Retro Trip Report - UK, Europe & Morocco 1972 (or how did my parents survive?)

[kookaburra75]

And a bit more on the trip report.

Looking back at my previous post I realised I hadn't put in a map, as well as mixing up where we jumped from Sweden to Denmark. It was a bit further south at Helsingborg. We stayed at Gothenburg.

The total distance above is a just over 1000 kms, although not a straight run as you can imagine.

The next stage of the trip was to head down to Helsingborg, and get the ferry across to Denmark, landing at Helsingor.


Our first stop was Helsingor, checking out the castle which is supposedly Hamlet's. We the headed down to Copenhagen and spent a few days there exploring the city and sights, such the the Little Mermaid.

The city had a nice pace to it, and of course after the crinkly bits of Norway, was very flat. We got around the usual challenges of currency exchanges, working out how to say the numbers 1 to 10, and what milk was called. Initially that was a challenge in Norway, where we went through versions of buttermilk and light cream in the supermarket, before getting it right.

From Copenhagen we headed west to Roskilde for the sights of the cathedral as well as the Viking Boat museum.

Then further on to Odense to visit the house of Hans Christian Andersen, and further to the west to Tredle Naes. From there we headed down to the border with Germany and stayed at Kollund.

We then crossed into Germany and headed across to Holland, passing through Hamburg and Bremen.

 

[OZDUCK]

And a bit more on the trip report.

Looking back at my previous post I realised I hadn't put in a map, as well as mixing up where we jumped from Sweden to Denmark. It was a bit further south at Helsingborg. We stayed at Gothenburg.
View attachment 214424
The total distance above is a just over 1000 kms, although not a straight run as you can imagine.

The next stage of the trip was to head down to Helsingborg, and get the ferry across to Denmark, landing at Helsingor.
View attachment 214428

Our first stop was Helsingor, checking out the castle which is supposedly Hamlet's. We the headed down to Copenhagen and spent a few days there exploring the city and sights, such the the Little Mermaid.
View attachment 214432
The city had a nice pace to it, and of course after the crinkly bits of Norway, was very flat. We got around the usual challenges of currency exchanges, working out how to say the numbers 1 to 10, and what milk was called. Initially that was a challenge in Norway, where we went through versions of buttermilk and light cream in the supermarket, before getting it right.

From Copenhagen we headed west to Roskilde for the sights of the cathedral as well as the Viking Boat museum.
View attachment 214433
Then further on to Odense to visit the house of Hans Christian Andersen, and further to the west to Tredle Naes. From there we headed down to the border with Germany and stayed at Kollund.

We then crossed into Germany and headed across to Holland, passing through Hamburg and Bremen.
View attachment 214434

Thanks for your work. I am happily following this especially as you have covered a lot of places we visited in 1976 and the "time and place" look very familiar.

 

[kookaburra75]

Arriving in Holland, we drove along the sea wall for Iseelmeer. It was an amazing drive, virtually driving across the ocean.


We kept heading south into Holland and looped around Amsterdam, to stay at Haarlem. We then used the local trains to go into Amsterdam for day trips. Haarlem itself was good to wander around, and had a lot of what we would call the traditional Dutch feel.


We spent a few days in Amsterdam, doing all of the tourist things - taking a Canal Tour, visiting the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museums, Anne Frank's house and lots of places to eat - as featured in Frommer's Europe on $5 a day. You could see everyone had them out, checking on where to eat, what to see.

One thing you might notice is on our jackets, a number of badges or patches. Mum would buy a cloth badge for each country we visited, and stitch them to the back of our jackets - although for my youngest brother there wasn't enough room on his back, so Mum had to use his sleeves as well.

After Amsterdam, we left Haarlem and went across the coast to see the dikes and the countryside.


We kept heading south, through Rotterdam and into Belgium.

 

[kookaburra75]

After our time in Holland, we headed south through Belgium, onto Luxembourg, through southern Germany and onto Switzerland.


