Following a seven month trip around Western Mediterranean Europe and Morocco in 2012 in Myrtle, our motorhome our original intention was to return in 2013 and see more of the continent. However, I was offered 6 months work preparing a tender for on one of New Zealand's largest road projects and Jane was offered a 12 month contract back with the team she worked with at the Ministry of Health. Recognising employment would pay for fuel, etc. for another trip we decided to take the jobs and postpone our travel until 2014.
As we began to develop plans for the trip we decided it would be a good idea to ship Myrtle back to New Zealand along with Smarty, the Smart Car we tow behind Myrtle, so that we could explore New Zealand on our return. However, we soon learnt that wasn't going to work as Myrtle is left hand drive and would not be allowed on NZ roads. Also, she didn't meet the NZ requirement of having a seat belt for the number of people that she cam sleep and it's not possible to retrofit them.
Plan B of trading Myrtle for another motorhome that could be used in NZ began to emerge. While we had bought Myrtle second hand, thanks to her being inspected by John and Ruth, we decided to look for a new vehicle similar to Myrtle. We opted for an Auto Trail Mohawk as Myrtle is an Auto Trail and we had been very impressed by her quality and faultless performance over 25,000 kilometres of travel.
Myrtle in a Cold and Bleak Lancashire 2012
We decided to purchase Myrtle's replacement through Elite Motorhomes in Banbury and after some haggling arrived at a deal whereby Myrtle would be taken in part exchange. As usual in these things, we settled for less than we believed what Myrtle was really worth, but it's very difficult to haggle from the other side of the world. Elite were keen to collect Myrtle as soon as possible. Just before Christmas Phil met them at her storage yard outside Birmingham where they started her up and left her running for 20 minutes while they checked her over.
When all was done Phil bade Myrtle and Elite goodbye and set off with Myrtle following him as far as the motorway. Phil lost sight of them in a country lane and pulled over to wait. When they failed to appear after a few minutes Phil turned around and found that Myrtle had broken down! She could not be restarted and had to be towed to Banbury where they eventually got her going again.
Digressing, if you are thinking of storing a motorhome, or similar, in the UK's West Midlands, I would think twice about using Caravan Storage West Midlands. They cancelled the access swipe card before Myrtle was removed and have persistently ignored my email requests for a refund of unused storage fees and the deposit I paid on the swipe card.
After much discussion, Jane and I have decided that Myrtle's replacement will be called Mabel. At the time of writing this in March, she hash't been built but should be ready for us to collect in April soon after we arrive in the UK. Here's what she will look like:
Digressing, if you are thinking of storing a motorhome, or similar, in the UK's West Midlands, I would think twice about using Caravan Storage West Midlands. They cancelled the access swipe card before Myrtle was removed and have persistently ignored my email requests for a refund of unused storage fees and the deposit I paid on the swipe card.
After much discussion, Jane and I have decided that Myrtle's replacement will be called Mabel. At the time of writing this in March, she hash't been built but should be ready for us to collect in April soon after we arrive in the UK. Here's what she will look like:
Auto Trail Mohawk
While Myrtle was based on a Mercedes chassis, Mabel will be a Fiat. Like Myrtle she will have automatic transmission and we have gone for the largest of the three engines available given we will be towing Smarty and the extra power will be useful in NZ's terrain when we get her back. Also like Myrtle she has a fixed rear bed and a large garage at the rear for all our gear.
As in 2012 we will be taking Smarty with us on our travels. Mabel will be too large to take into some towns and villages, whereas Smarty is the ideal vehicle for that job.
Smarty in the Sahara Desert in 2012
We leave New Zealand on 19 March. In 2012, our entire focus was on seeing Europe and Morocco. Recognising that we have been missing an opportunity in simply transiting through Los Angeles en route to the UK, this trip we will leave the airport and will be seeing something of the western United States for three weeks.
We arrive in England on 9 April and travel plans in Mabel include:
- Ireland
- France
- Italy
- Greece
- Turkey
- Bulgaria
- Serbia
- Montenegro
- Croatia
- Slovenia
- Austria
- Germany
- Belgium
Reckoning we will likely need a bit of R and R after our travels, the plan is to fly home via Goa where we will have about three weeks on a beach. Then it is off to Singapore for three nights before flying back to New Zealand where we arrive on 15 December.
