Austen's Travel Blog

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Agile and DevOps enthusiast and enduro fan with an interest in home automation, cool tech and endurance running.

3 Peaks - Unfinished Business - Snowdon

September 02, 2023

It's been a few weeks since our 3 peaks holiday, and it's time to complete Snowdon, the unfinished business. We'd been monitoring the…

3 Peaks - Day 11 - Return the motor home

August 21, 2023

The motor home remained safe overnight, and I get going early in order to return it at the 8am opening time. Driving across London isn't…

3 Peaks - Day 10 - Drive home

August 20, 2023

Last night was much better, without the storm we all slept a little easier. Our usual early start and baconators whilst we checked the…

3 Peaks - Day 9 - Snowdon

August 19, 2023

It's been a rough night, gale force winds have been battering the motor home, and it was boiling hot due to the closed windows. I'm awake at…

3 Peaks - Day 8 - Drive to Wales

August 18, 2023

We wake at the usual time, breakfast and pack up. While we wait for the rubbish lorry to empty the 20 or so wheelie bins the kids nip off to…

3 Peaks - Day 7 - Scafell Pike

August 17, 2023

The usual 8am start with Baconators for breakfast. The weather's looking great, so it's promising to be a good day. We have a long way to go…

3 Peaks - Day 6 - Drive to the Lake District

August 16, 2023

Our usual 8am start. We packed and serviced the camper, much quicker now we know how to do everything! Whilst I'm servicing the camper, the…

3 Peaks - Day 5 - Ben Nevis

August 15, 2023

8am start again with fried egg and bacon rolls with the last of the homemade sourdough. Alex has coined them Baconaters. We made sandwiches…

3 Peaks - Day 4 - Drive to Glen Nevis

August 14, 2023

8am wake up and a simple breakfast of cereals. Einy has not been well waking me up in the middle of the night with a present on the floor…

3 Peaks - Day 3 - Rest Day in Pooley Bridge

August 13, 2023

Since it's our rest day we have a lie in before setting out on a warm up hike. We walked the 5 minutes into Pooley Bridge and took a short…

3 Peaks - Day 2 - Brascote to the Lake District

August 12, 2023

We have an early breakfast with Grandma Anne and leave for the Lake District around 9am. An uneventful drive to the Lakes, and we arrive at…

3 Peaks - Day 1 - Home to Brascote

August 11, 2023

Day 1 - we pick up the motor home and head for Brascote. Arriving late for super and a catch up with Grandma Anne and Tom. Distance Driven…

3 Peaks Family Adventure

August 10, 2023

Since I was a child and in the Scouts I've wanted to complete the 3 Peaks Challenge . Whilst completing all 3 in 24 hours is too much for a…

Vietnam - Day 14 - Hanoi to Home

January 07, 2020

After a 3 hour layover we board our flight to London. Hanoi airport isn't anything to shout about so we're keen to get moving. It's a night…

Vietnam - Day 13 - Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi

January 06, 2020

We took the opportunity to have a lie in and a late breakfast which was nice after all the early starts. We checked out at 11am, leaving…

Vietnam - Day 12 - Mekong Delta to Ho Chi Minh City

January 05, 2020

The night was hot and sticky but we all surprisingly slept pretty well. The chirping gecko and the snoring of the other guests didn’t help…

Vietnam - Day 11 - Mekong Delta

January 04, 2020

Today we visit the Mekong Delta and stay at the homestay. After breakfast at the hotel we get onto the coach and weave through the Saturday…

Vietnam - Day 10 - Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City via Cu Chi

January 03, 2020

Today was primarily a travel day with an extra early start to fly down from Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City. On arrival in HCMC we lunched on…

Vietnam - Day 9 - Hoi An

January 02, 2020

Our last day in Hoi An. We took a cycle tour in the morning and explored the old town in the afternoon. The cycle tour guide met us at the…

Vietnam - Day 8 - Hoi An

January 01, 2020

Today is beach day and we’re breakfasted and ready to go by 9am. There was a street party right outside the hotel last night which was in…

Vietnam - Day 7 - Hue to Hoi An

December 31, 2019

Today we leave Hue and travel to Hoi An. It’s our usual start and breakfast on the 12th floor before boarding the coach at 8:30am. We drive…

Vietnam - Day 6 - Hue

December 30, 2019

We had a lie in today until 7:30am and then went up to the 12th floor for breakfast. The food was pretty good with a wide selection, mostly…

Vietnam - Day 5 - Hue

December 29, 2019

The announcements continued throughout the night, thankfully they were shorter than the earlier set, but no quieter unfortunately. Not a…

