A Travel Story by Belinda and Patrick Peck
Happy Travellers.
A body buried in Pompeii!!
Greek Acropolis ruins are very numerous in Sicily.
Last time we updated you as to our movements we were in Corsica, France. We had a great time there and rode the bike all over checking out the gorgeous beaches, mountain villages and spectacular coastal roads.
Kate and Johnathan Peck- our famous and tall kids in New Zealand!!
Beachfront camping at its best in New Zealand.
The motorhome and The Pecks in New Zealand.
We spent Jan- mid Feb travelling the north island of New Zealand. We hired a motorhome privately through www.trademe.co.nz The commercial companies were charging $330 per day to hire a 6 berth motorhome, over 6 weeks= $13,000!! which is rediculously expensive, so we looked into buying and then reselling and found the website above. Pat came up with the fantastic idea of emailing all the motorhomes for sale in the website and asking them if they would privately rent their motorhome to us over summer if they were not using it.
Well things are underway for our next trip around the world to catch up with everyone! Tickets are booked and bags are starting to get packed. Pats son Johnathan is coming to Cairns for the month of December and then we take off to Thailand with 18 year old Kate in tow (she is very excited!!). We will spend 6 weeks in Thailand and Laos, then fly to Rome, then Barcelona, then Majorca, then Madrid, then Seville, Spain to pick up our motorbike that has been in storage for a year.
Kate spending Laos kip like a gangster, she is holding equivalent to US$300!!
Kate surrounded by hillside village women testing her negotiating skills and her patience!!
Travel by boat Laos style- very cramped, cold and small hard seat- wonderful scenery though!!
Kate and Belinda up a palm tree in Kho Tao, Thailand.
Cocktail Hour in Kho Tao, Thailand.
Motorbike riding in Kho Tao in front of beachfront bungalow.
Kate and Belinda making fools out of themselves at beachfront karaoke!!
Sabadee from Lovely Laos, historically named "the land of a million elephants". Well, we are on the road again and having a blast. We picked up Kate (Pats 19 year old daughter) and travelled with her for a month. She was an absolute pleasure to travel with: she is very happy and well adjusted, willing to try everything and anything and very enthusiastic about it all. We arrived in Bangkok just after Xmas and proceeded in kitting Kate out for travel with a large hat (to hide her blonde hair that is so rare here), water bottle holders, money belts; all the travel essentials.
Rome is a magical city and we walked all over it!! We spent 7 days there and had aching feet after it, but it was truly spectacular. The history in that city is amazing. Everyone has to see Rome at least once in their life!! We stayed in a pension near the main bus station, bought a week long pass for public transport and everyday hopped on a bus going in a different direction, then walked and explored the ruins and statues everywhere. If it rained we went to a museum (and there are many) or we went touring on a bus.
Saha from Morocco, North Africa!! We are now back in our comfy hotel in Seville, Spain with Pedro around the corner itching to hear all our stories. Morocco, was amazing, such a country of contrasts in everyway and like no other with medieval cities, Roman ruins, Berber Kasbahs, Islamic monuments and massive palaces. Firstly, it was very cheap (very important to us as you all no doubt know!!). We stayed in 3 and 4 star kasbahs (amazing ancient castles) for average 40 (A$60), same price as a 1 star hotel in Spain, so why not!!
Yasas from Greece!! We finally left Seville, Spain for the last time in a long time and slowly travelled inland in Spain towards Barcelona. We stayed in some wonderful walled cities and enjoyed many long, lazy menu del dias (3 course lunch plus a bottle of Spanish red wine for A$11!!) In Barcelona we met up with John Cameron, a friend from Cairns, who bought a motorbike in England and wanted to come touring with us for a while. We then caught a ferry across to Rome, drove overland via Pompeii and the magical Almalfi Coast towards Bari, Italy.
Dubrovnik outside walls, simply stunning!!
Dubrovnik from the air from the wall tour around the city.
Gorgeous Croatian sunset from our yacht!!
Beautiful Moroccan ladies eyes.
Moroccan towns totally built of mud.
Amazing road along gorge in Southern Morocco.
Pat and John Cameron in their Michelin Man suits in Greece.
Beautiful country roads in Greece. Note: our GPS in the foreground!!
"Monasteries in The Air" in Mainland Greece, amazing!!
Pat and Pedro with their bikes in Seville, Spain. (The beginning of our trip to Morocco.)
Pat on Miss Adventure2 with a Kasbah in the background in Morocco.
Pat at Moroccan ski hire that we negotiated for on the spot!!
Dzien dobry from Poland!
Since we 'talked' to you last we have travelled many miles and met many wonderful people, mainly Horizons Unlimited community members that have done some amazing motorcycle trips around the world- what a great family the HU members are!
We found this very helpful for travels in Eastern Europe, so thought we would share it with other travellers. Relevant for July 2006
Country : Fuel / Exchange rate July06 / Emergency no / Alcohol
Germany : 1.32 / 1=1 / +49 22 22 22 / 0.5
Poland : 1.07 / 1=PLN4 / +48 6183 19892 / 0.2
Ukraine : 0.70 / 1=UAK6.3 / 987 / 0.0
Mostar Bridge in Bosnia- amazing 16th century bridge and medieval town.
Bullet ridden house in Sarajevo, Bosnia where the tunnel museum was.
Pat in front of 12th Century Transylvanian Castle called Corinesti Castle in Hunedoara.
Sovata salt lake on an August Weekend.
