21/04/08

The Ring of Kerry; so different to what I expected. I expected green
green hills, instead, dramatic rocky mountains, massive rock
formations, scrub, lakes, and scraggy trees and dry dry grass. We
stopped to take a walk near one lake and I felt it was missing only
lions and buffalo, so alien was this view of Ireland, it looked to me,
like Africa. We drove on a bit, leaving the Kilnaney National Park and
I soon felt much more at 'home'. Here the valleys were wider, less
dramatic and sheep and cattle grazed.

Mum had instructed that we must have good weather for, the Ring of
Kerry, I've done my best, not exactly sunny but it's not raining
either, though a dull haze isn't helping my amateur photography skill
any thoug there was still lots to photograph and at least one
observation from Daniel that "We will never get where we want to go if
we keep stopping!"
We were headed towards Caherdaniel on the Southwest Coast of Kerry. We
had a list of day walks we were interested in and a short section of
the Kerry Way from Caherdaniel was on the itinerary. It took us 1 hour
40mins to reach the top which gave us a view over a ridge before we
turned around and went back the same way we came. For the whole walk
the sun kept threatening to come out but was too shy, the view below
to Beara Peninsula should have been magnificent but for the dull haze.
However all was forgotten as we came across the final hill 'home' and
we treated to a magnificent late afternoon sun over shadowy islands.

20/04/08

After a very lazy day yesterday today was more productive, in fact I
am writing this at 2300 after lights out.
We'd wanted to take in the Lismore Heritage Centre with its award
winning video presentation early this am but it didn't open till 1200
so instead we wandered into the Church of Ireland (Anglican) Cathedral
which icluded a number of information boards about the potato famine
and its affects on that area; These affects were exasperated and
relieved by respectively bad and good landlords of the time. I was
pleased to read that the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire of Lismore
Castle (also of Chatsworth in the Peak District near where we lived in
England) were considered good landlords and contributed to the famine
relief in the area.

About 1130 we head for Cork.
Along the way we stopped at Jameson's Whisky Distillery. Whisky and
Guiness two symbols of Irish hospitality;-) With an hour to spare
before the next tour we had to partake of our free tasting before,
instead of after.

We then drove onto Cobh (pronounced Cove) and visited the
"Queenstown Story" exhibition which documented Cobh's role in the
convict exports to Australia, the great migration of the Irish people
before, after and during the famine years,the Titanic and the
Lusitania distasters, and now the tourism trade.
The town of Cobh is rather impressive being how it it rises up from
the sea and sprawls up the surrounding cliffs around a very
spectacular cathedral. Inside the cathedral they were preparing for a
candle lit Sunday evening mass. Candlight and the cathedral's gothic
architecture made for a romantic atmosphere.

We are headed for the the Ring of Kerry but we only drove half way
there tonight, stopping off the main road at Beal na blath where a
memorial marks the spot Michael Collins was ambushed and shot on 22
August 1922. We had hoped for a carpark but instead parked up in a
farmers lane, which was more pleasant than 1st expected with a lovely
babbling brook for ambience.

19/04/08 -from Daniel

We managed to sleep through most of a very windy night on the far end
of the Hook Peninsula - right under the oldest working lighthouse in
Ireland. It turned out that we were very lucky it wasn't a foggy
night, as during our guided tour of the lighthouse this morning we
learnt that a lighthouse doesn't just warn ships with a light, but it
also has a fog horn emitting two 'blasts' every 45 seconds!! That
surely would have moved us on ;-)

After our tour we made the most of the Wifi connection in the cafe to
catch up on the outside world. Marea was suitably pleased that she is
not the only one who has voted for me to not shave!! So far the
shaver is still in use though ;-)

After making our way back across the East Passage via the car ferry,
we stocked up on food and gas (I am dismayed that Pat does not have a
small carbon footprint :-( = €€€
We then headed for County Tipperary and the historic town of Lismore.
First sight from the road was the amazing view of Lismore Castle
standing above the river. After stumbling across a vigil service just
starting, we decided that going to mass would be a good way to see
inside the church. The priest's 'tick' Irish accent made my Irish
former boss' accent mild in comparison At least that's my excuse for
not taking in a word that was said.

