animals than they are back home.
Anyway back to exploring, yesterday’s visit to Les Eyzies de Tayac started well at the very informative Pole International de la Prehistorie, a centre providing lots of friendly information but then everything stopped, the main reason for the trip, the Musee National de la Prehistorie was not open, this seems to be a national trait ie we are open on these times except when we don’t want to be, so tough on you visitors who have travelled all this way only to find we are closed!
On the other hand today’s trip to Bergerac and the surrounding area was a complete success. Bergerac is a small pleasant city with a medieval heart near the covered market and it is especially vibrant on market day with all the visitors unlike Sarlat which feels more like a film set. I would recommend the Rue Des Fontaines with its pavement cafes and restaurants for lunch. However I joined the queue at the local sandwich shop with all the students and it was well worth it, my ham sandwich was an embarrassingly long baguette full of ham, salad, cheese, egg and mayonnaise, I am glad I took my book with me, I was there a while. From there I went on to Eymet, a Bastide town and then Issigeac another medieval town both worth dropping in to find out their history and of course enjoy the ambience, otherwise known as local wine.
Well thank you for putting up with my mini rants and I hope that this paints a picture of the places and things that I have seen.
Sunday, 30 September 2018
Moving south.
Friday night’s visit to the Fiddler’s Rest was interesting with its clientele of English expats and local French. The food was very good if a little pricey however, I could not fault the fish and chips, it was quite amusing seeing Frenchmen drinking Guinness but the chiller had been turned down to cater to their tastes.
Saturday saw us leave Le Moulin Neuf and make a zigzag journey through the countryside to our new home for the next seven days near Savignac de Miremont. We stopped off at Sarlat to explore and visit the market which is huge, so much bigger than the reputed ‘largest in the Dordogne’ at Riberac. Again there was a high proportion of English vices and I mean English not British, in fact I have not met or heard an Irish, Scottish or Welsh person or accent over here. I am going to go back again when the market isn’t on to explore some more.
The accommodation seems to get better and better, I am now the only guest in a barn conversion, my cottage has a downstairs comprising a lounge kitchen with French windows leading onto my patio overlooking the swimming pool and extensive countryside views, upstairs there is a large bedroom with en-suite bathroom and the property is at the end of a country lane so the only things I heard last night were the local wildlife. I have just had dinner on the patio but it is getting cool so time to come in for dessert.
Today I went on a search for Vide-Greniers or what we call boot sales, I found two of the three I was looking for, they are very similar to the UK variety and not from what I could see as sites to pick up bargains as touted by BBC antiques programmes in fact their prices were more expensive the British boot sales and the dealers nowhere near as gullible as we would be lead to believe.
Saturday saw us leave Le Moulin Neuf and make a zigzag journey through the countryside to our new home for the next seven days near Savignac de Miremont. We stopped off at Sarlat to explore and visit the market which is huge, so much bigger than the reputed ‘largest in the Dordogne’ at Riberac. Again there was a high proportion of English vices and I mean English not British, in fact I have not met or heard an Irish, Scottish or Welsh person or accent over here. I am going to go back again when the market isn’t on to explore some more.
The accommodation seems to get better and better, I am now the only guest in a barn conversion, my cottage has a downstairs comprising a lounge kitchen with French windows leading onto my patio overlooking the swimming pool and extensive countryside views, upstairs there is a large bedroom with en-suite bathroom and the property is at the end of a country lane so the only things I heard last night were the local wildlife. I have just had dinner on the patio but it is getting cool so time to come in for dessert.
Today I went on a search for Vide-Greniers or what we call boot sales, I found two of the three I was looking for, they are very similar to the UK variety and not from what I could see as sites to pick up bargains as touted by BBC antiques programmes in fact their prices were more expensive the British boot sales and the dealers nowhere near as gullible as we would be lead to believe.
Friday, 28 September 2018
Grub and Hoorays.
When in France you have to try the local regional delicacies which in the Dordogne are foie gras and truffles, I have had truffles before and they are good, so yesterday after a cycle ride I carried on to the Le Temps Des Mets restaurant in the lovely village of Saint Jean de Cote, the setting is everyone’s ideal of a French village but I am afraid the foie gras and the following duck breast were a bit too nouvelle cuisine for me and a little over complicated flavour wise, as an antidote to this I am going to an Irish pub tonight for Guinness and pub grub.
We were out today exploring the town of Riberac which reputedly has the largest market in the area but which according to the guidebook despite being very popular with the British has little else to offer, I must agree with that statement, I seemed to be dogged on my stroll around the market by this Hooray Henry with a loud braying voice, everywhere I went he was there telling everyone that he had bought some incredibly smelly cheese and that he had now moved here with his American wife. The trip only got worse from there I had planned on lunching in the village of Aubeterre sur Drone but the experience was ruined by loud Home Counties accents, I guess these are the remainers thinking that they are abandoning the sinking ship, we are better off without them.
We were out today exploring the town of Riberac which reputedly has the largest market in the area but which according to the guidebook despite being very popular with the British has little else to offer, I must agree with that statement, I seemed to be dogged on my stroll around the market by this Hooray Henry with a loud braying voice, everywhere I went he was there telling everyone that he had bought some incredibly smelly cheese and that he had now moved here with his American wife. The trip only got worse from there I had planned on lunching in the village of Aubeterre sur Drone but the experience was ruined by loud Home Counties accents, I guess these are the remainers thinking that they are abandoning the sinking ship, we are better off without them.
Wednesday, 26 September 2018
more of the same.
The Voie Vert cycle ride turned into a 20 plus mile day out with a picnic as well. The route was a disused railway track so relatively level and only lightly used but I did meet a Dutch couple who I accompanied for a while, they were going to a restaurant in the village of St. Jean de Côle which I recced yesterday it is a lovely little place of old houses and winding narrow streets, I plan on cycling there tomorrow for lunch. I have googled Voie Vert in this area and found a couple of appealing rides further south for next week.
High twenties yesterday ideal for that afternoon beer after visiting the Chateau at Jumilhac and the Gallo-Roman site at Perigueux.
This is a lovely part of the world and the ex pats I have met are very happy to be living here but is it for me? We shall have to see, if the right house in the right location at the right price came along then maybe.
High twenties yesterday ideal for that afternoon beer after visiting the Chateau at Jumilhac and the Gallo-Roman site at Perigueux.
This is a lovely part of the world and the ex pats I have met are very happy to be living here but is it for me? We shall have to see, if the right house in the right location at the right price came along then maybe.
Monday, 24 September 2018
Moving east
I am waiting for the washing machine to finish, it has been on over two hours and at this rate I can’t see it finishing anytime before Xmas.
The wine I picked up at Intermarche on the way down threw up an excellent Bordeaux Rose and a very good Beaujolais Nouveau, something I had not tasted before so on Saturday morning I went back and cleared the shelves of both wines, unfortunately they only had two bottles of the Beaujolais, I will call in again before I leave this area to see if they have restocked.
The last gite was OK, a little grubby and musty but it’s saving grace was the patio with a lovely view across fields and woods to the local town of Miallet I ate all my meals there except for my last breakfast when a Hoolie was blowing outside. The new gite is amazing, it is the annexe of a secluded old windmill and has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an indoor and an outdoor kitchen, games room and gym and outside there is a swimming pool and hot tub. I am rattling around like the last pill in the box but I again spend as much time as I can in the garden.
I have spent most of my time here so far exploring especially the beautiful little villages with their winding streets and old houses, the markets are fun too for both the items for sale and for practicing my Franglais. On Saturday I took a five mile walk around a local reservoir, the paths were well kept and well marked and I saw a lot of wildlife including a snake and an unknown small black creature that with my less than 20/20 vision looked like a short legged tailess cat. I am going to seek out more walking opportunities like that and also car free bike trails, in fact when the washer eventually finishes I am off to cycle a Voie Vert of 34kms, the picnic is made up and Yahoo the washer has finished.
More soon.
The wine I picked up at Intermarche on the way down threw up an excellent Bordeaux Rose and a very good Beaujolais Nouveau, something I had not tasted before so on Saturday morning I went back and cleared the shelves of both wines, unfortunately they only had two bottles of the Beaujolais, I will call in again before I leave this area to see if they have restocked.
The last gite was OK, a little grubby and musty but it’s saving grace was the patio with a lovely view across fields and woods to the local town of Miallet I ate all my meals there except for my last breakfast when a Hoolie was blowing outside. The new gite is amazing, it is the annexe of a secluded old windmill and has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, an indoor and an outdoor kitchen, games room and gym and outside there is a swimming pool and hot tub. I am rattling around like the last pill in the box but I again spend as much time as I can in the garden.
I have spent most of my time here so far exploring especially the beautiful little villages with their winding streets and old houses, the markets are fun too for both the items for sale and for practicing my Franglais. On Saturday I took a five mile walk around a local reservoir, the paths were well kept and well marked and I saw a lot of wildlife including a snake and an unknown small black creature that with my less than 20/20 vision looked like a short legged tailess cat. I am going to seek out more walking opportunities like that and also car free bike trails, in fact when the washer eventually finishes I am off to cycle a Voie Vert of 34kms, the picnic is made up and Yahoo the washer has finished.
More soon.
Wednesday, 19 September 2018
Down south.
