So life is an adventure and when you’re traveling you add an extra level of complexity that you don’t normally encounter. You don’t know the names of the chain stores to buy the things you need. In NZ you know what Bunnings has and Super Cheap Auto and Briscoes. In the UK we now know what a Halfords is and a B&M store and a Tesco Superstore and a Camping Go store.  We visited all of these multiple times and now we’re loyalty members of them all.

So after gleefully picking up the car which we had pre bought (which is an American imported left hand drive, so not overly compatible with UK standards) we headed off to a hotel in Bedford (as it was close) to sort things out. We had no idea how long we’d be in Bedford, but we were there until we were done. We also managed to have fish and chips with curry sauce and mushy peas and watch England lose to Spain in the UEFA while we’re were there, very British. 

Day one and we had our list of things we need to do and a smile and a good attitude and we headed out for the day. Got in the car and click click click dead battery, we suspected it was old and buggered when we got it. Bugger. 

Anyway one day of researching what sort of battery we need and buying a battery charger so we could start it to get to a battery place we headed off to the nice chaps at Bedford batteries. Sweet! Now for the tow bar attachment! The nice chaps at Bedford American car parts obliged with that. Now we need various bits and bobs so Nigel can wire up the lights for the caravan so Bedford Halfords saw multiple visits. We got to know Bedfordshire pretty well as we trundled about from here to there and usually ended up at the same Sainsburys Superstore intersection where we would say “Hey kids look, it’s Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament” a niche pop culture reference to National Lampoons European Vacation.

We also beetled about and looked at two places for caravans until we found the one! She’s a Swift caravan so we have named her Taylor Swift and we’ve named the car Ed Sheeran as they hang out together but aren’t a couple so it won’t matter if one stays on their European tour and the other heads off to NZ. We decided on Taylor Swift pretty quickly and went back the next day to put the deposit down. They needed five days to get it serviced and set up for us so we moved to a quiet remote little Air BnB near St Albans so Nigel could spend the days wiring up the electric for the caravan and I could catch up on Brigerton and watch the full series of Baby Reindeer (highly recommended).

We had squirrels in our little garden and wood pidgeons and Kites (the bird) flying around. We did washing and had catch up’s with Stefan as it was a direct line from where he lives out to St Albans. We got a five star Air BNB rating when we left to go and finally get Taylor Swift. 

So if you are ever interested in buying a UK caravan we can highly recommend Bedfordshire Caravans. It was there that we met Laurence who is the spitting image of Nigel’s best man Andrew.   When we arrived the caravan had been fully serviced including wheel bearings and he had accumulated a whole lot of stuff to give us. “Here’s a European plug adapter, here’s a European gas bottle so you can swap it when you get there. A brand new battery and an added awning, did you want the steps too? Oh, no tent pegs no worries here’s a bag of mixed ones you can have”. We were blown away with the added extras that they had thought of. He explained that he had been to NZ many years ago and bought a car. “Lots of people helped me then, so what goes around comes around” what a great guy. 

So then we spent UKs hottest day getting everything ready and cleaning and sterilizing Taylor Swift so we could  head off on our big adventure. The tow bar turned out to be a bit too low for the caravan so with a bit of kiwi ingenuity Nigel turned the whole thing upside down and we now have added clearance. We had our first couple of nights nearby to make sure everything worked and went and bought some last minute things to make life more comfortable. This is where we encountered the English caravan park people. 

Firstly they all have a little dog (that they can’t control), secondly they are very chatty (how ya doin alright?) and thirdly they do not like Pikies! Pikies (our neighbor on the first night explained) are travelers who are not Romany gypsies (who are equally as bad apparently). They are travellers with no fixed abode (sound a bit like us).They are also all thieves! “ (not like us). “You better put everything away or the Pikies will thieve it!  I’ve seen four by the entry gates and I think that one next door is one too. All thieves they are, thieves! Mark my words, they will take anything not locked down”.

So after surviving a night without loss to the Pikies we headed off to Calais, next stop France. Even we don’t know what we will do next! Eat a baguette?