A Simply Fab LifeA bit of Dutch, a lot of South African and now some French flavour as well... Marcel enjoys trying to get it all on video and tinkering with our Land Rover in between discovering a new destination somewhere... Some sailing, an appreciation for the nostalgia of older vehicles, and creating a smaller footprint rounds it all off. Oh and always time for an ice-cold beer...
Ryanair FR9163, you are cleared to land runway 07R. Slight tailwind. Clear skies. Keep an eye on the campsite below…
Yes. Palm Trees and a heated shower block with Star Trek doors… What more do you want?
Would YOU trade in your trusty Land Rover for a Lagoon 40 sailing catamaran? And spend a week sailing around the French south coast?
Domaine de Villemarin is a hidden gem near Mèze a couple of km from the shores of étang de Thau between Agde and Sète
The dramatic drive from Puigcerda towards Carcasonne is one of those well-kept secrets…
This is a pretty comprehensive (video) review on the campsite Gaset near Talarn in Spain, before we tackle some fearsomely steep hills into the Pyrenees…
We cross over the endlessly long Spanish plains from northern Portugal in a virtually straight line directly east and take in three campsites: Mogadouro, Tordesillas & Vera de Moncayo
The road from Rio Caldo to Lima Escape is epically amazing, or amazingly epic! Very cool indeed
We’re on a roll now! Having crossed northern Spain east to west and now heading to another country!
It is so chilled and laid back that the owner prefers to continue his lunch rather than do paperwork and waves us away to find a spot to our liking. He’ll do the details later… but never does!
Granted – France is a lovely country – but we have now spent the better part of a month trying to get over the border!
Needing some car parts as well as doing our obligatory tests found us in the town of D(r)ax (couldn’t resist) for a couple of days.
The reception/bar is quaint with some nice shaded pitches available near the river, however…
I’m still not sure what to make of the French language when they name a town after a bitumen glue…
If you would like some peace and quiet in a setting surrounded by nature this is a good, basic campsite to spend a couple of days while you explore the surroundings.
As a transit camping this is perfectly agreeable for a one-night-stopper being well established and partially shaded by some large oak trees
We were entertained that evening by the ‘bull’-run show held next door. No idea what was going on but the presenter was certainly lively! The next evening the disco at the camping across the road started up and lasted quite late. But they had an awesome 80’s playlist!
A little bit wild, full of green pine forests and a rough sea when the wind is blowing hard…! This place reminded us of South Africa in some ways.
La Rochelle is a surprisingly vibey place to visit. It has an historical city centre, excellent aquarium, the maritime museum, nearby seashores and beaches… And more, I guess. We shall have to come back!
From Mont St Michel Saint Nazaire is only about 200 kilometres away. But this meant we would cut away most of the coastline of Bretagne which caused some lengthy discussion.
This tiny island first looms up on the horizon as a fascinating rocky feature in an otherwise featurelessly flat area of coastland. Like a spire reaching for the heavens – which is exactly what it was built for…
For those with a keen interest in World War Two and the D DAY landings, in particular, I can recommend spending a week in this area of the French coast.
From a fittingly moody, overcast and rainy backdrop rise two impressively tall flag masts before a lily pond leading to the memorial.
We visit the sweet little town of Port-en-Bessin with its quaint buildings, fishing boats, take a stroll down the promenade and then brave a very stormy night on camping Omaha Beach
Omaha D-Day Museum Overlord Museum American Cemetery Port en Bessin We visited this one in 2008 and were very impressed with the exhibits, notably the abundance of sea…
Overlord Museum American Cemetery Underwater Wrecks Port en Bessin The Normandy coastline from Caen to Barfleur is a must-see destination with dozens of museums scattered about the countryside,…
Camping Le Rivage has incredible views of the coastline up towards Fécamp and overlooks the village of Yport. Is it just another seaside town with a couple of fishing boats dragged onto the pebble-covered beach? Or is there more to it?
To Do List: find a campsite near The Hague, do some drifting, pull the gearbox on the Landy, visit our friends and family, check out a rowing boat, have some lunch and stroll along the beach…
This camping is situated along the Semois river no more than ten kilometres from the Belgian border, and is simply enormous!
Mini-campings are great for the solitude and proximity to nature. Just don’t expect a swimming pool or entertainment in the form of a mariachi band!
This area is called the Hautes-Alps which is a little bit strange because it’s actually the beginning of the Alps. It’s a beautiful area where it starts getting very mountainous with this tiny little road that is great to drive.
Ask us about South Africa and we can tell you all you need to know… Europe is still a bit of a mystery… So let’s go on a Road Trip!
In January 2020, Vic and I joined the extreme Wim Hof Method Winter Expedition in Poland. These fantastic individuals pictured are ‘The ‘Faabulous Warriors’ – our team pushing each other to the max!
“Loving a Land Rover” – it kind of gets under your skin…
You need three senses and some faith if you want to survive a solo self-drive 4×4 in remote Africa!
The whole campsite, in its entirety, is not much more than the size of our single pitch in Savute Camp in Chobe. I think that there is room for about five or six vehicles here. What a contrast…
Departing from the dock at the splendid Chobe River Lodge this three hour cruise takes us out into the very wide Chobe River, along the border with Namibia and around Sedudu Island.
The clue is in the name. But you only realise it when you get there. A herd of elephants and a lot of sand. Oh, and no fences at all!
Having spent a lovely night being camped on one of only four enormous pitches along the Savute ‘river canal’, we now head further north to Kasane.
The first time I heard of Chobe was as a kid a long time ago. It had the same status as Serengeti or Etosha for me. An unreachable destination somewhere in central Africa.