In Belgium we came into the country through Antwerp, and down to Brussels, including Waterloo.


We stopped in at the south, at Han-sur-Lesse, for a tour through the caves. As we were out of season we were the only people on the tour. As an extra marker, it was my birthday (late Oct), so we had been on the move for nearly three and a bit months. The caves were spectacular, and something I would go back for.


From Hans-sur-Lesse we headed into Luxembourg. When we arrived, there was a formal state visit by the Premier of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu. There were lots of large black cars and flags - although as Mum & Dad said it was a bit like the Mouse Who Roared. We spent that day there, and headed into what was known then as West Germany.


Heading into Germany, we went across to the Rhine and spent a few days at different spots along the Rhine River. Watching the freight barges going past was different, and certainly there were no cruise ships.


From the Rhine, we headed south through the Black Forest and into Switzerland.

 

[kookaburra75]

Then, into Switzerland.


Switzerland had a lot going for it, especially the mountain-ity bits as well as the snow. I had never seen snow before, so the idea of being so cold and this white stuff on top of the mountains all of the time was great.



Driving through the centre of Switzerland was amazing, again withy mountains, snow and valleys.


We went up to Jungfrau, although there had been a fire there the week before and we couldn't get out onto the snow as planned. Anyway, the train ride up and the day up on the mountain was special.


From Jungfrau, we headed out to the east towards Lichtenstein and into Austria. We started going up the Susten Pass, and when we got near the top, we found out it was closed and had to head back down and go by a different route.


Then off to Austria, via Lichtenstein, which took about ten minutes to cross.

 

[kookaburra75]

The next part of our trip took us through Austria and down into Northern Italy. Mum & Dad wanted to visit Salzburg, so we ducked across, cutting through part of Germany, and then back to Innsbruck and down to Italy.


We stopped at a few places in Tirol, and spent a couple of days in Salzburg. It was cold, with a bit of snow about. Driving into Salzburg through the road tunnel.


We then back tracked to Innsbruck and drove down through the alps into Italy, staying at Cortina d'Ampezzo. We spent time exploring the area, falling into the freezing cold river etc. Kid stuff.

From there we headed down to our next stay at Venice. The caravan park was out of town in the industrial area to the north of the lagoon. Each morning we would drive into Venice and park in the car park at the entrance to Venice, and then walk/water bus it around. While it was chilly, it was a wonderful place to explore, and somewhere I'd like to get back to with MrsK.


After a few days in Venice, we headed across to Trieste to spend the night, before heading into the old Yugoslavia.

 

[kookaburra75]

Our plans were to transit through Yugoslavia, as we had a deadline for the ferry to go from Greece to Italy. We went down the centre through Belgrade, rather than the more scenic coast road. From Trieste we headed towards Zagreb, then Belgrade, Skopje and into Greece.


We took off towards Zagreb, got across the border, which was the first of the really threatening ones as had seen - border guards with automatic weapons. As we went along we lost some more time and wouldn't be getting to Zagreb until very late. With the other countries we had visited, there was a large number of caravan parks listed in the AA Guide that we could find. Not so in Yugoslavia. There was very little listed. So making an 'executive decision' (i.e. Mum & Dad) we pulled off the road into what was a plantation forest and headed along a track to be out of sight of the road. Having been a camping family, the idea of being off the beaten track wasn't an issue - but we were a little bit nervous in case we had broken some local laws. We only heard one vehicle go along the track, and passed us by. We all woke up though and my youngest brother exclaimed 'police with machine guns!?'

After a sleepless night we got back on the main road to Belgrade. On the maps the highway was marked as a freeway, the same as the Autobahns in Germany or the Autostradas in Italy. It wasn't anything like that - maybe the old Hume Highway when it was a single lane in either direction and a lot more potholes. Also, the truck drivers weren't polite. This is where the disadvantage of driving the right hand drive van on the right hand side of the road was the worst. As Dad left a safe distance in front of the van, that was enough room for a truck to overtake and cut into that space. Plus,m when we were stuck behind slower vehicles, Dad would have to pull out a bit, so me in the passenger seat could make the call on whether it looked safe or not to overtake - we spent a lot of time behind slower vehicles.

