HOORAY, THE NEW SEASON STARTS

As the season turned from the odd winter chill towards spring and all the fruit trees came into blossom along with the daffodils, crocuses and early wisterias, more folk seemed to be out and about smiling as the sun warmed the bodies so we made plans to head off from Moissac. After finishing staining the wheelhouse and cleaning up as spring demands, we were set to go but as you know the best made plans of mice and men can easily get waylaid which is what happens.

The saga re motor vehicles continued with the fellow who had paid 50% deposit of the purchase price for the car turned up on settlement day asking for his deposit back stating that a mate of his had offered him a vehicle free of charge. This of course mean't that we had to re-advertise the car as soon as the paper would accept the advert for reissue but valuable time was lost.

We then had three separate groups of locals who appeared to be of North African descent all who tried to bargain down the price and eventually a deal was agreed with the terms stated by the agreed purchaser “I will go and get the money and be back straight away”. Well, we are still waiting and similar events have happened twice more. Why people have to tell lies I don’t know but that is the way it has gone so we are still the owners of two cars.

Rhonda's Comment: "Oh Dad, I have my bag ready and no motor scooter."

I can’t say plus a motor scooter as the last night in Moissac a group of 4 lads walking past the boat at 3.40 am just picked the bike up and walked off with it and despite the CTV capturing the images, the lack of clarity prevented the police from identifying them. The fact that we had a security combo lock cable through the back wheel and the steering lock activated and it was covered and strapped down they knew how to affect a clean getaway. Oh well we better tell the insurance company which was in Cambrai where we bought the scooter two years ago. At the time we could not find anyone who spoke English and it was so difficult finding any company who would even consider giving us insurance due to the fact we were “newbies” but eventually thought between us we had it all worked out. When we tried to claim they advised that we had struck off the theft cover and only had third party cover…Bugger.
Rhonda's Comment: This is the spot where the motor scooter should have been!!!!

Never mind the weather continued to improve and we had to get to Toulouse for our booked appointment with the dry dock so we set off feeling a bit sad after spending 6 months at Moissac and leaving new and old friends and acquaintances behind.

With much waving and kisses being thrown, away we went up hill as they say when you are going into locks which are empty due to the flow and riding up on the fill until you can drive out at the top. This means, as no eclusiers are available to take a rope for you, Rhonda had to be dropped off somewhere prior to the facing lock and walk onto the lock to press the "ok" button up on the side then as I drove “Somewhere” in, I would throw her a bow rope which was generally a couple of meters or so above the boat and which she would fasten over the bollard. This would secure us until the lock was filled and we could drive out. With the distances between locks the first being as little as 500 metres apart she decided to walk from lock to lock which was great for me but she sure slept well that night. I have to say that Harry is of no use whatsoever and just accepts all that is going on.

We stayed in Castelsarrasin for two nights enjoying the renowned Thursday street market and a quiet spell. With the need to push on we cruised for about 3 hours and then stayed overnight at a very pretty mooring at St-Porquier. The next day we headed on up the canal and as we entered into the port of Montech which was looking full, we were fortunate enough to be waved into a berthing position by Clive and Diane "Havink" whom we had met some weeks earlier at a function at Moissac and he directed us to berth alongside another barge whose owners were living back in London so we were able to access water and power and as the weather was exceptional we stayed for 5 nights.

Rhonda's Comment: Clive and Di have their boat for sale - a lovely Dutch Steel Cruiser.

This town is a very nice place with local shops and bars and we enjoyed spending time with Clive and Di and on our 3rd day there Clive came along with another old mate of ours from S.J.L. Terry and wife Sandra off "Felix" who had just come into port as they were heading to the south west area for the season and had fitted into a small finger berth alongside Clive. We enjoyed an evening up on our sundeck having a few cool drinks and telling each other stories, some true, some not so true depending on the time of the evening, but it was a really nice get together.

Rhonda's Comment: First Drinks on Board for the Season.

Sadly during our stay we had a call from my niece Kaye in New Zealand advising that my beloved sister Thelma’s health has almost completely failed and she was not expected to be with us for many more days. I am so glad that we took time before leaving New Zealand at the start of our adventure to travel to visit her and her husband Mel to celebrate the many great times we had enjoyed so much and to say “good bye” and repeated this with my brother Russ and his wife Margaret. Since leaving New Zealand we have lost my brother-in-law, Mel and my sister-in-law has developed severe dementia and is confined to a rest home. I only mention these somewhat morbid facts to again highlight the need to say, fill your lives with whatever you have dreamed of doing as time is not forever and we can be so quickly robbed of such dreams and opportunities.