We took the toll free option on the drive down to the Northern Dordogne, 360 miles in 7 hours plus stops, the route avoiding motorways would have been too long in miles and time. The journey was a real learning experience especially understanding the French roundabout etiquette and finding out how far above the displayed speed limit you are expected to drive this is judged by how close the truck behind is to you boot.
The further south we came the more raptors I noticed and at one point I was fascinated by what I thought was a large hawk seemingly dancing on the wind, I then realised that it was a hawk shaped kite that an enterprising farmer had employed as a flying scarecrow.
I hit the supermarket en route and after unpacking the car I had a charcuterie salad with French bread and Bordeaux Rose on my gite patio in the sun, absolute bliss after the long drive and it was topped of by the sunset. My accommodation has one large lounge with a double bed in one corner and a separate kitchen and bathroom but most of my time here is spent outside.
I am staying in Mialet for four days before moving 10kms east to Saint Priest de Fougeres. Yesterday we went to the market in Perigueux, I just love all the misshapen but unbelievably tasty fruit and veg and I bought my first ever Madeleines for an afternoon coffee break, glad I bought two, one is not enough! After some more exploring and lunch I spent the afternoon planning all the places I want to visit etc before having a re-run of the previous evening on the patio but this time with Souvlaki.
I could get used to this lifestyle.
The further south we came the more raptors I noticed and at one point I was fascinated by what I thought was a large hawk seemingly dancing on the wind, I then realised that it was a hawk shaped kite that an enterprising farmer had employed as a flying scarecrow.
I hit the supermarket en route and after unpacking the car I had a charcuterie salad with French bread and Bordeaux Rose on my gite patio in the sun, absolute bliss after the long drive and it was topped of by the sunset. My accommodation has one large lounge with a double bed in one corner and a separate kitchen and bathroom but most of my time here is spent outside.
I am staying in Mialet for four days before moving 10kms east to Saint Priest de Fougeres. Yesterday we went to the market in Perigueux, I just love all the misshapen but unbelievably tasty fruit and veg and I bought my first ever Madeleines for an afternoon coffee break, glad I bought two, one is not enough! After some more exploring and lunch I spent the afternoon planning all the places I want to visit etc before having a re-run of the previous evening on the patio but this time with Souvlaki.
I could get used to this lifestyle.
Monday, 17 September 2018
Downtown Rouen.
Breakfast this morning in the hotel was a bit of an eye opener when I realised that what I had thought to be long summer dresses on some of the residents where actually dressing gowns over their pyjamas and night dresses, if only I had brought my dressing gown and pjs I could have joined in tomorrow morning.
I forgot to mention that when Edith and I arrived in Dieppe the local council had laid on a kite festival to welcome us and some of the entries would have challenged anything that Airbus manufacture. We decided not to take the direct route to Rouen and challenged google maps to find a route without motorways, as you can imagine it was quite off piste but there were no farmers shaking their fists at us and we saw some lovely Normandy villages en route. The girl directing us on google maps is a hoot, her French pronunciation is as diabolical as Shirley’s Welsh.
As you know, I do not like cities but as cities go Rouen is OK especially on a Monday morning when everything but the cafes is closed. It is a pleasure to wander around the medieval streets while it is quiet in fact even when it got busier at lunch time it was still pleasantly not crowded, I like it, it won’t take the place of Amsterdam but I still like it. I spent the day exploring, people watching, reading in cafes and I did the touristy thing at the Cathedral of Notre Dame which is what drew me to the city in the first place when I saw its spire and towers from the motorway on my last trip to the landing beaches. The cathedral is amazing, again I cannot believe the skills of our ancestors who could design and build such a huge structure over 800 years ago, it was also quite moving to visit the grave where Richard the Lionheart’s heart is buried.
Tomorrow we head south to the Périgord Vert via as few motorways as possible.
I forgot to mention that when Edith and I arrived in Dieppe the local council had laid on a kite festival to welcome us and some of the entries would have challenged anything that Airbus manufacture. We decided not to take the direct route to Rouen and challenged google maps to find a route without motorways, as you can imagine it was quite off piste but there were no farmers shaking their fists at us and we saw some lovely Normandy villages en route. The girl directing us on google maps is a hoot, her French pronunciation is as diabolical as Shirley’s Welsh.
As you know, I do not like cities but as cities go Rouen is OK especially on a Monday morning when everything but the cafes is closed. It is a pleasure to wander around the medieval streets while it is quiet in fact even when it got busier at lunch time it was still pleasantly not crowded, I like it, it won’t take the place of Amsterdam but I still like it. I spent the day exploring, people watching, reading in cafes and I did the touristy thing at the Cathedral of Notre Dame which is what drew me to the city in the first place when I saw its spire and towers from the motorway on my last trip to the landing beaches. The cathedral is amazing, again I cannot believe the skills of our ancestors who could design and build such a huge structure over 800 years ago, it was also quite moving to visit the grave where Richard the Lionheart’s heart is buried.
Tomorrow we head south to the Périgord Vert via as few motorways as possible.
Sunday, 16 September 2018
The summer isn’t over yet.
I left home in the rain on Saturday morning and arrived in Eastbourne to autumnal sunshine, my B&B host Steve recommended the Marine pub for dinner and it was just right, enough gammon and chips for two and a well served pint or two of San Miguel meant no trouble sleeping even with the raucous seagulls. Steve also gave me a pack up for breakfast as I caught the early ferry from Newhaven that lasted both breakfast and lunch. I arrived here in Rouen by 5pm and considered just relaxing but that meant dinner would have been chain fast food so I walked into the city for a recce and I am so glad I did. The old town has an air of medieval magic about it and after finding all the sites that I will visit tomorrow I stumbled on a Belgian bar heavily patronised by young people at least forty years younger than me who all seemed to be drinking pints, after sampling a couple of their 10 draught beers I floated across the square for another pint and a home made diavolo pizza, wonderful, and to be sitting in the sun watching the world pass by. On my return to the hotel I noticed that the tattoo parlours were all open and a lot of good looking girls were waiting on the pavement for friends, I suppose that is to be expected when you book cheap hotels. I did check out the hotel menu and the offer of Plate of raw vegetables or Lukewarm herring and potatoes made the trip into town even more worthwhile.
Thursday, 21 June 2018
Getting cooler
Sunday nights B&B was at a farm 3 miles south of Keith in a beautiful location with the sunrise as my early morning alarm, I had the full Scottish breakfast which kept me going for my exploration of the Spey valley and visit to Boat of Garten RSPB where despite the missing osprey who had abandoned her clutch of eggs I did see Siskin, Crested Tits and loads of Green Finches.
It was great to catch up with John and Seonaid and they plied me with fines food and wines so getting out of bed for my first Ben was a challenge on Tuesday morning was not easy but it was a lovely rain free walk up Ben Braggie that Seonaid’s sister Barbara joined us on, it did get a little breezy at the top.
John and I dodged the showers again on Wednesday and made it to the top of the Struie Hill which gave us fabulous panoramic views of the whole of Sutherland. From there John took me on a mystery tour where we met a mermaid, walked around the lighthouse at Tarbat Ness, bought eggs from an egg box and had coffee and sausage rolls at another of Harry Gow’s shops this time in Tain.
This morning saw an early start at 5:30 which got me to the recommended greasy spoon near Pitlochry 15 minutes before they opened but despite that and a pile up on the motorway south I was still at the ticket desk at Bamburg Castle by 11:45, that was an amazing experience, the place is massive and what impressed me the most were the beautiful woods that have been used in the castle rooms, also the one time owner Lord Armstrong deserves further research. I managed to do all my exploring at Almwick so I will be on the road home early tomorrow morning.
It was great to catch up with John and Seonaid and they plied me with fines food and wines so getting out of bed for my first Ben was a challenge on Tuesday morning was not easy but it was a lovely rain free walk up Ben Braggie that Seonaid’s sister Barbara joined us on, it did get a little breezy at the top.
John and I dodged the showers again on Wednesday and made it to the top of the Struie Hill which gave us fabulous panoramic views of the whole of Sutherland. From there John took me on a mystery tour where we met a mermaid, walked around the lighthouse at Tarbat Ness, bought eggs from an egg box and had coffee and sausage rolls at another of Harry Gow’s shops this time in Tain.
This morning saw an early start at 5:30 which got me to the recommended greasy spoon near Pitlochry 15 minutes before they opened but despite that and a pile up on the motorway south I was still at the ticket desk at Bamburg Castle by 11:45, that was an amazing experience, the place is massive and what impressed me the most were the beautiful woods that have been used in the castle rooms, also the one time owner Lord Armstrong deserves further research. I managed to do all my exploring at Almwick so I will be on the road home early tomorrow morning.
Sunday, 17 June 2018
Going up to John’s.
I set of on Saturday in the pouring rain heading for Scotland and called in at Sizergh a National Trust property near Kendal. The house was OK but the high point were the portraits of the various WAGS belonging to the boring guys who at one point or another owned the place, pride of place goes to Mrs Mary Horneyold-Strickland, she definitely looks like she deserves her surname. I go soaked walking from the house to my car and when I arrived at last night’s B&B, Woodlea in Castle Douglas the sun was shining and they had not had any rain at all. Woodlea was a revelation, it is a Victorian house that has been tastefully remodelled and it is totally immaculate, it is like a show house but better workmanship, my room including breakfast was only £35.00 - ridiculously cheap.
