Unbelievable. Sad. Saying bye bye to friend that has given us so much and made so many adventures possible 🙁
After 10 years to the day, 70,000 miles, and countless nights of unbelievable adventures, travels, touring and excitement, the van is leaving us and going to a new home and new owners who we genuinely hope will have as much fun as we’ve had. We’re glad we’ve got the blog to remind us of some of what we’ve done an where we’ve been.
We’ve seen ads before saying reluctant sale (yeah yeah), but this sale has been quite emotional. Poor Mel has shed many a tear, and sat in the drivers seat crying before leaving it to its new owners. I think that just goes to show the attachment we’ve had to this loyal friend, and the emotion and fun it has given us. An awesome journey. I did think she’d ask me to call the new owners tell them not to come back! But the new owners are nice, and promise to use it well!
So, why sell? Well its been a really tough choice, but our unplanned (hey mother??? 🙂 ) 2016 Asia trip was the deciding factor as that stopped us going to France for 6 weeks, Portugal for 6-8 weeks, and Scandinavia for 8 weeks, so the Asia trip caused us to cancel/alter 5 months worth of van trips in late 2015 & 2016. So 2016 will now be Asia, and of course some cycling and hiking, and we’ve still got New Zealand to do and more cycling, and even we don’t have enough time to do everything. With current plans, over the next 18-24 months the van wouldn’t really get used, and it deserves better. The heart said keep, the head said sell.
So whats next for us?
More backpacking, cycling camping, and other different trips…
But the campervan adventure is far from over! The direction though is still to be determined. In a transit sized van, our old van is unbeatable in terms of quality and capability. But as we’ve happily done so much cycle camping and backpacking, we know we don’t need a campervan as good or as capable for the fun and adventure we seek, just a contained tent on wheels…. We need to do something different to justify a change. But what? We’re researching…. We have been considering 4×4…. We have been considering smaller/more discreet micro camper. We have been researching self build.
Watch this space, but rest assured, we will be doing something!! And more adventures and travel will occur!
Bye Bye van! You’ve been f***ing awesome!