Back on the streets of Lismore we saw a picture of a nearby ruinthat
looked like a perfect sleeping spot - so we drove to what should have
been a 5 minute drive however, half an hour later we'd managed a
complete round trip back to Lismore and had to settle on a car park on
the outskirts of town. Oh well, can't have the best sleeping spots
all the time?!

19/04/08

This morning after some deliberation and the discovery of a 2-4-1
voucher we decided to take the Hook Lighthouse Tour. Prior to leaving
the UK we had purchased a "Glimpse of Ireland" from Amazon. It is a
booklet with 2-4-1 vouchers from some of Ireland's 'must see' locations
including Blarney Castle and the Giants Causeway.
The lighthouse tour gave us a few insights into the lighthouse keepers'
time consuming duties and the impressive view(and wind) from top was
well worth the 150 stairs. From here we witnessed evidence of the
ocean's full fury. A 25 tonne boulder had been lifted out of the ocean
on to the rocks above. One wouldn't like to imagine the damage to a
ship wrecked on those rocks.

Back in the warmer environs of the cafe we've discovered wireless
internet... Oh the joy! As well as tea withdrawal (yes tea!) I've been
suffering from internet withdrawal too. So we are sat down to nice
pot of tea, cake and high speed internet. Daniel is adding photos to
our previous blog posts (we need some feedback on how fast they load
with your Piopio dial-up Susie) and I'm the scribe.
We have also been able to catch up with email and have found out that
Daniel's whanau hail from Dingle on the Southwest coast. We had
already been planning a few days in Dingle to enjoy their traditional
music scene; whilst there, we will explore the cemeteries too (slowly
but surely, we do all turn into our parents).

18/04/08

Today we drove round to St Mullins where I had to exit the drivers' cab and get Daniel to negotiate the extremely narrow bridge with a difficult approach into the riverside carpark. Another ideal camping site - but we can't do everything as I am continually reminded.
We walked north along the River Barrow until we reached the point at which we had turned around the evening before. Along the way we saw a cow with calf which Daniel (aka Farm Boy) declared had very recently been calved; due to the afterbirth which was still hanging from its mother.
The calf was frantically having it's first feeding and when we saw them again an hour later the poor exhausted thing was laying down for desperately needed nap.

After our riverside amble we headed for Waterford with an ambitious plan to catch a factory tour before the end of the day and the weekend crowds. We were in luck, we enquired at the information desk and my attempt to front up with our 2-4-1 voucher and the €10 tour fee were waved aside, as we were quickly ushered onto an imminently departing tour. Let me not bore you with the details, but say that we were suitably impresed and not previously aware of the craftsmanship the goes into blowing and cutting crystal; I can now understand why two waterford crystal wine glasses might cost €100. Daniel too was rather interested in the artistry and process involved in making Waterford Trophies for such events as: Wimbledon, PGA golf, Soccer, Motor Racing and even the Nobel Peace Prize.

By 1700 the weather had begun to turn and even though we ought to have paid a visit to Waterford town, I was hungry and cold and we both preferred to get on the road again rather than brave the elements.

We took a car ferry south of Waterford across to County Wexford to check out Ireland's oldest working Lighthouse at Hook head. In the 12th century, Strongbow, declared that he would take Kilkinney ''by Hook or by Crooke'' hence we have the popular English phrase...
We have parked up here on Ireland's weather beaten southern coast for a wild and windy night's sleep.