After another day we headed off to catch up on some of the lost time so we pushed on from Montech and managed a 7 hour day which is most unusual for us but mooring spots are infrequent on this leg of the journey. At one point when we thought we would just pull into the bank and tie up for the rest of the day, we found that the depth was insufficient and in fact we sucked up a heap of mud causing lack of water flow. The engine heat alarms went off so it was a very slow hour or so until I was able to flush enough mud from the system and to allow us to move on to a suitable tie up point which on this occasion we chose to tie to one of the landing platforms below a lock. As it was late on a Saturday afternoon we were sure that canal traffic had finished for the day which was true so a quiet night was spent. These landing platforms are built alongside the canals as points where one can get off to walk up to the lock to operate the system and this is what Rhonda would do, however, they aren’t always available so in such circumstances it means that I have to slide the boat alongside the bank to let her off and as Rhonda’s athletic prowess is somewhat limited we need to be almost stopped and as close as possible to allow her to allow her to get off, hence the grounding and gut full of mud. Why there aren’t platforms at every lock I do not understand.

Harry enjoyed his new surroundings and walks along the canal path after being stuck on the boat for so long and as Sunday dawned and all was quiet we decided to stay here for the day and to watch the Malaysian Grand Prix which is a new love of Rhonda’s.

A new day dawned and with only 15kms showing on the canal chart we decided we would go right through to Toulouse which turned out to be easier said than done due to two locks giving problems and delaying us plus again getting overheating problems. Some of the locks leading into the city of Toulouse are quite difficult in that they are very tight as they are built on severe turns and can also be very slow fillers so a complete cycle of one lock can take almost 30 minutes. We slid into the port of Toulouse to find it fully occupied so took the chance and tied up to the wall opposite which is alongside a busy road.

Thank goodness for double glazing as it sure minimised the feared noise level and after a short rest spell we wandered over to the nearby Irish Pub where they offer good old styled English food and have a huge array of rugby jerseys and country flags adorning the walls including Jona Lomus 1995 World Rugby Cup famous Guernsey. With the staff all speaking English and the menu printed in both French and English we were able to pick a delicious meal which was not too expensive and was such a change from the usual French formulae fare. We noticed that they offered an All Day Full English Breakfast menu for the weekends which may be of appeal at some time but typically French, when we asked what time they opened for breakfast, we were told 12.noon to 3.00pm. One has to smile for sure.

Rhonda's Comment: The water goes down.

Had a great nights sleep and up in time to get the boat to the gates and bridge leading in off the canal to the VNF yard by 8.30am. We were there on time but the VNF were late so we had to drift about until they duly arrived to shift the bridge etc which cuts right through the tow/ cycle and walk path so people going to work were delayed while we slid through the very narrow entrance. Once inside we were directed to tie up to the quay only to be told once we had done this to untie and to make the right hand turn into the flooded dry dock pen. This managed, we were tied into position and the pump out took place. It took an hour to drain the water and it was fascinating to see the bottom of “Somewhere” for the first time.

Rhonda's Comment: The wretched green plastic bag.

Despite the green slime and fresh water mussels which had grown on the hull we were surprised how well the state and general condition was. The contractor said that due to the lack of any damage and such little wear that the anodes would not even have to be replaced so this speaks well of the Victron Isolating System preventing the uptake of wild electrolysis etc. Then I noticed a woven belt rope wound very tightly around the prop shaft and even worse found a small but almost perfectly fitting plastic bag jammed into the fresh water intake reducing the potential volume by at least 3/4 so this may well have been the reason why our water temp has been rising particularly when mud was added to the equation. Fingers crossed. The contractor started to water blast the hull almost immediately and worked diligently through to 4.30 pm so we then sat on the rest rails drying in the sun. Sadly when I looked into the bow thruster I noticed it had only two blades so guess this is a job for experts over the next few days.

Sadly at around 2.00pm, the news arrived that my sister in New Zealand had passed away and while we are really saddened by the news as reported earlier, it was not unexpected and can only add that at last she is now at peace. Her children and grandchildren can now grieve and support each other as only a death seems to bring us to do.

