Exchange 5 - Down Under

We got an offer this year from a family in Sydney, Australia.  They had saved up their leave entitlement and were treating themselves to the trip of a lifetime.  After the usual continual exchange of emails and photographs we finally met at Rochester Station at 11am on the 5th August 2005.  We picked them up from the station and brought them back to our house for some lunch.

Once we had cleared the lunch things away, we showed them around the house, explained how things worked and let them go out for a drive in our car while we got our final things ready and cleared the house for the final time ready for them to move in.

At 5.30pm my mum picked us up and drove us to Heathrow for our flight to Kuala Lumpur.  We had chosen to have a short stay in Malaysia on our way back and had booked flights to and from Lankawi.  We had a long wait at Kuala Lumpur and, after a little to eat, we all slept on benches until it was time for our flight to Sydney.

After a wait in a very long queue at Sydney airport to get through immigration (our bags arrived in the baggage hall before we did) we met up with Paul, one of the family, who drove us to the house, gave us a quick tour and introduced us to Lily (a fox terrier) and the cat, whose name, I'm afraid, we can't remember.  It was winter in Sydney and we were all quite exhausted and cold after the 24 hour flight so we had some hot drinks and a spa bath to make us feel better.  Then, as it was early afternoon, we caught the train to Darling Harbour.  Ben, Beccy and I hired an paddle boat and Brian slept on a bench. After a McDonalds, some shopping for supplies and another hot drink we went to bed at 6pm.  This allowed Brian to actually get up and watch the sun rise.  We were all up by 6am and after a good breakfast we went out to see what was around.  Botany Bay was a short drive from the house (we had been left a car) and we went to the discovery centre, marvelling at the brightly coloured birds and the noisy kookaburras.

Lily spent most of her time in the back yard and got plenty of exercise but the children have always wanted a dog and we wanted to take her out walking as much as possible.  We took her to the local park where the children could play on the swings and slides.  We met some local people and discovered that many people living in the area were European muslims who had emigrated from countries such as Macedonia and Albania.  People were very friendly and liked to talk.  One day we walked Lily to the beach.  It was a very long walk, maybe 4 or 5 miles.  She loved the walk and played excitedly on the beach but when it came to the journey back, she just couldn't make it and we had to carry her!

During our stay we made sure that we visited many of the attractions that you would expect to visit.  We saw the opera house but only Beccy and I went inside (she needed the toilet and we sneaked in).  We visited Taronga Zoo, Wonamora Dam (very short of water), Stanwell Park beach, Minnamurra Rainforest and Falls, Bondi and Bronte beaches, Sydney Aquarium, the Sky Tower, Hyde Park Barracks Museum, the Australian Museum, Luna Park and the Queen Victoria building  among them.  As we hadn't had to pay for accommodation or to hire transport, or to pay for meals other than buying the ingredients in the supermarket, we had more available funds to use for sightseeing.

We made a point of driving out to Sydney's Olympic park.  We visited the aquatic centre and spent the morning swimming. We visited the Telstra stadium where England had won the Rugby World Cup two years before. On another occasion, Brian went to the International Shooting Centre while the rest of us went back to the Aquatic centre after which we met up and hired a court in the Olympic tennis centre.  Our final sporting visit was to the velodrome in Mackay Park.  During our stay, England's cricket team were playing Australia for the Ashes.  It was played in England so we were able to watch it live at night.

My birthday fell in the middle of our stay in Sydney and I really wanted to have a go at surfing.  Brian treated me and the children to a surfing lesson on Bondi Beach.  I was useless but both children managed to ride a wave standing on the board by the end of the one hour lesson.  For a treat in the evening, we went to Billy Kwong's restaurant in Surry Hills

After our first visit to Bondi beach we got a bit lost on the way home and ended up going over Sydney Harbour bridge where we accidently went through the eTicket gate.  The flash told us that we had been logged going through and we were sure that there was no device or tag in the car.  When we got back to the house we searched the information we had been given and the internet to try to find out the procedure and the cost but we couldn't.  We rang Paul who told us the price so that we could leave the money behind.  At the same time we arrange to go out for a meal with him and his girlfriend.  We met up with them, had a lovely meal and then went back to their house for coffee and a discussion about life in Australia, salaries, taxes, holidays, schools and life in general.

The only drawback with home exchange is that, because of the good accommodation, you are inclined to stay in one place.  We wanted to see a little more than just the centre and outskirts of Sydney.  We were given the name of a neighbour who would feed the animals if we chose to go away and so we booked ourselves some beds at the Katoomba Youth Hostel in the Blue Mountains.  We had a wonderful weekend there, again making sure that we saw as many sights as we could.  Most of the time was spent walking in the beautiful countryside in the mountains.

Our last day (of 16) was spent taking Lily for a long walk and tidying and cleaning the house so that we left it in the same condition as we found it.  We booked a taxi for the short ride to the airport and flew off to a four day holiday in Malaysia.  Our flight took us to Kuala Lumpur where we changed to a flight to Langkawi.  Our time there was spent staying in a lovely hotel and being real tourists (although hopefully not exploitative ones)!  While there we hired two mopeds and explored the island with one child riding behind each of us.

We had a four week holiday for which we paid for 6 nights accommodation (2 in the Black Mountains, 3 in Langkawi and 1 in Kuala Lumpur at the airport hotel).  This had allowed us to do much more sightseeing and travelling around than we would otherwise have done on the budget we had.  Without the home exchange it is very doubtful that we would have visited Australia at all.

