We have managed to squeeze a bit of culture into our trip, at last, by going around an art exhibition - oooh, lovey! Actually, it was really interesting - and free! We also took the funicular railway up the very steep hill to the top of the botanic gardens - an amazing bit of engineering considering when it was built. Apparently quite a few of the wealthy landowners who built homes up the hills in Wellington originally built their own cable railcars - some of the pictures looked pretty hairy (and no, that wasn't the hobbits) - but considering the steepness of that hillside, can't really blame them. It was very pleasant to be able to get away from all the high rises in the city centre. It wasn't really the weather for wandering around gardens though, so we decided to leave that for tomorrow.
A return visit to the purveyors of (relatively) cheap beer was called for, and we felt sooo touristy as we watched the bars fill up with folk coming out for Friday night drinks after work - with us in our tourist-shorts-and-tshirts. It was quite wierd to watch the after work crowds after so long.
The next morning dawned much clearer, so after a walk around the museum, we headed back up the botanics again and meandered slowly down through them this time, enjoying the peace and quiet.
The next morning we left early for the ferry across to the south island. Unfortunately the rain started, so we didn't get to appreciate the Marlborough Sounds in all their glory as we approached, but the views were still incredible. We had booked one night in Picton, the town where the ferry terminal is situated, with the hope of enjoying some walks around the edges of the sounds, but it was absolutely pouring with rain by this point. Rather than be hemmed in at the hostel, we decided to don the waterproofs and at least venture into the town. Waterproof-shmaterproof. We were both drenched. A girl staying in the hostel had recommended a cafe that does excellent cakes, so we tracked that down and sploshed our way in. The coffee and cake were, indeed, fabulous, and hopefully they didn't mind the puddles/ponds of water forming under our table as we dripped quietly in the corner.
After a while we braved the elements again, but only as far as a bar called the Flying Haggis! After chatting to the Aberdeen-born owner for a while, we then met a very drunk, but very nice, chap originally from Leith. What, a drunken Leith-man? Surely not! We then splashed our way back to the hostel to dry out.
The next morning Chris woke early and found the sun was shining, so went out for a run, leaving Andy in bed to contemplate the weather. Unfortunately the weather did close in again, so again we didn't get to appreciate the full views of our scenic trip east towards the wine region of Blenheim and Renwick.
Tongariro
We're all Mt. Doomed!
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Thursday, 16 December 2010
Mount Taranaki - Out there somewhere?
OK, so the more-hill-walking-plan didn't quite work out. The problem with having a high mountain near the sea is, of course, it pulls in water from the sea and so is frequently covered in cloud. As it was when we were there. We couldn't see it at all - and it's a BIG mountain! Impressively, having not rained at all in the area for 40 days (which, given the aforementioned geographical situation is a tad unusual), it rained the day we turned up! Perhaps Chris' potential new career as a rain maker is still a possibility.... Our time in New Plymouth was spent walking along less taxing routes instead. The first was a very pleasant woodland/river walk and on the way back we started chatting to a very nice local lady walking her (adorable and very friendly) retriever, so we tagged along with them for the rest of the walk. The 2nd was more forgettable, but we can't have great walks all the time!
We did discover a lot of biting things tho', so bought some more insect repellant in anticipation of them getting worse. Chris is rueing the lost opportunity to randomly slap Andy using the excuse of "there was a sand-fly biting you"......
Once again we'd found a really nice hostel to stay in, with a very nice room with another very comfy bed, and more friendly hostel-pets. This time Vincent the dog, who we didn't see a lot of but was very friendly when we did, and Jed the cat, who was the laziest cat we have ever met, but very friendly, so we were happy.
After 3 nights in New Plymouth we moved on, and happily Mount Taranaki put in an appearance this time - and it looked incredible. It was a case of "See what you could have won" as all we could do was take photos as we left, but it was great to see it. A very short distance later we arrived in Wanganui. We knew nothing about the town, but actually really liked it - it has a great mixture of river sports and plenty of parks and hills. Another nice hostel with another dog! There seems to be a pattern emerging here. We got our exercise by tramping up 250 (apparently) steps to then go up a tower with a further 175. It was worth it for the view.... This, however, wasn't enough for Andy, and he ran up them later - in the very hot sun. Luckily for him the men in white coats couldn't keep up.
After just the one night in Wanganui, we have reached Mana, a suburb of Wellington. And a hostel dog again. The owners weren't in when we arrived, so when we were met by this large, barking dog who wasn't wagging his tail, we were a little apprehensive. Chris told Andy he could go upstairs (towards the dog) first, but Andy managed to find other things to do. Tired of waiting for these strangers to come and feed him, the dog came to us - and didn't eat us! As it turns out, Rocky is actually extremely friendly and is more likely to knock you over playing than actually do anything guard-dog-like.
And we've managed to bring on the rain again! OK, so it's really warm drizzle, but rain nonetheless. We went up to the nearby supermarket, which is next to the train station, so we decided to take a detour into Wellington for a few hours. As you do. Stopping for a bit of liquid refreshment we bizarrely found the cheapest beer we'd come across yet - in the capital city - a very pleasant surprise. Tomorrow we will do a few more touristy things - probably indoors, given our rain-making-abilities.
We did discover a lot of biting things tho', so bought some more insect repellant in anticipation of them getting worse. Chris is rueing the lost opportunity to randomly slap Andy using the excuse of "there was a sand-fly biting you"......
Once again we'd found a really nice hostel to stay in, with a very nice room with another very comfy bed, and more friendly hostel-pets. This time Vincent the dog, who we didn't see a lot of but was very friendly when we did, and Jed the cat, who was the laziest cat we have ever met, but very friendly, so we were happy.
After 3 nights in New Plymouth we moved on, and happily Mount Taranaki put in an appearance this time - and it looked incredible. It was a case of "See what you could have won" as all we could do was take photos as we left, but it was great to see it. A very short distance later we arrived in Wanganui. We knew nothing about the town, but actually really liked it - it has a great mixture of river sports and plenty of parks and hills. Another nice hostel with another dog! There seems to be a pattern emerging here. We got our exercise by tramping up 250 (apparently) steps to then go up a tower with a further 175. It was worth it for the view.... This, however, wasn't enough for Andy, and he ran up them later - in the very hot sun. Luckily for him the men in white coats couldn't keep up.
After just the one night in Wanganui, we have reached Mana, a suburb of Wellington. And a hostel dog again. The owners weren't in when we arrived, so when we were met by this large, barking dog who wasn't wagging his tail, we were a little apprehensive. Chris told Andy he could go upstairs (towards the dog) first, but Andy managed to find other things to do. Tired of waiting for these strangers to come and feed him, the dog came to us - and didn't eat us! As it turns out, Rocky is actually extremely friendly and is more likely to knock you over playing than actually do anything guard-dog-like.
And we've managed to bring on the rain again! OK, so it's really warm drizzle, but rain nonetheless. We went up to the nearby supermarket, which is next to the train station, so we decided to take a detour into Wellington for a few hours. As you do. Stopping for a bit of liquid refreshment we bizarrely found the cheapest beer we'd come across yet - in the capital city - a very pleasant surprise. Tomorrow we will do a few more touristy things - probably indoors, given our rain-making-abilities.
