Interim

As much as I enjoyed keeping a holiday logbook through my blog, I have been very remiss and skipped almost a year, which I now regret.  Life got in the way of writing! ;-) 

However, here is a brief overview:  Three weeks after my trip to the Netherlands friends Patricia and Dianne (not Patricia’s daughter this time, but a geocaching friend from Brisbane) joined me on a trip to Christchurch, New Zealand.  The aim was to visit a MEGA (geocaching) event, which I so very fortunately could combine with a house exchange of a fortnight. This trip also was a great success and most certainly one that I would love to repeat.

At the New Zealand MEGA in Christchurch

We now had gotten hooked and wanted to visit yet another MEGA event.  This time in Melbourne. 

At the Melbourne MEGA

Dianne had to make the trip by herself for personal reasons and Patricia and I had a wonderful journey again in her camper.   

Patricia cooking at our campsite

 

On the way back we managed to visit her friend in Victoria again, and a long-lost friend/colleague of mine in New South Wales, about whom I will tell you a bit more shortly.

Learning all about geocaching

After that it was time to stay home for a while and re-connect with friends and family on the home front.  My planned trip to Penang unfortunately did not take place (for a second time) through circumstances, nor did another planned trip.  The latter being a journey on the trans-Mongolian Express. Perhaps regrettable, but one can’t have everything in life and soon I was making new plans, which did come to fruition this time. 

In February I did something I had never ever expected that I would do: I bought a motorhome.  It’s a Toyota Coaster, and in May I made my first trip.  

With the coaster at a free campsite

I had joined the CMCA (Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia) and went to two of their meetings, one at the beginning and one at the end of my short trip to Bathurst, NSW. 

How appropriate to find this on my rest from a walk at Kalbar (CMCA meeting)

 
In Bathurst I visited friend Vivienne, whom I had paid a visit the year before with Patricia on our way back home.  I went with the intention to stay a fortnight, during which I would conduct a few workshops (miniatures and card making), but in the end the fourteen days became three weeks and certainly something that I may repeat in the future.

Card making workshop

It was rather cold at Bathurst!

Playing games with the CMCA members, and yes, that's a Tequila Sunrise! ;-)

 
Then, at the end of June, after my new plans had taken shape, I flew to England.  This particular holiday I will try and document again if time permits.

Between all my journeys, and lots of visitors earlier in the year, I have seen fit to go out geocaching as well on a number of occasions, although not as often as I would have like to. There are, after all, only 24 hours in a day... ;-)  However, my total number of finds now stands at 1377 and I hope to find many more.