Today’s trip took me just down the road to Threave, I walked down to the river where you can catch a ferry to visit the castle but I settled for a time at the Osprey viewing platform and fortunately left just as the over enthusiastic guide arrived. Threave garden was unusual in as much as there were many areas left to nature but that did not detract from the experience in any way in fact I enjoyed it more for the difference. The kitchen garden is wonderful with so many varieties of vegetables grown in such a warm microclimate that gooseberries are already ripe for picking, I want one. From there I visited the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, unfortunately I could not get to the lower part of the fall because Peregrine Falcons are nesting nearby, I will have to go back outside the breeding season. My continuing journey took in the Forth Road Bridge, Braemar, Balmoral and ended up just outside Keith after a pub lunch at the Gordon Arms Hotel in Yarrow.
I will be wending my way up to John’s by way of the Spey valley and Inverness tomorrow.
Today’s trip took me just down the road to Threave, I walked down to the river where you can catch a ferry to visit the castle but I settled for a time at the Osprey viewing platform and fortunately left just as the over enthusiastic guide arrived. Threave garden was unusual in as much as there were many areas left to nature but that did not detract from the experience in any way in fact I enjoyed it more for the difference. The kitchen garden is wonderful with so many varieties of vegetables grown in such a warm microclimate that gooseberries are already ripe for picking, I want one. From there I visited the Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, unfortunately I could not get to the lower part of the fall because Peregrine Falcons are nesting nearby, I will have to go back outside the breeding season. My continuing journey took in the Forth Road Bridge, Braemar, Balmoral and ended up just outside Keith after a pub lunch at the Gordon Arms Hotel in Yarrow.
I will be wending my way up to John’s by way of the Spey valley and Inverness tomorrow.
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
Catch up photos - Cars.
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| The rough old camper van in Oz, no room to swing a cat, so a bad back for 3 weeks but a great engine which surprised a few of the locals at traffic lights. |
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| Lots more room in NZ but she handled like a brick. |
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| Bubble on wheels with a silly big engine, managed 30 mpg - just |
Monday, 12 March 2018
Temperature differences.
I checked the forecast for Arizona last week and it was favourable, when I landed in Phoenix on Friday it was a balmy 23C and that was at 10pm so I was looking forward to the next few days. However, when I started driving to Utah it was all uphill, up to over 7000 feet above sea level and the temperature dropped rapidly. This morning it was colder here than in Gwytherin so I am having emergency acclimatisation training and I should be OK by the time I get home.
I met some of the locals in Stetsons and beards yesterday and bid them a cheery good morning only to receive one of those stares that says "why are you talking to me?" and I thought all these members of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints would be happy clappy and full of welcome as were the crew who ran the visitor centre at Bluff Fort, from talking to them I found that more than 50% of the original Mormon settlers in that town were of Welsh ancestry mostly Jones and Williams.
Today was another tick off the bucket list, a visit to Monument Valley to feel the presence of the Duke, there are photographs of John Wayne in every tourist venue and in nearly every retail establishment. I had planned to explore on horseback but at £40.00 per half hour it was outside my budget, the guided tour I took instead with Will Cowboy of Spirit Tours was excellent, not only was he full of information but he took us places that the public cannot go on their own and he also sang us two Navajo travelling songs which will ensure my safe return home.
I met some of the locals in Stetsons and beards yesterday and bid them a cheery good morning only to receive one of those stares that says "why are you talking to me?" and I thought all these members of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints would be happy clappy and full of welcome as were the crew who ran the visitor centre at Bluff Fort, from talking to them I found that more than 50% of the original Mormon settlers in that town were of Welsh ancestry mostly Jones and Williams.
Today was another tick off the bucket list, a visit to Monument Valley to feel the presence of the Duke, there are photographs of John Wayne in every tourist venue and in nearly every retail establishment. I had planned to explore on horseback but at £40.00 per half hour it was outside my budget, the guided tour I took instead with Will Cowboy of Spirit Tours was excellent, not only was he full of information but he took us places that the public cannot go on their own and he also sang us two Navajo travelling songs which will ensure my safe return home.
Saturday, 10 March 2018
music and beer.
My little car/van in Australia had a CD player but some divot had jammed a CD in there so all my carefully selected music could not be played. I had high hopes with the newer van in New Zealand but it was not to be, the van was a grey import from Japan and did not have a CD player, imagine my joy when I found the all important little player smiling at me from the dash of my latest hire car I selected a disc at random and guess what the track was..............Letter From America by the Proclaimers (who by the way are appearing later this year at Venue Cymru). Unfortunately that is the best thing about my latest ripoff hire car, the cheeky rep tried to get me to upgrade to a 4 wheel drive when that was what I had already booked and paid for, I ended up with a Kia Sportage all wheel drive which is a bit of a modern bubble car with a stupidly huge engine that just about manages 30 mpg so it is a good job petrol is only £2.00 per gallon, it does have a reversing camera so I will be annoying the locals by reversing whenever possible.
I am slumming it in motels on this part of the trip to keep costs down, I had a shock after booking in tonight here in Blanding Utah, I went looking for essential supplies but the girl in the supermarket told me that this is a dry town - no alcohol for sale!! I scooted the 20 miles up to the next town which had a liquor store for serious drinkers, bottles of spirits only, then after enquiring I found Mavericks a place that sells junk food and beer but no wine. I know Utah is where the Mormons established themselves but I did not expect such discrimination against us socialites, looks like I won't be meeting the locals over a drink in the neighbourhood saloon here.
I am slumming it in motels on this part of the trip to keep costs down, I had a shock after booking in tonight here in Blanding Utah, I went looking for essential supplies but the girl in the supermarket told me that this is a dry town - no alcohol for sale!! I scooted the 20 miles up to the next town which had a liquor store for serious drinkers, bottles of spirits only, then after enquiring I found Mavericks a place that sells junk food and beer but no wine. I know Utah is where the Mormons established themselves but I did not expect such discrimination against us socialites, looks like I won't be meeting the locals over a drink in the neighbourhood saloon here.
Thursday, 8 March 2018
Heading east.
Yesterday I visited the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbour which was a moving experience but unfortunately it is just treated as another must see site by the groups of chattering tourists unlike the respect that is shown at sites such as the Menin Gate in Ypres. I also went to have a look over the USS Missouri which was the USA's last battleship on whose deck the Japanese ratified their surrender at the end of WW all.
Today I visited the Army museum which had a section telling the story of the population of Japanese origin during the Second World War especially the exploits of the Japanese American regiments, they deserve to have a Spielberg film made about them.
Tomorrow I fly out to Phoenix to cross off another item on my bucket list which is to see Monument Valley where my hero John Wayne starred in so many of his films. I have booked a tour with the local guys, members of the Navajo Nation and I also plan to go for a walk around the valley if it is at all possible.
Today I visited the Army museum which had a section telling the story of the population of Japanese origin during the Second World War especially the exploits of the Japanese American regiments, they deserve to have a Spielberg film made about them.
Tomorrow I fly out to Phoenix to cross off another item on my bucket list which is to see Monument Valley where my hero John Wayne starred in so many of his films. I have booked a tour with the local guys, members of the Navajo Nation and I also plan to go for a walk around the valley if it is at all possible.
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Tourists everywhere.
There are so many tourists in town that last night at 7:30pm I could not find a restaurant with a spare table and it was nine o'clock before I happened upon an establishment which could relieve me of an extortionate amount of money for a very ordinary meal. This morning's breakfast was a similar event which after a twenty minute wait for a table to become available turned into a true farce, first of all a meal completely different from my order appeared then after remonstrating with the waitress my meal appeared but the seniors version of my order, by then I was so hungry I ate what was delivered and then had to argue about the bill. I find this kind of contretemps quite a challenge as you can imagine because us Brits don't like to complain do we? I am learning rapidly that Johnny Foreigner is quite accepting of viable complaints so don't be embarrassed go for it.
Today was an excercise in tourist avoidance and most of the morning I was quite successful until I had the hunger pangs and started looking for lunch, I am afraid Waikiki is a dire place for food suitable to the European palate, most places cater for the Asian tourist with sushi, noodles and udon whatever that is and the rest of the offerings are either inedible chains such as McDonalds or grease-ridden fast food pizza or Mexican joints it was that bad that I wandered around for over three hours before I found an ABC shop similar to the traditional 7/11 that sold basic sandwiches.
I did venture into the Ala Moana Centre, according to Leena it is the largest outdoor mall in the world (aren't Americans great with their superlatives?) anyway I lasted less than quarter of an hour and most of that was spent lost in Macy's which I had incorrectly thought was a department store not just for women's clothing. The best thing about the place was a Buddhist monk in his orange robe sitting on a bench outside Victoria's Secret talking on his iPhone, I wish I had had my camera with me.
This evening's culinary adventure was a non-chain fast food takeaway that specialised in steak, chicken and surf to go with the turf, the food was good, reasonably priced and the staff were helpful to this ignorant traveller, I will go back there again. I finished off the night at Kelley O'Neil's which had a diddlyie band who when left on their own played Irish songs that always had some reference to whiskey in them and when induced to play "Irish songs" they changed the tune (think of Eric Clapton and his second take on Leila) and in some cases the words, in fact their version of Black Velvet Band was pornographic but that was OK because no one could decipher the brogue anyway.