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Tongariro Crossing and Gloworms
On Friday we walked the crossing alongside Mount Tongariro, beside Mount Ngauruhoe (otherwise known as Mount Doom). Mount Tongariro used to be the tallest mountain in New Zealand before it lost it's top two thirds. A bit careless really. We checked behind the mountain and it definitely wasn't there. We're sure it'll turn up, perhaps down the back of a sofa.
Even though it is now a lot smaller than it used it be, it's still pretty big..... there was even snow in places! Just overlook the fact that, for various parts of the walk, we were in shorts and t-shirt. We were also wrapped up in fleeces, jackets and gloves in other parts!
So we got up at 5:20am (yes, really!) to get a bus over to the other side of Lake Taupo for the walk. This wouldn't have been so bad if some other folk in the hostel hadn't chosen that night to have an all-nighter, keeping Andy awake for most of it. Still, the morning dawned dry and bright and we dragged ourselves out of bed in time to have some breakfast before the bus arrived.
We won't bore you with the details of the crossing as we could write a novel about it, but suffice to say it was absolutely amazing. It was fairly hard going as you climb up the side of the volcano before walking across a crater, climbing out of said crater before heading down hill, and the total distance is 18km, a lot of which is on volcanic sand (as well as uphill), but it was worth every moment. It is, without a doubt, the best thing we have done so far and we doubt we will be able to better it. The views were incredible and no photos or descriptions could do it justice. We then made use of a great voucher deal at a pub in the town and had some well deserved (so we think!) pub grub and a few beers.
Anyway, the next day Chris stupidly went for a short run in the morning to try to loosen off, Andy was much more sensible and stayed in bed then made coffee then just wandered around for most of the day. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was overcast and windy. The crossing that day was cancelled due to the weather, so we were really glad we had gone when we did.
Sunday morning it was really nice and sunny again, and Chris stupidly went for another run, Andy again did the sensible thing. We then, sadly, left Taupo. We have taken a detour north west again to visit caves with gloworms. Andy wanted to take a scenic route, which had us glad for our 4-wheel drive as we found ourselves driving along gravel roads inbetween forest parks! Happily, the other side of the mountains the weather got really hot. Sorry folks, but it's true! We were chatting to a guy who's brother is married to a woman from Currie, where they still live, and he has been having a great time telling them about the weather over here - at least we feel slightly guilty about it!
So we found our way to a cave full of gloworms. It was quite cool, although fairly short. We weren't sure what to do with ourselves after that, so went to a tourist information office nearby and were given a few good ideas. As it happens, having felt that we shouldn't have arranged to stay here for the night, the sights we went to see were excellent and we ended up having a really good afternoon, including some more rally-inspired driving roads. Did we mention it was hot? Sorry......
Tomorrow we are heading south again to Mount Taranaki for more hill walking. Our poor legs!
Even though it is now a lot smaller than it used it be, it's still pretty big..... there was even snow in places! Just overlook the fact that, for various parts of the walk, we were in shorts and t-shirt. We were also wrapped up in fleeces, jackets and gloves in other parts!
So we got up at 5:20am (yes, really!) to get a bus over to the other side of Lake Taupo for the walk. This wouldn't have been so bad if some other folk in the hostel hadn't chosen that night to have an all-nighter, keeping Andy awake for most of it. Still, the morning dawned dry and bright and we dragged ourselves out of bed in time to have some breakfast before the bus arrived.
We won't bore you with the details of the crossing as we could write a novel about it, but suffice to say it was absolutely amazing. It was fairly hard going as you climb up the side of the volcano before walking across a crater, climbing out of said crater before heading down hill, and the total distance is 18km, a lot of which is on volcanic sand (as well as uphill), but it was worth every moment. It is, without a doubt, the best thing we have done so far and we doubt we will be able to better it. The views were incredible and no photos or descriptions could do it justice. We then made use of a great voucher deal at a pub in the town and had some well deserved (so we think!) pub grub and a few beers.
Anyway, the next day Chris stupidly went for a short run in the morning to try to loosen off, Andy was much more sensible and stayed in bed then made coffee then just wandered around for most of the day. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was overcast and windy. The crossing that day was cancelled due to the weather, so we were really glad we had gone when we did.
Sunday morning it was really nice and sunny again, and Chris stupidly went for another run, Andy again did the sensible thing. We then, sadly, left Taupo. We have taken a detour north west again to visit caves with gloworms. Andy wanted to take a scenic route, which had us glad for our 4-wheel drive as we found ourselves driving along gravel roads inbetween forest parks! Happily, the other side of the mountains the weather got really hot. Sorry folks, but it's true! We were chatting to a guy who's brother is married to a woman from Currie, where they still live, and he has been having a great time telling them about the weather over here - at least we feel slightly guilty about it!
So we found our way to a cave full of gloworms. It was quite cool, although fairly short. We weren't sure what to do with ourselves after that, so went to a tourist information office nearby and were given a few good ideas. As it happens, having felt that we shouldn't have arranged to stay here for the night, the sights we went to see were excellent and we ended up having a really good afternoon, including some more rally-inspired driving roads. Did we mention it was hot? Sorry......
Tomorrow we are heading south again to Mount Taranaki for more hill walking. Our poor legs!
Friday, 10 December 2010
Northland and Beyond
Lack of wi-fi in some places, generally being busy and blogspot playing silly buggers have been the reasons behind the big gap in blogs!
So after Waipu we went up to Paithia and the Bay of Islands, staying in the amusingly named hostel "Cap'n Bob's Beachhouse". Our room opened out onto the balcony with a superb sea view. Not exactly convenient for the loos but well worth it for the view! We went on a boat trip through the bay, but despite it being a lovely day, the swell was quite big so it was a tad rough at times! The aim was to go through a rock with a very large hole in it (the official name for it we think came from ancient Moari and was "The Hole in the Rock"), but the conditions meant we couldn't, but we did get to see a large school of dolphins mucking about which was great. A stop for lunch and a lovely BBQ'd steak and we headed back. The boat stopped at a town across the harbour from ours on the way, so for a change of scene we hopped off for a look around, and happy days, found a pub selling some very nice ale. We couldn't possibly pass by without sampling, so a very fine couple of ales were supped before heading to the ferry and back to base.
There was a very nice woodland walk up to a waterfall which we both went for runs along 2 of the days we were there. Well, Andy ran to the waterfall the 2nd time, Chris didn't *quite* make it that far..... It was very hot, but we had to work off the beers somehow!