We returned home to find our house very clean and tidy and to find some gifts left for us.  We had left some chocolates, toys and wine at the house in Sydney along with the money for the fine for going over the harbour bridge.

Exchange 4 - Our first non-simultaneous.

We had two good opportunities this year. We were offered a youth hostel in Wales to look after for one week and Claire and Jyrki asked us to visit Finland, Jyrki's home country, with them. This meant that there was too little time for an exchange in the summer holidays and we decided not to.

We received a large number of offers, as we do each year, and turned them all down. However, a couple from Newcastle were looking for somewhere in Kent to stay while they looked at static caravans. Their plan was to retire to a caravan on the Kent coast in a few years and they wanted to get a feel of what it was like and what might be available. We decided that we would offer them our house while we were in Finland and then Wales. They suggested that we just let them know when we might want to travel to Newcastle and they would make their house available. this suited all of us down to the ground. they would look after our cats and the house while we were away and we could stay in their house when we needed to.

They arrived after we left and so we didn't meet them but everything went well. Mum showed them around the house and they didn't have any problems. They had brought their own car and so all we had to do was to move one of ours somewhere else to make sure that they had room.

On the subject of retirement, we found a place in Wales that we both felt we could retire to. We stayed in a place called Trefdraeth (Newport) on the north side of Cardigan Bay. We could sit on the beach and watch the sunset, dolphins and seals and behind us would be green rolling hills, it was beautiful.

Finland was also beautiful. We visited the countryside around Mikele, swam in lakes, visited a ski jump centre and an indoor cross country skiing centre. We were able to see the places where Claire and Jyrki had lived when they were first married and they had Nadia and Nathan. We also spent some time in Helsinki, just the four of us before heading back to Stansted airport for the drive to Wales.

We were offered many dates for staying in Newcastle but we were unable to manage any of them and in the end I said that we would leave it and we weren't worried about the second half of the swap unless something came up and we happened to be in that area.

It took four years before that happened but we did eventually stay in the house in Newcastle as part of a trip to Northumberland and we had a great time.

Exchange 3 - New Zealand

For our third exchange we first considered an offer for Hawaii (we had to look it up on a map and couldn’t believe how far from anywhere, especially the US, it was).  We then accepted an offer for San Francisco.  Brian was keen to show us where he had stayed during his six months working in California and we were all quite interested in visiting the area.  We started to make plans and were looking at flights.  Luckily, we didn’t book anything.  The family we were arranging the exchange with emailed us to let us know that their circumstances had changed and that they weren’t able to travel to the UK.

While we had been organising the US exchange we had received many offers from all over the world.  We had replied to them all saying thanks for the offer but we had already made arrangements for this year and hoped that they found a good exchange and had a good trip.  Luckily, I had stored all the emails just out of interest to see how many offers we got and where from.  We went back through the offers and decided that we fancied New Zealand and that we would like to travel for at least 4 weeks.  I found the New Zealand offers and received an email from Lynley and Rick saying that they hadn’t yet found anyone to exchange with them and it would be great to stay at our house.  They were going to do a tour of Europe and spend some time in England with Rick’s elderly father, who was quite ill.  Rick came from the same part of London as Brian and so our house was quite convenient.  They had a ‘lifestyle’ property in Katikati, near Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty.  This meant that the house had quite a lot of land and that they kept chickens, cows, a pig and grew vegetables.

We only had to look after the chickens, which Ben and Beccy loved, and eat the eggs.  Amazingly, Tauranga was where Andy and Kerry, who we had met at the youth hostel last year, lived.  We confirmed the exchange and emailed Andy and Kerry to let them know that, surprisingly, we would be visiting them.

Lynley and Rick flew to Heathrow from Germany.  We drove to the airport to meet them and recognised them straight away from their picture.  I drove them to the bed and breakfast they would be staying at for a couple of days in my car.  Brian, Ben and Beccy met us there in Brian’s car so that we could give my car to Lynley and Rick.  I can do without the car quite easily, just tend to use it for emergencies and sometimes because it is there.  We all went out for a meal in Croydon, got to know each other a little and exchanged information about our respective houses.  I had made a small folder with information in it about the shops, the gadgets in the house, the pets and medical information.  When we arrived in Katikati, we found that Lynley had written a book.  It took us a good while to read it!

On the day we were due to leave, Lynlie and Rick arrived at our house as we finished getting ready.  We said goodbye, got a lift to Heathrow and flew to Singapore for a brief stopover and then on to Auckland.

Monday 28th July 2003

Auckland airport is right next to the sea – a little scary on landing.  Andy had said that he would meet at the airport but we got our dates wrong and he couldn’t make that day.   Instead, we caught a bus from Manakau City in the Auckland suburbs.  Manakau shopping centre didn't give us a good first impression but the bus came and we all slept well on it.  Amanda met us from the bus in Katikati and took us to the house.  The children only wanted to sleep and so I gave them a bath and a drink and put them to bed.  We were all in bed by about 7pm and got up about 6am.

