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Published: September 26th 2007
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16 Sep
This morning we zoomed right across to the Eastern side of the country and are now in Dublin where we will stay for a couple of days. We struck the first wet weather of the trip and it rained almost the whole way here with very heavy rain on our arrival. It is clearing now and according to wunderground should be okay tomorrow. We also struck heavy traffic as our directions to the camp site too us right by the stadium where the All Ireland football final is being played today. Heaps of cars with supporting flags flying and people all over the streets in team colours.
17 Sep
A whole day in one place yeah. We went into Dublin on a bus trip that included a tour of the city plus all day hop on and hop off rights, unfortunately due to massive traffic problems in Dublin it was after mid day before we got to do our own thing. Tom and I opted for the barracks museum and decided to walk and get a feel for the place rather than use the bus. After a long walk we fond the bloody thing does not
open on Mondays so we walked a bit more and went to the Guinness brewery tour instead, cost 14.5 euros and if you made it to the seventh floor you got a “free” pint we got it. Work out how free that pint was? Ireland? Blarney! Some excitement getting home ask me about it another time.
18 Sep
We drove today up to Ballynahinch where Tom’s bones come from, a typical Irish town, Tom and I walked about and went into a pub, great craic (notice the correct spelling this time), we had a number of pints here and a great afternoon. We are now in a park on the edge of Lough Strangford, I walked today through miles of woodland walks with views over the Lough, really nice and more what I had imagined would be what we did on this trip. Not many photos although it is really pretty but too hard to capture on camera what the eye sees. It is not really cold but definitely shoes and socks weather so certainly a change from home in Raro.
19 Sep
This morning we went back to Ballynahinch to look for a plaque that
Tom’s sister set here in memory of his mother, we did not find it. We then headed up as far north pretty much as you can get. We are now a mile or so above Portsteven in a really nice camp but boy it is wet. I walked into town this evening and got there and back without rain, not as nice a walk as yesterday but better than sitting in our tin box. We are off to see the Giant’s Causeway tomorrow, this is Irelands only heritage park. We had planned to leave Ireland via Larne but heard today that the ferries are no longer running as the season is ended so looks like we will exit via Belfast.
20 Sep
I am sitting in a park in Larne, we arrived this afternoon and found we can in fact get from here to Scotland and we leave at1030 tomorrow. The Giants Causeway was well worth the trip. Although I have been impressed with things like Tintern Abbey and Blarney Castle, I am much more taken with things natural. The Causeway provided some great views and excellent walks. Again the rain held off. We next went to the
Giants Causeway
the "Organs"formation Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge site but it was too windy to walk the bridge and this was lucky because it pissed down just after we got there. We arrive in Cairnryan just after midday and hopefully will be able to get onto internet there.
21 Sep
We duly arrived in Cairnryan and immediately shot of to Glasgow. We are now in a 1200 acre woodland park right on the edge of the city, still no internet available in the vicinity. It is a pretty spot with a big lake and lots of water activities. We went to a sports bar and watched the Ireland France game, they put all the screens in one section onto the rugby even though we were the only ones watching.
22 Sep
Glasgow to Edinburgh this morning. We are parked out in front of the house of some rellies of Ngais Stephen and Sharima and their wee boy Mckenzie. They have Sharimas mom, dad and brother here also so it is a pretty crowded house. We went into town and walked up to the castle, the place is a nightmare of crowds, many of them kiwis here for the football
tomorrow. We went to the information centre, railway station, shopping centre complex and we were barely there when the sirens went off and we were immediately evacuated although we never did find out what the “incident” was. We retreated to an Irish pub and watched a couple of matches there and then caught the bus out to where we are staying. My first time on a public bus other than airport shuttles since the early seventies.
23 Sep
We went on the bus again today to Murryfield first to a pub then all the rest were off to watch the footy live but I stayed in the pub. There were 4 of us there watching the game and all NZ supporters. We could clearly hear the crowd out through the door but watched on the TV.
24 Sep
Departed Edinburgh this morning and drove to Chester which is where we spent our first night in the van. This time in a proper camp, this one won the David Bellamy award for greenliness and cleanliness, a far cry from the first camp we stopped in. we will clean the van in the AM tomorrow and drop it back then go off to the airport and thence to Oslo, surely internet then as you will think we have all got lost in the wilds of Ireland.
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Raf
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Public Buses
Amazing stuff Greg, I found your comment about public buses quite poignant. "Excepting airport shuttles, your first trip on a public bus since the early 70's.!" I wonder how many of us who live on small islands take buses? Strange old world. Must go, off diving. Raf