Next we headed to the far North (which, in this hemisphere, has a very different meaning to Scotland!) and stayed in Ahipara, on a hostel right beside a lovely beach. And what a fabulous hostel. We had a massive room with a very comfy bed - in fact we have definitely stayed in hotels with vastly inferior rooms. There was also two resident dogs and one cat, which made Chris happy when she had it on her lap for some of the evening. We decided to walk to the nearest grocers store to stretch our legs after a long drive. However, someone had definitely lengthened the road between the hostel and the shop after we'd arrived and it was a touch longer than we'd anticipated..... Rather than walk back along the road, we headed for the beach and walked back on the sand. This beach (called 90 Mile Beach, although it isn't, but more on that later) is also a highway - honestly! So we had to avoid the odd passing vehicle, sometimes at speed, which was a bit bizarre.
The next day we went on a bus tour to Cape Reinga at the very top of the island. Our bus driver was a very nice guy called Allen, who is half Moari and half Scottish - great mixture! It was well worth taking a tour rather than driving ourselves, as we got to see a lot more and learnt a fair bit of history. We also went tobogganing down a sand dune, which was a hoot. The climb up was fairly hard work but well worth it. We had a laugh at the thought of tour operators in the UK trying to get away with sending their clients haring downhill on sledges - health and safety would have a fit! The additional bonus to going on the bus trip was the bus driving most of the way back along the beach! A bizarre experience.
So, 90 mile beach. Apparently, it was originally measured during horse and cart days. They knew the horse and cart could cover 30 miles per day, so as the journey took 3 days, they concluded the beach was 90 miles long. Fairly logical. However, this did not take into account the fact that, during high tide, the horses had to ride through soft sand, slowing them down considerably. Many years later, the beach was measured using more accurate techniques, and it turns out it is 64 miles long instead. Oh well, they thought, 90 miles sounds better, let's just leave it at that!
We then headed back south, stopping for an evening in Queensville. Not somewhere we would recommend staying, it's a little quiet to say the least. And the hostel we staying in was, well, different. The bedroom was lovely, the bed was exceptionally comfortable, the kitchen was great, but the quotes from the bible on the walls, and the bible in the bedroom, were a little offputting! The notice on the wall about a zero tolerance towards intoxication made us feel obliged to go out for a beer, Chris wearing a t-shirt with a Benjamin Franklin quote "Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy", after we'd had dinner! We went to a bar very close by and were quite glad we did, because we were the poor guys' only customers all evening. Earlier on in the day we went out to see a gannet colony nearby with a few wee cute chicks in the nests which made the stop off worthwhile, but we weren't distraught to be leaving the next day.
We then headed south of Auckland to Taupo. We'd booked to stay for two nights but very quickly extended that stay to 4 days! We could easily stay longer - it's a really nice area and there is plenty to do. And the hostel which overlooks the lake onto the mountains behind is brilliant. We think it was probably a motel previously, and our room is huge and has a fridge and an ensuite - ultimate luxury! Which for approx £32 a night for the two of us is going to be hard to beat. We went on a good walk up to a waterfall nearby and stopped for a dip in a thermal stream on the way back. Why pay loads of money for a spa when you can sit in a naturally heated (and it was very hot in places) stream??
The next day we went for a pre-breakfast run then wandered around the town in the morning then went kayaking down the river in the afternoon, stopping again (on the way past in the kayaks this time) at the thermal stream. What a hard life!
12,000 kilometers into our jaunt around New Zealand and we really are loving it.
So after Waipu we went up to Paithia and the Bay of Islands, staying in the amusingly named hostel "Cap'n Bob's Beachhouse". Our room opened out onto the balcony with a superb sea view. Not exactly convenient for the loos but well worth it for the view! We went on a boat trip through the bay, but despite it being a lovely day, the swell was quite big so it was a tad rough at times! The aim was to go through a rock with a very large hole in it (the official name for it we think came from ancient Moari and was "The Hole in the Rock"), but the conditions meant we couldn't, but we did get to see a large school of dolphins mucking about which was great. A stop for lunch and a lovely BBQ'd steak and we headed back. The boat stopped at a town across the harbour from ours on the way, so for a change of scene we hopped off for a look around, and happy days, found a pub selling some very nice ale. We couldn't possibly pass by without sampling, so a very fine couple of ales were supped before heading to the ferry and back to base.
There was a very nice woodland walk up to a waterfall which we both went for runs along 2 of the days we were there. Well, Andy ran to the waterfall the 2nd time, Chris didn't *quite* make it that far..... It was very hot, but we had to work off the beers somehow!
Next we headed to the far North (which, in this hemisphere, has a very different meaning to Scotland!) and stayed in Ahipara, on a hostel right beside a lovely beach. And what a fabulous hostel. We had a massive room with a very comfy bed - in fact we have definitely stayed in hotels with vastly inferior rooms. There was also two resident dogs and one cat, which made Chris happy when she had it on her lap for some of the evening. We decided to walk to the nearest grocers store to stretch our legs after a long drive. However, someone had definitely lengthened the road between the hostel and the shop after we'd arrived and it was a touch longer than we'd anticipated..... Rather than walk back along the road, we headed for the beach and walked back on the sand. This beach (called 90 Mile Beach, although it isn't, but more on that later) is also a highway - honestly! So we had to avoid the odd passing vehicle, sometimes at speed, which was a bit bizarre.
The next day we went on a bus tour to Cape Reinga at the very top of the island. Our bus driver was a very nice guy called Allen, who is half Moari and half Scottish - great mixture! It was well worth taking a tour rather than driving ourselves, as we got to see a lot more and learnt a fair bit of history. We also went tobogganing down a sand dune, which was a hoot. The climb up was fairly hard work but well worth it. We had a laugh at the thought of tour operators in the UK trying to get away with sending their clients haring downhill on sledges - health and safety would have a fit! The additional bonus to going on the bus trip was the bus driving most of the way back along the beach! A bizarre experience.
So, 90 mile beach. Apparently, it was originally measured during horse and cart days. They knew the horse and cart could cover 30 miles per day, so as the journey took 3 days, they concluded the beach was 90 miles long. Fairly logical. However, this did not take into account the fact that, during high tide, the horses had to ride through soft sand, slowing them down considerably. Many years later, the beach was measured using more accurate techniques, and it turns out it is 64 miles long instead. Oh well, they thought, 90 miles sounds better, let's just leave it at that!
We then headed back south, stopping for an evening in Queensville. Not somewhere we would recommend staying, it's a little quiet to say the least. And the hostel we staying in was, well, different. The bedroom was lovely, the bed was exceptionally comfortable, the kitchen was great, but the quotes from the bible on the walls, and the bible in the bedroom, were a little offputting! The notice on the wall about a zero tolerance towards intoxication made us feel obliged to go out for a beer, Chris wearing a t-shirt with a Benjamin Franklin quote "Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy", after we'd had dinner! We went to a bar very close by and were quite glad we did, because we were the poor guys' only customers all evening. Earlier on in the day we went out to see a gannet colony nearby with a few wee cute chicks in the nests which made the stop off worthwhile, but we weren't distraught to be leaving the next day.
