Life & travel journals

Saint Nazaire, Camping de la Pree | Road Trip Blog#8

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.
Beautiful Mont-Saint-Michel | Road Trip Blog#7

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…
Normandy | Overlord Museum

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.
Normandy | American Cemetery

From a fittingly moody, overcast and rainy backdrop rise two impressively tall flag masts before a lily pond leading to the memorial.
Port en Bessin & Camping Omaha Beach | Road Trip Blog#6

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
Normandy | Museum of Undersea Wrecks

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 growth on the wrecks. Barnacled tanks, old sea mines, guns and parts off of ships that have lain in the bay for years had been preserved as […]
Normandy | Omaha Beach Museum

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, each of which is worth an hour or two. Having pitched our tent on the windiest pitch on the Omaha Beach campsite we visited just three of […]
Yport, Normandy | Road Trip Blog #5

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?
Netherlands gets a thumbs up | Road Trip Blog #4

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…
Ardennes Vibe, Camping d’Haulmé | Road Trip Blog #3

This camping is situated along the Semois river no more than ten kilometres from the Belgian border, and is simply enormous!
Detour to Switzerland & camping Morvan | Road Trip Blog #2

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!
Camping Le Domaine des 2 Soleils | Road Trip Blog #1

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.
Pack all your things – Cheers Cotignac | Road Trip Blog

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!
Arriving with a Paintbrush – Our Mirabeau Journey

On deciding to move to Cotignac after our 4-month sabbatical, Susana of Provence Living introduced us to Stephen and Jeany Cronk, who needed help with opening their boutique
10+ best things about owning a land rover defender

Let’s kick this off with the most obvious – the fact that you can recognise them anywhere…
WIM HOF WINTER EXPEDITION X FAABULOUS WARRIORS

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!
Contemplating Campervan / Tiny Home Life

Camping is our favourite form of relaxation and our Land Rover, Dakota, is fabulous for this. But it might be a little tight for daily living.
La Tuf Craft Beer

Living as guardians for Villa Caren, the manager’s house on the Lou Calen hotel renovation building site, it was a huge delight to watch stonemason / brewmaster Renaud & his team build the ‘La Tuf’ brewpub
What stories can be told?

Old, vintage vehicles, and unsalvagable wrecks hold a certain charm and mystery. You may see a tired old wreck, but what I see is…
LAND ROVER Life…

“Loving a Land Rover” – it kind of gets under your skin…
AFRICA Self Drive 4X4 Tips & Observations – BOTSWANA

You need three senses and some faith if you want to survive a solo self-drive 4×4 in remote Africa!
African Ranches River Camp

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…
Chobe River Cruise & the history of Sedudu Island

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.
Elephant Sands Bush Lodge & Campsite

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!
Chobe Safari Lodge – Kasane

A very pleasant shock awaits us as we trade the dry, dusty and hot conditions in Chobe for the oasis in Kasane.
Chobe National Park – Savute Camp

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.
Moremi Game Reserve – Third Bridge Camp

Chobe, Etosha, Okavango, Kruger, Serengeti – we have all heard of them at some point in our lives. They all have a certain mystique and perhaps even celebrity status. I think Moremi belongs on that list as well…
The Road from Gweta to Maun (and some fuel for our trouble)

After an hour of appreciating the countryside at a sedate 80 km/h, and at roughly 150 km from Maun, we saw a vehicle off the road against the game fence, bonnet up and a guy lying under the vehicle…
Okavango River Lodge – Maun

Maun is a strange place. But in a good way. It is both a small town and a big ‘hub’ for the game park tourism industry. It has two faces…
Makgadigadi Salt Pans | Solo Self-Drive Botswana

There’s no vegetation, no wildlife, and no connection. It makes you feel small and insignificant yet quite alive. There’s an energy that you can’t quite put your finger on…
JAKTSLOTTET BJØRKÅSEN IN GÅLÅ, NORWAY

Our first visit to Norway and THE FIRST time with skis on. Ever.
Sport boat delivery to Monaco

Delivering a Melges 20 for the regatta this weekend in Monaco… even while the exhibits for the Monaco Yacht Show are still being dismantled and the superyachts are playing Tetris in the tiny harbour.
Sundowners aboard Elena of London

During the sailing regatta, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, we were invited onboard the magnificent superyacht after the race. Her incredible size hits you as you’re ready to embark; being relieved of your shoes.
Sailing regatta Les Voiles de Saint Tropez

Les Voiles de Saint Tropez is a fab sailing regatta held from the last weekend of September, where about 300 yachts gather in the Golf of St Tropez for a week of competitive sailing and celebrations.
Monaco Yacht Show 2016

Monaco is always an experience, one way or another… This time it was for a delivery of Mirabeau wine for the twentieth Monaco Yacht Show
Le Rocher troglodyte promenade in Cotignac

Visiting the cliffs and formerly inhabited troglodyte dwelling in Cotignac is a must-do activity in this Provençal village
Private tour at Château Léoube

Vic joined two WSET-qualified wine boffs Nuria Styliano and Shelley Coleman for an interview and private tour with Jerome Pernot at Château Léoube
Cotignac Village of Rock 2016

For the 8th year in a row, Big Five and the Red One rocked Cotignac. Great music, dancing and German food and beer. Merci beaucoup.
Hosting at Taste of London with Mirabeau

Marcel and Vic joined Stephen in London to present the delicious Mirabeau pale pink during the annual restaurant festival held at Regent’s Park
Beach Camping “de la Plage” overlooking St Tropez

Camping with soft beach sand between your toes overlooking the Bay of St Tropez also sound like heaven to you? A great spot for our Land Rover #Dakota110