April 30: We're Off

Today is the day. There is a little trepidation as we set to and get ourselves organised to leave on our road trip. It takes a bit to get our clothes and kitchen gear in place. If the truth be known we are feeling nervous to take this large van out on the open road. It's like leaving home for then first time! 

We decide to start small. The first leg is under a mile. We stop for a celebratory ice cream on the beach at Lee-on-the-solent. It's not really that warm but when is a bad time for a family icecream?

It's a lovely spot which looks out onto the Isle of White. The beach has significance as the place where troups left from to take part in the D-day landing left from here; 70 years ago this year.

We stopped at a few shops through Southampton area to buy the last few things we needed for the van and from there decided to drive to Salisbury for the night. We found a lovely spot to park up... or pitch as they say here. It looks out onto Old Saram, the ruins of a the earliest settlement of Salsibury. Another Kiwi couple from Kaitaia are pulled up alongside.

While not that warm, today has been most temperate so far... that was until rain fell again at 10pm.

A momentous day behind us we all collapsed into bed exhausted.

April 28 & 29: Motorhome To Go

The girls are enamoured with Rosie and Isaac. Millie and Rosie are only a few weeks apart in age so its extra special getting to know a new friend. We walk them to school and they play for as long as is permissible into the evening.

Monday and it's time to collect our motorhome. We've not shared the whole saga but our own van is not ready to collect today, so after a little pressure on the dealer we have been given a near new motorhome to borrow while ours is made ready to collect. It takes four hours to collect it and grab a few groceries to get us going. We are a little overawed to drive off and start our adventures. While it is great to have this option, it is a shame it is not our own vehicle as it has a few different features and we can't fully get things up and running until we do pick it up. Also, as we've mentioned, it's a bit hard to wean yourself off a good thing and we are perfectly content to stay on in our comfy bedroom at Carla and Paul's for a bit longer! We are all feeling rather tired and a little in denial perhaps as there remains a bit to organise before we hit the road for real.

On Tuesday it is raining and we don't end up looking around Portsmouth as we had planned. Instead Carla and Clare take a trip to IKEA to buy the things we need to fit out the van. Such fun!

Tuesday is also our last night at Paul and Carla's and the girls are all sad to have to say goodbye already. Just as well we have to visit again so soon to collect our own van!

April 27: To Lee-on-the-Solent

Sunday. We decided to make our way from Patrias and Frasers by public transport. Sounds conventional but you didn't see the luggage. When she heard about what we had Carla exclaimed it was 'stunning!'

We tidied the appartment then walked alongside the river for 20 mins with kids and bags in tow. We had a car seat, the large push chair, four large 25kg bags and 8 pieces of 'hand luggage'. After taking the bus we negotiated our way through Victoria Station to find the coach depot. On the way to the station we bought our second SIM card (which this time lasted three days). We felt pretty happy to stow those bags. The coach to Fareham only cost 44 pounds for all of us... including luggage. Not a bad deal. The reality is that we will not need to move all these bags again as we can ship things home in our motorhome.

Memories come back of meeting Fiona and Heather here at Victoria Coach station for the very first time quite a few years ago. Quite a significant part of what took me (Clare) to live in Christchurch.

It was fabulous to see the lovely Carla nearly twelve years on. She took us home to Lee-on-the-solent. We'd not met Paul, Isaac or Rosie before but we spent a fabulous three nights getting to know everyone. Our crew were pretty whacked but it was great to share a roast chicken and meet lovely Paul, Rosie and Isaac.

We were very grateful to stay in our bedroom with so much space. Being so comfortable however did make the transition to our motorhome that much harder when it came time to move out!

April 26: Spring in London

It is a not quite so hard to get moving this spring Saturday morning but its not early when we leave the apartment. We tube and wander until we come across Wagamama's for lunch. More meanderings lead us to Harrods for a quick visit. The crowds are overwhelming so we quickly leave after confirming that we will not be purchasing steak for dinner. Prices are in pounds... per 100gm.

The next stop is Buckingham Palace of which the girls are reasonably nonplussed. It's a different matter when we come across squirrels (and more!) at Green Park. We'll be back!

By now we were needing to get moving to meet Jo Yeoh. We met near Tower Bridge and enjoyed a meal and hearing a little of life in London. So great to catch up Jo and to see where you've been living. Not a bad spot! The view from your apartment is pretty incredible but our visit is all too short!

At this point we decided to really stretch the girls, so before jumping on the underground we head back to stroll along the Thames and see a few sights under lights. It's been a lovely intro to London for the girls. I'm sure we'll be back!

April 25: London 101

It's a slow start but we eventually sort ourselves enough to leave the house and head to the city. It is April 25th and we had alreasy applied for tickets to take part in ANZAC commemorations. While these had not arrived we decided to still head to Westminster Abbey for the service. This was the 98th consecutive service held at Westminster. It was unplanned but lovely to walk out from the underground to find ourselves at the base of Big Ben. Our Frankie has been talking about Big Ben from the start of our trip planning two years ago.

After queing outside... this is London remember... we secure last minute tickets and take our seats inside. The service is pretty amazing. It's a great start to our time in the UK. We get to take a good look around after the service then enjoy the afternoon jumping on and off buses as we explore central London in the rain.

On Oxford St We make our first attempt to purchase a SIM card to meet our needs, but satisfaction is shortlived as we exhaust the data within 12 hours as the card was not correctly activated.