Tuesday 29th July 2003

       

After getting up really early we had breakfast (fresh eggs – poached) and fed the chickens and let them out.   We went to meet the cow, Jenny and the calf, Cinders and then spent the morning getting to know where everything was and keeping the fire going.  We saw some beautiful little birds called fantails that are about sparrow size, have fan like tails, and flit around like butterflies.  Lynley had left information about local attractions and we first went to Katikati Heritage Museum.  We had a nice lunch before going round the museum.  The museum was run by a retired couple who have collected memorabilia.  She was very informative on the origins of Katikati, a planned settlement set up 125 years ago by a group of protestants from Northern Ireland who sailed over to farm the land which had previously been bought from the Maori people.   After the museum we returned home, fed the chickens (three eggs laid) and the cat and went to bed early again.

Wednesday 30th July 2003

Got up at 6am again! Both Ben and Beccy had come into our bed in the night and we were all squeezed together.  We all got very little sleep.  Had boiled fresh eggs with salami and bread followed by apple slices for breakfast.  Fed the chickens and went out for a walk in the bush.  We walked to the Sentinel Rock lookout.  It took 2 hours to walk up the side of a small mountain to get to the lookout and probably one hour to get back down.  Found a dead possum on the way – looked like it had just died, there were no marks on its body but its claws had been ripped out.  Great view from the top of the Kaimai range.  After the walk we went to Waihi beach and walked on the sand.  This was the first view of the Pacific for Ben, Beccy and I.  Brian had seen it before when in California.  One chicken had escaped into the garden when we got back and had to be led back into its field.  Only two eggs tonight.  Went to bed later this evening after bathing the children.  Had a phone call from Barrie, one of the neighbours, who told us about some good places to go.

      

Thursday 31st July 2003

Got up at 7.30am after a really good nights sleep.  Had scrambled fresh eggs with sausages for breakfast and did some washing.  Drove into Tauranga and went first to Mt Maunganui.  The hot pools were closed until 3rd August and so we had a cup of coffee, went on the beach and then climbed the mountain.  Fantastic view of the sea, the islands and the towns.  At the top we were surrounded by fantails that flew really close.  They were either very tame or trying to scare us off.  We then went into Tauranga and looked around the shops. Called into Andy's shop on the way back but he was in Hamilton.  Went to Burger King – looked like a fifties American diner – for tea.  We encountered our first NZ traffic jam on the way home – nothing too bad.  Quiet evening in.  Brian still hadn't adjusted and fell asleep as soon as we got in.

Friday 1st August

We left early for Rotorua.  Drove around the mountains and so drive was 2.5 hours to get there.

There was nothing remarkable on the way except a few deer farms.  In Rotorua we first visited Rainbow Springs and went on the Skyline.

  We paid $55 for a family ticket to go on the four seater cable car up to the station at the top of the mountain.  At the top we went on the luge – a really long toboggan run where the toboggans run on a concrete track right down the mountain.  A chair lift takes you back to the top. The luge was great fun.  We bought 6 tickets between us, which allowed Brian and Ben to go on their own toboggans and Beccy and I to share.  We did the scenic run first – long and slowish, then the intermediate run – much faster (Beccy wanted to go really fast and overtake Ben – on the scenic she was constantly asking me to slow down).  After a third go where Ben and Brian went on the advanced and Beccy and I on the intermediate again, we left.

We then travelled around Rotorua to the Thermal Wonderland where we saw geysers, mud pools, sulphur caves, thermal pools.

The whole place was an amazing sight that smelled strongly of sulphur at all times. In the distance we could see a geothermal power station situated next to a giant geyser.

Saturday 2nd August

Decided to stay in for the day and just do things around the house.   Ben and Beccy had a great time chasing the chickens (or were they chasing Ben?)  Good time to catch up with all the things that make the rest of the time comfortable.

In the evening we went into Tauranga to visit Andy, Kerry, Alyssa, Celia and Alec.  We had a drink at their house and then went to the fishing club for a meal.  We had a really good meal and a drink and then went back to their house for a cup of coffee before driving home.

Sunday 3rd August

     

Went to Matamata where they filmed the set for the shire in Lord of the Rings.  Went on the tour bus onto the farmland where they did the filming.  Saw the party tree, the party field, Bag End and the remains of other hobbit holes.  Interesting tour, quite expensive and I don't think we would have paid that much if we had been paying for accommodation as well. 

On the way back we went to McLaren Falls and Park.  Nice little waterfall over rocks next to hydro-electric power station.  We saw many birds of prey during the day.  One bird of prey had just caught something – we weren't sure what it was but Beccy thought it might have been a kiwi!

Monday 4th August

     

Drove up to the Coromandel Peninsular.  Lots of winding mountain roads.  Stopped at Whangamata and had a picnic on the beach then travelled on to the Hot Water Beach.  The tide was going out and you could find hot springs in the sands (covered when the tide is in).  The water in the springs is very hot but apparently people dig holes and sit in the hot water.  The Pacific ocean waves came crashing onto the beach – if you were in a hole you would be pounded!  Had fish and chips from a takeaway on the way back – not particularly nice.

Tuesday 5th August

Another day at home.  We liked it there so much, we didn't always want to go out.  It was also nice to relax rather than rushing about trying to see and do everything.  Brian and Ben started to make a possum trap and Beccy set about with hammer, nails and wood to create a masterpiece of her own.

