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