13/4 We decided to leave Martin’s after lunch to drive across The Netherlands towards De Lutte near the German border. We had an appointment to visit Ewout’s uncle there the next day so thought it would be good to take our time and spend the night somewhere on the way. We found a nice place called Zutphen where we found a nice free camping place behind the local Police station. We parked right next to a lake and had a lovely view of ducks and old buildings.
14/4 The next morning we went for a ride on our bikes throught the town which was quite picturesque. Then we headed off towards De Lutte with a bit of a side trip to fill up our gas bottles in a small town that a kind man told us about. After stopping for lunch in a small forested area with got to Uncle Eddies at about 2.00 pm. We spent the afternoon with him then went out for tea with Eddie, his wife Janette and son Mike. After dinner we then headed off to find our next nights stopover. We consulted our trusty book that lists free or minimal cost places for Campers and found a place quite close to the German border at Losser. This place was a sportsground carpark, cost nix and was so quiet. So we had a good nights sleep . In the morning we decided to set the Tom Tom to head north towards Groningen. The weather was fine and sunny and everywhere is was so green, the farmers were busy on their tractors in the fields so it was a very pleasant drive. On the way we stopped to look at some Hunnabed’s, ( old burial sites made of very large boulders brought down from Scandinavia with the glaciers during the ice age.) We then found a camping site in a park called Schaopvolet that cost 7 euros to stay the night. We took the bikes off the back and went for a ride around the area stopping in at a couple of hardware shops where we bought a hose and couplings so we could fill up the water tank. Then we decided make use of the showers and sort out some things with the camper. We have found that everytime we stop wehave met other campers that have been very helpful giving us advice about how things work here in Europe. Not as simple in Australia as each country can do things quite differently. Different gas bottles, couplings, availability of facilities etc. Learning lots!
15/4 Next morning we drove to Groningen where we parked our camper just out of the inner city in a free park after having some other helpful Dutch man giving us directions then escorting us there. We took our bikes into the city centre and rode around sightseeing and decided to have lunch in the market. After having enough of sightseeing we then headed off towards the west of Holland not really knowing where but decided it was time to head back towards home base. I looked in the tom tom for ideas for tourist places and a National park came up, so set the co-ordinates for there. We drove through some small narrow roads, past farms and canals and ended up at the Weerribben National Park. Set in the wetlands and near a small village, it was a lovely find. We went to the information office where we got a map of the area where we could go for a 10k bike ride. So we had a lovely ride along a path that followed the canals in front of the homes that are set along the river. Most of these places had no roads to them so it looked like the only transport they had were boats and the bike track. After the ride we found a quiet picnic spot to stay the night. After our dinner went for a walk and saw a deer and rabbits. Went to bed very early and it was so quiet, with only the sounds of ducks, geese and insects to got to sleep by.
16/4 Up very early, just after daybreak, unusual for us but decided it would be easier to negotiate the narrow roads before the rush. Headed south towards Lelystad intending to visit the warf there but got sidetracked when we realised the Walibi World amusement park was close by. We took a look to see if it was open and couldn’t resist the lure of the rollercoasters. We were there when it opened at 10.00 and lucky for us it was a quiet day, so we got to have lots of rides with hardlly any waiting. Whoo Hoo!!! How much fun can you have!!! We did ourselves in about 4.00 and drove to Almere where we could park on the haven. Another picture perfect view, a walk around the town, ice-cream and a pleasant night stop. We are getting the hang of this life.
17/4 Headed for home by way of a long route south to a very large camping/outdoor shop. After talking to a few campers we decided to look for another gas bottle that would take LPG; cheaper, more easily available in most countries, more efficient. This should get us throught the next 5 months in a lot of different places. (hopefully) We are almost ready! Took the route home via a visit to Laurens and Debbie’s new place where they invited us to stop for lunch. The renovations are going really well and it looks terrific. We arrived back at Martin’s place to find that we finally have our insurance green card to leave the country. Also my new drivers licence had finally arrived of which I had to update when I got my motorbike licence the week before we left Aust.
So we almost good to go. Just spending the next couple of days fine tuning things and making some adjustments. Then we are off…