We got to Belgrade and went o one of the few caravan parks in the Guide, only to find it took locals only - and not much help for which parks would take tourists. We luckily found the next one was more accommodating, and settled in for the night. And to add to the spectacle, it snowed overnight.


The next day we were back on the road heading south, to stay the night at Skopje. Looking at the maps today, we obviously went through Kosovo which was rural and quiet at that time. We pulled into the markets in one of the towns near Skopje, and there were the farmers coming in with horse drawn carts a plenty. It was hard countryside, but the people were friendly enough. Although there were a lot of trucks with troops in them as well.

We got to the Greek border in the late afternoon and found ourselves a small place to stay for the night.

 

[kookaburra75]

We had a couple of weeks in Greece, and it was an enjoyable place to be. Having an "Aus" sticker on the van meant we were approached all of the time with people asking whether we knew their cousins in Melbourne. Given at that time Melbourne was the second largest concentration of Greeks in the world, it wasn't an unreasonable question. We ended up doing a lap around Greece, keeping to in the inland routes rather than the coast, although we didn't have time to get across to the islands.


We crossed the border from Yugoslavia in the evening and saw a large sign saying 'Camping Ground' at a small taverna/cafe. We pulled up and Dad went and asked the owner about the camping ground. The owner got someone to move a front end loader parked at the front of the taverna, and that apparently was the camping ground. We stayed the night, had lots of fun, except the water supply was a well with a pump. No problems though, our parents got us kids on pump duty.

The next day we headed down to Thessaloniki, where the camp ground was on the beach - although a bit cool for swimming. There were several other Australians in vans in the campground, and we all got chatting as usual.


From Thessaloniki we cut across to the west, to Pella the birthplace of Alexander the Great. We kept going to the west across to Mavrovouni and headed south down the the centre of the northern part of Greece. We spent the night off the side of the road, near a creek. It was a nice place to rest, although a shepherd came along and asked if we could move up a bit so he could bring his sheep down to the sheep trough to drink.


In the morning we kept heading south. We pulled into a small town to fuel up and get water, and at the service station someone asked if we were going onto the next town. We said we were, and then an elderly gentlemen got in the back of the van - as he needed a lift. No problems, he couldn't speak any English and our Greek was very limited (Dad knew a bit from teaching in schools in inner Melbourne), so we headed down the road and he indicated where he needed to be dropped off.

The place we were heading for was Meteora, which was a mind blowing place. As we got closer, you could see a monastery, then another and so on. Who would have taken the time and effort to build these monasteries on top of the rocks?


After spending some time around the area we kept heading south to Delphi.

 

[kookaburra75]

We wandered around the ruins of Delphi, listening in on the tour guides leading the groups on where people would leave their wishes for the Oracle to consult. The views from the site were amazing - as the area is mountainous.


From Delphi we headed into Athens and found a caravan park out in the suburbs. Each day we would use the local buses to get into the centre of town to explore. As usual, we had to exchange money to get the local currency, although this time no one would take the Yugoslavia Dinar - we wrote that one off. So, we set off with our Drachmas and Leptons in hand.

Athens was an exciting place then, although it has its own rules. Siesta was one thing to get used to, when everything would shut in the middle of the day. And having worked in Athens over the years on a couple of projects, there are certain local mind sets which hamper any progress. But Athens was fun. The food from the street vendors was great - every time I have roast chestnuts I think of the place. The Acropolis was amazing, and the Flea Markets was a new experience. Mum & Dad K still have the replica bottle openers as used by Socrates.


After a few days in Athens, we headed off south. Crossing the Corinth Channel we headed east to the sites/ruins of Mycenae, Epidavros and Tiryns. Wandering around sites that were over a thousand years old was was amazing. I've spent any years working across Australia, walking through sites a lot older and just as special, but I suppose the 'classics' are something different and seeing them in the flesh was a different experience for me.