Wednesday 6th August

Brian and Ben went out fishing on Andy's boat.  Ben was very seasick but braved the whole day and managed to catch a fish.  Beccy and I took the car and shopped for trousers for her in Tauranga.  We then went home and played some games and did things around the house.  Beccy wanted to be a house elf and helped me hang out the washing and tidy up.  We went back to Tauranga to pick Brian and Ben up as they came back in the boat, then went to Andy's house where Brian and Colin filleted the fish they had caught and Andy cleaned the boat.  The children played basketball and then went to play on the playstation.  Kerry and I then took enough fillets of fish for nine of us to the local fish and chip shop where they battered and fried it and we bought it back with nine portions of chips for $18.  We spread the fish and chips out in the newspaper in the middle of the table and ate it with our fingers.

Thursday 7th August

Spent most of the day at home cleaning, tidying up and spending time with the animals.  Later in the afternoon we went to Katikati Heritage Museum where Nancy told us about a good number of other places to go visit.  We had a round of mini golf – their course was very good.

Friday 8th August

Went to the Karangahake Gorge at the bottom end of the Coromandel Peninsular.  We were too late to catch the steam train that runs from Waihi to Waikino so we drove into the gorge and parked the car.  We walked first to the Owhara Falls, which were quite pretty but not much of a walk and then moved up to Karangahake itself where we walked through the gorge and through the disused railway tunnel – about 0.7km.  We took a torch and we saw quite a few glowworms in the wetter parts of the tunnel roof.

After the walk we drove back to the house and cooked a pot roast for Amanda and her family, David, Alanah, Daniel and Talia.  Amanda sorted out the chalet and a couple, Colin and Louise, arrived to stay in it for the weekend.

Saturday 9th August

Drove to Ohope Beach to visit Andy and Kerry at their bach (beach house).  The Ben and Alec used driftwood on the beach to build a shelter, covered with pine branches.  Alyssa and Beccy played around the house.  The bach was very spacious – five bedrooms in all the buildings, a decent size kitchen, shower room and toilet and large living area and verandah – all looking over the sea.  Went for a walk along the peninsular and then went to the Ohope Club where we had a drink, a very nice meal, and watched the second half of the rubgy match (All Blacks against South Africa).  Went back to the bach for a coffee before driving home.  Arrived home at 1am to find that Amanda had moved the cows into the chicken paddock. I didn't realise as I fed the chickens in the dark and left the gate open!  Luckily, neither cow made an escape bid and I was able to shut them in securely.

Sunday 10th August

Invited Colin and Louise from the chalet over for breakfast and we cooked bacon, scrambled eggs, tomatoes and toast.  Most of it was cold but it tasted OK.  They have both moved here from Zimbabwe and South Africa and were just having a weekend away from Auckland.  Didn't do much for the rest of the day but went out exploring where they were logging at the end of Thompson's track – very muddy.  Then drove over to Amanda's house and had a drink before coming home for dinner.

Monday 11th August

       

Drove to Waitomo Caves to see the glowworms.  The caves were quite interesting and you had to get into a boat to see the glowworms (and be very quiet!)  the glowworms were quite spectacular – loads of them.  After the caves we went back towards Waitomo village and went into the Angora rabbit shearing shed. 

They were just finishing off the shearing of a rabbit and showed us the hair.   They told us that one rabbit produces enough hair for an adult size jumper!  Then we went to the Kiwi House in Otorohanga.  We saw our first kiwi and many other birds.  The birds in the picture above also fly around Jacaranda cottage but we can't, of course, get so close.

Tuesday 12th August

Packed up and set off for Lake Taupo.  Stopped to see a geothermal power station on the way.  The power station took its energy from the underground heat.  There was masses of steam generated.  Drove on to the Prawn Park just before Taupo.  Looked at the thermal pools where they grow the prawns then had a meal.  We had a plate of the biggest and firmest prawns we had ever eaten and then Brian and I had a meal of prawn burgers while Ben and Beccy had fish and chips and nuggets and chips.  Watched the Huka Jet go on a couple of trips and decided we didn't want to go on that one.  Bought metal tuatara ornament in the gift shop and then drove to Huka Falls.  These are spectacular, fast flowing falls where the force of the water is phenomenal.

Then we travelled to Tokaanu (thermal village) where there are thermal pools and hot springs in just about everyone's gardens.  Stayed at the Tokaanu Lodge Motel.  Had a three bedroom unit with kitchen and living area.  Ben slept in the loft area – warmest place.  There were two hot mineral pools, one private freshwater thermal pool and a thermal public pool.  All the pools were being used so we went in the public pool until it closed at 9pm.  It was great to run across the car park on a winter's night in just your swimsuit and towel and then plunge into the warm outside pool.  After a long dip we ran back to shower and dry off.

Wednesday 13th August

   

Hired snow outfits from a shop in Tokaanu and then drove up into the mountains.  We bought a Discovery Package each and this included snowboard hire, wrist guards and boots, all lift passes and a one and a half hour lesson.  Ben and Beccy took to it well although Beccy spent a lot of time falling over at the beginning.  Brian did fairly well and I couldn't do it at all.  I had to take my snowboard off because I couldn't get up!  Beccy looked like an expert by the time we finished and she was the only one who wanted to carry on after the lesson.  The rest of us were too tired and achy.  We went on the chair lifts up to the highest point we could and looked out down the side of Mt Ruapehu.

    

We drove back to Tokaanu and returned the snow outfits to the hire shop then went to get food for dinner from Turangi.  Cooked a meal using the very efficient oven and then after a rest and some TV watching we went into the hot pool again.  Both nights we went back to the unit, washed, dried and changed into our pyjamas and then really relaxed.