17/04/08

It's 2115 and we are sitting up in bed eating Baileys choc truffles and fudge- yummy! I picked them up today in the organic produce market in Kilkenny.
Kilkenny is a wonderful town, it has character in plenty. Not a chain store in sight, even McDonalds is located away from the main tourist/shopping area. Fortunately for Daniel the proliferation of unique clothing stores overwhelmed me so I couldn't even begin to 'just look', but I wouldn't be surprised to read that Kilkenny is something of a Mecca for independent designers.
We'd parked Pat a 15min walk to towncentre downstream on the River Nore. Another great parking spot, though a suspect the locals' 'lover's lane.' I'm glad it was Wednesday, not the weekend; returning from a few Guinness's at Kytelers Inn, we did disturb a couple who mustn't have liked our company, because they left shortly thereafter.

Today we took an 1130 tour around Kilkenny Castle which was a working castle until 1935, and in 1967 was sold to the State for £50. Its being faithfully restored from black and white photographs from about 1870. Unfortunately they also found a sample of the garish yellow wallpaper for the library behind a skirting board so we were subjected to that, though we were informed that this yellow wallpaper did act as a great light reflecter, in the absence of artificial light. It was well worth our 'free' visit courtesy of our Irish Heritage cards, though it was a very English Castle with familial ties to English monarch and thus lacking in the Irish qualities that we are seeking here in Ireland.

After the tour Daniel headed back to the van and I to the market. Unfortunately Daniel has got a bit of Delhi belly (in Ireland!). I suspect it may be from Pat's watertank, Daniel's been the only one drinking it, I've only used it for brushing my teeth and cooking and cleaning. We've stocked up on Fennel tea and homeopathic remedies but I've said ''two days - and then we are off to a doctor.''
We had planned heading south to do one of a couple of nature walks but instead we went for a drive and ended up in Craiguenamanagh. We are now parked up in a darling spot on the 'marina.' I pumped Daniel up with 'drugs' and we went for a sunny early evening stroll alongside the River/canal Barrow.

Later the same day: 16/04/08

Later the same day

16/04/08
Found a pub with free wifi... Finally, and it doesn't work! I wonder how drunk I'll be if this keeps happening. Still it's true what 'they' say, the guiness really does taste better in Ireland. We really shouldn't be drinking guiness being that we are in Kilkenny but, when I asked for a pint of kilkenny they had run out! Daniel is now busy watching Rangers vs Celtic whilst I take care of more important things like updating my diary/blog. Today after sleeping in til 930 (I only record these facts to make you all jealous) we mosyed around until almost 1230 when we drove off to see a local waterfall. Tom Jones the groundsman at Glendalough had insisted we go there. It was impressive, not a typical waterfall but an expanse of hillside with water cascading at about 30° to the farmland 50m below.

We then drove cross country to Kilkenney via Dunmore Caves. Another tick off the Irish Heritage card and we have now paid off €5.80 on our €21 card. Tomorrow a visit to Kilkenney Castle should take care of another€5.30

We didn't take care of any chores - well there is always tomorrow, or the next day.
4 days without a shower.....

16/04/08

16/04/08
It is much chillier this morning though the sun is only just behind that (very big) cloud. We are parked up near the visitor centre at Glendalough meaning Glen of two lakes, I am reminded of home and Rotorua, also meaning two lakes. Lough is pronounced similarly to the Scottish 'loch' of the same meaning.

Yesterday we purchased Irish Heritage cards. For €21 each we get free admission to a number of gardens and historic places unique to Ireland. Daniel was a little irked to realise a number of locations have free admission without using our cards, so he has earmarked all locations which have the most expensive admission price to ensure we 'earn' our money back. More importantly though, having some other destinations to visit does help us plan some sort of itinerary.

Here at Glendalough is one of Ireland's premier monastic sites dating back to the 6th century. Because we had just purchased our new cards we were invited to join in a guided tour of the surprisingly well preserved ruins. Our tour guide (from Slovenia) was much informed and we were able to go inside St Kevin's Church, unlike the ordinary folk. After our tour, our bellies informed us ''time for lunch.'' It was 1530 already and we needed some sustenance before the 3.5 hour hike we were about to set off on. I do use the word 'hike' loosely, although we were advised that maps and compasses were necessary, this was a fully marked path and half of it was boardwalk. The boardwalk is a necessity to a) prevent erosion and b) enable a safe crossing through the boggy marsh underneath. The physics of how a bog exists on the side of a cliff is beyond me, isn't water supposed to flow downhill?