Vietnam - Day 4 - Ha Long Bay to Hue

December 28, 2019

We slept on the Junk overnight which was comfortable. The water was so calm it wasn’t easy to tell we were on a boat but the faint sound of…

Vietnam - Day 3 - Halong Bay

December 27, 2019

Our usual early start and our usual breakfast at the hotel before getting on the coach for the 4 hour drive to Halong Bag and our overnight…

Vietnam - Day 2 - Hanoi

December 26, 2019

6am start today and an early breakfast ready for an 8am start. No beef with noodles today so we had to settle for pork with peppers and…

Vietnam - Day 1 - London to Hanoi

December 24, 2019

We woke up early and finished packing. A simple breakfast and into the taxi to Heathrow. Thankfully our flight isn’t until 11am so we have…

Vietnam - The Night Before

December 23, 2019

We’re off on a family adventure to Vietnam. Our bags are packed and we're ready for our flight from Heathrow tomorrow. We can't wait for the…

Vietnam Family Adventure

December 22, 2019

We’re off on a family adventure to Vietnam. We fly into Hanoi, work our way down the country and fly out of Ho Chi Minh City 14 days later…

New Zealand - Day 20 - Christchurch to London

January 07, 2019

Our final day in New Zealand. We had a bit of a lie in after so many early starts over the past week. We couldn't linger too long though as…

New Zealand - Day 19 - Christchurch

January 05, 2019

Another and hopefully final early start. Cereals for breakfast, quickly did the washing up and tidying and we were heading for the main road…

New Zealand - Day 18 - Lake Pukaki

January 04, 2019

Early start as usual. Breakfast and out walking towards the lake front by 8:30am. We arrived at the pier by 8:45am and queued up to check in…

New Zealand - Day 17 - Queenstown

January 03, 2019

Our usual early start, breakfast, empty the camper tanks and away for 8am ready for today's horse trekking. We arrived at the trekking place…

New Zealand - Day 16 - Doubtful Sound

January 02, 2019

Early start and a quick breakfast before setting off for Manapouri and the beginning of our tour of Doubtful Sound. Last night when I'd…

New Zealand - Day 15 - Te Anau

January 01, 2019

Due to last nights festivities and the long day before we had a lie in and a late start. I made sausages and fried eggs on the BBQ for…

New Zealand - Day 14 - Te Anau

December 31, 2018

Today is our Kayak adventure on Lake Wanaka. The activity Diana has been most looking forward to and what started the whole idea of a trip…

New Zealand - Day 13 - Wanaka

December 30, 2018

7am wake up call ready for our fishing trip on Lake Wanaka. A quick breakfast outside on the picnic bench before jumping on the bikes and…

New Zealand - Day 12 - Wanaka

December 29, 2018

We woke to the patter of rain on the camper roof and had a quick breakfast. We decided to abandon our plans to cycle the mountain bike trail…

New Zealand - Day 11 - Fox Glacier

December 28, 2018

7am start waking up to the sound of the ocean. A quick breakfast and then the kids went to play on the beach while we got ready. Set off by…

New Zealand - Day 10 - Greymouth

December 27, 2018

6 am alarm and a run along the shore of Lake Rotoiti. Breakfast in the van and set off for Greymouth by 9am. It was too cold to take a dip…

New Zealand - Day 9 - Nelson National Park

December 26, 2018

A late start and no longer raining! We had a quick breakfast in the van and then m the kids played on the trampoline while we got organised…

New Zealand - Day 8 - Marlborough

December 25, 2018

Christmas Day and a 4am start, not due to the children but to catch the ferry to the South Island. The kids opened their presents from Craig…

New Zealand - Day 7 - Wellington

December 24, 2018

Christmas Eve! We got up at 7am to the sound of traffic passing on the road nearby. Not that it was particularly heavy traffic, just that it…

New Zealand - Day 6 - Wellington

December 23, 2018

We woke up early after a good nights sleep and took a swim in the lake before breakfast which was really refreshing. The water was the…

New Zealand - Day 5 - Taupo

December 22, 2018

Woke up at 6 to the sound of the waves and the sun rise - an amazing place to wake up. Breakfast all together in the van and then the kids…

New Zealand - Day 4 - Rotorua

December 21, 2018

We woke up late, it had been a long night. First Alex fell off the bed with a bump, he couldn't remember in the morning, then the Bluetooth…

New Zealand - Day 3 - Waitomo

December 20, 2018

We woke up early at 6am, had a quick breakfast, packed, checked out and took an Uber to Wilderness Motorhomes near the airport to pick up…

New Zealand - Day 2 - Auckland (2/2)