Thursday 14th August

    

Packed up again and set out for Wellington.  Decided to first visit Napier on the East coast.  Napier had lots of art deco buildings which were built in the 1930's after the town was destroyed by an earthquake.  Interesting town to see.  Later we stopped in Masterton where we found a bar that served food.  The food was good and we watched a charity boxing match on the large screen TV.  After that we travelled to Wellington.  This had been a very, very long journey and we arrived in Wellington at 10.15pm having not booked anywhere to stay.  The first two places we rang were full and the first one we drove to had closed its reception.  Luckily the Halswell Lodge Motel was still open and they were able to give us a two-bedroom unit, although we would have to change rooms for the second night.  It was really luxurious with well equipped kitchen, spa bath and two bedrooms.  We all had a spa bath to enjoy the novelty.

Friday 15th August

It was raining heavily and so we headed straight for the Te Papa museum.  There were very interesting displays on earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters.  There seem to be quite a few disasters occurring here!  We found out that Mt Ruapehu, where we snowboarded, was an active volcano that has erupted as recently as 1996.  Also, there had been at least four earthquakes just north of Wellington since we have been here!  Also, the area we are staying in was devasted by a cyclone in 1987 causing much damage.  Lastly, a great storm caused a shipping disaster in which the Wahine sank in Wellington harbour in 1968. No wonder the buildings are not built a sturdily as in Britain – too costly to rebuild!  The passports display told the stories of people to emigrated here, either by choice or because they were sent here.  Among the immigrants were Polish orphans sent here after the war from the Siberian death camps, Irish families escaping the famine and many English and Scottish families who were searching for a better life.  After Te Papa we went to the Wellington City and Sea museum where we found out about the city itself and watched a video about the Wahine disaster.

Went on the cable car up the side of Mt Victoria and looked out at the top over the city of Wellington.  Fairly good view despite the mist.

Walked around the city a little and then went to the supermarket near the motel to get some nice food to bake for dinner.  Bought pies, oven chips and bread to bake.  When we got back to the motel we were given our new room.  There was no oven!  Had to make do with an electric pan which cooked the chips nicely and the microwave which heated the pies but lost their nice crusts.  No spa bath this time!

Saturday 16th August

Brian, Ben and Beccy bought me a cake and sang Happy Birthday to me.  Opened card and presents and baked bread in the hotel communal kitchen for breakfast.  Then we packed up and set out for Katikati.  Drove first to Hunterville where we had coffee and cakes in a little cafe by the road.  Then the children played in a small playground for a little while before we drove off.  Then we stopped in Taupo where we had a Subway for lunch.  Didn't walk along the lake as it was very cold.  Next, we drove on to Rotorua where we stopped just to go to the toilet and we arrived home at 6.30pm.  Cooked a dinner from what we had left in the fridge and then we watched the rugby – All Blacks against the Wallabies.  Rang Dan and Mum and spoke to each for quite a while.  Otherwise – you wouldn't have known it was my birthday.

Sunday 17th August

Brian went shooting at Rotorua.  Ben, Beccy and I stayed at home, watched some films, played some games and fed the chickens.  When I went to feed the chickens in the morning I thought I would give them some grain as well as their normal mash, as we had very little in the chook pot.  When I took the lid off there was a little mouse sitting in the middle of the grain.  I put the lid straight back on and fed the chickens as normal.  Ben then went down and let the mouse escape.  Good thing he was here!  The mouse had gone in the evening when I put the chickens back in the house.

Monday 18th August

Did very little during the day.  Went into Katikati to get the kilometres for the car – bought 5000km to cover the amount we had driven.  Looked around the shops and went to buy some Japanese coffee cups that we had seen previously and that Brian was going to get me for my birthday.  Someone else had already bought them – no birthday present again!  Went on the Haiku Pathway where people had made inscriptions on large boulders placed along a path that ran along the side of the Uretawa river.  Andy, Kerry, Alyssa, Celia and Alec came over for dinner.  The children all played together and had a great time running around the house outside in the dark.  Took the children down to feed the chickens and Ben found the mouse running around inside the hen house. Had a good evening and said goodbye to Andy who was leaving for China for a week long visit.

Tuesday 19th August

Had a phone call from Ben, Andy's dad.  He invited us over for a cup of coffee.  We drove to Bethlehem to visit Ben and his wife Dawn.  They were lovely people and made us very welcome.  We then went on to Tauranga to visit the shops, looking for school uniform.   Couldn't get any so then went to Mt Maunganui to swim in the hot pools again.  We had a great time although the pools were, perhaps, a little hotter this time.  We all played tag and stayed in the water for one and a half hours.  Came out all wrinkly.  Went to see Kerry to give her the left over bottles of beer and stayed and drank one or two of them.  Then said goodbye to Kerry, Alyssa, Celia and Alec before driving home for dinner.

Wednesday 20th August

Drove to Rotorua.  Firstly went to Rainbow Springs where they have large trout, aviaries, a kiwi house and some reptiles.  Then we went over the road to Rainbow Farm to see a show.  The show was presented by a man and woman who were very entertaining.  They demonstrated two sheep dogs, the Huntaway and the more traditional sheepdog and talked about the sheep and New Zealand sheep farming.  Then they showed a bull, which they got a Japanese member of the audience to sit on and they milked a cow, again talking about NZ dairy farming.  Lastly, they got a number of people in the audience to take a bottle of milk and they let out a small flock of lambs who eagerly went up to the people with the bottles and had their drinks of milk.  Ben got to feed a lamb or two.  Overall, it was an excellent show.

