Saying Goodbye and Thank you.

To all our visitors who have to make our first year on the boat so memorable and enjoyable. Our adventure would not have been the same without our guests 

We are ever so grateful to all of you. Special thanks to Terry and Colleen who put up with the bad weather as we endeavoured to head south out of The Netherlands and head for France. It is you guys that made the start of our adventure an absolute joy.

So here are a collection of some of the people we met and friends who stayed on KIWI ROSE.  And thanks to others we met along the way but are not featured as we have no photos,  sorry.

Adam, from Southampton, who passed Max on his ICC.

The TEAM from Oostvoorne, Bill & Min from Portsmouth, and John and Maureen form Hull.

The boat launch, Paul and Anna, from Devonport.

 

Finally Leaving Oostvoorne with Terry and Colleen from Auckland.

 

Joanna and David Lynch Watson from Auckland and friends we met, Paula and Chris from Cornwall.

Tex (& Anthea ) from UK/NZ,;  Visitors Bart and Lia from Brussels,;

Francios and  Sylvie  from Paris, who rescued us when we thought we had run out of fuel.,

Don and Elaine from Auckland.

Max with girls again.

 

Lia and Max,   Max with Yasmin, from Chichester. ( our new landlady)

And of course last but not least our neighbours from Auckland, Ric and Dianna.

And the guys who mended the boat on our journey.; Alain who looked after our bow-thruster and Otto, who got us new batteries.

 

And great to meet so many KIWIS, there are certainly a lot of us about on the waterways of Europe..

And now Kiwi Rose goes to bed.

WE WELCOME ANY VISITORS ……contact us and let us show you a sample of life on the waterways.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX MAX AND LUCY.

This is the last Bog for the summer but our winter adventires are just beginning. We will keep you posted.

Digoin to End of Journey ( St Jean De Losne )

September 2012

Well after a fantastic Goodwood Weekend, we left Yasmins early Monday morning after sleeping through the alarm and headed for the Euro Tunnel once again heading back to France. Missed our scheduled train but got the next, then a 6 hour motor to Digoin where we left Kiwi Rose.Got there late Monday afternoon and all was fine.. the Boat had survived without us for 10 days..

Left Digoin Tuesday morning.

Lovely town where the bridges lift for you, all raising up to let you through.. not sure of the pink and blue colour scheme though.!!  Managed to chew off 41K today and 14 locks. Moored at la Roche in the middle of nowhere. Weather is stunning.

Next morning woke up to freezing ZERO degrees, with ice on the windscreen and frostie ice on the ropes.  SHIT, THIS IS COLD. Luckily as the sun rose we had 21 degrees by 11am and beautiful clear skies again.

Next morning left early to get the first lock at 9am, and linked up with a Swiss couple and they joined us for a few locks. However we lost them when the lock doors closed before they could get out so that was the last we saw of them. They got locked in!!!

Chewed off 31k today and moored at St Berain-sur Dheune.

We travelled today through Santenay wine district.

A bit like the champagne region. Hills just covered with vines. A place I will go back to and spend some time there. However we are on a mission to get to St Jean de Losne as winter is approaching. Also we have been told that the locks will be closing on 30th Sept as the lakes are low and they cannot supply the Canals with much more water this year.

 

Moored at Fragnes . Beautiful little village and this time surrounded by brits.. ( Picture taken on my ipad.)

The sunest was stunning for our last night on the Canals as tomorrow we hit the River Soane. Early start again and headed for our last lock before Chalon –sur-Soane, which happens to have a drop of 30ft with the lock opening like a rollor door!!

 

Then out onto the Soane. The weather was perfect, not a breath of wind and not a cloud in the sky. The long push up the Soane. Wide and smooth, with a few beautiful houses along the way.

A wide river and hardly saw a boat. (except this small sad graveyard.)

Arrived in St Jean-de-Losne.

 

The end of our journey and moored on the River. Knackered.There seems to be boats owned by Kiwis everywhere. Out of the  6 boats moored out on the river the first night 3 were Kiwi owned, and that doesnt take into account the 100 or so boats on the marina.

We heard that last weekend when the kiwis played the South africa that there were about 20-25 people from Kiwi boats watching the game in a local bar. We definately feel we Kiwis are helping to keep the french economy afloat on the waterways. ( you are never alone!!)

 

Nervous moment as she comes our of the water.

 

XXXXX

bottom cleaned and parked up and we are ready to put on her coat for the winter.

 

XXXXX

 

Look out for our last blog, to be posted in next few days.