Quick TitBit before bedtime

I tried posting earlier...but then my TMobile disconnected, so I lost the entire thing. Lesson learned. From now on I will blog offline and then just connect, post, and carry on :)
It's been great reading all the posts from friends to some of our blog entries :) Keep them coming. Thanks guys/gals! I'll try and make this a quick fun blog:

Summary so far:
We are all fine and happy, and picking up our motorhome next Monday, after catching a ferry (huge ship actually) from Newcastle to Amsterdam. Funny thing is that a month ago we were dreaming of this advanture, and here we are living it. Interestingly enough, a person's faith is really only tested when you're away from home base. In the UK I feel as though for once we get to exercise our faith a little...not standing on a T box and shouting out "You need to turn or burn", but it's more on a personal level. A relationship with God is more real when you're in a strange country. You either find yourself praying a little more, or a little less. I find myself praying a little more, but in really short bursts here and there...like when two big dogs came bounding towards me while I was walking across a bit of a field yesterday...ha ha. Luckily they stopped and listened to the little woman's voice shouting "cmere Killer...down boy...dont eat the man.. ha ha ha".
So far everything has fallen into place. I've even organised some cable from a family friend which I'll be able to use to connect up our invertor in the camper. It was one of the things I was a little worried about...but life is about trusting that tomorrow, someone will be there, with the answers. (Let's hope I'm still this positive when we get onto the Continent. If I feel there's a total lack of churches in the UK, I'm expecting even less in France and Holland.) For those of you reading this, who dont like God (wouldnt know why, he's really quite cool), I promise not to make a habit of getting churchy throughout this blog. Bear in mind that we do have a whole churchful of people back in South Africa, who really are interested in knowing whether we've "drifted away from the faith" hehehe.
We've been told our kids are really well behaved. I had to ask the guy twice.."are you talking about MY kids"....?..."mine"...are you sure????" It does seem that he was, so I accept the compliment :) Have I mentioned that on a few occassions, when engaged in a solid reprimand, my 3yr old has turned round and declared " Dont shout at meeeee ". You see when the kids sometimes forget there manners and shout at their Mom, she swings round and says "Dont you dare shout at me.. so of course the 3yr old now thinks it's a great term to use...haha.
yesterday I walked to a friends house to use their Internet connection, opened the door to their house, and set off the alarm. First thought was that the cops were going to come bursting down the road. I didnt have their cell number, and all the neighbours were peering out their windows. Jesse (my 12 yr old) wanted to take off running down the road. I had thoughts of trying to explain to the cops that I was just visiting the UK and I really did have passports...and the laptop I was carrying wasnt stolen goods. Luckily we made it back to where we had already walked from, and got back in the car, friend in tow, to switch it off. No harm done, and no weekend in a British jail while trying to explain who I was.
:)
more to come. Marielle plans to blog tomorrow. Watch this space.!

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Well. Just a few more days before we catch the ferry to Amsterdam and pick up our campervan. Been visiting a few shops today....bought a small DVD player for use on the road, plus a 12v to 220v Invertor, so we can use the motorhome batteries for powering normal appliances. The biggest decision was to ditch the idea of buying a satellite dish, and rather use T-Mobiles 3G Wireless internet product in the UK, and put the rest of the savings from the sat dish, towards camping sites in Europe which offer WiFi. We have a CD which we ordered off the web back in South Africa, which shows where these camping sites are, so we should be ok. It's a bit of a risk, but one we have decided to take. Should mean we dont have to set up the sat dish each day, but instead just click a "Connect" button on the laptop. I think one of the things which put me off about Bentley Walker, was that although I was prepared to spend a huge amount of money on the sat dish hardware, they wouldnt give me any help or training to explain how it works. They wanted me to pay 150 pounds for an "engineer" to show us the ropes, and wouldnt budge when I mentioned that the exchange rate from the UK to South Africa was 15:1 . They told me that by giving me an hour or two of training, meant that they were losing business elsewhere, so needed to charge me. I'm glad to say I found another option, and they dont have to worry any longer. Right now I'm sitting using the T-Mobile connection and I'm very happy with it. Was simple to set up, and even though the guy in the "CarphoneWarehouse"shop told me to wait 12-24hrs, I got curious, and set it up after 4hours without a problem. Tomorrow we hope to go to a CarBoot market. Will let you know what that's all about :)

chow4now

Tuesday ramblings

Not doing much today. Marielle is off with Samantha for bridesmaid dress fitting and other stuff, while I sit with the kids and catch up on business. For the record, our cellphone cant make outgoing calls, Marielle hasnt had access to the web more than a few minutes since being here, so we're a little silent on the "keeping in touch" side of things. I enjoy updating this blog, rather than emailing everyone...so I guess blogging will be a new way of life for me after this trip :)

We pick up our motorhome from BWCampers.com next week Mon. I'm very excited. It will be our new home for the next 6months. We've bought a few plates, cups, knives and forks etc, but havent got any bedding yet. Might borrow some, or buy some in Holland. A family uncle (Brian) is lending us a small colour TV, so the kids will be able to hookup their PS2 game console in those "kids find something to do" times.