Today was an excercise in tourist avoidance and most of the morning I was quite successful until I had the hunger pangs and started looking for lunch, I am afraid Waikiki is a dire place for food suitable to the European palate, most places cater for the Asian tourist with sushi, noodles and udon whatever that is and the rest of the offerings are either inedible chains such as McDonalds or grease-ridden fast food pizza or Mexican joints it was that bad that I wandered around for over three hours before I found an ABC shop similar to the traditional 7/11 that sold basic sandwiches.
I did venture into the Ala Moana Centre, according to Leena it is the largest outdoor mall in the world (aren't Americans great with their superlatives?) anyway I lasted less than quarter of an hour and most of that was spent lost in Macy's which I had incorrectly thought was a department store not just for women's clothing. The best thing about the place was a Buddhist monk in his orange robe sitting on a bench outside Victoria's Secret talking on his iPhone, I wish I had had my camera with me.
This evening's culinary adventure was a non-chain fast food takeaway that specialised in steak, chicken and surf to go with the turf, the food was good, reasonably priced and the staff were helpful to this ignorant traveller, I will go back there again. I finished off the night at Kelley O'Neil's which had a diddlyie band who when left on their own played Irish songs that always had some reference to whiskey in them and when induced to play "Irish songs" they changed the tune (think of Eric Clapton and his second take on Leila) and in some cases the words, in fact their version of Black Velvet Band was pornographic but that was OK because no one could decipher the brogue anyway.
Monday, 5 March 2018
Changes.
I know I have said this before but everything changes nothing stays the same. My first port of call after a quick shower was the Hilton Hawaiian Village where Jan and I got married 21 years ago, at that time it was a posh hotel with a small tower block of accommodation, some low rise service rooms and lush gardens with waterfalls, fountains and pagodas. Now there are four new tower blocks all larger than the original including one called the Rainbow Tower which is a local landmark or monstrosity as the concierge called it. I did not recognise any of the grounds, it had all been built over and I was hugely disappointed as this was one of the main reasons for travelling back here.
Waikiki itself has changed as well in the intervening period, there has been a lot more building and it is far busier with three times as many tourists mostly from Japan and China but I did enjoy a ride on the tourist trolley mainly due to Leena the driver's amusing running commentary and I also had the pleasure of having a gorgeous young Israeli girl rub various potions and lotions into my baggy and wrinkled flesh assuring me that with just a few weeks application I would look twenty years younger and all for only $800.00 for a two year supply, we parted as friends but no money changed hands.
Well as you can see I am now in the good ole USA, it was touch and go for a while, my journey was by Qantas from Auckland via Sydney to Honolulu and the transfer time in Sydney was only an hour and a half, it all became a little fretful when the first flight was 55 minutes late in taking off then the pilot made up some of the lost time only to be stuck in a holding pattern over Sydney due to very heavy rain delaying landings. We landed and reached the gate 20 minutes before my connecting flight was due to take off and I had to do the security dance yet again where once more they confiscated my water!!!! luckily that flight had also been delayed so I arrived over here more or less on schedule and so did my luggage which was a was a bit of a relief.
Waikiki itself has changed as well in the intervening period, there has been a lot more building and it is far busier with three times as many tourists mostly from Japan and China but I did enjoy a ride on the tourist trolley mainly due to Leena the driver's amusing running commentary and I also had the pleasure of having a gorgeous young Israeli girl rub various potions and lotions into my baggy and wrinkled flesh assuring me that with just a few weeks application I would look twenty years younger and all for only $800.00 for a two year supply, we parted as friends but no money changed hands.
Well as you can see I am now in the good ole USA, it was touch and go for a while, my journey was by Qantas from Auckland via Sydney to Honolulu and the transfer time in Sydney was only an hour and a half, it all became a little fretful when the first flight was 55 minutes late in taking off then the pilot made up some of the lost time only to be stuck in a holding pattern over Sydney due to very heavy rain delaying landings. We landed and reached the gate 20 minutes before my connecting flight was due to take off and I had to do the security dance yet again where once more they confiscated my water!!!! luckily that flight had also been delayed so I arrived over here more or less on schedule and so did my luggage which was a was a bit of a relief.
Thursday, 1 March 2018
A good day.
The guy who runs the Kawhia Motor Campground gave me a thorough briefing on the local area and what I should see so this morning so I followed his advice and took the gravel road up to Raglan and I am glad I did. Raglan is a laid back bohemian sort of small town, there were a few tourist around but most seemed to be Kiwis. All water sports seem to be on offer and there was even a pilot stunting over the bay in a light aircraft, I think this place could be one of the draws for me to revisit New Zealand along with Whangamomona Hotel for a reunion weekend and of course the whole of South Island.
I carried on driving from Raglan to Hamilton, a small city in the centre of Waikato which for a city seems to be a nice place, I took the opportunity to visit Hamilton Gardens, free and interesting and the Museum of Art & History, I still can't get my head around Cubism and Modern Art.
Tonight's Gurnard is a species of fish and very good with chips, it is on par with Hoki but neither are as good as Snapper, there seems to be an endless variety of fish available in the chip shops and restaurants and fishing is definitely the most popular sport over here.
I carried on driving from Raglan to Hamilton, a small city in the centre of Waikato which for a city seems to be a nice place, I took the opportunity to visit Hamilton Gardens, free and interesting and the Museum of Art & History, I still can't get my head around Cubism and Modern Art.
Tonight's Gurnard is a species of fish and very good with chips, it is on par with Hoki but neither are as good as Snapper, there seems to be an endless variety of fish available in the chip shops and restaurants and fishing is definitely the most popular sport over here.
Wednesday, 28 February 2018
Summer in NZ
Tuesday was a typical British summers day 15C and non-stop rain so after an initial attempt to see the local sites I retired to my warm dry motel room for an enforced admin day.
The following day I took off to investigate the Forgotten World Highway of which I had seen a mention on a road map but nothing in tourist information, I loved it, a one hundred plus mile drive through beautiful countryside with very few vehicles or tourists and some really olde worlde villages en route. I detoured to take in the Mount Damper Falls which were for a change actually worth going to, and visited the Republic of Whangamomona as well as meeting some herders moving a flock of a few hundred sheep up the main road. Lots of photos were taken. The highway ended in Taumarunui which looks like a frontier town, the steak I had at the local RSA club would have made a good boot sole for one of the local Cowboys.
Today was just a short 100 mile drive up to Kahwia and due to its remote location it is a lovely quiet spot with black volcanic sand beaches where again you can take a hot bath on the beach but without all the hordes that there were on the Coromandel at Hot Water Beach.
I have been on my best behaviour and I try to pull over to allow locals to pass me rather than get airiated whilst driving behind the #$**dy tourist doing 35 miles an hour, they do seem to appreciate my courtesy and I get the occasional flash of the 4 ways or a toot on the horn which makes a pleasant change from the glare I can often see in my rear view mirror of the guy three inches from my rear bumper.
Well I have been lucky with the weather no rain for the last two days even though it was forecast, I just hope my central heating system at home is coping with the horrendous weather back in Wales.
The following day I took off to investigate the Forgotten World Highway of which I had seen a mention on a road map but nothing in tourist information, I loved it, a one hundred plus mile drive through beautiful countryside with very few vehicles or tourists and some really olde worlde villages en route. I detoured to take in the Mount Damper Falls which were for a change actually worth going to, and visited the Republic of Whangamomona as well as meeting some herders moving a flock of a few hundred sheep up the main road. Lots of photos were taken. The highway ended in Taumarunui which looks like a frontier town, the steak I had at the local RSA club would have made a good boot sole for one of the local Cowboys.
Today was just a short 100 mile drive up to Kahwia and due to its remote location it is a lovely quiet spot with black volcanic sand beaches where again you can take a hot bath on the beach but without all the hordes that there were on the Coromandel at Hot Water Beach.
I have been on my best behaviour and I try to pull over to allow locals to pass me rather than get airiated whilst driving behind the #$**dy tourist doing 35 miles an hour, they do seem to appreciate my courtesy and I get the occasional flash of the 4 ways or a toot on the horn which makes a pleasant change from the glare I can often see in my rear view mirror of the guy three inches from my rear bumper.
Well I have been lucky with the weather no rain for the last two days even though it was forecast, I just hope my central heating system at home is coping with the horrendous weather back in Wales.
Monday, 26 February 2018
Too cold.
Yesterday I had a pleasant walk up to the Huka Falls, looking at the water flowing boisterously through the narrow channel to the falls I thought it would be the ideal place to go tubing but in retrospect it would have been an admin nightmare for my family if things went badly wrong so I will leave that to some other intrepid adventurer. After lunch I spent an hour or so relaxing in the naturally heated pool on the campsite watching England v NZ cricket on the big screen, a great way to finish off a walk.
Last night the temperature in my little van dropped dramatically and I awoke in the early hours freezing, that's it I am going back towards the coast away from the hills, I may even indulge myself with a hotel.
Later.......
well I got halfway to my next stop in New Plymouth when the rain started and the forecast for the rest of the week doesn't look brilliant, what a good decision it was to go for the hotel. The local dining options are not very inspiring, McDonald's, Kentucky, Thai or sushi so it was home cooked souvlaki, salad and hummus tonight.
Last night the temperature in my little van dropped dramatically and I awoke in the early hours freezing, that's it I am going back towards the coast away from the hills, I may even indulge myself with a hotel.