We then headed south of Auckland to Taupo. We'd booked to stay for two nights but very quickly extended that stay to 4 days! We could easily stay longer - it's a really nice area and there is plenty to do. And the hostel which overlooks the lake onto the mountains behind is brilliant. We think it was probably a motel previously, and our room is huge and has a fridge and an ensuite - ultimate luxury! Which for approx £32 a night for the two of us is going to be hard to beat. We went on a good walk up to a waterfall nearby and stopped for a dip in a thermal stream on the way back. Why pay loads of money for a spa when you can sit in a naturally heated (and it was very hot in places) stream??
The next day we went for a pre-breakfast run then wandered around the town in the morning then went kayaking down the river in the afternoon, stopping again (on the way past in the kayaks this time) at the thermal stream. What a hard life!
12,000 kilometers into our jaunt around New Zealand and we really are loving it.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Hello New Zealand!
And so our adventures begin again. Unfortunately the snow arrived before we left. Fortunately, we left before it got _really_ bad. We left a wee bit before 8am on Sunday 28th November for a 1315 flight from Glasgow, which seemed ridiculously early, but given the weather, seemed a good idea in case there were any accidents on the M8. We were fairly confident that the motorway would be cleared though. That confidence was, however, misplaced. The carriageways were completely covered in fairly thick snow, with only one lane clear from the passing traffic for most of it. Worse still, despite that one lane being pretty clear, the snow around it scared many drivers into driving at about 30mph. Fortunately that day the lorry which crashed went off the side of the motorway, unlike the one the next day which jack-knifed across the carriageway and closed the motorway (you'd think they'd have learnt.....).So, we get to the airport VERY early, but relieved to be there in one piece. We see the flight is delayed by an hour (making our arrival all the earlier!), but think that's not too bad. Unfortunately, although the delay was caused by the late departure of the incoming flight, that hour meant that, by the time the flight was due to arrive, the runway was closed due to the snow, so it was diverted to Prestwick! But ok, we can live with that. Then it was announced that the crew were over hours, so the crew taking us to Dubai were being taken to Prestwick to get the plane (could they not have foreseen that and sent them earlier??). New departure time 1945. Ho hum. So we got a beer.
We hear the plane is on its way, hurray we think. Then it took over an hour to land - from Prestwick to Glasgow - where did they go?? Eventually they announce boarding, but that grinds to a halt when it's announced the auxiliary power unit on the plane had failed. It was eventually fixed and on we went. Then we sat on the tarmac for ages. After a while we were told that they had had trouble starting the engines, and by the time they had fixed the problem, there was ice on the wings so they had had to send for the de-icer again! "One of those days" doesn't really do it justice. So we had faced a 9 hour delay before we'd even taken off! We missed out on our first night in Dubai, so by the time we got there we didn't have the energy for any sightseeing (it was VERY wierd to be walking around in 30+ degree heat having left the thick snow).
The flight from Dubai was late leaving too (although nothing in comparison to the previous one) so we arrived in Auckland in time for rush hour. Fortunately we had a transfer arranged so didn't have to deal with driving through that whilst exhausted. We went out for some food and beer, but went back fairly early on as Andy actually dozed off in the bar!
Thursday morning we went out for a run along the harbour and waterfront to try to shake off the cobwebs - slow and quite hard going but definitely worth it. We picked up our hire car and headed north. We took the more scenic route to start with (yes, deliberately!) and stopped at a wee shopping outlet place to look for something to cover our belongings with as our Subaru Legacy has no boot cover..... There was a liquor store there, so we went in to see how much their beer is as it is extortionate in the pubs. There didn't seem to be much beer, so we asked where we could get some, and were directed to the shops' walk in chiller!! Beer heaven :o) We were, however, quite restrained due to an already full boot - thank goodness for small mercies!
Next stop Waipu - the first Scottish settlement. This now explains the picture at the top - we didn't expect to see a Gaelic welcome sign over here! The amount of tartan around is quite amusing. With saltires and Scottish names all around and even a tartan rug on our bed we feel quite at home. Well, except for the warm weather instead of 16 inches of snow (hee hee - sorry folks). There is a lovely beach nearby so we went back there after leaving our stuff in the hostel and walked along the beach in shorts and t-shirts.... (sorry again).
Tomorrow we continue to head north.
Thursday, 7 October 2010
6th October - Bongo-ing, Bongo-ing, Bongone
Okay, so it's gone a little wrong. We'll go for a quicker version first for those short of time and the more detailed one after, if you have an hour or so to spare.
Shorter version
- woke up on Tuesday, Chris actually found the local shops open! to get bread and milk and supplies while Andy packed the tent.
- had breakfast, loaded up the van and set off before ten to get fuel (thanks to Bongos thirst) and navigated around Paris (scary/mad/scary/mental/scary) and made it to the A1 toll that goes from north of Paris to Calais. Bongo juddering all the way.
- got about 20k when we got bang, thud, clatter clatter clatter, thud at about 120kph, clattered over to hard shoulder and deposited a prop shaft component on said hard shoulder. Bum.
- got towed to garage, AA recovery decided had to repatriate Bongo to fix as too dead to repair in France and give us hire car to get home.
- we got hire car, eventually, French man in no hurry, moved loads of stuff from Bongo in hire car, drove to Calais to swap hire cars (see long version).
- missed ferry, got on next one, next one canceled, got put on one next moring so stayed in Calais - lovely, comfy, lovely, bed
- took ferry, stopped by customs on way off ferry, drove up to Conitson in the Lake district, drank nice real ale.
- have to go to Edinburgh on Thursday to return hire car, will dump stuff/pick up stuff and go to hide in Gairloch for a while.
- Bongo may make it back in a couple of weeks...
Longer Version
We woke up on Tuesday. Okay,so far the same as the short version but you know, that's how it is. The weather was a little moist, not raining all the time but not not raining all of the time either. Chris managed to get to the mysterious Boulangerie and local shop that we had never previously seen open and got some milk, bread and of course pain au chocolat to power us through the day. Andy packed the fairly wet tent up into the van and after breakfast and showers we got ready to head for Calais. Chris went to check out and although we were close to Paris this turned out to be one of the cheaper places we'd stayed in and even got given tshirts when we left. How bizarre, but kind of cool. We'd given ourselves a huge amount of time to make the ferry, with about 7 hours to cover the 3 hour journey so we could stop and cool the van and try to nurse it back to the UK. The first minor problem was that we were staying south of Paris and had to go north, so a trip around the capital was called for.
First things first we had to refuel as the Bongo was less than a quarter tank full and thanks to the issues it was experiencing a tank only got us about 400k. We trusted the satnav to guide us to a station and it chose this time to send us down a dead end just for a laugh. We managed to come across a station and refuel and set on our way. And what a way. If you've never driven around Paris in busy traffic then it is an experience you may want to try just to see how good your nerves are. Lanes go this way and that, you need to be very careful not to be in a lane that suddenly takes you in completely the wrong way and there's lots of concrete, no hard shoulders and loads of serious repair works to congest things a little further. And had we talked about the traffic and the driving? Mad as mad folk in madsville, driving in a mad manner. When lanes join from left and right sides and the van you are driving is shaking all the time (maybe it was just intimidated?) it took a lot of concentration and Andy spent most of this part of the journey with his eyes closed and he was driving.