We still arent sure where we will be by the end of next week. If we find Internet access at hotspots is decent/cheap enough in the Netherlands and France, we might not worry about the satellite dish option. A big step for us. The success of our trip revolves around our Internet access. We might waive a long holiday through Italy, and just do Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland...maybe a weekend or two across into the Italian side. Eat a pizza. Leave. Visit Venice on another day. We plan to be back:) Maybe when wifi access has saturated the EU ?

ds

Monday and Rain

Here's some pics of the kids and family at Preston Park yesterday :)

It's pouring down today. Not a hint of the sun.:) It's really nice not having to run around packing in a million things into a short holiday...we can take our time and meet people. :) The kids have been great. No squabbling. Flu they had in Durban, SA has cleared up in the UK...apparently the air is drier here? I think it's just that every house has double glass panes, and the moment you walk inside you strip off the jackets and enjoy the central heating that is part of most homes...we're in a council house......double story...bedrooms upstairs and living room, kitchen, bathroom downstairs. Quite a nice layout actually. All the houses are the same:)



Will upload more pics in another post

Weekend in the UK

RightyHo, lots of news , will try to make it as brief as possible. :)
We're staying in Norton on Tees (which I discovered meant there is a river somewhere near Norton called Tees...ahem...), with our friends. Before leaving South Africa, we expected the worst, with an exchange rate of 15 to 1.... we expected the food in the shops to 15 times as expensive....BUT.....we can safely tell you, that if you shop at Tescos, or the little supermarket places round the corner, far away from the hussle and bussle of London, that the UK is CHEAPER than SA.... I swear it's the truth....:) Marielle (the wife) and I are amazed. When we planned a motorhome holiday, we really thought we would have to bite the bullet, but to be honest, SA's prices have escalated to levels, where we now find almost no difference when buying milk, bread, pastas, pizzas, and the rest. We dont normally spend a fortune in SA, and we havent had to worry in the UK either...fair enough we have only been here 2 days, but the sun only sets at 11pm at night, so we feel like we've already been here a week!

Got to tell a funny story at this point. We went off to a mall yesterday, only to find that the malls were built in areas where there were already streets filled with shops, so when you ask someone in a mall where the electronics shop is, he tells you its outside the mall. (strange). I went into a cellphone shop and announced "I am from South Africa"so that we could get past the strange looks I got when trying to communicate with a slightly strange accent. I asked for a starter pack /SIM card for our cellphone, explaining that we just wanted to get SMSs from SA, and not really make any outgoing calls. Cost was 10pounds for the SIM and I bought 5pounds airtime just in case. Here comes the funny bit. I asked them to charge me on my South African Nedbank Credit Card,,,, right.....the one Nedbank had told me was a VISA card that would be accepted ANYWHERE in the UK and on the continent. The woman across the counter looks at me and says...."Its not a chip and pin." I looked back at her, thinking back to our friendly Chip n Dip (chips covered with sauce in a cardboard holder...back in good old RSA) . I said.. "What? What is Chip and PIN " The woman looked back at me (thinking to herself...idiotic person from Africa) . Chip and PIN sir. Your card doesnt have the PIN on it. I thought....ahhh she thinks it doesnt have a PIN. In SA before I left, I sat with NEDBANK enquiries, and I told them I needed a PIN for the card, so I could draw money from the ATM in the UK etc. So I said to the woman...There's no problem.....The card has been activated for PIN.....and I know my PIN for the card....just swipe it and I can punch in the PIN and it should work fine. " She looked at me again and said.... There's no Chip and PIN ON THE CARD SIR! " By now, I realised...there was something wierd going on...her eye was beginning to pop out of its socket... you see, the UK, has CHANGED IT'S SYSTEM.... their credit cards now have a gold shiny rectangle embedded in the card......as an extra security check. South Africa doesnt have this yet, so I was buggered. I couldnt use the SOUTH AFRICAN NEDBANK CREDIT CARD to buy someone at a vendor in the UK, because our cards in SA are BEHIND the security used in the UK...and to top it off, the UK have been using this system for 6months, and NEDBANK in SA, didnt even mention it to me. HA HA. I handed the woman 15pounds cash, smiled, and left. Tried the same thing at T-Mobile, 3 shops down...same story. It's official. No Chip and PIN, you cant use a South African credit card in the UK. All is not lost, I could still draw cash from the UK ATM machine, using the card, but that defeats the point. I want to earn Voyager Miles using the credit card for buying items, and food etc etc.

