The McKenzie's Official world tour site
# Saturday, 09 January 2010
and some final words from MACSWAYROUND.........
As we write our final blog from our snowy Devon home in January 2010, we are forever reminiscing and day dreaming of all our time and adventures on Macswayround. The whole experience remains so very real and alive in all of us and we hope will continue to do so, forever. We have had such quality family time and greatly value the opportunity to be able to experience this. Way back in our planning days, we noted that one of our aims was to take a step out of the regular 9-5 family life and experience the things that really matter in life. We have been able to achieve this, and now, for us, re-entry into our ‘previous life’ is by no means easy. We are trying to incorporate aspects of our trip and the way of life that we have developed on the road, into our home life – and to keep those family values and family time strong. We would like to give special personal thanks to our new found friends that have helped us along our way, including, our Polish- friends (Jelenie), Harmut and Maria (Germany), Gaye & Roger (Croatia), Salvadore & Angelina (Portugal), Tim & Sylvia (California), Neil & Lou (Australia), Bev and Phyllis (Australia), Steve & Jen (Australia), Jim & Sally (Australia), Gus & Faye (Tasmania), Steve & Eileen (New Zealand), Phil & Dianne (New Zealand), John & Becky (Oregon), Leo & Diane (Alaska), Ron & Reasa (Calgary), Joe & Sharlene (Montana), Craig & Stephanie (Montana), Rock and Diane (South Dakota), Steve, Penny and The Station (Michigan), Lisa & Munir (Ontario), Dave & Pat ( Ontario), Alison (Maine), and Kent (Maine). More special thanks must go to Don and Sandy (for accomadation), Ali and Dave (for Mayflower Transport, Okehampton) for helping to make the final stages of our trip successful. We have had the time of our lives and definitely caught the travel bug.....we hope to be able to do more with the materials that we have collected along our way ...and are already in the first stages of further planning!! We have always had itchy feet and this has confirmed our priorities in life. PLEASE SUPPORT THE DEVON AIR AMBULANCE WHEN -EVER YOU ARE ABLE AND KEEP A CHECK ON THIS WEBSITE FROM TIME TO TIME – YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT IS AROUND THE CORNER! QUOTES THAT HAVE INFLUENCED US ALONG OUR WAY: • “To hear my children talk about all that they have discovered, to see the LIFE in their eyes as they relive their experiences and to notice the depth of feeling is to know that ‘we’ have given them something as parents to treasure forever.” (Paul Hornsey –Pennell). • “Only when every tree is cut down, only when every river has been poisoned, and every last fish has been caught – will man realise –he can’t eat money...” (old Indian Cree) • “Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take- but – by the number of times your breath is taken away....... • “Bearfooting” is a verb. It means having a good time on the roads. But it is also a state of mind, when your journey becomes more important than your destination. You know you’re “Bearfooting” when you find yourself sitting beside a campfire, and can’t remember the day of the week. What’s more – you don’t even care! THANK-YOU FOR YOUR TIME –UNTIL NEXT TIME......
Saturday, 09 January 2010 17:07:01 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  HOME | Iceland

FINAL PICS OF MACSWAYROUND
soon!
Saturday, 09 January 2010 14:53:28 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  HOME | USA

# Thursday, 24 December 2009
WE ARE HOME!!
Just a very quick Christmas Eve message to let everyone know that we are back home in Devon - ready for Christmas Day. We arrived home on Saturday 19th to a fantastic welcome and it has been VERY busy with unpacking, sorting and trying to organise our Christmas,ever since! We would like to thank Mayflower Transport in Follygate, Okehampton, for assisting us with the logistics of getting Nessie home.......and to everyone else involved in those final miles of our great adventures..... A GREAT BIG THANK-YOU to EVERYONE who has helped in any way at all to help our travels to be SO enjoyable and successful on our MACSWAYROUND! We will be back after the festive season - when our house is a bit more organised for more personal thankyou's and some final photos........ It is still very, very, strange for us to be home and so we are just being swept along by the festive season....... We would like to thank everyone for your continued interest, comments and support in our journey and would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Peaceful New Year.... Please check back again soon for the Grand Finale to the website and some final photos.....thank-you so much..... We realise the financial climate is not good right now - but would like to make another bIG plee to you- to dig deep in your pockets and donate how-ever much you can -to our chosen charity -The DEVON AIR AMBULANCE -PLEASE help boost our success and help to keep our trip and the vital air ambulance services flying high......THANKYOU
Thursday, 24 December 2009 19:22:46 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [0]  HOME

# Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Hooray - maybe pictures will happen!!