We made it to the A1 which is the motorway toll that you can then pretty much take you all the way to Calais and went through the toll to get the ticket. Woohoo, thought us, only 230k until we get to Calais and then at least we can get to the UK before anything breaks. The woohooing lasted for about 20k at which point there was a loud bang followed by a load thud from under the van succeeded by clattering and badness. We had been travelling at around 120kph in the middle lane of the three lane motorway, luckily with little traffic around we managed to drive over to the hard shoulder. At this point the van threw another fit, in this instance in the form of a piece of drive shaft, into the lane and we came to a halt. Both Andy and Chris both came to the same conclusion that we may have a minor technical issue with the van at this point. Yellow vests on we collected the Bongo component (still warm) from the lane and put out the warning triangle. Now motorways in France are looked after by the police, so even with the AA cover we have to get the authorities to tow us off the toll road before the AA can intervene. 140 Euros straight off. Merde. We noticed that about 500 metres up the road was one of the emergency phone things, so we crawled the Bongo up the hard shoulder (well, two wheels on the grass verge to the side) to the phone which meant it was further from the road too, so good stuff. In case it seems odd that the van moved it is (was) 4WD. It looks like the transfer box seized and the front part of the drive shaft to the rear wheels sheared off, leaving the rest of it (about two thirds from the universal joint rearwards) flailing. Andy spoke to the big metallic speaker in the emergency point to the French lady at the other end with details (so easy to hear, right next to a motorway) while Chris got the pastries she'd bought in the morning from the van so we sat on the verge eating great pain au chocolat watching the world, and working campervans :o( pass by.
The guy with the truck turned up within half an hour and Chris explained to him in French what the problem was. He just shrugged in a Gallic manner, obviously thinking "She's a woman. And she doesn't speak good French. She obviously is talking rubbish." His face was a picture however, mouth wide open with cigar stuck to the corner of his lips, when Andy retrieved the shorn drive shaft as further explanation at which point he straight away got the van onto the truck. Chris made a mental note to learn the French for "See? I told you!" We were taken about 10k to a garage and unloaded, we called the AA and the mechanic spoke to them too, after which they decided it needed to get repatriated back to the UK. It works out like this; if they can fix it for less than it costs to get it and us back to the UK they will, otherwise they get a replacement vehicle for us and bring the van back separately.
So the AA tell us they will arrange for a Mondeo estate for us, and will send a taxi to take us to the car hire depot to pick it up. So far, so good (all things considered!). The taxi took a wee while, but it was still looking ok for us to catch the ferry we were booked onto. Then we got to Avis. Considering they knew we were coming, you would think that it would be a fairly quick process. Oh no. It took absolutely ages. Neither of us can work out what took him so long. Then, the fax the AA were supposed to send with details of how we change cars at Calais (to go from a left hand drive to a right hand drive car) hadn't arrived. So Andy phones the AA again, and it turns out the Avis fax machine isn't working. Nice of him to tell us in the first place. We eventually get going, but by now worried that the van will have been taken to another garage, as this was due to happen within an hour, and we had been longer than that. We were relieved to find it still where we had left it, so we took out as much stuff as we thought we would need, and could easily fit into the car, and took the bikes off the back of the van and put them inside it :o( Andy called the AA again to find out what to do with the van keys and whilst still on the phone, a tow truck turns up, seemingly from the right garage. The tow truck driver blabbed something, patted his truck, got in it and drove off! We tried to talk to people in the garage but weren't getting very far, so Andy phoned the AA (again!), explained what had happened, and passed the phone to a lady from garage so he could explain to her in French. So she took the key and off we went. At last. However, we had absolutely no chance of getting the ferry now, so Andy called SeaFrance a little later to explain both our missing the ferry and the different car we were now in, and was assured it would be fine.
On our way long the motorway, a engine malfunction message appeared on the hire car display. Luckily it disappeared again, and the car was still going, so we persevered and hoped for the best. And so we get to Calais, find our way to the right area to swap the cars over, and Chris took a call from the French arm of the AA who had a woman from the Calais car place on the phone wandering how long we would be. 5 or 10 mins says Chris, and in a 3 way half-English-half-French conversation, she was given directions. Except a "turn left" was lost in translation, and we spent about 20 minutes driving round and round an industrial estate before finally finding the place. Then the Mondeo estate we had been promised turned out to be an Insignia saloon. Hardly the same thing. Fortunately it has a massive boot, so we still managed to get all our stuff in and left for the ferry. The SeaFrance lady Andy had spoken to had said that the ferries had been delayed, and when we arrived, they didn't even blink at our very late arrival and our campervan having turned into a saloon car, and said the next sailing was at 9:30. Fantastic, we thought. We had been parked for a short while when staff started walking around the waiting area and we heard them say the dreaded words "The sailing has been cancelled". The next one wasn't until 11:30 which would, of course, not get us into Dover until 11:45pm UK time, and we would have nowhere to stay (being van-less, as we were). So we asked them if we could get a ferry the next morning instead, which surprised them, but were told yes, just take our voucher to the ticket office which was beside the exit and we would be able to change the booking. So we headed for the exit, and ended up on the road that takes you out of the ferry area altogether, watching it disappear behind us with no way to get back. So we drove into Calais itself, planning to go round the first roundabout and back again. Except, Andy being understandably frazzled, decided a different exit that would take us further towards the town centre looked like more fun, so a bit of dodgy u-turning later, we got round that roundabout and drove back to the ferry terminal. Just a 15km journey to travel about 100m. However, we did manage to book ourselves onto a ferry the following morning, and went back into Calais centre and found a Holiday Inn. Some much needed beer, food and wine later, and we felt better. And we slept in a lovely, big, comfy, wonderful, fabulous bed. And had a bath. Bliss!
Not wanting to take any chances, we got back to the ferry terminal in loads of time, and finally got on board. And reached Dover. Thank goodness, we think. As we drove off the ferry, a warning code comes up on the car display! Then, we are leaving the ferry port, we get pulled over at Customs. No joke. The car we had been given was brand new (only 8 miles on the clock when we picked it up!), and they were suspicious. Particularly when we said we had been in France for a couple of months - so how did we have a 60 registration car? And we couldn't find the hire paperwork quickly, having taken it into the hotel with us the night before to be on the safe side rather than leave it in the car. The fact that we whipped the boot open without hesitation and started pulling bags out probably showed that we had nothing to hide (not to mention not having space to smuggle a cat never mind a person). The customs guy was actually really nice, particularly when we explained what had happened, as he had once broken down on a French motorway and had to have his car repatriated so was very sympathetic to our plight. We found the paperwork, and were waved on our way. By this time Chris found the section in the car manual with the error codes, and it said Attempted Theft, so we decided it was probably due to being tilted around by the ferry and ignored it.
We decided to break the journey up with an overnight stop at Coniston as it is always a lovely spot to stop at. At third time of asking we found a non-extortionate B&B to stay at (actually very nice indeed with another well comfy bed) and headed off to the pub for some great food and great beer - real ale at last! Andy commiserated Bongo behaviour with some Bluebirds, an Old Man and a Dizzy Blonde. Well, you've got to take it where you can :o)
Back to sunny Scotland Thursday, our adventures on hold until New Zealand at the end of November. We'll find out from the Bongo doctor in a few weeks what the long term diagnosis is; until then it is time to relax in Gairloch.