ok, before I leave this posting, what else can I say :) We're having a great time. Went and saw a bunch of old fire engines at an outdoor family day thingie...was lots of fun. It's 8:15pm at the moment, and that means 3 more hours of sun :)

Marielle is having a ball. Kids are loving it. 190 TV channels to choose from, but we pick up our camper in a weeks time, so that will be the end of that ;-) I still havent decided what Internet access to use while we are here. T-Mobile is the best in the UK pricewise...but will know next week when on the continent whether we have to go for the 2 way satellite option, or find a 3G solution to work with round Europe. I bought a wireless network finder yesterday, at Maplin (www.maplin.co.uk ). I might get lucky :)

This part of the UK is just below Newcastle on the map...on the east coast. The weather changes 5 times a day. We put on and remove our layers of jackets 5 times a day. Jesse picked up a Playstation2 game for 97pence yesterday. Thats about R15. He was just lucky though. It was the only one at that price. Havent seen any churches around. South Africa has churches on every street corner. I havent seen one. Really sad actually. A lot of the UK kids seem to be quite angry....I would be worried about parking a motorhome outside where we're staying, would be worried that a kid would break in for the sake of having something to do. Hopefully we'll be parking in small village roads away from built up areas, so will post more about that in time to come. :)

If you need to email us, post replies on this blog and we'll mail you :)

Chow all. Love and leave you.
Dean

We have arrived in the UK !!!!!

Well...what can I say! We are on UK soil :) After an exhausting few days moving between friends homes, stupid bumper to bumper traffic in Joburg to the airport, chaos at Joburg International, (hot, no signs, normal SA unorganisation) we have endured :) ok, let's start at the very beginning.... we arrived at the Joburg airport and walked the entire length of building looking for British Airways check in desks...which we passed by without seeing, friends in tow, pushing 2 fully laden bags...so we had to turn around and walk back again, with Marielle murmering in my ear " I cant believe you didnt ask anyone when we started" to which I replied " why didnt you ask anyone" to which she replied" I thought you had asked!" ...It was fun, getting the suitcases wrapped in plastic...and then loaded back onto the trolleys...only to find that we had a quick route through the BA checkin, because we had already checked in on their website..yippeee.....technology works...:) It was an absolute nightmare getting to the actual plane.....they couldnt have made it more difficult if they had tried....easy if you are on your own, terrible if you have kids and a mound of handluggage to navigate . The kids were very excited. Jesse had a permanent grin. The take-off in the Boing 747 was fun, the British Airways staff were great, food was good, flight was fun, but didnt get any sleep, arrived in Heathrow in the morning, only to find that the interconnecting flight didnt allow you to carry a bag PLUS a laptop. Looking at the queue to get extra bags checked in cargo, we managed to repack our handluggage, from 7 bags to 5...(an absolute miracle I swear). We avoided the queues again and made it through to the final security stage where EU passport holders go left and I go right... only to find that I was quicktracked through the EU side as well, because they took one look at Jetan running all over the airport, Marielle saying.." my husband is in the other queue", ... and decided they needed me to restore sanity at the airport, and just pushed me to the front of the queue and out the other side before Jetan could finally break off the security chain holding the other 300 people in the queue ...it was marvelous...I recommend that if anyone wants to avoid the queues, just get yourself a small 3yr old with curly hair, with a glint in his eye, and a plane to catch....and teach him to scream PLANEEEEEE PLANEEEE PLANEEEEEE ...works a charm.

So here we are...finally, on a friends 3Meg adsl connection in newcastle, writing this blog. I have a nice cuppa English tea and biscuits next to me, and the kids are running around playing with their new accomplices.....Jetan is wearing a Shrek plastic mask....I dont see much of a difference? except maybe that Shrek has funny ears...ha ha.

It's the weekend coming up, and finally time to chill and relax...
Before I go, let me leave you with this thought. In the UK, there are NO mini buses, and NO car guards. *grin* . When we arrived we left the luggage in the back of the car, and I asked...is it safe? The answer was a typical English one. " Yeaa, of course....want a cuppa tea?????"

mmmMMMM ..nothing quite like drinking tea in England. It's like eating Biltong on a farm "stoep".

signing off: On a warm UK day:
Bye

Chicken for dinner :)

Yup...believe it or not, we are having chicken for dinner. We're spending the night with some old friends , in Johannesburg, and spending the day tomorrow with some other old friends, before finally making our way to Johannesburg International Airport (the name has changed but anyway...we'll stick with it for this blog). We're really going to enjoy this chicken, knowing that the chance of having a roast in the next 6 months for a South African family travelling to Europe/UK is almost zero...although perhaps I will drop huge hints to Sam, our friend in the UK....hmmm....