Day two and the work progressed quickly as the hull had dried quickly in the nice spring sun so sanding of the odd area where we had scraped heavily was carried out and so began the under sealing ready for the blacking to be sprayed on. Two coats later "Somewhere" looked great so we decided to have the green panels re-done as they had got a few scrapes over the years so this area was sanded, primed, masked up and the green paint was sprayed on and she sure looks like new again. Serge, the contractor is a great tradesman who deserves all the great references we had received about him prior to getting the work done. He is a master at his trade and sure knows the marine industry so well.

As Saturday was a day to get off the boat, Rhonda and I and Harry travelled into the city centre by bus to see the sights so to speak. As I have reported in the past when we stayed here in the port, the city is known for its pink colour due to the bricks which are used so much in its general construction. Sunday was time to get the boat cleaned up ready for the dry dock to be filled with water, however, as we still awaited the arrival of the bow thruster propeller replacement propeller so fingers crossed it will be here Monday. Monday arrived and of course no propeller had arrived but as it was “on the VNF schedule,” we had to go out of the dry dock but could rest up in the pond area just outside of the doors. This despite no-one was coming in and the big barge sharing the drydock with us was having extra steel plates welded to her hull so they had to stop work, clear out all their tools and equipment so the water could be let in to let us out and they had to wait while it was drained again. Half a day lost, all for nothing but it was “on the schedule.” Crazy to say the least.

We sat outside in the pond awaiting the arrival of the bow thruster prop. Fortunately I was able to use the time to start repainting the wooden sun deck so after sanding, priming and undercoating we started this awful job but it should look great when finished. Rhonda spent her time doing a full spring clean inside which was much needed due in part to the amounts of dust which plagued the area. On Tuesday and with no sign of the bow thruster propeller Serge rang Vetus in Holland only to be told that the money transfer he had made to them in full payment including "Rush Courier" had not cleared the bank so the prop would not be sent until that had happened. Amazing as I could have paid for it on my credit card as no transfer bank transactions seem to be activated in real time like we are used to in New Zealand so it is a case of sit and wait.

Later in the day we received a call from Kaz and Iain at Moissac to say a young fellow had turned up there with my motor scooter but sadly it had been damaged quite badly and had been thrown into the river so who knows what the real damage is or whether it can be repaired. They had stripped off the front cowl to hot wire it and removed the rear mudguard which carried the number plate and tail lights etc but they had not noticed the little “I love New Zealand” sticker I had put under the seat so it was easy to get confirmed identification. Apparently the Gendarmes called down to the marina to view it and now want to interview me when I return. Goodness only knows why. They sure couldn’t find it themselves. Oh well another adventure awaits our return to Moissac next week all being well.

We were to have friends from New Zealand arrive to spend some time with us on the boat but Jenny phoned today to say they were stuck in Switzerland as no rail seats are available until after Easter weekend so they won’t now get here until Tuesday at least. This might be a blessing as I will push on with the painting and we will effect the cleaning which is so necessary after a term in dry dock with all the grinding, welding and spraying going on every day. While the weather has been fine, each day of late has been quite windy so this has held the temperatures down and it has been strong enough to stir up dust from this unsealed work area so everything is coated inside and out.

Well the exit day arrived at last and with Serge fitting the new bow thruster propeller and all seeming to be fine including getting the Sum Log working for the first time ever as our mate Alex off “Riccall” had crawled under the boat while it was in dry dock and found that the little impeller had never been able to turn so with deft hands, he trimmed some of the plastic so it can freely turn so we were delighted to see it keeping a reading of our speed. He is a clever little fellow is that Alex. At 3.00pm as per the VNF schedule we were allowed out of the pound onto the main canal so pottered off through Toulouse which was in a quiet mood after unexpectantly being well beaten in the semi final of the Heineken Cup, Europe Rugby championship by Leinster so they now have to sit by and watch the finals from the stand or on TV.

With Jenny and her cousin Des still floundering about the south of France trying to catch us up we headed to Grisolles a small town right on the rail and said we would meet them there around 1.00pm and this was confirmed by them on text. We stood on the platform and watched several trains rip by then one stopped but no sign of our guests so after an exchange of texts we learned that they had got on a non-stop train from Toulouse to Agen, missing Grisolles and going on even past Moissac so Rhonda, Harry and I retired in amazement to the local truck lunch stop and had a wonderful meal of Canard with salad and Frites of course plus a carafe of Rose to wash it down. Well if you are a duck meal lover you could not have got a better meal as it was delightful and the steaks of duck were cooked to perfection. With full bellies we waddled back to “Somewhere” for an afternoons rest which was great and to await the planned re arrival time of 8.40 pm for our guests after they had returned to Toulouse and restarted their journey on a train which did stop at Grisolles. What a laugh to say the least.

