Week 4 (4th – 11th August)

This week began with a pleasant surprise.  We received an email from Campers Inn in New Hampshire saying that someone had made an offer on the RV!! This was the first contact that we’d had from them since entrusting them with Harvey on 6^th July.  The email was very positive. They explained that they had been showing the RV regularly but this was the first offer.  However, it was a low offer that would mean we would not be paid the amount previously agreed between us.  The Manager said we were welcome to accept the offer but suggested they could do better for us.  The RV hadn’t even been on sale for a month.  We discussed our options but agreed that we would rather wait to try and realise the full value of the RV rather than having to take a cut of a few thousand pounds this early on.  We just had to be patient.

We slipped back into more normal day to day duties whilst continuing with our home decoration service. I could babysit for my sister so that she and her husband could go out for a night.  Okay, so that hardly makes up for nine months of absence, but it was important for me to try and make amends! With such a small family as ours it is a point of guilt for me that we have chosen to disappear for extended periods when my services would be gratefully received in Hertfordshire.

We were keen to head back to Norwich to see Abi and Alwyn (or the ‘A’s as I refer to them as).  Since we’d seen them and found out about the seasonal issues with our next travel plans we’d had a complete rethink of our potential route and wanted to run it passed them.  So, South Africa would be best left until February 2018 at the earliest.  What to do with the next six months of our lives?  We can’t waste this time off work that we have been lucky enough to get.  Our thought process was as follows:  It’s winter in the UK and the Northern hemisphere so where do you go?  The southern hemisphere of course!  We would turn our plans on their head and do things in reverse, heading initially to Australia and New Zealand (the most expensive places we’re warned) before heading, possibly penniless, to Thailand where you can still live cheaply.  Due to our advanced years we cannot apply for working visas in Oz anymore.  That means the maximum time allowed there is 90 days on a visitors ESTA so we estimate that 3 months in Oz, 1 month in NZ and about a month in Thailand would tide us nicely over to March 2018.  The perfect time to rock up in South Africa for a touch of diving and/or flying fun! If the ‘A’s can join us around then it will be a great bonus but it is just too early for them to be able to predict their movements next March!

Another important reason for us to return to Norwich was to pick up my new toy.  Yes, my ancient compact Fujifilm camera had done well considering the amount of use and abuse it had tolerated Stateside but it had its limitations.  Having especially enjoyed trying to capture wildlife and scenery on film we have decided that if we don’t upgrade to a decent SLR camera now, then when will we?  As luck would have it Norwich is home to Wex photography specialists where we spent a significant amount of time after our first Norfolk jaunt, bending their ears about what equipment would be right for us. We had reserved a second-hand Nikon camera body and a brand new all-encompassing lens and returned on 9^th August to collect them.  Check out the novice photographs messing around with the settings.  I will get better….

Isn't Ralph handsome? 

'Cartoon' option

The old classic B+W

The day after we returned from Norfolk we were off on another road trip down to Southampton to visit the Matthewses and their new addition - Flo (right).  This fitted in nicely with us subsequently gate-crashing some other friends’ caravanning holiday in Bournemouth, where we went right back to basics spending a night under canvas in our old tent.  It was interesting to get a taste for a UK campsite having spent time on so many US ones.  We even had to put shoes on and walk five minutes to get to the toilet block! Happy to be back living the outdoor lifestyle though.

Life on a UK campsite.... below, the Nuth's are shown the obligatory travel photos!

.