To be continued in seven weeks...
Shorter version
- woke up on Tuesday, Chris actually found the local shops open! to get bread and milk and supplies while Andy packed the tent.
- had breakfast, loaded up the van and set off before ten to get fuel (thanks to Bongos thirst) and navigated around Paris (scary/mad/scary/mental/scary) and made it to the A1 toll that goes from north of Paris to Calais. Bongo juddering all the way.
- got about 20k when we got bang, thud, clatter clatter clatter, thud at about 120kph, clattered over to hard shoulder and deposited a prop shaft component on said hard shoulder. Bum.
- got towed to garage, AA recovery decided had to repatriate Bongo to fix as too dead to repair in France and give us hire car to get home.
- we got hire car, eventually, French man in no hurry, moved loads of stuff from Bongo in hire car, drove to Calais to swap hire cars (see long version).
- missed ferry, got on next one, next one canceled, got put on one next moring so stayed in Calais - lovely, comfy, lovely, bed
- took ferry, stopped by customs on way off ferry, drove up to Conitson in the Lake district, drank nice real ale.
- have to go to Edinburgh on Thursday to return hire car, will dump stuff/pick up stuff and go to hide in Gairloch for a while.
- Bongo may make it back in a couple of weeks...
Longer Version
We woke up on Tuesday. Okay,so far the same as the short version but you know, that's how it is. The weather was a little moist, not raining all the time but not not raining all of the time either. Chris managed to get to the mysterious Boulangerie and local shop that we had never previously seen open and got some milk, bread and of course pain au chocolat to power us through the day. Andy packed the fairly wet tent up into the van and after breakfast and showers we got ready to head for Calais. Chris went to check out and although we were close to Paris this turned out to be one of the cheaper places we'd stayed in and even got given tshirts when we left. How bizarre, but kind of cool. We'd given ourselves a huge amount of time to make the ferry, with about 7 hours to cover the 3 hour journey so we could stop and cool the van and try to nurse it back to the UK. The first minor problem was that we were staying south of Paris and had to go north, so a trip around the capital was called for.
First things first we had to refuel as the Bongo was less than a quarter tank full and thanks to the issues it was experiencing a tank only got us about 400k. We trusted the satnav to guide us to a station and it chose this time to send us down a dead end just for a laugh. We managed to come across a station and refuel and set on our way. And what a way. If you've never driven around Paris in busy traffic then it is an experience you may want to try just to see how good your nerves are. Lanes go this way and that, you need to be very careful not to be in a lane that suddenly takes you in completely the wrong way and there's lots of concrete, no hard shoulders and loads of serious repair works to congest things a little further. And had we talked about the traffic and the driving? Mad as mad folk in madsville, driving in a mad manner. When lanes join from left and right sides and the van you are driving is shaking all the time (maybe it was just intimidated?) it took a lot of concentration and Andy spent most of this part of the journey with his eyes closed and he was driving.
We made it to the A1 which is the motorway toll that you can then pretty much take you all the way to Calais and went through the toll to get the ticket. Woohoo, thought us, only 230k until we get to Calais and then at least we can get to the UK before anything breaks. The woohooing lasted for about 20k at which point there was a loud bang followed by a load thud from under the van succeeded by clattering and badness. We had been travelling at around 120kph in the middle lane of the three lane motorway, luckily with little traffic around we managed to drive over to the hard shoulder. At this point the van threw another fit, in this instance in the form of a piece of drive shaft, into the lane and we came to a halt. Both Andy and Chris both came to the same conclusion that we may have a minor technical issue with the van at this point. Yellow vests on we collected the Bongo component (still warm) from the lane and put out the warning triangle. Now motorways in France are looked after by the police, so even with the AA cover we have to get the authorities to tow us off the toll road before the AA can intervene. 140 Euros straight off. Merde. We noticed that about 500 metres up the road was one of the emergency phone things, so we crawled the Bongo up the hard shoulder (well, two wheels on the grass verge to the side) to the phone which meant it was further from the road too, so good stuff. In case it seems odd that the van moved it is (was) 4WD. It looks like the transfer box seized and the front part of the drive shaft to the rear wheels sheared off, leaving the rest of it (about two thirds from the universal joint rearwards) flailing. Andy spoke to the big metallic speaker in the emergency point to the French lady at the other end with details (so easy to hear, right next to a motorway) while Chris got the pastries she'd bought in the morning from the van so we sat on the verge eating great pain au chocolat watching the world, and working campervans :o( pass by.
The guy with the truck turned up within half an hour and Chris explained to him in French what the problem was. He just shrugged in a Gallic manner, obviously thinking "She's a woman. And she doesn't speak good French. She obviously is talking rubbish." His face was a picture however, mouth wide open with cigar stuck to the corner of his lips, when Andy retrieved the shorn drive shaft as further explanation at which point he straight away got the van onto the truck. Chris made a mental note to learn the French for "See? I told you!" We were taken about 10k to a garage and unloaded, we called the AA and the mechanic spoke to them too, after which they decided it needed to get repatriated back to the UK. It works out like this; if they can fix it for less than it costs to get it and us back to the UK they will, otherwise they get a replacement vehicle for us and bring the van back separately.
So the AA tell us they will arrange for a Mondeo estate for us, and will send a taxi to take us to the car hire depot to pick it up. So far, so good (all things considered!). The taxi took a wee while, but it was still looking ok for us to catch the ferry we were booked onto. Then we got to Avis. Considering they knew we were coming, you would think that it would be a fairly quick process. Oh no. It took absolutely ages. Neither of us can work out what took him so long. Then, the fax the AA were supposed to send with details of how we change cars at Calais (to go from a left hand drive to a right hand drive car) hadn't arrived. So Andy phones the AA again, and it turns out the Avis fax machine isn't working. Nice of him to tell us in the first place. We eventually get going, but by now worried that the van will have been taken to another garage, as this was due to happen within an hour, and we had been longer than that. We were relieved to find it still where we had left it, so we took out as much stuff as we thought we would need, and could easily fit into the car, and took the bikes off the back of the van and put them inside it :o( Andy called the AA again to find out what to do with the van keys and whilst still on the phone, a tow truck turns up, seemingly from the right garage. The tow truck driver blabbed something, patted his truck, got in it and drove off! We tried to talk to people in the garage but weren't getting very far, so Andy phoned the AA (again!), explained what had happened, and passed the phone to a lady from garage so he could explain to her in French. So she took the key and off we went. At last. However, we had absolutely no chance of getting the ferry now, so Andy called SeaFrance a little later to explain both our missing the ferry and the different car we were now in, and was assured it would be fine.