December 19, 2018

The children woke up hungry at 4:30am complaining that they hadn't had dinner. I plied them with an apple and sent them back to bed. They…

New Zealand - Day 1 - Auckland (1/2)

December 18, 2018

The adventure begins. We had a lie in and a leisurely breakfast, finished the packing and took a Taxi to Heathrow at 11am. We had a…

New Zealand - The night before

December 15, 2018

Our bags are packed, we've planned the route, watched the YouTube videos of how the camper works and we're ready for 28 hours in the air…

New Zealand Road Trip 2018

December 09, 2018

Our latest family adventure is a road trip around New Zealand for 3 weeks. We're hiring a camper and off to make some family memories. We're…

Mexico - Chichén Itzá & Cenote Hubiku

August 27, 2018

During our family beach holiday to Mexico we took the opportunity to visit Chichén Itzá, something I've always wanted to see - we weren't…

West Coast USA - Day 9 - Last Day

October 19, 2008

Breakfast in the hotel again of bagels and coffee. Mad French-Canadian woman is still there chatting away in 'French' to strangers. We…

West Coast USA - Day 8 - Golden Gate

October 18, 2008

Breakfast in the hotel of bagels and coffee. Strange French-Canadian woman lurking about and talking to people in French. (Except Di tells…

West Coast USA - Day 7 - Hetch Hetchy Valley

October 17, 2008

wake up at 8.30am, pack and take photos outside the cabin, locking ourselves out of the cabin in the process. The girl at reception gives me…

West Coast USA - Day 6 - Yosemite

October 16, 2008

Get up around 8am and head for the breakfast buffet with our luggage after completing the automated checkout. After breakfast we pick up the…

West Coast USA - Day 5 - Vegas

October 15, 2008

Have a lie in and miss the buffet breakfast so eat in the Luxor cafe. Have a proper American breakfast of Bacon, Eggs over easy, short stack…

West Coast USA - Day 4 - Mule Ride

October 13, 2008

An early start at 6am. Breakfast of bagels and coffee in the motel breakfast room. Lots of people about at this time in the morning. Drive…

West Coast USA - Day 3 - Sedona

October 12, 2008

Wake up at 8 and have French toast and home made jam for breakfast. Jana has Monday's off work and so she's taking us to Sedona. We drop…

West Coast USA - Day 2 - Flagstaff

October 12, 2008

Have waffles for breakfast from waffle machine in reception. Buy map - too large a scale - and head to the Hollywood sign. Use GPS to get…

West Coast USA - Day 1 - LA

October 11, 2008

Arrive at Heathrow to find that BMI doesn't fly to the US. They use United, would have been nice of them to tell us in advance. Get two…

West Coast USA - Road Trip - The route

October 08, 2008

After working for the whole of the summer it's time for a holiday! My wonderful girlfriend Di and myself are off on a road trip of the west…

Things to do in Paris

August 08, 2008

Here's my map of things we've discovered living in Paris over the last 6 months:

Paris! (a year in the merde)

May 28, 2008

My new home for 6 months or so...

Great places to eat in Madrid

December 31, 2007

A list of great places to eat in Madrid I compiled whilst visiting:

Things to do in NYC

August 14, 2007

A list of things to do in NYC I compiled whilst working over there for a month with Reuters:

Australia - Cairns, Great Barrier Reef & Cape Trib

December 29, 2006

After arriving back in Sydney it was time for a nights sleep and to get back out there. Morning flight up to Cairns to do the Great Barrier…

Australia - East Coast - South bound

December 19, 2006

Final score: 9 days, 3268 km's, 2 x Speeding fines, 1 x Dropped bike, 1 x Deep sand incident, some really really really amazing riding and…

Australia - Fraser Island AKA Paradise

December 15, 2006

Fraser Island is just north of Brisbane. Completely made from sand which has drifted along the mainland shores. Picked up by a double decker…

Australia - East Coast - North bound

December 14, 2006

So. After 3.5 days, 1700 km's, 1 x $350 speeding fine, 1 x dropped bike, stuck in sand, some really really amazing riding and some pretty…

Australia - Great Ocean Road & Grampians

December 11, 2006

After a night out with everyone in Sydney overlooking the opera house and early start (5am) to fly to Melbourne. Hired a BMW 650GS Dakar…

Singapore

December 06, 2006

So. Finally found a computer. You'd have thought that Singapore would have 1000's of Internet cafes. Guess not. Great city. Very clean, safe…

Australia - The night before

December 02, 2006

So the plan. A month in Australia on a motorbike. The dates were originally based around a wedding...which got cancelled and the…

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