Margaret and Bob Kellett - Travel Enthusiasts

2004 Journey

Bob and Margaret Kellett

A bright New Year, we feel the world is our oyster, time to throw off the bowlines and explore new horizons!

Dec 03 - Jan 04

Our two daughters and their families join us to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Victoria and Colin Welburn, with daughters Anna and Isabel, arrive from Ottawa, Canada; whilst Louise and Stephen Boyd, with sons Ethan and Fergus, presently live near us in Auckland.

We all travel to Queenstown in the South Island and spend the Christmas period there, then return to Auckland for The New Year. The Welburns return to Canada on New Year's Day.

New Year's Eve, 31 Dec 03 Walking the Abel Tasman Park

5 -13 Jan 04

We fly to Nelson in the South Island to do a five day guided walk through the scenic Abel Tasman National Park.

30 Jan -2 Feb 04

Boyd family stay with us at The Pines, then fly off to Brisbane, Australia, where Stephen will work for an Australian property valuation business.

7 -29 Mar 04 Canada

Victoria and Colin, now living in the small town of Elora, Ontario, are expecting their third baby, so we fly to Canada. Colin and the two girls meet us at their local railway station with the exciting news that one hour earlier Victoria gave birth to a boy, Toby!

Spend the next three weeks with the Welburns at Elora. Victoria and Toby are both doing well, but household is very busy with three little ones now to look after. Anna shows us how well she can toboggan and skate, and we enjoy several tobogganing sessions with her on the snow-covered slope near her home.

Victoria and Toby [2 hours old] Anna and Bob Go Tobogganing

In Front of the Welburn Home in Elora, Ontario [at Minus 15 C]

30 Mar - 22 Apr 04 Ireland

Depart Canada, fly to London, pick up a rental car and head for Ireland. Spend 14 days circumnavigating Ireland, staying at B and B's each evening. At each place our hosts are invariably helpful and friendly, but they all have a serious aversion to credit cards; only cash is acceptable.

We enjoy Ireland's great scenery, and sympathise with the tragic history that the country has suffered for centuries. A highlight of our tour is a visit to Newgrange, the massive megalithic structure erected some 5000 years ago, making it substantially older than the Pyramids. At the Tyrone Crystal Factory we are delighted to buy additional goblets to add to a set of their "Sleive Donal" wine goblets we bought many years ago from an antique dealer.

At Dublin's Trinity College we view the famous "Book of Kells", then learn some of the colourful Viking and medieval history of the city.

Delightful Irish Castle 5,000 yr Old Megalith at Newgrange

Drive back to London via Snowdonia in Wales. Several days shopping and visiting Margie's brother Warwick, and sister Desrae, who each settled in London many years ago. Our niece, Fiona, works in London and has us to dinner to meet her fiance.

23 Apr - 3 May 04 Egypt

Fly to Egypt for a seven day Nile cruise. First two days are in Cairo where we visit the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Cairo Museum. The Museum is overflowing with magnificent historical pieces, the highlight for us being the display of the incomparable selection of funerary objects from Tutenkhamen's tomb.

Fly to Luxor to commence Nile cruise, sail up to Aswan Dam then return to Luxor after calling at places of major interest, such as the Valley of the Kings and the magnificent Karnak Temples.

We are pleased to have been able to see the famous sights we had learnt and read so much about, but it is sad to see how poor life is now for the average Egyptian. Arrive back in Auckland on 5 May.

We Enjoy Being Taken For A Ride Tutenkhamen's Solid Gold Death Mask

6 Jun - 1 Jul 04 Australia

Fly to Australia. In Canberra we attend 40 th anniversary of the Graduation of Bob's Class at the Army Officer Cadet School, Portsea, then drive up to Brisbane. Stay with the Boyds for a week, then drive on up to Melaleuca Resort, at Palm Cove. Arrive back in Auckland on 1 Jul.

RVing in North America

Initially we intended to buy a caravan and tour Australia for six months or so, however, after discovering the magnificent Class A motorhomes available in the USA, we decide to go RVing in North America instead.

After several months of Internet research we locate a suitable motorhome, a new 36 ft Fleetwood Pace Arrow, being offered for sale by Harrison RV in Jefferson, Iowa. By telephone we agree a deal with Steve Harrison, check our atlas to find out where Jefferson is in the USA, then book our airfares and fly to Des Moines, the nearest city.

We are total novices at RVing so two weeks later, on 20 Jul 04, Steve Harrison is giving us a crash course on the ins and outs of operating a motorhome. After purchasing domestic necessaries such as bedding, crockery and food supplies, we load up, head for the I-80 Interstate, and our fulltime RVing adventure has actually begun. We're ecstatic!

First we head for the Welburns at Elora, Ontario. There we get more familiar with the motorhome, by now named "Playtime". We also purchase a 2002 Jeep Liberty and have it equipped to be towed behind Playtime.

Playtime and Jeep Ready To Go Playtime's Kitchen

9 Aug 04 USA

The Jeep is hitched up to Playtime and we're underway, galloping along Hwy 401, west to Sarnia, cross the Blue Water Bridge and we're in Port Huron, USA. The high standard of facilities at our first KOA RV Park astounds us.

2004 is the bi-centenary anniversary of Lewis and Clark setting off on their amazing voyage of discovery. President Jefferson had bought the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon, and then despatched this intrepid party to find out just what he had bought. We plan to follow the general route taken by Lewis and Clark as they headed West in 1804.