We then headed further south towards Sparta.

 

[RB]

Must have been a fantastic experience for your family. The photos are certainly coming up well. I agree about Meteora being a mind blowing place-seems to be pretty underrated in the general travel press

 

[kookaburra75]

Must have been a fantastic experience for your family. The photos are certainly coming up well. I agree about Meteora being a mind blowing place-seems to be pretty underrated in the general travel press

It certainly was a fantastic trip. The inland areas of Greece I think are better than the coastal areas and the islands, which tend to be over run.

One memory from the trip, when driving down the centre to Meteora, was driving along a road that was lined with gum trees, and there was an EH Holden Taxi heading towards us. Apparently Holden used to export various models in Left Hand Drive to other countries in Europe and South Africa during the 60's and 70's.

 

[kookaburra75]

One of the great things about visiting the historical sites, was the entry tickets. They were just as colorful as the sites themselves and a reminder of the place.


We headed further south into Greece, and as we had become accustomed to, camped on the side of the road. The countryside before Sparta is very rugged and rocky. We spent the night as usual in our van enjoying the quiet, until in the middle of the night we heard wolves howling. We didn't hear anything near our van and the rubbish bag hung outside didn't seem to attract any attention. However, when we went through one of the villages the next day, there was a Police Van/Ute with a dead wolf strung up on the back, that stretched across the width of the vehicle. Needless to say, we were a bit nervous, and made jokes about going outside during the night to check for wolves.

We explored around Sparta, and nearby Mistras the old Byzantine capital. There were a collection ruins from the different ages and the mosaics.


From Mistras, we cut across to the coast and went up to old Olympia. The ruins of the stadium and buildings are all there, where the conduct the torch lighting ceremony for each Olympics. I know that's just a modern take on what we want, but to be there in that location and connect to a modern sporting spectacle is still amazing.


From Olympia we headed up to the port of Patras to get the van and us on the ferry to Italy. The ship sailed from Patras to Brindisi, via Corfu. As we had been travelling through Greece during off season, even though some of the campgrounds were open, not all services were working, like hot water. Coupled with camping on the side of the roads and having cold water bucket washes, the thought of a hot water shower was a luxury. Then we struck it lucky. The ferry had hot water showers! Mum fashioned towels out of whatever she could and we all ducked off and had long hot showers in turn. Luxury. So for all of you that want to complain about the pressure and temperature of showers in the QF Lounge at Singapore, you don't know what you're talking about


So in the evening, we pulled into Brindisi for the next part of our trip in Italy.

 

[Cossie]

It certainly was a fantastic trip. The inland areas of Greece I think are better than the coastal areas and the islands, which tend to be over run.

One memory from the trip, when driving down the centre to Meteora, was driving along a road that was lined with gum trees, and there was an EH Holden Taxi heading towards us. Apparently Holden used to export various models in Left Hand Drive to other countries in Europe and South Africa during the 60's and 70's.

I saw a rhd HT Holden taxi in Crete in about 1982, the driver had migrated to Australia, then gone back to Crete and shipped his car back, anyway, on with the trip.

 

[kookaburra75]

We arrived in Brindis in the evening and set off up the coast.


It was getting late and we pulled into a service station on the road to Bari, to get directions to find a place to camp. The owner of the service station said for us to stay around the side of the station and left the toilets open. That worked for us, although in the middle of the night there was a knock on the back door of the van and two policemen stuck their heads in to see who we were. Dad explained the situation, and as they could see were were not dangerous, they left.

As you can see on the map we cut across to Naples, and then worked our way up the coast. The drive was very scenic and I can see why it attracts people. Many of the small towns were one way, meaning you had to stop at the traffic lights on the edge of town and wait for your turn and get the green light before proceeding. We also wanted to see Pompeii, but there was a nationwide strike by the Museum guards and it was shut. That also impacted upon our plans to go to Florence.