We returned from our hike to find that solar shower had warmed it's contents sufficiently for me to wash my hair. With Daniel holding the bag and my head over a bucket, the whole process was relatively pain free; excellent because I'm intolerable if my hair goes unwashed longer than two days.

We then sat down (outside at 8pm in April) for dinner – three different salads and, for the 'official opening' of the tour, our bottle of Moet. A present for our engagement, we had been waiting two years for another suitably celebratory occasion (turning 30 does NOT qualify).

15/04/08

15/04/08
We woke this morning to a beautiful view of Poulaphouca Reservoir. The sun was shining and the water so flat 'twas impossible to see where the hills stopped and their reflection began. Unfortunately, as all the beautiful lakeside parking spots tend to locked overnight, and being as we were in Ballyknockan, in a very public pub carpark (anyone sensing a theme here), the portipotti had to rolled out for early morning ablutions. My aspirations for it remaining unused for all 6 months have shattered. Wow! 3 days and that's the first toilet story - being as most travel talk revolves around toilet humour, I've been remiss.

Before breakfast we drove a short way down the road and came across an even better spot where we could have parked up for the night, tis always the way. Oh well, we stopped anyway and sucessfully cooked up omlette, it's good we can add another meal to our repertoire.

Food - its a funny thing - one pot cooking is an art, i've also discovered that I'd prefer to boil food rather that fry. When frying I just feel an oily vapour sticking to my bedding, clothes and everthing else in the van; ick.

Yesterday we found out two things, nothing is open on mondays (we had a very nice walk around the outside of Castletown House in Celbridge), and that our maps are totally inadequate.

Today's tasks: to find a decent map, some bungy cords (to secure everthing currently located on the floor whenever we are driving), internet access and perhaps a camping gas supplier. The fridge works when we are driving and combined with cold nights is adequate enough that we haven't use gas for the fridge yet... this will not always be possible (40° in Spain, anyone?) so further investigations into gas supply options are required.

We are headed toward Glendalough today, I feel a nice forest walk coming on.

14/04/08

14/04/08
Thus far Ireland has been very kind to us, we arrived yesterday in
Dublin to sunshine and recently fallen snow on the ground. Another
chilly night ahead!
Tomtom was set for Naul, 30mins north of Dublin. Our destination; the
Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre. I'd found out that they were hosting a
'slow session' and as I've brought my fiddle with me, I thought this
might be a wise way to start. We parked up near the local church,
cooked dinner and went off to meet the locals. They were very
welcoming, I was able to join in and even start a few tunes, and was
persuaded to play one of our own 'traditional' songs; Pokarekareana.
Back with Pat, I assured Daniel that parking in the church grounds
would be preferable to the street, though he obviously did not believe
me because he kept waking thinking some-one was coming to evict us.
This morning getting out of bed at 830 was a struggle, the sun was
shining and the only place we had to go was Fournocks (na
fuarchnoic). Some locals had recommended to Fournocks, which is a
local pre bronze age celtic burial tomb but of lesser importance than
nearby New Grange which is a very popular tourist attraction.
Fourknocks does house the oldest irish representation of a face
though...and he only has one eye, the other is patched.

We followed verbal directions to the approximate location and then
drove a mile as instructed by the sign; left at the cross, to the
fifth house on the right. We picked up a key for the tomb and paid a
€20 deposit to Mr Fintan White. This gem of local knowledge, off the
beaten track is just our cup of tea - may there be many more on this
adventure.

13/04/08

Finally we were on our way, only to stop 20 mins down the road. We left some things in storage with friends (thanks Rich and Jo:-). 2 cups of tea later, we were definitely on our way. As soon as spotted the 'welcome to wales' sign we looked for somewhere to stop for the night and parked up in the carpark of the 'Smugglers Inn' near TraethTalacre Beach. The planned celebratory bottle of Moet was forgone due to the lateness of the hour, combined exhaustion and respective hangovers. Only a postponement of consumption though, such a bottle deserves respect!

