'Be Prepared!' PAINSTAKING PREPARATIONS FOR MY JOURNEY

As Baden Powell instilled in his young scouting disciples, ‘Be Prepared’, my 25 years of motor-homing experience has taught me that the success of a tour is doing your research beforehand, careful planning, and taking the right things with you. Trouble is, packing ‘the right things’ varies depending on where you are going, and I spent several days packing and then removing things from the increasingly small cupboards on board ‘Bellulu’ before I was happy that I could cope with all that Scotland may throw at me. This particular expedition involves, coping with potential swarms of biting insects, hiking, swimming, bird and wildlife watching,  garden researching and general  sightseeing  in a climate that could be very hot or very wet,  and creating numerous meals miles away from food shops, so my checklist takes on epic proportions. In fact it seems that the challenges my Motorhome Meanderings around Scotland require as much planning and resourcefulness as my travels to Japan, Australia and Bali last summer. But for me, the anticipation and preparations for a motorhome holiday are all part of the fun and build anticipation of what adventures lie ahead.

Driving an 8 foot wide and 22 foot long motorhome is fine on our major roads, but turn off the beaten track and hunting down petrol stations, navigating narrow roads without bumps and scrapes and boarding ferries to islands with primitive roads and no breakdown assistance are some of the unique features of mobile-home travelling that can get the nerves jangling.  Still, at least the reassuring voice of ‘Jack’ my new truck- programmed Sat. Nav. best friend should make things a little easier.

 

Saturday 20^th July 2013

A very early start and teetering on the MANIC! Final shopping and packing of the motorhome and COOKING – chicken casserole, garlic and cream mushroom pasta sauce, boeuf bourguignon, bread, meringues; fresh salads and herbs from my potager garden, fruit and veg, tinned foods, drinks;wet, cool and hot weather clothing, wetsuit  mask and snorkel, disposable barbeque, insect repellent cream (kindly sourced by my colleague Gail with her experience of deadly African pests), electric fan, numerous water toys for Ruskin my wire fox terrier companion …fortunately I didn’t need to pack the kitchen sink as Bellulu has one built in!