We arrived in Rome and stayed at a caravan park in the suburbs, up on top of a hill overlooking the city. We used to local buses to get into and around Rome, which I think is the best way to get around. Even today, especially with apps like CityMapper I find it the best way to get around.

We saw all of the usual sights in Rome - although a lot less crowded than today. The one thing I remember very well is the traffic - it was chaotic. Even crossing the road was hazardous, especially to get to the Coliseum.

After a few days in Rome we headed out via the Appin Way and up the main freeway and roads to Pisa. We were planning to include Florence, but the strike by the museum guards was still continuing.

The leaning tower of course was cool, but so where the rest of the buildings in the grounds.

From Pisa we continued around the coast and into France and onto Monte Carlos - at that time it was going up and down very steep winding roads.

I can't remember whether we drove on any sections of the GP track, but I made up for that when I visited Monaco with MrsK in 2016.

We then headed across southern France, stopping at places along the way and into Spain.

 

[kookaburra75]

Our first stop in Spain was Barcelona, and then we headed down the coast, cutting inland every so often to get to Algeciras, where we would take the ferry to Morocco.


First stop was Barcelona, at a large, mainly deserted caravan park on the beach.

Then, down to Valencia (where else would you buy oranges) and inland to Murcia. Along the way we stopped at different places and enjoyed the local hospitality. Although, there was always a bit of a ominous cloud in the background, as these were the days of Francoist Spain and the Guardia Civil with the shiny flat back caps were around.

As we drove through the countryside, we came across the sets for Spaghetti Westerns.


We continued down the coast to Algeciras, to catch the ferry to Ceuta, which is the Spanish enclave in Morocco. However, the weather wasn't good and the ferries weren't sailing, so we did what everyone else did, camped at the wharf with all of the other travellers and waited for a couple of days.


The weather finally cleared and we set off for Morocco.

 

[kookaburra75]

We arrived in Ceuta, and after a short wait cleared customs at the border with Spain. One of the things we had been told about crossing the border, when you come back from Morocco into Ceuta the Spanish border control is incredibly strict - as you could buy drugs in Morocco. We watched them pull a VW Kombi apart, and they also made some men cut their hair shorter to be 'acceptable'. Mind you, that wasn't unusual in the 70's as places like Singapore also insisted on short hair for men.


We headed south to Fez, taking the inland route through the Rif Mountains, taking in the country side. We spent a couple of days camping on the side of the road as there weren't any caravan parks - or much else then.


We then arrived in Fez and spent a few days there exploring the old city. We were mobbed by kids when we arrived, and as the van had a back step, several of them tried to ride on the step at once. We got to the caravan park and settled in. We got some advice on how to explore the olc city, which was basically go up to the gates and pick a guide, an d agree on a price. Exploring the old city was amazing, the narrow streets, squeezing past donkeys, the mosques, the dyes - and haggling over prices.


We also celebrated Christmas Day in Fez. Mum and Dad had organised presents and for lunch, Mum went into the markets to get a chook. She had to explain through sign language that she wanted it killed, plucked, gutted and quartered - being from a farm it was no big deal. From Fez, we started heading over to the coast, stopping at the old imperial capital of Meknes.


We visited Rabat and then started up the coast. We stopped at the ruins in Lixus, where the caretaker explained about the three different layers of civilizations, Phoenician, Roman and Arabic.


We then got back to Ceuta, and after being worried about what the border control would do to us, the guard simply walked around the van, tapped the side a couple of times and then waved us through. We were then back on the ferry to Spain.

 

[kookaburra75]

After arriving back in Spain we headed west to the border with Portugal, on our way to Lisbon.


Along the way we pulled off the road for lunch, and could see across to Africa, where we had just been. We then arrived at the border with Portugal, at Ayamonte to get the ferry to the other side of the Guadiana River. The ferry was basically a large fishing/cargo boat. It pulled up sideways against the jetty, they put planks down and Dad drove the van so it was sitting across the deck. They loaded a couple of other cars onto the boat and off we went. To get off, they just reversed the process.