Later.......
well I got halfway to my next stop in New Plymouth when the rain started and the forecast for the rest of the week doesn't look brilliant, what a good decision it was to go for the hotel. The local dining options are not very inspiring, McDonald's, Kentucky, Thai or sushi so it was home cooked souvlaki, salad and hummus tonight.
Saturday, 24 February 2018
Giving up the coast.
When they smelled my hot cross bun this morning at breakfast I had two turkeys around looking for crumbs, they belonged to the campsite owner but I have seen turkeys with young ones far away from habitation so they must be feral the same as the pigs which one of the locals told me that he hunts with friends. Yesterday I had company for breakfast when a scruffy looking blackbird came over to share my fried egg rolls he was not shy at all and on closer inspection I could see that his yellow bill was actually a crossbill so he was not a UK import.
I drove the length of the coast of the Bay of Plenty this morning as far as Whakatane but for some reason I was not encouraged to stay there so I headed south and I am now at a campsite 3kms north of Lake Taupo town, the journey down was very scenic with natural forest on both sides in places and the road actually skirts lake Rotoma which is in a beautiful quiet setting.
Later........
I walked into town looking for some action on a Saturday night but all I met were street restaurants full of tourists which I knew without asking did not have a table for one but I wasn't there for that so I went one street back and found Flynn McCuhal's a low rent Irish pub which served me "twice baked lamb shank pie" with lashings of gravy, mash and mushy peas washed down with pints of Speight's Bitter, then I joined some of the locals to watch the Chiefs get battered by the Crusaders at Super Rugby after I had commiserated with the guys the live band kicked off. I wasn't expecting too much from a reggae band with five keyboards but Buffalo Soldier, I shot the Sheriff and No Woman no Cry etc came over just great and I managed to walk the mile and a half back to the campsite with only one stop. A good first day in Taupo.
I drove the length of the coast of the Bay of Plenty this morning as far as Whakatane but for some reason I was not encouraged to stay there so I headed south and I am now at a campsite 3kms north of Lake Taupo town, the journey down was very scenic with natural forest on both sides in places and the road actually skirts lake Rotoma which is in a beautiful quiet setting.
Later........
I walked into town looking for some action on a Saturday night but all I met were street restaurants full of tourists which I knew without asking did not have a table for one but I wasn't there for that so I went one street back and found Flynn McCuhal's a low rent Irish pub which served me "twice baked lamb shank pie" with lashings of gravy, mash and mushy peas washed down with pints of Speight's Bitter, then I joined some of the locals to watch the Chiefs get battered by the Crusaders at Super Rugby after I had commiserated with the guys the live band kicked off. I wasn't expecting too much from a reggae band with five keyboards but Buffalo Soldier, I shot the Sheriff and No Woman no Cry etc came over just great and I managed to walk the mile and a half back to the campsite with only one stop. A good first day in Taupo.
Friday, 23 February 2018
Observations and reflections.
I have now spent a few days on the Coromandel peninsula because I had heard that it was the destination of choice for Aucklanders, it is certainly a magnet for tourists every other other vehicle on the road seems to be a caravan and that doesn't include the hoards of backpackers, mind you up here there are no theme parks tourism is centred on natural sites and geological features such as Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Bay where you can dig a hole in the sand and have a geothermally heated bath.
We have had our exploring plans interrupted by the weather, the cyclone has proved resilient to forecasts and has dumped showers of rain on us at the most inopportune times but today, fingers crossed it has been dry which was good news because I have had a walking day, first around the circumference of New Zealand's largest open cast goldmine and then a couple of walks around another gold mining area which included a couple of railway tunnels and a gorge, all in all a great day.
It is quite a relief to go walking in the bush without worrying about spiders, snakes and other animals that want to ruin your day in fact with the lush greenery and the similar terrain walking here is very like walking in Wales only warmer.
I will in future be speaking in the singular, there is no longer a we, Harry and Marmalade were adopted yesterday by Genny and Harry the daughters of Aaron and Maggie after we all jumped into my van when a torrential downpour hit us at last night's campsite. The girls saw Harry and Marmalade sitting on the dash and the rest is history, my name according to Harry is now Ob.
I spoke too soon, it is raining again.
Tomorrow I am going to explore the coast of the Bay of Plenty and after that I will be heading down to Lake Taupo.
We have had our exploring plans interrupted by the weather, the cyclone has proved resilient to forecasts and has dumped showers of rain on us at the most inopportune times but today, fingers crossed it has been dry which was good news because I have had a walking day, first around the circumference of New Zealand's largest open cast goldmine and then a couple of walks around another gold mining area which included a couple of railway tunnels and a gorge, all in all a great day.
It is quite a relief to go walking in the bush without worrying about spiders, snakes and other animals that want to ruin your day in fact with the lush greenery and the similar terrain walking here is very like walking in Wales only warmer.
I will in future be speaking in the singular, there is no longer a we, Harry and Marmalade were adopted yesterday by Genny and Harry the daughters of Aaron and Maggie after we all jumped into my van when a torrential downpour hit us at last night's campsite. The girls saw Harry and Marmalade sitting on the dash and the rest is history, my name according to Harry is now Ob.
I spoke too soon, it is raining again.
Tomorrow I am going to explore the coast of the Bay of Plenty and after that I will be heading down to Lake Taupo.
Tuesday, 20 February 2018
What goes around.........
After my last Wicked Camper, I expected the worst again over here but I am now the driver of an ungraffitied Toyota van in very good condition, I will have room to sit-up in bed without any contortions and hopefully it will be kinder to my poor old back. After collecting the van, filling up with juice and purchasing the necessaries like a pasta cullender and king size quilt we made our way, avoiding major roads up to Coromandel Town. We are staying at Tui Lodge which is mainly backpackers accommodation with a few spaces for small camper vans, it is a lovely quiet place and was a boon to be able to cook dinner in the camp kitchen while the cyclone wreaked its wrath outside, actually just an hour of high wind and heavy rain.
I popped down to the town after the rain had stopped and had a couple of drinks in the Star & Garter, I managed to acquire a seat in the bay window in a plush button backed antique leather chair so I could watch the comings and goings in comfort it also gave me the chance to contemplate.
New Zealand has become a very expensive place compared to our first visit here 15 years ago, then house prices were about a quarter of UK prices, now apparently they are comparable and a pint of beer is over £4.50 with petrol also similar in price to UK so maybe I will not be retiring over here after all. One of the other travellers who is on a sabattical told me that prices are high in NZ and OZ because they export everything which means that prices for what remains have risen so high, I think that there is some validity in this view but if you export your country prices are sure to rise, I have met a number of people who are worried what will happen now that all the utilities are owned by Chinese companies or is that the Chinese state. I must say Auckland seems to be a suburb of Beiging with all the Chinese institutions and businessess and also the smell of Chinese food in the air.
I will leave you to contemplate these thoughts.
I popped down to the town after the rain had stopped and had a couple of drinks in the Star & Garter, I managed to acquire a seat in the bay window in a plush button backed antique leather chair so I could watch the comings and goings in comfort it also gave me the chance to contemplate.
New Zealand has become a very expensive place compared to our first visit here 15 years ago, then house prices were about a quarter of UK prices, now apparently they are comparable and a pint of beer is over £4.50 with petrol also similar in price to UK so maybe I will not be retiring over here after all. One of the other travellers who is on a sabattical told me that prices are high in NZ and OZ because they export everything which means that prices for what remains have risen so high, I think that there is some validity in this view but if you export your country prices are sure to rise, I have met a number of people who are worried what will happen now that all the utilities are owned by Chinese companies or is that the Chinese state. I must say Auckland seems to be a suburb of Beiging with all the Chinese institutions and businessess and also the smell of Chinese food in the air.
I will leave you to contemplate these thoughts.
Monday, 19 February 2018
Losing hours.
I lost another couple of hours today travelling from Sydney to Auckland, I was a little worried when I found that tha flight I had booked with Qantas was being operated by LATAM, I thought that might have been a subtle name change by Malasia Airlines but it turned out to be a Latin American company flight which was flying to Santiago (Chile) via Auckland. The seats were comfortable with good legroom and the staff were efficient friendly and straight which made a nice change, the food however was another thing a very cold roll with unidentifyable contents, I settled for a couple of glasses of a very quaffable red wine.
Whilst still in the airport I found an iPhone on the floor in the Gents and by using my little grey cells as Hercule would say I deduced that by the date "Domingo" and the time that it must belong to one of my fellow passengers who was making the full trip home so instead of handing it in at the airport I gave it to the cabin crew who found the happy owner after announcing it over the address system.
Well I pick up my camper van tomorrow and I will head north-east to try to avoid some bad weather that is being forecast due to a tropical cyclone. So let the adventure begin.
Whilst still in the airport I found an iPhone on the floor in the Gents and by using my little grey cells as Hercule would say I deduced that by the date "Domingo" and the time that it must belong to one of my fellow passengers who was making the full trip home so instead of handing it in at the airport I gave it to the cabin crew who found the happy owner after announcing it over the address system.
Well I pick up my camper van tomorrow and I will head north-east to try to avoid some bad weather that is being forecast due to a tropical cyclone. So let the adventure begin.
Thursday, 15 February 2018
End of the road trip.
Well my camping days in Australia are now over so I have four days of proper beds before I pick up my next Wicked camper van in Auckland.