Wednesday, 17 September 2008 22:36:20 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Comments [0]  Denmark | HOME | Poland | Sweden | Netherlands

# Sunday, 13 July 2008
Here Is The Completed ArticleWe Are Very Happy With The Way Nessie Is Looking Now Thankyou To Jag Signs For All Their Har
Here is the completed article......We are very happy with the way Nessie is looking now! Thankyou to Jag signs for all their hard work.

We have also received a package with Polo shirts, T.shirts, hats, fleeces and even a swimming costume with our macswayround logo embroided onto them - many thanks to Hyperspeed for all their hard work and definately hyperspeed too !!

Now I must get back to the boxes and packing!

It has been an extremely hectic week after a very successful leaving BBQ last weekend !!

The children had their last day at school on Thursday and have been excited ever since......

Not long now until we leave - in fact TOMORROW ......  ahhhhh..........

We are taking Nessie for her second service up at the church today - any help we can get is greatfully received !!

Think the next time I write will have begun our adventure !! 

 


Sunday, 13 July 2008 12:37:40 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Comments [2]  HOME

# Friday, 04 July 2008
Not Long to go............

We took Nessie along to Barnstaple and got her first service done at Western Truck Rentals (Mercedes Dealership).

She was not even due for a service but we figured that we are planning a lot of miles and we wanted to make sure everything was ship -shape. The staff at the garage were very obliging and donated a Mercedes Survival Kit to us - which includes the necessary -filters, brakes etc. This gesture was very much appreciated and we would like to say 'Thankyou.'

Our next service could well be in Australia -along with a new set of tyres - all 6 of them!

During the last few weeks the Devon Air Ambulance Headquarters have announced a press release - which is available to read as a link from our home page. As we have indicated that we would like to raise money to help this crucial service remain operational - we have had several media telephones call and interviews about our imminent adventure. Phil has begun the trend with an 'over the phone' interview for BBC Radio Devon - followed closely by myself being interviewed for Radio Lantern.

Next was a nerve -racking, early morning trip, to Exeter for a LIVE interview on the Breakfast Show with Matt Woodley - on BBC Radio Devon. After the nerves calmed - this was actually an enjoyable experience!

The Western Morning News published an article on Wednesday this week (2/7/08) - and this is available to view from their website (www.westernmorningnews.co.uk ) - and by putting into the web search 'Devon Air Ambulance - fundraising'. A long list of articles should appear and the 'Mckenzie World Trip' should be one of them to view.

And finally -TODAY! (4/7/08) -We took Nessie up to Pyworthy Primary School for a 'Show and Tell' session!!  Our children took great pleasure in showing Nessie to all of their school friends- the biggest hit being the reversing camera - with lots of children stood waving behind Nessie - so they could be on TV !! 

Phil also took the opportunity to speak to our local vicar and asked if it would be possible to give Nessie a Blessing before we leave - as all help for a safe journey will be gratefully received. This has been booked in to happen on Sunday 13th July at 4pm -THE DAY BEFORE WE LEAVE !!

And if that wasn't enough adventure for today - we had to hurry home to prepare for Kev and Paul's arrival at 2pm. They came once more from BBC Radio Devon and are the 'Late Show Presenters'. They came to our house and had an informal chat. Ben was making microphones from anything he could find which vaguely resembled one!

We began the chat indoors and then walked outside to have a guided tour of Nessie.......... Keep your ears peeled on Tuesday night (8/7/08) as we will be on air some time during this Late Show.............Once again many thanks for your interest.............

P.S - If you haven't already done so  - please keep those donations rolling - to the DEVON AIR AMBULANCE - THANKYOU.


Friday, 04 July 2008 21:56:12 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Comments [0]  HOME

# Tuesday, 17 June 2008
Countdown to our take off - an update is here!

Hej,

Another blog - many apologies for the LONG delay - and thankyou to those of you who had the faith to think that one day there would be another!

We have been so busy 'working' and 'doing' with no time left to write about it!

So here goes:

Phil has spent many hours personalising and adapting Nessie to make her 'ours' and not just some camper we picked up along the way! She is very much our home and we all feel at home travelling and spending time with her now - which is obviously very important to us all.

Here is a list of the main extras that have been added and installed where necessary for our adventures -

* A 3 way fridge freezer lives in the garage (Essential for carrying the odd tin of beer?!)

* A Gas Detector (Essential Safety device for detecting undesired gases along the way)

* A Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Again essential safety accessories)

* Reversing Camera (To see what is behind before its too late!)

* Thermal Blinds (For the cosy good nights sleep!)

* Black- out curtains (for extra insulation)

* A BIG picnic table (Munch Munch!)

* Many Additional Safety Locks

* Comfortable Chairs!

* Water Filter -to Filter our Drinking Water.

* Lots more sockets

* An Extra Battery and Battery Box

* Travel Kettle (a dinky one that makes 2 cups!)