Rhonda's Comments: Jenny. All smiles - what should have been a 30min trip turned out to be a 6 hour trip!!!!

Now I do have to tell you that Rhonda was awake at 6.00am to watch "The Royal Wedding" can you believe that (for those who know Rhonda, they would not be at all surprised by that and in fact would have expected that she would have waited up all night for it to come on). I must admit even I enjoyed it. From Grisolles we headed to Montech only to be flagged down by Alex and Louise off “Riccall” who had cycled down from about 4 kms up the Canal Montauban. As they insisted on us having a drink to say ‘Hello’ to Jenny and Des and to toast the newly married royal couple, it was around 7.00pm before we said good night to them as they cycled with a slight wobble off into the evening sunset and we set off to the closest restaurant as Des and Jenny said they would shout us a meal. Boy what a feed we had and they had Canard for the first time with Rhonda and I had the best steak I have had in France. What a great respite I have to say so a real fun evening was had.

As we had been told by Alex and Louise what a great trip it was up to Montauban with only 9 locks to face we travelled this new to us canal and arrived at the end of the canal to find them setting up for a day of athletic prowess with multi sports etc all about to happen the next day. With Des and Jenny needing to get a train booking to Nice they walked to the station, getting lost again, while Rhonda and I gave the boat a clean. We sat up on the sundeck upon their return enjoying the views and a quiet drink or two as the vans and tents for the BIG athletics day were set up right beside our boat.

Rhonda's Comment: Passing "Riccall" - Louise, Ken loves those legs.

Unfortunately our guests had scheduled to leave us at 8.30 am the following morning so off they went and Rhonda and I spent the day watching all the activities of the locals. Like the sound volume from the PA system which steadily got turned up in volume to where it was a blur in the end, however, it was all over including the Line Dancing displays by 3.00pm so we couldn’t complain really.

Rhonda's Comments: Just loved the french line dancers, dancing to "Country Road" by John Denver. I was the only one who knew the words!!!

Today we set off amid rumours of a VNF strike to get back to Montech but found no such problems so are almost back to old home territory again and have asked if we can go out onto the River Tarn to stay in Moissac when we get back. With a planned overnight stop in Castelsarrasin flagged as we had made such good times we headed to Moissac a day earlier than planned. As we wanted to go down onto the river off the canal we had to book the lock changes with the VNF so 2.30 pm was set down for us.

It was like arriving back home and we were delighted to get through the locks and out onto the river only to find our old mates Alex and Louise with Riccall already ensconced there so gave us a hand to tie up and get secure so this really is the close of another adventure for this blog so will close off for now while and await the arrival of Daphne and Claude from Waiheke Island in Auckland so some fun times ahead are assured.

As we will have completed 3 years living on “Somewhere”, come October, exploring this great country and seeing so many wonderful sights, after much agonising I have decided to put the boat on the market for sale so we will see what the advert brings.

Meanwhile we wish you all the very best wherever you are.

Kindest regards
Ken, Rhonda and Harry

SPRING HAS SPRUNG 2011

“Oh what a wonderful world” goes the ever popular song and I am sure it is so true but with the events of the past few weeks, sometimes one has some questions of what on earth is going on.
With winter slowly pulling back its cruel tentacles from the northern hemisphere at last, mother nature has still given us some lessons as though to say she is still fully in charge which has manifested itself by the terrible carnage caused by the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan overnight and the shocking earthquake and loss of life in our beloved city of Christchurch plus the battles of the people going on in Libya and other north African countries. Our news sure does not present very pleasant viewing so thank goodness we are living in a quiet and relaxed corner of the earth, at least so far, here in Moissac, south west France.

While we have had to endure the winter weather as expected. It has been so mild compared to the rest of France, Northern Europe and the UK so we are very grateful indeed. With only a couple of snowy storms to bother us we have enjoyed almost windless conditions with nice sunny days and only in the past few weeks have we had to put up with some days of overcast and rainy conditions. Not bad for this time of the year and to off set this the trees have begun to show green tips and blossoms are decking the fruit trees in pink and white which is a magic transitional time.