After the show Brian and Ben went off to get Brian's hat and had to go up in the gondola to the Skyline shop.  Luckily, they were allowed to go up without paying as long as they just went in the shop.  Beccy and I looked around Rainbow Farm and saw the lambs and sheepdog pups.  We had also seen piglets at Rainbow Springs.

Next, we went to the Tamaki Maori Village.  We had booked a tour and we met other tourists at the gate.  The tour started with a traditionaly Maori ceremony where the strongest warrior comes out to greet visitors to assess whether they are friendly or hostile.  We were found to be friendly and we were allowed to enter the village.  There were a number of Maori huts all with real fires outside, all situated in native bush.  Each hut had some Maori people doing something like making weapons or practising battle moves.  After a good look around the village we were lead into the marae where we watched a concert of Maori song and dance including the haka.  This concert included information on the Maori people, where they came from and where they are now.  It was a good concert and we all had to sing and dance along.  Ben joined in really well, but Beccy wasn't going to do anything. 

After the concert we were lead into the dining hut where we were served a hangi meal – carrots, kumara, potato, mussel chowder, smoked fish, lamb and chicken – all cooked over hot stones heated by wood fires.  The meal was delicious and was followed by a demonstration of hangi cooking and more entertainment – dances, songs and hakas.  We were placed on a table with others.  We sat with a couple from Bournemouth who had spent two weeks in Australia and two in NZ, a couple from the Gold Coast in  Australia who were here on an adventure holiday and two women from Los Angeles who were here for a week long holiday.  There was a marketplace where there was a variety of small shops selling traditional Maori goods alongside souvenirs.  The whole evening was well organised and very informative and entertaining.  The meal was lovely too.

 Thursday 21st  August

Travelled up to Waihi to visit the Martha Gold Mine.  We weren't able to go on the guided tour as it was full but we went up to the lookout and had a good look at the open mine.  It is a working mine and still produces $130,000,000 of gold a year.

Then we went to the Waihi museum to see some exhibits on gold mining in the area.  Waihi is not a very prosperous looking town considering the amount of gold it produces!  Went to KFC for something to eat and then drove to Waihi Beach.  Had a last look at the Pacific waves crashing on the beach and tried to find a walk that takes you to a secluded beach.  Started on a walk that went up the hillside but was very muddy.  Ben and I had the wrong shoes on a went back down.  Brian and Beccy carried on but found that the walk brought them back to the beach where we started.  We spotted a sign further along the beach and found that if you went round some rocks you could get to the walk.  By then it was too late to start.  You could only get round the rocks at low tide and we needed to get back anyway.

Drove home and found that Cinders was in the hen house.  Brian got her out and got chased by Jenny after he had let her rub her nose on his leg.  Got changed and went to Amanda's for dinner.  We had a lovely dinner and the children all played well together, although Ben and Beccy got a bit loud at times.  We had a nice evening, talking at the table and then we said goodbye to David, Alanah, Daniel and Talia.  The fire was out when we got home so our last evening was quite a cold one.  At least the strong winds that had blown around last night had gone.  We had experienced a short power cut and gale force winds that we were sure must have done some damage, but didn't.

On Friday 22nd August we took the bus from Katikati to Auckland.  We stayed at the Auckland Youth Hostel for two nights.  The hostel was in the centre of town making it quite easy for us to get to the things we wanted to do.  We climbed the Sky Tower and had a meal in the restaurant.  In the evening we went to the cinema to see 'The Italian Job'.  There wasn't much that we wanted to do in Auckland but it was good to spend a little time looking at the city.

On Monday 24th August we flew to Singapore for a couple of days.  We had decided that we might as well see Singapore while we were there rather than just pass through and we booked into the YMCA which had a comfortable room, swimming pool and somewhere for the children to play games.  We travelled by cable car to Sentosa island and swam in the sea and at night we managed to negotiate the bus services and get to the zoo for the night safari - absolutely brilliant to see all the animals so active at night.  There was no easy bus back and so we got a taxi and found that it was cheaper!

On Wednesday 26th August, exactly a month after we left home, we flew back to England.  We found our house even more clean and tidy than when we left it.  Trevor, our next door neighbour, told us how he had got on really well with Lynley and had talked many times across the fence.  He could now look forward to the next set of visitors and wondered what nationality they would be!

Exchange 2 - Sweden

After our trip to Chicago we registered our house on the HomeExchange.com website. We thought that we might like to do a full exchange this year but weren’t sure where we wanted to go. After a month or so we realised that we didn’t have to decide, we got so many offers it was more a case of what took our fancy. We had a number of offers from Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand but these destinations were too far and too expensive. In Europe, we had offers from France, Norway and Sweden. We hadn’t visited Scandinavia before and we chose an offer from Sweden. We had already committed ourselves to volunteer wardening at the Dartington Youth Hostel in Devon and so we arranged the exchange for the week after this. This meant that we could offer Martin and Susanne longer in our house than we were able to stay in theirs. After a number of emails we arranged that they would arrive a few days after we had left and would return to Sweden the night before we left to come home.