After safely getting off the ferry, we headed along the coast and then cut up to Lisbon.


We explored Lisbon, seeing how the paving on the streets was the same as we saw in the Azores. It is a place I would like to go back to, to explore with MrsK.


We then got onto the ferry back to the UK, for the next part of our trip.

 

[kookaburra75]

There was a bit of a hold up putting the next stage of this trip report. Of course there was getting some of the painting done (only eight more rooms says MrsK), and putting up the new range hood which has been sitting in its box in the family room for well over a year. But then, while getting things ready for the range hood, while looking up into the ceiling I saw some daylight - not something you want to see when looking into a roof cavity. The culprit was the hail storm in Canberra - where a hailstone had punched a hole right through a tile. I spent the best part of a day on the roof checking for other damage, and replacing that tile. Thankfully, that was the only one.


The ferry across to the UK was quite full, and a bit of a rough journey across the Bay of Biscay. Fortunately I don't get seasick, so I wandered around while the rest of the family rested. We then arrived back in the UK at Southampton, and did the final driving leg to London. We dropped off the van and headed over to a holiday apartment in Kentish Town, which was our base for the following week. We explored all of the usual tourist places - as in the pictures below. The best thing, having been in the UK regularly over the past five years, is there were hardly any crowds.


We got around by train and buses, including taking a day trip out to Windsor on the Green Bus. Checking out the usual sights was interesting, but probably the most surprising was seeing the Eton school boys wandering around in their uniforms, which for us were something out of a story.


As we were in London, and relatively close to Paris, Mum & Dad booked a cheap package deal for travel and a few nights in Paris with one of the local travel agents. That involved train to Dover, then the hovercraft across to Boulogne, and train to Paris. And then, reversed that journey on the way back. We packed small bags and headed off. Arriving at Dover, we waited for the Seaspeed hovercraft, and watched as it came up off the water - it looked like a giant sea monster, and it was loud and it was a rough ride. After a quick journey we boarded the train to Paris and arrived in the city. We took a taxi to our hotel, which was small and quaint, and we found out why it was cheap; it was in Pigalle. It was certainly very colourful.

We wandered all over the centre of Paris, seeing all of the main sights, marvelling at the metro carriages with rubber wheels that ran on concrete rails. We spent a lot of time at The Louvre, including taking in the Mona Lisa - it was so small. At that time, the restaurants had to provide a Fixed Price tourist option on their menus, which meant we had a lot of good meals. Then it was back to London by train.

Our trip back to Australia was booked through Thomas Cook, and was going to be flying to Singapore, have a few days there and then sail to Perth. When Dad went to check on the details while we were in London, he found out that the ship had been put into dry dock. Some quick reorganising was done, with us flying from Singapore to Perth - which due to a devaluation of the Australian dollar worked out cheaper for us. There were other bits of last minute shopping and getting ready for the final stage of the trip. As we were all keen aircraft modellers, Airfix model kits were less than half the price we paid in Australia. Dad, me and my brothers spent half a day in a local model shop and bought up big. For all of the shopping, plus as we were going into a summer, Mum & Dad bought a large trunk which we loaded up and had sent back by ship.

But the final day in the UK arrived, and we took off with our luggage on the tube, and then the train to Gatwick, where we would board our flight with British Caledonian Airways to Singapore, via Bahrain.