Rhonda's Comment: The strawberrys are in flower and the lettuce is nearly ready to pick.

With the arrival of a new grandson, Rhys Adam ("Sumo" my nickname for him) born 11 lbs to Michelle and Tom and son Hayden in Auckland on Australian Day (26th January), Rhonda made the epic journey back to New Zealand to spend time with them and friends which was great for her to be able to catch up with so many family and good friends. She was rewarded with a showering of affection from Hayden who she hadn’t seen for 2 years when she made a similar trip back to see them.

The hot weather there wasn’t the best for her but as she was invited to stay with Jock and Julie for a few days during her visit, she was able to make great use of the beautiful swimming pool they have. The kindness of people was amazing as Dave and Lois loaned her their car so she was able to get to see other folks as well as visit Michelle, Tom, Hayden and Rhys every day so a big thanks goes to those folk plus to our oldest friends Daphne and Claude who made her feel so welcome out at their home on the magic island of Waiheke which is a must for any visitors to Auckland to travel out on the ferry to see.

Rhonda's Comment: The cruise ships lined up in Auckland.

Rhonda's Comment: Evening drinks on Daphne and Claude's balcony.

As it is such a haul and due to the need to stopover in Dubai on her way home Father Christmas shouted her a 2 day stopover package there to take in the sights and marvels of this almost space age city. She thoroughly enjoyed it so much she has almost convinced me that we should go there some day for a holiday but we will see.

Rhonda's Comment: The iconic sights of Dubai - that's not me on the camel either!!!

While she was away Harry and I batched onboard and did well really with looking after ourselves along with enjoying some wonderful meals and company being invited to other folks boats during the three week break. People in the “Long Village” as we call the cruising community ensure that lame ducks like me seem to get well looked after so to all those who kindly fed and watered me, I say a big, Thank You.

Slowly as spring progresses a number of boat owners are returning from their winter nests such as homes in the UK or wherever with lots of stories of how they got through the coldest winter in history so we are so glad we weren’t there, but it is nice to catch up with them anyhow.
The odd boat has already cast off for an early start to the cruising season with the canals opening in early March once the maintenance schedule had been completed by the marine authorities V.N.F. Prior to this the canals were all but drained in many areas so work could be effected on lock gates (Ecluses) so it was fascinating to see how little water was left to allow the passage of fish plus to give us a proper view of how shallow the canals can be even when filled with water.

If you have two meters in depth you are sure lucky so one now understands why yachters who traverse from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean using the canal system rather than going out via Gibraltar and then facing the notorious Bay of Biscay conditions, stick to the middle of the canals much to others annoyance but they can’t always get off the middle without running aground. Often we used to see yachts with a sign attached to the bowsprit saying 1.8 or so on which was their way of telling you that they needed at least this much water to be able to transverse the area and sometimes they would pull up and ask if they could tie up alongside us as they couldn’t get berthed against the bank due to the need for a decent depth of water.

Rhonda's Comment: Don't leave us Iain and Kaz. As they are the Captainerie's they better come back!

We have driven to Toulouse a couple of times to visit the V.N.F. dry-dock where we have booked “Somewhere” into to have her bottom pressure washed, renew the anodes if necessary and then have the hull blackened which will be interesting for sure. We met the contractor who does the work and sure seems to know what to do so that is a comfort. We have never seen what she is like below the water line so fingers crossed we haven’t damaged her when we have run aground which has happened a couple of times. The attached photos give an idea of what this is like and as we can stay aboard while she is in there for 10 days approx we will be able to look more closely at this large city and hopefully be able to do the tour of the Airbus factory which is on the outskirts of the city.

Rhonda's Comment: This is where we will be on 12th April.

During fine winter weather I have been able to carry out minor repairs and to touch up the paintwork and will do some more while in dry-dock hopefully so “Somewhere” is all ‘flashed up’ for the arrival of our cruising visitors for this season. It is our intention to cruise this bottom end and to explore some less known areas and will take time off the boat to say travel by road to Bordeaux on the west coast and visit some other towns and cities on the Atlantic sea board.

Rhonda's Comment: This is in the grounds of the Abbey here in Moissac.

We are looking forward to having some Auckland folks onboard with us this year, Jenny and her cousin will join us in Toulouse for a few days which will set the cruising season off to a fine start. This will be followed by our old mates Daphne and Claude who have visited us each summer since we started cruising and will be with us for a couple of weeks. Also from Auckland will be Valerie and Derek so the wineries and food outlets better stand by at least.