This morning we woke to the obligatory Welsh rain, pattering on the roof, and the Smugglers Inn staff emptying bottles into the recycling bin.

Back to sleep until 9am!

We ate bananas in bread for brekkie, then broke out the waterproofs for walking among the sand dunes and bird scantuary. Though we wet our feet in the local sand flats the sea access was blocked by sinking sand and we hastily retreated.

About 11am we started toward Hollyhead for the ferry to Ireland. For this crossing, which is compared to the Cook Strait for its nausea inducing characteristics, we have a very smooth sailing.

First/Last Drinks

Last night we invited all our 9 flatties to last/first drinks at Chez Pat. 11 people (all seated) is the number to beat. Charley and Hayley thanks so much for the "The Camper Chronicles" we look forward to filling it with lots of fantastic memories.

So many last minute farewells and preparations. For those we are saying goodbye to it is the end of the line (but if you are ever in NZ....) but for us its the beginning our our grand adventure.

We will be in Ireland for a 3 and a half weeks before returning to London around 10th May. From there, Europe is our oyster. We have half a plan to then head to Scandinavia, spending the longest day in the land of the midnight sun. We'll be visiting Spain, to practice our espanol, towards October when the summer heat has passed. What we do and where we go in between, will evolve as the weeks roll on.

From today, our blogs posts might be far between, but never few. We'll postdate and update this blog whenever we have internet access.

The final farewell to Daniel's workmates

You must have taken me seriously when I said "YES - I'll come to work after my last day and cook you all breakfast in the Van." Of course I wanted to feed you all, say goodbye once more and show off our van :-)

So off to the supermarket for bacon, sausages, hash browns and cobs (for those not native to Nottingham - a cob is a bread bun). I'd already figured I needed to do some preparation at home else some workmates would be waiting for a very long time (and we would be out of cooking gas before we even started the trip). One last trip to work was made, the finishing fry done in the car park, and somehow I managed to pry everyone away from their desks!!

So here you go, you are all famous now - this is some of E.ON's finest employees (slacking off during work hours for a change ;-)



P.S. To Viv, Laura-Lee and everyone back home who worked with me for the IRD. I am very sorry I didn't offer this service to you - but then again, I didn't have a van to show off to you :-)

The first results of our new toy!!!!!!!!

It doesn't look good on the bank account, but our previous camera was kaput. It was about time we invested in a new camera for this trip.

So to start earning our money back - here are the first shots of our brand new camera!!

Cheers

Fridayitis

Arriving home from work today only added to my fridayitis, which is
forecast to last for another week.

Waiting for me was a cool gift of Orikaso- fold flat tablware. It is
fantastically novel and will be heaps of fun - Thanks Anitra:-)

And...our new camera.
Our inadequate (but free) Kodak 4mexapixel digital has well and truely
kicked the bucket and so we have ventured into the SLR world (digital
of course).
Recently I have been so disapointed with the clarity and colour of our
photos when we have returned from holidays (which i am certain has had
nothing to do with the photograher and everything to do with our
crappy camera). So we have purchased a Canon EOS 400D. This is very
much at the beginner end of the market, but as we play and learn, we
(or one) will either get a taste for a higher spec hobby or it will
suffice.
One of my convincing arguments for buying an SLR was that
I'd be encouraged to take more photos and bump Daniel from his
official photographer status, so I'm looking forward to learning as
much as I can. Watch this space for photos and reports of camera
possession disputes.

Photos from our test trip into the Peak Districts

Our first meal!!!!




The view from the van the next morning




Pat all dressed up in snow




Guess who's not out of bed yet :-)




Pat and Errwood reservoir




Taking a morning walk into the English countryside

Yes I'm ugly

but I'm figuring out how to add a live tracking map - come back later