Our second European adventure has begun. So far it has been relatively uneventful. Our flight from Australia was good and we were able to sleep on the leg from Hong Kong to Amsterdam. Martin and Ewoud met us at the airport to drive us to Martin’s home in S’Gravendeel.
The weather here has been pretty warm and humid, feels more like North Queensland than Holland and a big change from the cold wet Adelaide that we left.
It was wonderful being reunited with our Camper [motor home] and we set out to first give it a clean and then to “Pimp our Ride”. By this I mean to change our camper from a Big Marlin which is what it was originally when we bought it, to a Big Kangaroo. .

Look at the photos and you will see what I mean. We have put the large sticker on the front and many Kangaroos on the side, as well as the sign on the back. A couple of Australian car numberplates on the front bumper bar and a few other Australian stickers, Jenny thinks that I’m a bit crazy but I think the end result has turned out well.

Next thing was to load all our stuff into it, make the beds up and to go to the shops to get some supplies for a few days

I have also done some minor repairs on the back corners. These were damaged by hitting a tree in Croatia and hitting a car in Italy. A bit of fibreglass and some pop rivets makes it look a bit nicer. Well nicer than the black tape we had holding it together.

Jenny and Ewoud [cousin] will be able to get jobs as sign writers. They did an excellent job with the back lettering and the front sticker, assisted by Martin.

I spent a couple of hours watching the prologue of the Tour de France to get ready for the next few days when we will be on the side of the road at the Tour. Martin and Ewoud will be coming with us for a few stages. I have told them that they will have to be honorary Aussies and hold some flags etc next to the camper as the riders pass by. Today has been a good day and to make it ever better Jenny just told me that the Crows thrashed Essendon. [Bad luck Greg!!!!].

Tomorrow we will get up early and drive to the border between Holland and Belgium to set up and wait for the cavalcade of riders. The Koala is also long overdue for an appearance and is eagerly awaiting his participation in the great event.