The past few days have been entertaining and in some cases a delight, I loved Diamond Beach so much that I stayed there for two nights it was such a peaceful spot with hoards of wildlife in fact the Kookoburras were that friendly that they only needed the slightest encouragement and they would be sitting alongside you eating off the same plate! After leaving Diamond Beach I took The Lakes Way where I kept stopping by the sides of the deserted lakes and fantasised about sailing on them in my little dinghy where I could pull ashore to picnic or even camp overnight, Ahhh what dreams.
Whilst I was meandering down that road I obviously attracted the attention of a local vigilante because when I did a U turn to investigate the Lakes Sailing Club I noticed a grey pick-up do the same U turn and then follow me to the club, I went over to say hello and share my delight with the location but all I received was a mumble and grunt from the octogenarian occupant. He did follow me when I left to escort me out of his territory, my second Rambo moment.
I had intended to stay last night at Hawks Nest, it sounded so romantic and had two campsites but after Diamond Beach it was far too open, busy and expensive so I called into tourist info and asked Kath if she could recommend a quieter location or a cheap and cheerful hotel for the night, I must have been there for quarter on an hour while she gave me the run down on the area but the upshot was that I will have to return to cover everything that she told me and her little known gem of a campsite in Stockton was perfect.
Tomorrow I will be handing over the van a couple of days early and catching the train back to my sister Gillian's whose friend Michelle has invited us around for a meal, I may still have to be presented to more friends before I escape from here.
The past few days have been entertaining and in some cases a delight, I loved Diamond Beach so much that I stayed there for two nights it was such a peaceful spot with hoards of wildlife in fact the Kookoburras were that friendly that they only needed the slightest encouragement and they would be sitting alongside you eating off the same plate! After leaving Diamond Beach I took The Lakes Way where I kept stopping by the sides of the deserted lakes and fantasised about sailing on them in my little dinghy where I could pull ashore to picnic or even camp overnight, Ahhh what dreams.
Whilst I was meandering down that road I obviously attracted the attention of a local vigilante because when I did a U turn to investigate the Lakes Sailing Club I noticed a grey pick-up do the same U turn and then follow me to the club, I went over to say hello and share my delight with the location but all I received was a mumble and grunt from the octogenarian occupant. He did follow me when I left to escort me out of his territory, my second Rambo moment.
I had intended to stay last night at Hawks Nest, it sounded so romantic and had two campsites but after Diamond Beach it was far too open, busy and expensive so I called into tourist info and asked Kath if she could recommend a quieter location or a cheap and cheerful hotel for the night, I must have been there for quarter on an hour while she gave me the run down on the area but the upshot was that I will have to return to cover everything that she told me and her little known gem of a campsite in Stockton was perfect.
Tomorrow I will be handing over the van a couple of days early and catching the train back to my sister Gillian's whose friend Michelle has invited us around for a meal, I may still have to be presented to more friends before I escape from here.
Tuesday, 13 February 2018
Wildlife
On my last trip over here I was excited when I saw the occasional kangaroo, this trip I have seen so much wildlife I am getting quite blase about it. The birdlife is amazing if a little loud, typically Aussie but my favourite critter so far was what my neighbour in Coff's Harbour called a water dragon, this animal which I christened Leonard or Lennie for short suddenly appeared when I dropped some of my dinner on the deck so he joined me for Fusili Bolognaise. I will do a pictorial blog when I get home, I am having a few technical difficulties and today I have resorted to the local library to catch up on stuff, mind you with an outside temperature of 35C to be seated in an air-conditioned building is quite a pleasure.
I am now convinced that 50% of Aussie men of working age are employed on the roads and 50% of them work as lolly-pop men with stop/go signs and 90% of them have grey Van Dyke beards.
My date the other night went well Marion brought the whole family along to meet the Pommy, six adults and four children, don't ask me all their names, people over here are so friendly and outgoing, I met my neighbours in last night's campsite when Kylie came over to introduce herself and then dragged her old man over to meet me, they are both bricklayers who have set up their own business in the area and are living in his parents' holiday home.
Well my session has timed out so time to retire to the pool, more next time I can get on line.
I am now convinced that 50% of Aussie men of working age are employed on the roads and 50% of them work as lolly-pop men with stop/go signs and 90% of them have grey Van Dyke beards.
My date the other night went well Marion brought the whole family along to meet the Pommy, six adults and four children, don't ask me all their names, people over here are so friendly and outgoing, I met my neighbours in last night's campsite when Kylie came over to introduce herself and then dragged her old man over to meet me, they are both bricklayers who have set up their own business in the area and are living in his parents' holiday home.
Well my session has timed out so time to retire to the pool, more next time I can get on line.
Sunday, 11 February 2018
Ambling further south.
I have never been to the Spanish Costas during the season but if the Gold Coast here in NSW is anything like them I am glad that I have avoided the experience. Yesterday as I left Coolangata heading inland I felt a strange sense of relief then as I hit the twisty roads through the woodlands it developed into a feeling of euphoria.
My first stop for coffee was in Nimbin which was a Hippie colony, now it is a commercial enterprise selling Hippie tat to tourists with just enough aging Hippies hanging around for realism.
Coffs Harbour was OK, a lot less tourists and much more relaxed. I think it appealed to retirees because there were a lot of chaps and chapesses of a certain age power walking past me as I scrambled my eggs near the jetty, I did find that there were a lot of grumpy Aussies in the retail sector there but the residents of the park where I stayed were friendly and chatty.
Today I went to Bellingen as it was another place I remember from Gill's letters and it turned out to be a cute traditional little town with well preserved early 20th century shops so I had to stop for another long black, the Australian equivalent of an Americano but better. I then followed Paul's recommendation to head for South West Rocks, the gaol was an OK place if a little overpriced but the town and area is lovely good walking and a reasonably priced haircut so far and I have a date with the lady from the tourist information tonight for dinner at a tavern overlooking the river.
My first stop for coffee was in Nimbin which was a Hippie colony, now it is a commercial enterprise selling Hippie tat to tourists with just enough aging Hippies hanging around for realism.
Coffs Harbour was OK, a lot less tourists and much more relaxed. I think it appealed to retirees because there were a lot of chaps and chapesses of a certain age power walking past me as I scrambled my eggs near the jetty, I did find that there were a lot of grumpy Aussies in the retail sector there but the residents of the park where I stayed were friendly and chatty.
Today I went to Bellingen as it was another place I remember from Gill's letters and it turned out to be a cute traditional little town with well preserved early 20th century shops so I had to stop for another long black, the Australian equivalent of an Americano but better. I then followed Paul's recommendation to head for South West Rocks, the gaol was an OK place if a little overpriced but the town and area is lovely good walking and a reasonably priced haircut so far and I have a date with the lady from the tourist information tonight for dinner at a tavern overlooking the river.
Saturday, 10 February 2018
relatively late.
Breakfast yesterday was at Picnic Point in Toowoomba, the place I must not miss according to last night's companions, it is the highest point for miles around and even that early in the morning there were people jogging, walking and even strumming guitars. The views towards the coast were worth the diversion.
I made the slow journey into Brisbane where I met my nephew Paul and his lovely wife Fa for the first time, we got on like a house on fire having so much in common such as motorcycles and disliking of political correctness. My visit was too short, this trip is turning into another reconnaissance.
Having talked to Paul for so long I was too late to get in to the campsite that I had booked, the booking staff had gone home and there was no one to issue a pass key, so I headed off for the coast and what a nightmare awaited me. It is obscene, wall to wall adventure parks and high rise hotels, I gave in after driving through this hell for what seemed like hours and checked into a cheap and cheerful hotel with down to earth friendly staff.
Today I will drive inland back to sanity for a while before heading towards Coffs Harbour which was a must see place recommended by Keira.
I made the slow journey into Brisbane where I met my nephew Paul and his lovely wife Fa for the first time, we got on like a house on fire having so much in common such as motorcycles and disliking of political correctness. My visit was too short, this trip is turning into another reconnaissance.
Having talked to Paul for so long I was too late to get in to the campsite that I had booked, the booking staff had gone home and there was no one to issue a pass key, so I headed off for the coast and what a nightmare awaited me. It is obscene, wall to wall adventure parks and high rise hotels, I gave in after driving through this hell for what seemed like hours and checked into a cheap and cheerful hotel with down to earth friendly staff.
Today I will drive inland back to sanity for a while before heading towards Coffs Harbour which was a must see place recommended by Keira.
And then
Yesterday just after I crossed the border into Queensland outside the town of Stanhope I stopped at a rest stop where I made myself a picnic lunch and retired to one of the benches to enjoy the same, whilst I was there eating ham salad rolls and quaffing Pinot Grigio the local plod turned up in his super pick-up to investigate the Wicked camper littering one of his tourist rest stops (Wicked had a reputation for putting colourful - read crude - graffiti on their camper vans so they were banned for a while until they cleaned up their act in Queensland) 15 minutes later as I was clearing up and preparing to leave an unmarked pick-up arrived with a uniformed cop in the driver's seat he got out and paid a too short a visit to the ablutions before driving back the way he had come from, I was expecting to be pulled over when I drove through the town but they missed me, te he.
Following my sister Gillian's advice I went to the local bowls club in West Toowoomba for dinner and after being signed in and having bought the compulsory raffle tickets I found myself in the company of David, Karen, Brian and Merle, who were well travelled and with an average age of 74 had a slew of stories to tell, it is always good to meet the locals, they have a more in depth knowledge of the area than the sweet young things one encounters at the average tourist information centre, mind you I cannot complain, when I swanned into the tourist info. on Thursday in Armidale and asked for their recommendations for a cheap and cheerful accommodation the two ladies could not have been more helpful, unlike most places where they give you a load of leaflets that have no bearing whatsoever on what you are looking for, I suppose the exception.......