On our way long the motorway, a engine malfunction message appeared on the hire car display. Luckily it disappeared again, and the car was still going, so we persevered and hoped for the best. And so we get to Calais, find our way to the right area to swap the cars over, and Chris took a call from the French arm of the AA who had a woman from the Calais car place on the phone wandering how long we would be. 5 or 10 mins says Chris, and in a 3 way half-English-half-French conversation, she was given directions. Except a "turn left" was lost in translation, and we spent about 20 minutes driving round and round an industrial estate before finally finding the place. Then the Mondeo estate we had been promised turned out to be an Insignia saloon. Hardly the same thing. Fortunately it has a massive boot, so we still managed to get all our stuff in and left for the ferry. The SeaFrance lady Andy had spoken to had said that the ferries had been delayed, and when we arrived, they didn't even blink at our very late arrival and our campervan having turned into a saloon car, and said the next sailing was at 9:30. Fantastic, we thought. We had been parked for a short while when staff started walking around the waiting area and we heard them say the dreaded words "The sailing has been cancelled". The next one wasn't until 11:30 which would, of course, not get us into Dover until 11:45pm UK time, and we would have nowhere to stay (being van-less, as we were). So we asked them if we could get a ferry the next morning instead, which surprised them, but were told yes, just take our voucher to the ticket office which was beside the exit and we would be able to change the booking. So we headed for the exit, and ended up on the road that takes you out of the ferry area altogether, watching it disappear behind us with no way to get back. So we drove into Calais itself, planning to go round the first roundabout and back again. Except, Andy being understandably frazzled, decided a different exit that would take us further towards the town centre looked like more fun, so a bit of dodgy u-turning later, we got round that roundabout and drove back to the ferry terminal. Just a 15km journey to travel about 100m. However, we did manage to book ourselves onto a ferry the following morning, and went back into Calais centre and found a Holiday Inn. Some much needed beer, food and wine later, and we felt better. And we slept in a lovely, big, comfy, wonderful, fabulous bed. And had a bath. Bliss!
Not wanting to take any chances, we got back to the ferry terminal in loads of time, and finally got on board. And reached Dover. Thank goodness, we think. As we drove off the ferry, a warning code comes up on the car display! Then, we are leaving the ferry port, we get pulled over at Customs. No joke. The car we had been given was brand new (only 8 miles on the clock when we picked it up!), and they were suspicious. Particularly when we said we had been in France for a couple of months - so how did we have a 60 registration car? And we couldn't find the hire paperwork quickly, having taken it into the hotel with us the night before to be on the safe side rather than leave it in the car. The fact that we whipped the boot open without hesitation and started pulling bags out probably showed that we had nothing to hide (not to mention not having space to smuggle a cat never mind a person). The customs guy was actually really nice, particularly when we explained what had happened, as he had once broken down on a French motorway and had to have his car repatriated so was very sympathetic to our plight. We found the paperwork, and were waved on our way. By this time Chris found the section in the car manual with the error codes, and it said Attempted Theft, so we decided it was probably due to being tilted around by the ferry and ignored it.
We decided to break the journey up with an overnight stop at Coniston as it is always a lovely spot to stop at. At third time of asking we found a non-extortionate B&B to stay at (actually very nice indeed with another well comfy bed) and headed off to the pub for some great food and great beer - real ale at last! Andy commiserated Bongo behaviour with some Bluebirds, an Old Man and a Dizzy Blonde. Well, you've got to take it where you can :o)
Back to sunny Scotland Thursday, our adventures on hold until New Zealand at the end of November. We'll find out from the Bongo doctor in a few weeks what the long term diagnosis is; until then it is time to relax in Gairloch.
To be continued in seven weeks...
Monday, 4 October 2010
4 Oct - UK bound - via Paris!
We decided not to try out the garage on the outskirts of Macon, realising that it would be best to take the van to someone who not only knows how it is put together but also speaks the same language as us. As such, our European adventure is sadly reaching an early adjournment (which also means Andy misses out on the Italian marathons) whilst we take our sick van to see the Bongo doctor in Weymouth (yes, really). Hopefully the Italian leg of our adventures has merely been postponed, rather than cancelled entirely, and may be picked up again in the spring. We hope....
Friday morning our gas supply finally ran out. Considering we had been expecting this for about 4 weeks, we had begun to wonder if it would ever happen. Thankfully it was after one cup of coffee and half a slice of toast each rather than part way through the first coffee brew. Chris was concerned about Andy driving after only one cup of coffee, so when we went to a nearby LeClerc to buy a replacement, we also got a quick espresso to up the caffeine levels, and all was ok again.
We then made the short journey to a campsite Chris had picked out of our AA book of campsites near Beaune. The description mentioned vineyards, so that pretty much won it the decision, along with a generally good write up.
We found the campsite, but there didn't seem to be much in the way of vineyards. What was extremely close by was the A6 motorway. Fortunately, due to one of those works of nature that, despite there being no noticeable wind, the breeze that must have been present was going towards to motorway so we couldn't hear it, despite being able to wave to the drivers from our van. When Chris checked out the sanitary block and discovered only holes in the floor, she had a fit and was on the verge of asking for a refund and leaving (how on earth was this recommended as a family friendly site by the AA and given 3 stars??). The discovery of a 2nd, much more modern, sanitary block behind the 1st eased the fit-throwing, and the appearance of a friendly cat appeased Chris further, and talks of refunds and leaving abated. The cat was a very similar colour to our much-loved-lost-far-too-young cat Meg, which was very surprising as we had thought that mixture of grey and tortoise-shell would be unique, so we nicknamed her big-Meg. Cutting edge wit is always to the fore with us.
We decided to try cycling into Beaune later on, and are very glad we did. There were some cycle routes, one slightly mad bit of road, then more cycle routes, then the town itself was lovely. Medieval is again a word that springs to mind, so we had a nice time wandering around. We also discovered quite a few caves of local winemakers, so knew the vineyards must be there somewhere. We dropped in on one and had a chat with a very nice lady selling the wines of friends, so had to take a bottle off her hands.
Whilst in Macon the previous night, Chris had a bit of a brainwave. As we were now having to head north, why not make the best of the situation and, instead of going straight to Calais, go to Paris on the way? So we did! Chris found the details of a campsite near a train line half an hour out from Paris with good reviews, so we headed there. It was hooching, very unlike all the other ones we have been to!, but luckily we still got in. Over the last few days we have come to realise the effect our Bongo's problems are having on it's fuel economy. We have gone from approximately 29mpg (which is hardly earth shattering, especially for a diesel!) to now just over 20mpg - argh! Andy used to have a gorgeous M5 with a huge V8 under its bonnet and even that, running on petrol, tended to achieve greater than this. The Bongo is also a little slower........
We managed, over the next few hours, to co-incide our attempts to buy things from the local shop and boulangerie with all the times when they were closed. Late afternoon, Chris dragged Andy (who had been hit by a massive dose of apathy) out for a rycle along the local cycle paths which did us both the world of good - Chris even found the energy to got for an extra 20 minute blast on the bike once Andy had finished the running part.