I must admit, one thing I am very happy with, is that both our friends today and tomorrow, both have ADSL broadband internet connections, and so far so good.... I run an Internet business, and this 6 month holiday is not just about taking 6months out to relax. I will be working from the campervan, using some form of Internet. So far it's a tussle between T-Mobile 3G data card while in the UK, perhaps something similar in Europe, or else a satellite dish option from www.bentleywalker.com . My wife and I control different parts of our business, and although we have fantastic staff members back in South Africa and Australia (a virtual team) , we still need to "be there" to clear the more difficult issues which arise. To date I've spent months on the net reading www.motorhomefacts.com posts and other sites, and havent found a solid Internet solution at a decent price yet. Vodacom in South Africa wanted to charge R15 per Meg...on a 3G card...I downloaded a bandwidth tracker and found I was using about 50Megs a day....times that by 30 and again by 15, and you get a monthly Internet bill of R22500 per month....ARE THEY COMPLETELY MAD? It really is rediculous in this day and age, that we cant see roaming agreements where 3G suppliers dont expect you to sell your house to be able to get email?????????

Any way...if you follow this post, perhaps you will learn what experiences we pick up . hmmmm...I can smell the chicken. Gotta go.
Bye.

a quick update

we are still packing to leave.
I have counted....3 kids, 5 big cases, 4 small cases, 2 laptops, 1 pram, 1 satellite dish stand, and 2 files with all our documents....all sitting in my dining room at 10pm at night... contemplating how to fit it all in the car...:)

somehow it will work.

maybe we should leave the kids?

1 night to go

ok. We are officially into the last day. ;-) Having rented out our home to some of our special friends, we plan to spend today moving the last of our humble remains out of our living quarters, and stashing it in a storage facility without any known co-ordinates, and where robbers wouldnt dare to tread (rottweilers and electric fences etc). I also need a haircut. I'm not having another for 6 months, unless a very friendly french girl, preferably a brunette, offers to cut it for free. A haircut, is probably the same price as a months groceries in South Africa....

Into the last leg of our departure planning, and a few things left to do, like go online and book our plane seats 24hrs before the flight lifts off. We have already stashed the very large pram wheels into the check in luggage because we were worried the huge 3 wheeler pram we bought to haul the 3yr old round Europe might be considered to large for the plane, and somewhere we read of extra charges...which amounted to just buying a new pram overseas anyway...watch this space...I plan on chatting up the BA booking lady, preferably french, a brunette... ..

My wife just shouted..."I am french, and I'm a brunette"...so I guess I'm a lucky guy ;-) ...

Thanks to you who have posted some replies..... they are fun to read.

Basic Itinerary

I had only one blog in blogger.com at the time of writing this, so I wanted to make sure if I added a second blog, that it would appear at the top of the list...;-) I thought I should publish a rough itinerary for those who are interested.:

Arrive in the UK: June22nd, 2007.
Spend 10days with friends, and then catch a ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam.
Fetch our motorhome from a dealer in Amsterdam.
Begin our roadtrip.
Holland. Luxembourg.France.Back to the UK. Wales. England. Scotland. London.France.Paris.EuroDisney.Northern France.Switzerland.Austria.Italy.South of France. Holland.UK. Back to South Africa on 28Dec.2007. A total of 6 months and a bit.

I've purposefully left things a bit sketchy. Things will move around a bit. Have you ever tried planning your life 6months in advance? It's simply impossible :)

2 nights to go:

Well, this is nearly it. 2 nights to go and we leave Durban, South Africa, for a 6hr drive to Johannesburg International Airport. (It's now called Oliver Tambo airport, but I like the old name..seemed to make more sense...at least you knew what city the airport was in...remind me to tell everyone about the Munich international airport that simply disappeared when we travelled in Germany 10yrs ago. It wasnt where the map said it should be.) Getting ourselves to the Johannesburg International Airport, with the wife, 3kids, 500 suitcases, prams, and the kitchen sink, is a story on its own. God help us. God help the customs guy who has to deal with us. God help the motorhome that has to ferry us around Europe for a few months. God help the UK and French drivers. God help my wife if she tells me my driving is bad. :) In South Africa we drive on the left hand side of the road. In Europe, it's on the right...in a left hand vehicle. In the UK, we will have a left hand vehicle (we have bought a second hand camper van in Amsterdam) , but will be driving on the left again...but in a left hand vehicle.....I do so hope you are following this... ;-) . Anyway...one day before we are set to leave, I finally got to blogger.com and created this blog. I'll send the url to all our friends, family, and others, and hope it serves the purpose of telling everyone where we are, where we are going, and whether they should send money. I heard today someguy just got back from Europe, and he had paid R50 for a cup of coffee. I decided the best thing would be for us to make coffee in our motorhome, and sell it...ha ha.