Northern Holland

Finally we have access to a computer. We have travelled up from the Hoek of Holland and are now in a small place called Bakkum where there is the most incredibily large campsite. We are working our way into the trip and have had time off to see the tulips and windmills and had an afternoon excursion into Amsterdam. We have had trouble finding reliable maps that show where the campsites are but think we have that sorted now. The campsites are great but have no kitchen, no toilet paper and only hot water in the showers which you pay extra for. The bike tracks are amazing. They are tarmaced surface dedicated for cyclists and cars give way to cyclists at most intersections. This has taken a bit to get used to. Route finding has had its moments but always worked out OK. We have sampled some local cheeses and croissants.. everyday for breakfast. Still cant put pictures on as computers not set up to take camera cards. Will do this as soon as we can.

The adventure begins

Flight from home was long........ but the A380 airbus from Sydney to Dubai (14 hours) was superb. We arrived at Heathrow for a 1 hour 30 minute wait at immigration  because there seemed to be many people from the middle east and they certainly questioned them at length. When we got to the counter they didn't even ask Chas to remove his hat. It took all of 10 secs and we were through. We found our baggage in the shambles of the baggage claim area and headed to the rental car depot. They directed us onto the M4 and said it would take us east. ... LOST IN LONDON but after about 2 hours and some help headed in towards Colchester arriving after dark.
Currently on the ferry to Holland after completing our first 44kms to Harwich... only 6000 odd kms left to go! Photos will be posted later.

Almost there

The excitement is building.Only 4 sleeps before we leave. The gear is all packed into the boxes and after a few concerns about the weight we have been able to get it down by stuffing as much as possible into our carry on bags. Katrina has said farewell to everyone at school for two terms. We fly out on Tuesday morning and we just want to be on our way.