Amazingly we dragged ourselves out of bed early enough to get an early train into Paris on a bright and sunny Sunday morning. Despite being much further north, when the sun was shining it was HOT! We spent a lovely day wandering around Paris, reacquainting ourselves with the city. We saw the longest queue either of us have ever seen into the Louvre (entrance is free to all museums in Paris on the 1st Sunday of every month). We also passed lots of people out running, each one making Andy feel guilty, then salt was rubbed into that particular wound when we happened to find ourselves at the end of a Paris 10k race! Must remember that one for future years. Being a Sunday there was lots of things going on and there was a really nice atmosphere to the place. We even came across a lady singing opera in the middle of a street. We also found a pub which brews its own beer, so of course we had to go back later to sample some - and it was very good if a little strong. We managed to get the train back to the campsite, without falling asleep and missing our stop, and finished off a really nice day (with quite sore feet after so much walking).
The forecast for Monday was really bad, so we had written that off as a day for much sightseeing. We managed to get the same early train into Paris again, and despite the weather starting off gloomy, it was showing some promise. It kind of came and went throughout the day - the odd shower/drizzly patch amongst a mostly dry, and somethimes sunny, day, which was a pleasant surprise. Despite complaints from our tired feet, we managed a lot more walking around, although the city is a very different place on a weekday to a Sunday. However, window shopping was a lot easier with the shops being, well, open. We also took the obligatory stroll up the Champs Elysees, then spent an entertaining 5 minutes or so watching the madness of the traffic around the Arc de Triomphe.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 5th) we are booked onto a ferry back to Dover :o( but hopefully the Bongo will be made well again quickly (particularly for our finances, given how much more expensive diesel is in the UK and our aforementioned fuel economy problems). Depending on the diagnosis, we will then decide what to do. There is still the possibility of getting to the Chianti region in time for Andy's 2nd planned marathon, or we may decide to travel around the UK instead. We have ruled out the Oktoberfest as it's, well, almost finished. In the meantime, the Bongo doctor's diagnosis awaits!
P.S. We have now drunk the wine bought in Beaune and the nice lady didn't tell any lies - it was lovely!
Friday morning our gas supply finally ran out. Considering we had been expecting this for about 4 weeks, we had begun to wonder if it would ever happen. Thankfully it was after one cup of coffee and half a slice of toast each rather than part way through the first coffee brew. Chris was concerned about Andy driving after only one cup of coffee, so when we went to a nearby LeClerc to buy a replacement, we also got a quick espresso to up the caffeine levels, and all was ok again.
We then made the short journey to a campsite Chris had picked out of our AA book of campsites near Beaune. The description mentioned vineyards, so that pretty much won it the decision, along with a generally good write up.
We found the campsite, but there didn't seem to be much in the way of vineyards. What was extremely close by was the A6 motorway. Fortunately, due to one of those works of nature that, despite there being no noticeable wind, the breeze that must have been present was going towards to motorway so we couldn't hear it, despite being able to wave to the drivers from our van. When Chris checked out the sanitary block and discovered only holes in the floor, she had a fit and was on the verge of asking for a refund and leaving (how on earth was this recommended as a family friendly site by the AA and given 3 stars??). The discovery of a 2nd, much more modern, sanitary block behind the 1st eased the fit-throwing, and the appearance of a friendly cat appeased Chris further, and talks of refunds and leaving abated. The cat was a very similar colour to our much-loved-lost-far-too-young cat Meg, which was very surprising as we had thought that mixture of grey and tortoise-shell would be unique, so we nicknamed her big-Meg. Cutting edge wit is always to the fore with us.
We decided to try cycling into Beaune later on, and are very glad we did. There were some cycle routes, one slightly mad bit of road, then more cycle routes, then the town itself was lovely. Medieval is again a word that springs to mind, so we had a nice time wandering around. We also discovered quite a few caves of local winemakers, so knew the vineyards must be there somewhere. We dropped in on one and had a chat with a very nice lady selling the wines of friends, so had to take a bottle off her hands.
Whilst in Macon the previous night, Chris had a bit of a brainwave. As we were now having to head north, why not make the best of the situation and, instead of going straight to Calais, go to Paris on the way? So we did! Chris found the details of a campsite near a train line half an hour out from Paris with good reviews, so we headed there. It was hooching, very unlike all the other ones we have been to!, but luckily we still got in. Over the last few days we have come to realise the effect our Bongo's problems are having on it's fuel economy. We have gone from approximately 29mpg (which is hardly earth shattering, especially for a diesel!) to now just over 20mpg - argh! Andy used to have a gorgeous M5 with a huge V8 under its bonnet and even that, running on petrol, tended to achieve greater than this. The Bongo is also a little slower........
We managed, over the next few hours, to co-incide our attempts to buy things from the local shop and boulangerie with all the times when they were closed. Late afternoon, Chris dragged Andy (who had been hit by a massive dose of apathy) out for a rycle along the local cycle paths which did us both the world of good - Chris even found the energy to got for an extra 20 minute blast on the bike once Andy had finished the running part.
Amazingly we dragged ourselves out of bed early enough to get an early train into Paris on a bright and sunny Sunday morning. Despite being much further north, when the sun was shining it was HOT! We spent a lovely day wandering around Paris, reacquainting ourselves with the city. We saw the longest queue either of us have ever seen into the Louvre (entrance is free to all museums in Paris on the 1st Sunday of every month). We also passed lots of people out running, each one making Andy feel guilty, then salt was rubbed into that particular wound when we happened to find ourselves at the end of a Paris 10k race! Must remember that one for future years. Being a Sunday there was lots of things going on and there was a really nice atmosphere to the place. We even came across a lady singing opera in the middle of a street. We also found a pub which brews its own beer, so of course we had to go back later to sample some - and it was very good if a little strong. We managed to get the train back to the campsite, without falling asleep and missing our stop, and finished off a really nice day (with quite sore feet after so much walking).
The forecast for Monday was really bad, so we had written that off as a day for much sightseeing. We managed to get the same early train into Paris again, and despite the weather starting off gloomy, it was showing some promise. It kind of came and went throughout the day - the odd shower/drizzly patch amongst a mostly dry, and somethimes sunny, day, which was a pleasant surprise. Despite complaints from our tired feet, we managed a lot more walking around, although the city is a very different place on a weekday to a Sunday. However, window shopping was a lot easier with the shops being, well, open. We also took the obligatory stroll up the Champs Elysees, then spent an entertaining 5 minutes or so watching the madness of the traffic around the Arc de Triomphe.
Tomorrow (Tuesday 5th) we are booked onto a ferry back to Dover :o( but hopefully the Bongo will be made well again quickly (particularly for our finances, given how much more expensive diesel is in the UK and our aforementioned fuel economy problems). Depending on the diagnosis, we will then decide what to do. There is still the possibility of getting to the Chianti region in time for Andy's 2nd planned marathon, or we may decide to travel around the UK instead. We have ruled out the Oktoberfest as it's, well, almost finished. In the meantime, the Bongo doctor's diagnosis awaits!
P.S. We have now drunk the wine bought in Beaune and the nice lady didn't tell any lies - it was lovely!
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