Monday 15 March 2021

Reelin’ in the years

 

March 2021

Post from John


Our first van experience - hired from Wildax

We have spent some time during lockdown reflecting on things (as have many others, I suspect), including motorhoming. We have been looking back, re-reading the blog and looking at all the photos we have taken on the trips. It has been great to bring back the memories, almost all happy, of our 8 years with the vans. We have also been looking forward, re-evaluating what we want to do in the future in terms of travel. Thankfully we are not the type with a huge bucket-list of exotic destinations; there is a lot we want to see and do without stepping on an aeroplane.

Amelia and Theodora

 In this retrospective mood, I also totted up our travels in the van(s) since 2012.

Nights away

Own Van

Hired

Total

Sites

CL/CS

Aires

2012

4

7

11

6

2

2013

37

37

12

1

1

2014

33

33

14

2

3

2015

42

42

12

3

3

2016

37

37

17

1

2017

59

59

30

3

1

2018

18

30

48

24

18 NZ

2019

71

71

33

2

2020

15

15

5

316

37

353

153

11

11

 

Our NZ van

Our usage for the first few years was fairly consistent; nowhere near as many nights as other van owners, but not bad given the other calls on our time, such as close family scattered from Scotland to Bedfordshire, and my trips to the Channel Islands for lecturing. Ruth stopping work in 2015, and me in 2016, should have led to an increase in trips, but as has been chronicled in the blog, other factors ensured that we didn’t quite achieve that. The most annoying part was that in 2020, having officially become pensioners, we should have been putting some serious miles on the van. However, as the great John Lennon sang:

“Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans”

Still, onward to 2021, which must be a better year!