Well as you can gauge from the lack of exciting news in this blog, the past few months have been very easy so we wait to see what the new cruising season brings. With Spring springing, waters flowing again and engines turning over ready to be set to work I will close for now wishing you all the very best and will report as soon as we have news of another step along in our great adventure.

A NEW YEAR BEGINS ON THE CANALS

Christmas to 30 January 2011

Following a relaxed but really enjoyable Christmas Day which consisted of the usual cooked breakfast and exchange of gifts, we had agreed with two other couples to share Christmas Dinner duties so Celia and George from “Snow Goose” prepared an entrée of prawns and lots of nibbles and Rosy and David off “Suki” cooked a magic main course of chapon (large fowl) with all the vegetable trimmings while Rhonda and I did the desserts of mince tarts, chocolate log ice cream etc plus Celia added her special plum pudding which was entering its first birthday from storage. Everything was really delicious. This was followed by a range of delightful cheeses etc. What a great meal and as usual I have to admit we probably all ate far too much but it was so enjoyable and one we shall remember for a long time. So much better than going off to a restaurant which was what we had originally planned to do.

After a good sleep like over stuffed hibernating bears we walked with Harry along the canal to try to push back the effects of that great meal.

Well as they say, “time waits for no man” and how true this is and also how time slips by faster and faster every year so the New Years Eve get together at the port of Moissac was a focal point for about 12 couples who are staying at the marina as winter over residents and who gathered on Tom’s hotel barge “Easyvie” to celebrate this event. It was a beaut night of celebrating, eating and of course drinking plus we were entertained by folk singing along led in the main by George off “Snow Goose” and his dulcet tones were a leader for all particularly when singing My Way.

Rhonda's Comments: We had two guests of honour at the New Year's Eve Party - William and Kelly (should be Kate, I reckon).

At the magic time of midnight we were led into the Auld Lang Syne by a Scotty foursome who sounded out loud and clear so a really nice night was had by all. Most of us managed to stay erect which was an achievement on its own considering the amount of liquid refreshments consumed on this special evening. With the New Year celebrations now behind us we can look forward to the rest of this winter followed by a whole new cruising season.

Since the start of the year we have enjoyed most unseasonable weather by all accounts. No wind, little rain and only a slight snow drop on one day which was gone by early afternoon. It has been cold at times for sure but we have also enjoyed temperatures as high as 18 and lows to 5 below at night but nothing like what they have had in the north of France and of course Europe and the UK. I guess we can still get a change but we will take this milder weather any time that Mother Nature wishes to give it to us.

As we haven’t moved “Somewhere” since berthing up here in October, life has been at a much slower pace and in some ways we have been similar to the bears and have enjoyed a lot of hibernating or similar. Odd jobs get done but due to the outside cold, painting is really out of the question but I have drained the residue in the bilges using a borrowed Wet Vac which was just great, varnished a panel in the hall, valeted the engine room, cleaned and polished whatever needed doing and to be honest very little else.

We were forced into buying another car as the Citroen finally gave signs that it could self destruct at any time through all its electrical faults and transmission leaks so after getting a quote for €1300.00 to repair the main fault, we felt we should move on to another unit but wouldn’t you know it, we bought a Renault privately and it too has problems which are being attended to as I write this. Talk about being a dummy when it comes to buying second hand cars is concerned, I have to take the prize I guess but I am very angry that people are so ready to rip others off but as they say “let the buyer beware” so hope I have learned a lesson for all time now. God help the next seller that tries to sell me something as I am sure whatever it is will get the most thorough grilling and going over before I hand over any cash.

Well the car has been returned and seems to be just fine so fingers and legs crossed for the future. Since getting it back we have done some visits to other towns in the region and still rate this area as our favourite as it is so pretty and interesting with great farmlands and forests and wineries and orchards all on clean rolling country and plains.

Some photos of the areas visited are included in this blog which only just give the reader an idea of what is on offer. Even though it is the heart of winter it is still lovely. No wonder that so many English folk move to this region to retire and none I have spoken to have any regrets at all.