As this was the first time another family had stayed in our home, we needed to make sure that it was very clean and tidy and that everything was easy to find (this is what Sunnie and Randolph had done for us). For six weeks before the holiday we did a run to the local charity shop and a run to the tip each weekend. We got rid of so much stuff that we ended up feeling as though we had moved into a new house. A major spring clean left the house spotless (and made spring cleaning in subsequent years so much easier). I compiled a list of places to visit and information about the house, where everything was kept and the local area.

When the time came for us to go away, we arranged for my eldest son, Dan, to show the family around the house. My friend, Claire, arranged some flowers for the table and we left some wine. We travelled to Devon, Dan let the family into the house when they arrived and I rang and spoke to Martin once they had settled in. Everything was going well so far.

We had a great time at the youth hostel and would have liked to stay longer. We met some great people from all over the world including Miho, who was touring Britain and Europe on her own (she gave the children Japanese stickers and origami swans, beautifully made), Andy and Kerry and their children, Alyssa, Celia and Alec who were in England on a home exchange from New Zealand (we were to meet them again a year or so later), and Marianne and Dagfinn from Sweden who exchanged some money for us and invited us to visit them at the commune they lived in a few miles north of where we were going in Sweden. The time came for us to leave and we drove back to Rochester to meet up with Martin, Susanne, Robin and Ludvig. We had arranged for them to be picked up at the airport and taken to the house.

On arriving home, we visited our own house as guests. We knocked on the door and were let in. We waited to be invited to sit at our table and chatted to Martin and Susanne about how things were going and where they had visited. They asked about the Isle of Sheppey and whether they should visit. We weren’t aware that there was much to see or do there and so wouldn’t recommend it, but after the trip they told us that they had been there three times and had loved it. It seems that different people want different things from an area. We had arranged to go out for a meal together and we took them to a nice pub, The Dirty Habit, where we knew they served good food. We paid for this meal and Martin and Susanne said that they would do the same in return when they arrived back in Sweden.

After the meal, Martin and Susanne gave us the keys to their house and their car, which they had left in the car park at the airport, and some information about where it was parked. Then our friend, Jyrki, drove us to Stansted Airport where we slept in the waiting area before getting our flight at 7.45am (it actually left at 9.15am). When we arrived at Save airport we were able to find the car and the house very easily from the directions we had been given.

The house was spotlessly clean and like an IKEA showroom. We immediately decided which rooms we didn’t need to use and shut the doors (less cleaning when we leave!) There was much more space than at home and there was a lovely garden backing onto woodland. The house was in a small town next to the sea with many boats, inlets and warm water. There was a sauna in the basement, which Brian and I used once and which we all used once (Beccy didn’t like it but Ben though it fine). Our only problem for the first few days was that we couldn’t find a broom or a hoover to clean the wooden floors, which were throughout the house. We eventually found a long vacuum hose but no cleaner and were thinking that we might have to contact Martin and Susanne to ask where it was. Brian, however, had a brainwave. He had read about vacuum systems that plug into the walls. We looked around and found sockets on each floor of the house. The hose plugged into the sockets and the problem was solved.

There were enough bikes at the house for us to use and we rode around the town where there were cycle paths everywhere. Otherwise we drove to the places we wanted to visit, all fairly local. We cycled to the local shops and used the local supermarkets and the local recycling stations. We weren’t fully prepared for the recycling, turning up with our paper, plastic and glass as we would at home and finding that we could have recycled much of what we had put in the bin!

Towards the end of the trip we drove to visit Marianne and Dagfinn at their home. We swam in the lake. The children played with Marianne’s grandchildren and Dagfinn took both of them out in a canoe on the lake.

On our last day, Martin, Susanne and the children came to the house (where we had tidied and cleaned and hoped that it was as they had left it). They took us to Marstand where we had lunch at a small restaurant on the quay, bathed in the warm sea and had coffee and cakes. We had a chance to swap stories about our experiences before Martin drove us to the airport where we would fly home and find our car in the car park at Stansted Airport where they had left it the day before.

We arrived home to find our house just as we had left it but with some new ornaments that Susanne had made from shells and stones she had collected on the beaches they had visited. They had left presents for the children (which we hadn’t thought to do) and a note to say thank you.

Benefits of exchanging for us were:

We were able to explore a new area not spoilt by tourism.

We had the benefit of local knowledge and recommendations for where to go.

We had a car and bicycles.

It was exciting to live in a different house with different gadgets and ways to do things.

We were able to arrange the trip so that both families were able to get to and from the airport easily.

The two families were able to spend time together and exchange stories.

Our first simultaneous exchange over, we were already thinking about where we might go next. When we met Andy and Kerry at the youth hostel they had said to look them up if we were ever in New Zealand, but that was still too far away and we would wait to see what offers we might get next year.

Our first exchange

We started home exchanging in 2001 to fulfil a specific need. Our eldest son started a year at Iowa State University in August 2001. His air ticket allowed a certain number of flights in and out of the US and we knew he would be wanting to come home (or at least back to the UK) maybe more times than this during the year. If we visited him at Christmas, rather than him returning home, he could use his flights to visit his girlfriend. We chose Chicago as the place we wanted to spend our family Christmas an looked forward to a fairly guaranteed covering of snow.