Following my sister Gillian's advice I went to the local bowls club in West Toowoomba for dinner and after being signed in and having bought the compulsory raffle tickets I found myself in the company of David, Karen, Brian and Merle, who were well travelled and with an average age of 74 had a slew of stories to tell, it is always good to meet the locals, they have a more in depth knowledge of the area than the sweet young things one encounters at the average tourist information centre, mind you I cannot complain, when I swanned into the tourist info. on Thursday in Armidale and asked for their recommendations for a cheap and cheerful accommodation the two ladies could not have been more helpful, unlike most places where they give you a load of leaflets that have no bearing whatsoever on what you are looking for, I suppose the exception.......
Thursday, 8 February 2018
Even further north.
Last night was fillet steak, Victoria Bitter and then double bed - bliss.
This morning up with the lark and on the road by 8am with breakfast at the first rest area, I was travelling up the New England Highway to Toowoomba but I kept seeing familiar town names until we came to the town of Glen Innes which calls itself the centre of Celtic County. The town itself was a delight with well kept Victorian and Edwardian buildings, this was obviously a centre of settlement for Scottish, Welsh and Irish immigrants with towns like Ben Lomond, Llangothlin and Killarney. I stopped over for coffee and it seemed to be well worth further investigation but I am only here for a short while and I am going to see my nephew Paul for the first time tomorrow so no time to linger but if I do ever come back here it will definitely be on the itinerary. I also passed through Deepwater which is having a Country Festival over the weekend so I will be missing that as well and there were heaps of ZZ Topp type racers going the other way as I went further north, I may have to come back after all.
I am now in Queensland where they refuse to go onto Summer Time like the other states, the reason I was given was that they are worried that the milking cows will be confused by the time change and also that with the extra daylight that their curtains will get faded more quickly....... These views were given me by someone from New South Wales so you make up your own mind. However, I did see one sign just after crossing the border which said that a maximum fine of $65,000 would be imposed on anyone found keeping rabbits!!
Tonight I am having another night off from the van and I am staying at the Pure Land Guest House which I think acts as the accommodation for people studying at the Pure Land Learning College, the owners have told me that I can help myself to any of the Buddhist books they have in their library and the smell of joss sticks is drifting past me as I write this on the patio, it takes me back to simpler times of flared trousers and Jimi Hendrix hairstyles, and you didn't think I was old enough to remember that did you?
This morning up with the lark and on the road by 8am with breakfast at the first rest area, I was travelling up the New England Highway to Toowoomba but I kept seeing familiar town names until we came to the town of Glen Innes which calls itself the centre of Celtic County. The town itself was a delight with well kept Victorian and Edwardian buildings, this was obviously a centre of settlement for Scottish, Welsh and Irish immigrants with towns like Ben Lomond, Llangothlin and Killarney. I stopped over for coffee and it seemed to be well worth further investigation but I am only here for a short while and I am going to see my nephew Paul for the first time tomorrow so no time to linger but if I do ever come back here it will definitely be on the itinerary. I also passed through Deepwater which is having a Country Festival over the weekend so I will be missing that as well and there were heaps of ZZ Topp type racers going the other way as I went further north, I may have to come back after all.
I am now in Queensland where they refuse to go onto Summer Time like the other states, the reason I was given was that they are worried that the milking cows will be confused by the time change and also that with the extra daylight that their curtains will get faded more quickly....... These views were given me by someone from New South Wales so you make up your own mind. However, I did see one sign just after crossing the border which said that a maximum fine of $65,000 would be imposed on anyone found keeping rabbits!!
Tonight I am having another night off from the van and I am staying at the Pure Land Guest House which I think acts as the accommodation for people studying at the Pure Land Learning College, the owners have told me that I can help myself to any of the Buddhist books they have in their library and the smell of joss sticks is drifting past me as I write this on the patio, it takes me back to simpler times of flared trousers and Jimi Hendrix hairstyles, and you didn't think I was old enough to remember that did you?
Heading north.
The Blue Mountains were beautiful and Leura village centre was quaint but today it was time to move on so 620 Kms later I am in Armidale staying at a cheap and cheerful hotel above a very noisy bar but I could not face another night in the van, I must be getting soft, last time I had no problems.
The journey up here was interesting, a lot of bush but also farmland and also coal mines, power stations in the middle of nowhere and vineyards. I did meet a few of the local hillbillies but sadly they were more Granny Clampett rather than Daisy Duke.
Armadale is a small town but even so the bars/restaurants were busy even on a Thursday night, I could come back to places like this to meet the locals and explore the plethora of antique and secondhand shops but it would be nice to have more time to do it, we shall see.
The temperature got up to 33 C today, thank God for AC in the car, I did manage to put up with 30C without AC but above that it was just too much and it only gets warmer the further north I go.
I have booked a hotel again at my next stop Toowomba, i will try the van again when the backache goes.
The journey up here was interesting, a lot of bush but also farmland and also coal mines, power stations in the middle of nowhere and vineyards. I did meet a few of the local hillbillies but sadly they were more Granny Clampett rather than Daisy Duke.
Armadale is a small town but even so the bars/restaurants were busy even on a Thursday night, I could come back to places like this to meet the locals and explore the plethora of antique and secondhand shops but it would be nice to have more time to do it, we shall see.
The temperature got up to 33 C today, thank God for AC in the car, I did manage to put up with 30C without AC but above that it was just too much and it only gets warmer the further north I go.
I have booked a hotel again at my next stop Toowomba, i will try the van again when the backache goes.
Monday, 5 February 2018
The Blue Mountains.
Since I was last here nine years ago my hugely older sister Gillian has turned into my mother, not only does she now look like her but she has developed her mannerisms as well. I stayed with Gill for three days and nights and I had to escape yesterday or I would have been in danger of bursting, I have never been offered so much food but we did have a good catch up and I will see her again before I leave.
The Wiched camper I picked up on Friday has seen better days, 280,00 kilometres on the clock and it has obviously been involved in altercations in the past. I slept in it for the first time last night and it proved remarkably uncomfortable, hopefully I will get used to it
I am now up in the hills west of Sydney in the Blue Mountains and I touched lucky last night, not only claiming the last but one available site in the camp but being stationed next to two friendly Aussies, Adam and Jo, who kept me entertained with their conversation and full of a home made chicken curry, I am going to offer them my Spaghetti Bolognaise tonight.
Today was taken up with a bush walk to see the Three Sisters and a number of waterfalls, believe me after seven miles in this heat I was ready for a cold beer.
The Wiched camper I picked up on Friday has seen better days, 280,00 kilometres on the clock and it has obviously been involved in altercations in the past. I slept in it for the first time last night and it proved remarkably uncomfortable, hopefully I will get used to it
I am now up in the hills west of Sydney in the Blue Mountains and I touched lucky last night, not only claiming the last but one available site in the camp but being stationed next to two friendly Aussies, Adam and Jo, who kept me entertained with their conversation and full of a home made chicken curry, I am going to offer them my Spaghetti Bolognaise tonight.
Today was taken up with a bush walk to see the Three Sisters and a number of waterfalls, believe me after seven miles in this heat I was ready for a cold beer.
Thursday, 1 February 2018
That was a long flight.
My first time in a Dreamliner and they put me in the second row a whole different experience from my last flight from Cape Town with British Airways. Etihad seem to have it sorted, a wide seat with lots of legroom and a first class entertainment system, my only criticism is the food is pretty bad. I changed plane in Abu Dhabi where not only did they put the transfer passengers through security again but they had another inspection at the boarding gate where they confiscated the bottle of water I had bought airside specifically for the flight - they may have had some mopping up to do.
The flight was a long 22 hours with a two and a half hour changeover in Abu Dhabi so from getting up in Gwytherin to climbing into my bed at the Ibis Hotel at Sydney airport that was over thirty one hours and most of it with a sore bum, so good night.
The flight was a long 22 hours with a two and a half hour changeover in Abu Dhabi so from getting up in Gwytherin to climbing into my bed at the Ibis Hotel at Sydney airport that was over thirty one hours and most of it with a sore bum, so good night.
Sunday, 14 January 2018
What a way to end a tour.
On Friday, I walked around the Robberg Peninsula again, the first half seemed easy compared to my memories of the same route two years ago but then I hit the boulders on the start of the second half an my euphoria rapidly drained away, it was a tiring walk especially in the heat but well worth it for the amount of wildlife I saw and it is a quiet peaceful, place. Next time I will just take a picnic to the beach and chill.
Yesterday, I said goodbye to Sedgefield and made my way along the N2 to Caledon, my last stay before catching the plane on Monday. En-route I stopped for a relaxed two hour lunch at an excellent restaurant on the outskirts of Swellendam, The Bakers Dozen. The N2 for most of that journey is a boring repetition of sheep and wheat, I much prefer the R62 through the Little Karoo. My garden cottage at Zoop B&B would make a fine base for exploring with a large lounge/kitchen/dining room, two bedrooms and a huge bathroom. My host Lindy is a well renowned chef locally and provided a scrumptious braai dinner for me last night of BBQ local sausage, lamb chops, oven roasted veg, new potatoes and a great little Afrikaans side dish, Smoor which is slow cooked onion and tomato with a touch of garlic and vinegar, I will have to try that one when I get home. Talking of which I am looking forward to cooking for myself after six weeks of mostly restaurant food.
