UK Trip

Uk 2013 on Tripline

Europe Trip

Europe Trip 2013 on Tripline

Wonderful Land of Oz

Landed at 6.30 am after an 8.5 hour flight from Hong Kong.

Cleared customs without any holdup and check luggage through to Hobart.

Some beautiful sunrise views over the coast of Sydney but seated over a wing proved difficult to get a decent photo!

The sunrise over the east coast of Australia

A five hour wait now for our flight to Hobart.

Just boarded flight to Hobart - but a further delay while they check an electrical problem!!!!!

Arrived Hobart - at 5.00 pm.  Journey ended after 34 hours!!!

It is great to be home.

Hong Kong

Arrived in Hong Kong for a short stopover. 1.5 hours!

Good flight so far - be back in Oz tomorrow morning early!

Hong Kong airport

London - Last Hurrah!

Warm night but did grab some sleep! Big breakfast before a final repack of the cases. Things didn't look good at the start but all seems to be within the weight requirements.

Later in the morning we caught a bus for Oxford Street to purchase a couple of USB cables left behind in the van! Spent time in Selfridges looking at all the things we couldn't buy but it shows where we are in this world of consumerism! 

Selfridges London

Checked out the green squares in the locality to sit quietly and have lunch - could 't believe the notice indicating that it was a subscribers keyed-park only! 

It was lovely to meet up with Tony and Lyn for a short time this afternoon - funny that they arrived the day we are leaving.

Still very hot as we made our way back to the hotel to collector bags. James picked us up at 6.30 pm to take us to Heathrow for our flight home.

Checked bags in and got our boarding passes for the Virgin Atlantic flight to Sydney via Hong Kong.

Terminal 3 at Heathrow - what a shambles! 

Seen here loading our luggage - hard up for a photo at this stage!

Sad to be leaving our adventure behind and that we are saying good-by to James. It has been a great adventure and one we will look back on with the fondest of memories.

London

The last 9.2 miles this morning. After 4,200 miles this was an easy way to finish our wanderings! The morning was significantly cooler and a much heavier dew had formed on the van and the ground. Time we went home!

Took the van to the storage area in Harlow - a very pleasant reception there with the owner offering to drive us to the station for our trip to London.

Arrived in London at Liverpool Street station - a short walk to James' unit. Had a quick lunch with him before getting a London Cab to our hotel.

Trafalgar Square - warm day paddling

Settled in for a while before walking down to Australia House to vote. Having done this we continued down the Strand to the National Gallery. Spent some time in the 18th and 19th century rooms - always a pleasant experience.

After the Bath - Degas

Back to the hotel before heading out to the Angel for dinner with James and his mates, Mark, Barry and Gary.

Mark, James, Gary and Barry

Home just before midnight.

Hertford

Beautiful morning here in Hertford. We decided to stay another day before delivering the van to storage at Harlow.

This time was needed to leisurely clean and empty the van of all the build-up of three months on the road! 

Campground at Hertford

Chatted with some other Aussies who are on the road for 18 months. They purchased their van from a dealer in Germany - brand new for only €42000.00! 

Looking forward to delivering the van to storage in the morning and then catching the train to London where we have a hotel booked.

Hertford

Congestion tax in London starts at 7.00 am on a Monday morning - so an early get-away was required if we didn't want to be snared by the system! A 6.30 am start from Fann Street was the order of the day. At this time in London the traffic is starting to heat up a little but nothing like the trip into the city on Friday afternoon.

Early morning - Fann Street

The trip to Hertford seemed painless, taking about an hour. We stopped to have breakfast at a parking area.  Arriving at the caravan park before nine meant we had to wait for the office to open!

For our last two days with the van we wanted somewhere that provided all the facilities to wash, clean and relax at the same time. This provided just that. All the linen and clothes we are leaving were washed, and the lovely weather ensured this was all perfectly dry before packing it away.

Hertford - relaxing

We had time to relax and chat with other travellers. Another Aussie couple had purchased a van in Germany and were travelling for over 18 months. Way to go!!

Enjoyed the late afternoon sun and a tasty evening meal.

London

An early start this morning with Petticoat Lane market being our early morning destination. This historic market  is mainly a clothes market, as it has been  for hundreds of year.    

Sculpture - Broadgate London

Shoes - Petticaote Lane market

The old and the new!

Returned to Fann Street for a late lunch with James. The remainder of the afternoon was packing our large cases which we were leaving with James to be picked up in Wednesday when we return to London.

A "selfie" - on the London tube.

Later in the evening we all went out to a restaurant down in Covent Garden. For a Sunday night there were thousands of people still out and about. The meal was delicious! 

Covent Garden

Returned for a good nights sleep.