Usually, I book flights on line. However getting a round the world ticket with multiple stops is problematic on line so I have used a travel agent for the first time in years. Robyn Oretsky of the Flight Centre in Wellington has done a sterling job in sorting out flights for us. She has got us a very good deal, even if it does mean we have to fly from Los Angeles to London via Zurich with Swiss Airlines instead of our preferred Air New Zealand who have a direct flight!
We are very fortunate in that Harry and Ella will be house sitting for us while we are away. More importantly, they will also be looking after Ziggy, our Labrador, thereby saving her from 9 months in kennels. (That wouldn't have been the end of the world for her as she had a great time and was looked after extremely well for 7 months by Irene Moore at her kennels in Shannon while we were away on our last trip). There was some concern at how Ziggy would get on with Harry and Ella's two cats, but a two week trial while we were in Samoa last year went very well, mainly as a result of Ziggy having a healthy respect for the cats.
Preparation for the trip has been far less painful than 2012 when we were living in our Waikanae home, overseeing repairs to major water damage and putting the contents in store ready for leasing the property. We were both completely knackered when we got that finished at 6:00 pm the day before we flew out of NZ. This time it's a matter of clearing our wardrobes, etc. so Harry and Ella can use our bedroom.
About the only difficulty so far has been dealing with the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) who make reduced payments for recipients of New Zealand Superannuation who are out of the country for more than 26 weeks. It was simple making the necessary arrangements before I set off in 2012, but there were major problems on my return when payments stopped altogether. It was quite clear the people I was dealing with had little understanding of the process, it took a good five months and the involvement of MSD's chief executive and the Ombudsman to get things resolved. This time I refused to deal with the people that caused the problems and have gone straight to the "specialists' in the international department of MSD. Suffice it to say, the specialists have about the same level of competency as the non-specialists I dealt with two years ago! On my first visit the specialist I met specialised in the UK and tried to persuade me to spend our trip in the UK because that way she could sort everything out for me! After six weeks of dealings with another of MSD's staff arrangements have not been finalised although my most recent phone call gives me a glimmer of hope they will get it sorted any week now. Examples of the "service" I have received include this email from MSD:
We have calculated you will be entitled to approximately $91.95 gross per week. However once you are on this rate we do not deduct your United Kingdom Pension which will be paid directly to you.
Please can you urgently forward the attached form with verification of your bank account to the Department of Work and Pensions as your UK pension needs to be paid directly to you while you are on General Portability.
We have calculated you will be entitled to approximately $91.95 gross per week. However once you are on this rate we do not deduct your United Kingdom Pension which will be paid directly to you.
Please can you urgently forward the attached form with verification of your bank account to the Department of Work and Pensions as your UK pension needs to be paid directly to you while you are on General Portability.
Which generated the following comments from me in a phone call:
Can you explain why the payment is less than I received in 2012, yet super rates have increased since then?
I completed the form you have asked me to return and hand delivered to your office over a month ago.
A return call from MSD a few days later gave the following answers:
We mis-calculated the payments in 2012 and have overpaid you.
We have found the form and will send it to the UK.
And in a recent phone call the following exchange took place:
Do you intend to work while in Australia?
What? I'm not going to Australia.
Where are you going then?
To all the places listed on the itinerary I gave you at a meeting in your office.
But if you do visit Australia will you work there?
That's academic as I'm not going to Australia.
MSD must be right up there in terms of incompetence.
During one of my calls to MSD to inquire on progress I was asked where I was calling from. It turned out that Custom's records show I left New Zealand on 6 October last to go to Samoa but have never come back. I think MSD accept that is not the case as my passport has a stamp showing I left Samoa on 22 October and, besides, I have had two meetings in MSD's offices this year. It appears the automated SmartGate Jane and I used to re-enter New Zealand failed to record our presence. We are now wondering if we are technically not in New Zealand whether we will be allowed to leave on 19 March.
Watch this space!
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