 

[OZDUCK]

There was a bit of a hold up putting the next stage of this trip report. Of course there was getting some of the painting done (only eight more rooms says MrsK), and putting up the new range hood which has been sitting in its box in the family room for well over a year. But then, while getting things ready for the range hood, while looking up into the ceiling I saw some daylight - not something you want to see when looking into a roof cavity. The culprit was the hail storm in Canberra - where a hailstone had punched a hole right through a tile. I spent the best part of a day on the roof checking for other damage, and replacing that tile. Thankfully, that was the only one.
View attachment 216169

The ferry across to the UK was quite full, and a bit of a rough journey across the Bay of Biscay. Fortunately I don't get seasick, so I wandered around while the rest of the family rested. We then arrived back in the UK at Southampton, and did the final driving leg to London. We dropped off the van and headed over to a holiday apartment in Kentish Town, which was our base for the following week. We explored all of the usual tourist places - as in the pictures below. The best thing, having been in the UK regularly over the past five years, is there were hardly any crowds.
View attachment 216168

We got around by train and buses, including taking a day trip out to Windsor on the Green Bus. Checking out the usual sights was interesting, but probably the most surprising was seeing the Eton school boys wandering around in their uniforms, which for us were something out of a story.
View attachment 216170

As we were in London, and relatively close to Paris, Mum & Dad booked a cheap package deal for travel and a few nights in Paris with one of the local travel agents. That involved train to Dover, then the hovercraft across to Boulogne, and train to Paris. And then, reversed that journey on the way back. We packed small bags and headed off. Arriving at Dover, we waited for the Seaspeed hovercraft, and watched as it came up off the water - it looked like a giant sea monster, and it was loud and it was a rough ride. After a quick journey we boarded the train to Paris and arrived in the city. We took a taxi to our hotel, which was small and quaint, and we found out why it was cheap; it was in Pigalle. It was certainly very colourful.
View attachment 216171
We wandered all over the centre of Paris, seeing all of the main sights, marvelling at the metro carriages with rubber wheels that ran on concrete rails. We spent a lot of time at The Louvre, including taking in the Mona Lisa - it was so small. At that time, the restaurants had to provide a Fixed Price tourist option on their menus, which meant we had a lot of good meals. Then it was back to London by train.

Our trip back to Australia was booked through Thomas Cook, and was going to be flying to Singapore, have a few days there and then sail to Perth. When Dad went to check on the details while we were in London, he found out that the ship had been put into dry dock. Some quick reorganising was done, with us flying from Singapore to Perth - which due to a devaluation of the Australian dollar worked out cheaper for us. There were other bits of last minute shopping and getting ready for the final stage of the trip. As we were all keen aircraft modellers, Airfix model kits were less than half the price we paid in Australia. Dad, me and my brothers spent half a day in a local model shop and bought up big. For all of the shopping, plus as we were going into a summer, Mum & Dad bought a large trunk which we loaded up and had sent back by ship.

But the final day in the UK arrived, and we took off with our luggage on the tube, and then the train to Gatwick, where we would board our flight with British Caledonian Airways to Singapore, via Bahrain.

Thanks for putting this together and I am glad that your roof damage was not too bad.

As I have said before this really took me back to our 1976/77 trip. I am pretty sure from some of your descriptions that we even stayed at some of the same caravan parks in Europe. Your trip back to Perth was the same as us - British Caledonian to Singapore via Bahrain. In our case the ship was in emergency dry-dock for the journey to Singapore rather than vice versa.

Anyway, once again thanks for bringing back some nice memories.

 

[rginoz]

Thanks very much for your very enjoyable Trip Report, kookaburra75. Your parents must have been very brave to face such a long trip with three youngsters, and living mostly within the confines of a campervan. But people were more resilient in those days, and kids were probably much better behaved for their parents then, also.

I remember my first trip to Europe, solo, for 11 weeks in 1979. I was in my late 20s then, and managed to see and do so much - often to many of the same places that you went. The crowds are much greater now, but the thrill of travel has not diminished for me. But for the Coronavirus, I had been planning to depart for Europe again on Friday this week. But, that's not happening now.

Thinking back, I changed a lot personally during those 11 weeks in 1979. Became more self-reliant, more open-minded, got my hair cut and bought some smarter clothes. No regrets - and it was done with no internet in those days, which makes researching, and bookings and communications so much easier now.