* Travel Iron (Hopefully won't get too much use - but good in an emergency!)

* Jerry Cans

* Storage and Toy Boxes

* Maxview - Satalite Television System

* Fire Extinguishers and Fire Blankets

* Navman Satalite Navigation (To avoid those many map reading disputes!)

* Inverter (Being fitted by Algo Electrical)

................... This is all adding to our very personalised Nessie!

Sharon has even dared to have a drive up on a deserted aerodrome and thoroughly enjoyed the experience (just a bit more practice with the reversing is needed!)

We are well on the way to getting a Passage De Carnet (passport for the Vehicle) to allow Nessie into Australia.

We will be collecting webcams for us, the family and school this week, and with the use of the mobile internet modem (the dongle!) - communication should be no problem! We are busy signing everyone who needs to be up to Broadband and organising some - 'using a computer ' lessons -where necessary!

Nessie is having promotional and advertising transfers fitted soon and we are looking into printing our logo (to be reveiled soon!) onto Vests, T.shirts and Caps......more on this next time.....

So -thats the story so far - we are well on the way to our travels - We leave home on Monday July 14th and have a ferry booked  for Dover-Dunkerque on Tuesday morning!

If I have left any vital information out  -or if you have any comments/questions - don't forget to drop us an email. We are always grateful for your interest and support. Thankyou........

 

 

 

 


Tuesday, 17 June 2008 14:13:37 (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #    Comments [1]  HOME

# Tuesday, 25 March 2008
Getting ready - Part 2

Here we go - it must be well time for another blog.......
We hit a obstactle in the 2nd part of our intended route - being Mongolia and China. It is now obvious that we are not able to drive unattended through China.......We would need a Special Permit and a Government Agent with us at all times. Also a written invite to get a visa in the first place. Too many complications that leave us with no solution other than to abandon the idea of including the Eastern block in this trip. It seems to us that Human Beings have made this beautiful world now more difficult to 'go and see' - maybe next time? Our emotions have been through a roller coaster of frustrations and disappointments as we realise that we couldn't use this part of our chosen route. Phil's need for an extended challenge was especially hard hit.

HOWEVER- now we have had the chance to re-route in our heads, our excitement and enthusiasm has returned - albeit in a different light! We are busy checking prices and routes again. We are now looking at initially staying a bit longer in Europe and then going 'the other way round'. From UK straight to Norway - Sweden - Finland - Russia - Estonia - Latvia - Lithuania- Poland - Germany - Switzerland - France -S. Spain - Portugal - hope to ship to USA (Baltimore) - Chicargo (to see Phil's brother) -Route 66 to LA - Australia  (Papa New Guinea? + Tasmania?) - New Zealand - Canada - USA - (Mexico? and hopefully Alaska) - UK........ The definate POSITIVES are that the new route will allow us longer in USA, Australia and New Zealand the most apprehensive parts of our journey have been removed (out of our control) - hopefully making for a less stressful family adventure.

We should not need any more injections now - and save the children from looking like pin cushions! AND the BEST BIT is that none of our route is set in stone - we have the flexibility to pick and choose as we go along............. The whole family are over the moon with 'Nessie' (the motorhome) and Phil has been continuing to personalise her : We now have extra security locks on every door - a shelved wardrobe - an extra fold down table top - installed flat screen TV/DVD and a reinforced bed ??!! We have taken Nessie on a first long weekend trip and have loved every minute of the experience. We have also had chuckles from  the neighbours as we were seen on a trip to the local supermarket! Phil is just loving to be in the driving seat' and is taking every opportunity to be there......Until next time......Thanks for your interest.... P.S -Sent the children's passports off for renewal today!! They would be fine for us to go but would have run out before we get back!!


Tuesday, 25 March 2008 19:08:32 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [1]  HOME

# Monday, 25 February 2008
Getting ready - Part 1

We've recently aquired the motorhome and Phil has already started customising it. We have begun our injections - boosters for tetanus, diptheria, polio, Hepatitas A and typhoid - lovely! We only went in for a chat with the nurse about what we might need - and came out with 2 jabs each and a long list of what else we will need - how did that happen?!

We are also booked into an emergency first aid course at the end of February. Phil has been shopping for the camper already and installed a microwave, new stereo with a USB connection and an electronic safe. We found a single sheet at a time toilet roll dispenser complete with flat pack tissue paper.

We had a camper naming ceremony along with specially made vodka to splash over it! (Phil refused to waste any whisky on this job!). The camper has officially been named - "NESSIE" its a very strong monster, with many Scottish connections and its future adventures are a mystery to all !!


Monday, 25 February 2008 18:59:47 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Comments [3]  HOME