We have always wondered about the huge amounts of orchards which are now espaliered for mechanical picking but are also covered with white netting which we are told protects the fruit from bird strike and hail storms. There are thousands of hectares grown under cover like this. So similar to the way grape vines are being protected back in New Zealand but we sure aren’t used to it being strung out over the trees which are growing up to 5 meters so as you will see by the photos just how much of a structure is needed to support the trees and to carry the mesh. I would think you would need a big bank balance to be able to afford such protection but perhaps the French government is still dishing out subsidies like confetti.

During the cruising season we met a lovely couple, Pat and Malcolm Hipple who live in the outskirts of Moissac so we agreed to meet up when we were next in port. After them visiting us onboard in October they kindly asked us to visit them at their home. This we did and found that they had built themselves a beautiful home with delightful gardens up on the hills behind Moissac. Both of them are accomplished artists and they proudly hang some of their works. Pat uses paints and Malcolm with pencils and ink. The photo above is one of Pat's works and due to her ability she has been commissioned on serveral occasions to paint people's pets and animals. Malcolm's pen and ink works are of the highest quality and would grace any lounge wall. We live in envy of people with skills like they have.

As we were to celebrate our wedding anniversary last week, Rhonda had heard of a well rated restaurant some 30mins drive out of Moissac, so as it was a gorgeous day we set off for another cross country drive and eventually found this restaurant called Aubergue de Bardigues. It was the only commercial operation in this tiny country village and when we arrived it was empty and in fact looked deserted so fearing the worst we gingerly entered only to be really welcomed by the proprietor and his wife and chef and as they had seen us walking about outside with Harry, insisted we should bring him in too.

The restaurant was modern and tastefully decorated and as soon as we sat at our allocated table, water was brought for Harry and we were talked through the menu in very good English by the wife. We had a delightful meal with great service and no, we weren’t the only ones there as by the time we had our entrees, the restaurant had filled with folk from all over. It seated around 100 people so just as well we did book. Rhonda and I kept wondering that if a restaurant like this stuck so far out in the “wop wops” as we say in New Zealand and was so well patronised, why can’t so many others follow suit rather than sit with empty tables every day.

January has been a great month weather related and apart from a couple of rain showers, the sun has kept shining, the wind has been only a light breeze and the temps have varied from 3 below in the early morning to 20 degrees one day. This did not stop a skin of ice creeping along from the closed lock gates however, so with the lower water levels the canal took on a whole new look. This ice only lasted for a few days before melting away and everything returned to normal, however, we are advised that the full water flow will not restart until the 3rd March so just as well we are in this “pound” and port until then.

Also last week we were visited by a company with their state of the art rubbish removal boat so as there isn’t a lot to gain attention at this time of the year this event became a real attraction for the locals and the “boaties”. The rig was craned into the canal and with due attention from the local officials and mayor etc, it proceeded to sweep the canal with its special net showing how easy floating rubbish could be cleared which would be great but at a cost of €50,000.00 per craft I can’t see too many local councils or VNF’s buying one.

There are parts of the canal which have been closed off so the VNF marine authorities can do maintenance work on the banks etc leaving just a small creek in the centre to keep the fish alive and to stop the water becoming stagnant etc.

Rhonda's Comment: Hello there, Kaz, Ziggy, Irene and Iain. Out for an early morning walk down by the Tarn River.

We drove to Toulouse last week (3 days by boat and 1 hour by car) to where we will get the boat into a dry dock so that we can inspect the bottom and have her water blasted and re-blackened and anodes replaced if need be, so that will be an exciting start to our cruising season in April but as usual here in France, while we spoke to the VNF office and asked for a firm booking date, the contractor who carries out the blacking and so on has failed to give us a confirmed date despite promises to do so. With 2 follow up phone calls from us seeking that news, it is like the old army saying “Hurry up and wait” so that is what we will just have to do.

OK, there are some tiny signs of spring coming so we wait expectantly for the first bud burst but it cannot be too far away. In the meantime we say farewell for now wishing you all, kind regards and great boating for those lucky enough to be out on the great waterways of this country and we look forward to meeting up with so many of you over the next cruising season and to meeting so many more great folk as we travel along. To those who aren’t lucky enough to do as we have done, oh well good luck and enjoy the dreaming.

Talk to you soon.

Regards Ken, Rhonda and Harry

We do have a Postscript: We have become grandparents again. Rhys Adam Kelly was safely delivered by c-section on 26th January (Australia Day) weighing in at a very respectable 5.05kgs (11lbs)!!!!! Michelle, Tom and brother Hayden are all doing well.