14 -24 Aug 04

At Sioux City we enjoy a most interesting and informative visit to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Centre right beside the Missouri River.

On to Rapid City, South Dakota. As we approach Rapid City we are constantly being overtaken by groups of motorcyclists. One group of 20-30 bikes goes by, then another group, then another. This goes on all day! We later find out that a nearby small town, Sturgis, hosts an annual motorcycle rally, and over 12,000 bikes have arrived for this year's event.

Very interesting visit to Rapid City's Journey Museum, which has high reputation for the quality of its presentations. Personally escorted through by very knowledgable guide.

Drive out to Mt Rushmore, where the faces of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt are carved out of the granite mountain. Spend a day driving through Badlands of SD National Park. Also visit Deadwood City, where Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane both resided [and are buried beside each other in the town graveyard]. We also shop at the nearby town of Wall out in the green plains.

The Badlands of South Dakota Famous Faces at Mt Rushmore

Near Billings, Montana, we visit the site of the Little Bighorn Battlefield, where General Custer and his troops were completely annihilated by a vastly greater number of Indians, led by Chief Sitting Bull. The Interpretive Centre provides excellent detail telling both sides of the story surrounding this famous battle, which helps us understand just how tragic the arrival of the white man was for native Americans.

Markers Showing Where Custer's Men Fell "O give us a home where the buffalo roam....."

25 -29 Aug 04

The Welburns have flown to Calgary and are touring Alberta in a rental RV. We rendezvous with them and spend four days together hiking around Waterton Lakes NP. They head of back to Calgary, whilst we visit Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump [its real name]. Here, for thousands of years, the local Indians had stampeded herds of buffalo over a cliff as their preferred method of hunting. One day a curious Indian waited under the cliff edge to get a special view of the event, however he became part of the carnage, thus giving this place its peculiar name. We then head back into the USA.

Welburns Hiking in Waterton National Park Hiking in the Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole

30 Aug - 12 Sep 04

Enjoy a week seeing the sights and wildlife at Yellowstone NP, then another week at Jackson Hole, camping on the bank of the Snake River. Both localities offer unforgetable scenery. Jackson Hole also has a number of art galleries with many excellent works on sale. From here we buy our cowboy boots!

Fishing at Lake Yellowstone Wildlife Up Close in Yellowstone NP

13 Sep - 2 Oct 04

Steadily make our way back East, heading for Long Island, New York. Try to cross the Hudson River into Manhattan using the Lincoln Tunnel, however since the 9/11 tragedy all vehicles carrying propane are banned from tunnels in New York. There are 16 toll gates serving the Lincoln Tunnel, and the police stop ALL traffic whilst we get turned around and are directed to the George Washington Bridge. This all takes time, and we are glad that we are not displaying any NZ insignia as we hold up countless NY drivers whilst carrying out this manoeuvre!

3 - 9 Oct 04

From Long Island we travel each day by train into Manhattan. Soberly view the massive craters at Ground Zero, then experience some of the amazingly vibrancy that New York still presents. On an earlier visit a highlight had been a visit to the Frick Collection, and we enjoy it again. The shops on 5 th Avenue continue to amaze us, we wonder just who actually buys their products [or who can afford them].

At Ground Zero, a Chilling Scene A View From the Empire State Building

10 - 17 Oct 04

Needing to clear our emails Bob asks at a Long Island gas station for directions to an Internet Cafe. Well, we drive for miles following the guy's instructions. However, when we get there we find it's an "Intimate" Cafe where nude women are gyrating around poles in the bar! Uh Oh, time to shore up our NZ accent! (Or is it!)

Not wanting to tackle again the horribly busy and complex motorways through NYC, we drive instead to the NE corner of Long Island and catch a ferry that takes us across the Long Island Sound to New London, Connecticut. Visit the US Navy base there and a tour of the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine.

Driving north through the New England States we marvel at the blazing autumn [Fall] tints of the forests. From Boston, a day drive out to Cape Cod. Visit the attractive town of Hyannis, which has the famous Kennedy Compound nearby. The influence the Kennedy family appear to project in this area seems almost feudal, and we notice that the infamous 'Chappaquiddick' is just a short boat trip across Nantucket Sound.

Amazing Autumn Colours in Vermont The 100 yr old Hotel at Bretton Woods

We visit the George Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods. It is a massive old hotel located in a remote area of the White Mountains of Vermont. It was here, in 1944, a conference of Allied nations decided the world financial and monetary structure post WW2. Both the World Bank and The International Monetary Fund had their origins from this conference.

18 Oct - 1 Nov 04 Canada

Re-enter Canada near Montreal, then make beeline for the Green Acre RV Park to be back near the Welburn family again. Enjoy two weeks of family activities, meals, shopping, etc, then winterize our two vehicles, put them into storage for the northern winter, then fly back to NZ.

Back With the Welburns in Elora Toby Has Certainly Grown!

3 Dec 04 - 2 Jan 05 Australia

Staying with the Boyds in Brisbane. Varick Boyd is born on 8 Dec 04. Louise and Stephen now have three little boys, and we are pleased to be available to assist. Enjoy taking Ethan and Fergus on visits to Australia Zoo, Brisbane Airport, and local shopping malls (where the air conditioning keeps us cool).

With the Three Boyd Boys Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast

Celebrate Christmas and New Year with the Boyds, spend several days chilling out at Surfers Paradise, then return to NZ.

And so ends our 'annus mirabilis' - two new grandsons, a new motor home, fascinating travel, a new way of life!