Today was the ideal way to end my tour, the Caledon hotel is also a casino and spa with the added advantage of having natural heated mineral pools. I started the day with a quick exploration of the town, nothing to write home about but apparently there are a lot of interesting attractions in the local vicinity. My next point of call was the mineral baths, the hottest was far two hot for my sensitive skin but I spent an hour and a half soaking in three of the pools before going into the spa for my first ever full body massage, what an experience, I came out the other end feeling like I had been through the mangel but so relaxed as well, thank you Cisoxolo. I did pop in to the casino afterwards but there was nothing there to entice me and to see the people fixated on the one-arm bandits is quite depressing.
Well my host, the chef is making me her version of lasagne tonight so that about wraps up this trip, I need to do some serious planning for next month but I have booked again with Wicked Campers for both Oz and NZ so that is half of the work done.
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| Looking back at Robberg beach from the start of the walk. |
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| Cape Point the halfway mark, still full of confidence. |
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| Path?, What path? |
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| The goal next time with my picnic. |
Yesterday, I said goodbye to Sedgefield and made my way along the N2 to Caledon, my last stay before catching the plane on Monday. En-route I stopped for a relaxed two hour lunch at an excellent restaurant on the outskirts of Swellendam, The Bakers Dozen. The N2 for most of that journey is a boring repetition of sheep and wheat, I much prefer the R62 through the Little Karoo. My garden cottage at Zoop B&B would make a fine base for exploring with a large lounge/kitchen/dining room, two bedrooms and a huge bathroom. My host Lindy is a well renowned chef locally and provided a scrumptious braai dinner for me last night of BBQ local sausage, lamb chops, oven roasted veg, new potatoes and a great little Afrikaans side dish, Smoor which is slow cooked onion and tomato with a touch of garlic and vinegar, I will have to try that one when I get home. Talking of which I am looking forward to cooking for myself after six weeks of mostly restaurant food.
Today was the ideal way to end my tour, the Caledon hotel is also a casino and spa with the added advantage of having natural heated mineral pools. I started the day with a quick exploration of the town, nothing to write home about but apparently there are a lot of interesting attractions in the local vicinity. My next point of call was the mineral baths, the hottest was far two hot for my sensitive skin but I spent an hour and a half soaking in three of the pools before going into the spa for my first ever full body massage, what an experience, I came out the other end feeling like I had been through the mangel but so relaxed as well, thank you Cisoxolo. I did pop in to the casino afterwards but there was nothing there to entice me and to see the people fixated on the one-arm bandits is quite depressing.
Well my host, the chef is making me her version of lasagne tonight so that about wraps up this trip, I need to do some serious planning for next month but I have booked again with Wicked Campers for both Oz and NZ so that is half of the work done.
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| 22m long pick up and trailers. |
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| Is that legal? |
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| Bye now, got to go. |
Friday, 12 January 2018
Winding down.
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| The Island from Across the river |
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| There are two tiny paragliders in this picture. |
The past few days have been good, we have left the car behind and gone exploring first in the Wilderness National park with a peaceful walk where we only met a few people so it was quiet enough to stop and actually see and hear the wildlife. The walk itself crossed and recrossed the small river and we ended up at a dry waterfall (South Africa is experiencing the driest year for over 150 years and if things do not improve they are looking at turning off the taps in Cape Town on 22nd April)
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| No waterfall but a nice place to cool off. |
Yesterday we went up to the paragliding launch site to watch loonies jumping of a cliff but the views from up there of Sedgfield were gorgeous.
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| The Island Sedgefield. |
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| Sedgefield town on the left. |
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| Isn't that gorgeous. Then we went for a stroll along the river and around The Island which is a posh area with what seem to be mostly holiday homes and you can see why. It was peaceful and pleasant to stroll along and chat to the fishermen but at one point there were a couple of kids having a whale of a time splashing in the shallows and I found myself puposefully not looking at them, isn't it awful the way our lives are ruled by political correctness. In the afternoon we ended up walking along the beach for a couple of hours and if I wakeup early enough tomorrow I will go down there to catch the sunrise |
Tuesday, 9 January 2018
RAIN!!!
It has been raining on and off for the past 24 hours and the temperature dropped so low that I actually put on a pair of socks, whats going on, it is supposed to be summer here in South Africa.
My current accommodation is in a garret with roof beams and a dormer window but it isn't all Verdi type gloom, the place is immaculate and I have a northeast facing window so the sun wakes me up in the morning and then the room stays cool in the afternoon. I am also around the corner from the Sedgefeld Arms which serves good ales and very reasonably price food but they fall down on the PCness, pints of beer are listed as such on the bill but the smaller schooner measure at 300cc is listed as a Ladies glass.
Yesterday I went Scootertouring which is a variation on a familiar theme but this time we were taken by minibus up into the hills north of Knysna and allowed to freewheel down 3 different dirt roads on a bigger version of a child's scooter with big chunky tyres, great fun.
Today's adventure was a guided off road quad bike experience, 11kms of hills, hairpins and obstacles. I learned early on that a quad bike does not steer around corners when you just lean like on a two wheel motorbike and also if you put your foot down on a tight bend the rear wheel runs over it. I enjoyed the day but the course was one tight turn after another amongst trees, I would have preferred a more open course with the chance to get some speed up but that will be next time. After that excitement I decided to call in at the Sedgefield Craft Brewery, I had tried their Irish Red Ale on Saturday at the Farmer's Market when the place was packed to the rafters but today there was only me and the brew master Tony Hunter, the India Pale Ale was excellent an Tony was quite happy to share his brewing knowledge with me whilst getting another brew on the go. What a great day.
My current accommodation is in a garret with roof beams and a dormer window but it isn't all Verdi type gloom, the place is immaculate and I have a northeast facing window so the sun wakes me up in the morning and then the room stays cool in the afternoon. I am also around the corner from the Sedgefeld Arms which serves good ales and very reasonably price food but they fall down on the PCness, pints of beer are listed as such on the bill but the smaller schooner measure at 300cc is listed as a Ladies glass.
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| The team |
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| Look at that dust |
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| Green laneing |
Yesterday I went Scootertouring which is a variation on a familiar theme but this time we were taken by minibus up into the hills north of Knysna and allowed to freewheel down 3 different dirt roads on a bigger version of a child's scooter with big chunky tyres, great fun.
Today's adventure was a guided off road quad bike experience, 11kms of hills, hairpins and obstacles. I learned early on that a quad bike does not steer around corners when you just lean like on a two wheel motorbike and also if you put your foot down on a tight bend the rear wheel runs over it. I enjoyed the day but the course was one tight turn after another amongst trees, I would have preferred a more open course with the chance to get some speed up but that will be next time. After that excitement I decided to call in at the Sedgefield Craft Brewery, I had tried their Irish Red Ale on Saturday at the Farmer's Market when the place was packed to the rafters but today there was only me and the brew master Tony Hunter, the India Pale Ale was excellent an Tony was quite happy to share his brewing knowledge with me whilst getting another brew on the go. What a great day.
Friday, 5 January 2018
Down on the coast.
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| The view from the Outeniqua Pass towards the sea |
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| The dirt road of the Montagu Pass |
Well where to start? I spotted a mention of The Barnyard Plettenberg Bay on one of the many leaflets that Tourist Information throw at you and on I looked them up on line on Tuesday evening to see that they had bands playing on the next day and the following day, I managed to bags one of the last two seats on both days. You can imagine on Wednesday night after driving down from Oudtshoorn to Sedgefield checking in to my new digs at Tiffany's Rooms and then on to Plettenberg Bay I arrived with some trepidation at the Barnyard to introduce myself to the other five people on the table only to find that I was literally the odd man out, the five ladies seated at the table could not have been more welcoming, they were having a reunion and celebrating Pam's the eldest's fiftieth birthday. The band Watershed were excellent and far better than their YouTube videos suggested, their act was a high energy performance and the singer was a real entertainer, I crawled into bed after midnight after a full day only to be up early for a canoe session I had pre-booked for earl Thursday morning, it was a repeat of a trip I did a couple of years ago up the Touws river then a walk up to to a waterfall.
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| There is always some people who want to pose. |
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| My trusty canoe with back support for the elderly. |
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| The Touws River very popular for all water sports but after seeing a water snake, I think I will stay in the boat. |
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| Just about caught the guy who had jumped of the rocks before he hit the water |
That evening a repeat of the previous day only this time I was the odd man out on a table of 10 and that turned out to be true, I joined two families who after the introductions ignored me completely and the band Prime Circle turned out to be a disappointment as well, some of their songs sounded as though they could have been good but when delivered by a shouty singer with too much thrash metal background noise, no. I am surprised that I lasted an hour and a half but I wanted to give them a chance.
The Barnyard is a brilliant venue with seating for only 250ish people so it is an intimate space where you can get up close with whoever is appearing, it is worth Googling it to see how it all came about. Apparently the theme has now spread and there are barnyards in other places, for me it is the ideal place to hear live music.
Today I had booked to go Stand Up Paddleboarding but my back is objecting so I am taking a day of rest which may extend over the weekend.
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