About Us

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In 1977 we hired our first narrowboat from Anglo Welsh at Market Harborough.From that moment our destiny was set. In 2006 we finally purchased our own brand new 57' narrowboat which we named 'Free Spirit'. Our aim is to travel the length and breadth of all the navigable rivers and canals of the UK. This will be our story as it unfolds.

Monday 31 October 2016

Only 10 minutes to do the deed!

Mad rush Monday morning to make sure we had everything packed and ready for the first leg of the Southern Australia adventure. Not being able to collect the caravan until 5pm, we left my brother around 10ish and headed towards Kiama. "You must stop at Coalcliff" were the words echoing in our ears from big Bruv Andy and wow so glad we did as the views were stunning.



 This is the Sea Cliff bridge built well away from the rock face because of the hazards of rock falls





Now I don't usually post pictures of loos but being a boater and knowing that no conversation is complete without the mention of one's toilet, the one below is nothing I have ever been in before. On entry, it welcomes you in and then locks the door, plays music whilst on the loo, dispenses the toilet paper by you pressing a button (but must remember to press again to stop it from spewing reams of the stuff) flushes the loo as soon as you place your hands under invisible taps which also does the soap and dryer and warns one that only 10 minutes is allowed for you to perform! What would happen if you took longer is anyone's guess!



Another stop at yet another beach to watch the huge surf. The wind was blowing a hooey and the spray off the waves was phenomenal. Great waves for surfing and most impressed by those on their boards.





The caravan was duly collected from Kiama, a very nice 4 berth of European standards rather than Australian. Apparently, the British vans are far superior, and we managed to change our original booking for this much lighter one. So far towing has been a doodle but those coastal roads with the many up and downy bits and twisty bends will be the proof. This photo below is our first site in Kiama and apart from actually parking on the beach, couldn't get much closer.

Beach to the left and our van on the right.
 And now for the wildlife

Yea.... a Pelican

Silver coloured Damselfly

Fairy Wren male

And female



Willie Wagtail

Masked Lapwing

Sunday 30 October 2016

A magical weekend

The wedding of our niece Liz to Richard took place over the weekend. A more idyllic place is yet to be found and an almost perfect day apart from the distant thunderstorm which unfortunately made it to the venue and spoiled the perfection. But the double rainbow that appeared afterward made the whole day magical.

Wedding venue in the Blue Mountains

Threatening skies







Me with my brother, Jen (next bride to be in March) and Ian





Thursday 27 October 2016

A Dingo cuddle

It' been a bit of a whirl wind few days. Koala park on Wednesday and the  Sculptures by the Sea yesterday. Poor Ned had to be left behind because he's on strict 'bed rest' for the next week but the good news is he seems to be almost back to normal. Just goes to show it's not only us humans that have to worry about the Aussie critters! Mind you some of the sculptures got washed away because of an exceptionally high ' King Tide'  and we wondered if the event would go ahead, but within hours of the devastation the organisers had most of the damaged exhibits repaired. So lots of photos to show of the two visits.



With a Dingo






Wombat

Cassowary





Sculptures
Tamarama Beach








Bondi beach


Repairing the beach after the King tide














Rock formations caused by the wind

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