So, four of us would be flying to Chicago and, with Dan meeting us there, our number would be five. This presented a small number of problems. We would be spending both Christmas and New Year in Chicago. The idea of doing this in a hotel left us cold and, anyway, it would be far too expensive at that time of year. We could rent an apartment, that might work! Endless searching on the Internet found some apartments, most far too small for five people, all quite expensive and very few both affordable and available not to mention anywhere near the city itself.

Christmas is family time and my mother wanted to see her grandson. The number requiring accommodation rose to six and the number of suitable apartments grew still smaller. At the end of August I wasn’t yet ready to give up but needed some new ideas. I had read a short piece about home exchanging in a magazine for teachers. This might be worth an investigation!

How would I feel about someone else living in my house, someone I may have never met? How would I feel about them using my things, seeing how I lived, sleeping in my bed? How would Brian feel? How would the children feel about sharing their things? Brian said ‘no’ immediately (as he always does), maybe he was worried about his knicker drawer (or mine)? The children, on the other hand, were very excited at the prospect of staying in someone else’s home, checking out the bathroom properly and playing with a whole new set of toys. They weren’t even remotely worried that some other child could be playing with theirs. What would I need to do to prepare for an exchange? My house would need to be spotless (who wants to live in someone else’s dirt?) Everything we wouldn’t want seen or used would need to be hidden or removed. A major spring clean, a check with the house insurers and a realisation that for everything we own, if it is worth having it’s worth sharing. Yes, we would go for it!

I found some home exchange websites specifically for teachers but further investigation came up with nothing in Chicago. Could we go elsewhere? I began to look at the possibilities; nothing was really close or easy to get to.

Continuing to investigate the exchange idea, I looked further afield, to sites not specifically for teachers, no reason why other people can’t exchange! I found a couple of websites, both of which had a good number of properties available for exchange ro for holiday rental. This had to be what I was looking for. I was so inspired and encouraged by what I had found that I booked our flights to Chicago, travelling out a few days before and coming back in time for the return to school.

It was the beginning of September, the flights were booked but, as yet, we had nowhere to stay. With over three months to go I wasn’t too worried but may have felt a little easier if I had managed to organise something. I emailed the contact for every suitable house and apartment I could find and waited…

Then 9/11 happened. Our flights with virgin were cancelled in the aftermath and it looked like we might not be able to go. Chicago wasn’t New York, but would anyone want to fly into or out of the US? Would we want Dan to fly out if we weren’t able to fly in? Dan was able to describe the shock waves that went through the communities he was in contact with. We were quite ready to give up on the whole idea.

An email arrived from Sunnie and Randolph in Chicago. They didn’t want to home exchange at that time because they had plans for Christmas but, if we were willing to look after their cats, Siegfried and Jean-Sibelius, and their house (in the city), we could stay in their house over Christmas and New Year. At some time in the future, they may come to stay at our house but they currently had no plans to visit England. The trip was back on! I replied to Sunnies’ email to say ‘yes, please’ and went searching again, this time for more flights. I managed to get pretty much the same flights but with British Airways, who hadn’t cancelled their Chicago route. Dan’s girlfriend, Helen, decided to join us in Chicago and Sunnie confirmed that the house could accommodate the seven of us.

The dates worked well, Sunnie and Randolph would be visiting Sunnie’s sister in Beverley Hills and would be leaving on Christmas Eve. We would be arriving on the 20th but we really wanted to see where Dan was living and studying. So we booked one night at the Chicago International Youth Hostel and got Dan to books us tickets for the Greyhound bus that would take us to Des Moines and then on to Ames, Iowa State. He also booked us two nights accommodation on the University campus. The bus trip back had us arriving on the 23rd. Sunnie very kindly offered to let us stay at the house while they stayed overnight at her parents’ home before flying to LA. This was perfect and we were so grateful and so impressed by their generosity (we’ve tried to follow their example in all our subsequent exchanges).

There was an extensive exchange of emails through which we were able to get to know each other. Sunnie and Randolph had exchanged before and had hosted international travellers. Sunnie explained how she had never cleaned so much in her life as she did before the first exchange. It’s no use sweeping the dust under the carpet, if someone is living in your house, they will find it!

Having a first exchange with someone who has done it before is ideal. Sunnie told us that they would empty a few drawers and clear some hanging space for our clothes. She said that whatever we needed we should look around and hopefully we would find it. They would leave us instructions for feeding and caring for the cats and for anything that might not be obvious (fuse box, stopcocks, emergency services, doctors, dentists, vets, take-away delivery services…). This was a valuable learning experience for us and we were, in many ways, fortunate to have Sunnie to advise us and also, fortunate that were were not doing a full exchange on our first go.

One thing that didn’t crop up in all the cross-Atlantic conversations, was the point at which you exchange addresses. We had each other’s telephone numbers, of course, but I felt a little uncomfortable about asking. Because we didn’t need to give our address, I didn’t feel I could take the lead. Sunnie, on the other hand, though that the website agency gaive the address and so she never thought to ask if we knew where she lived! In the midst of all the organising, packing and getting ready to travel, the subject of addresses was forgotten and we arrived in Chicago with no idea where we were staying after our return from Ames. All we knew was that it was a short bus ride, or a long walk from the city centre. We did, however, have the telephone numbers for both landline and mobiles. Thankfully, Sunnie had said to ring and they would come to meet us on the 20th so that we could leave some of our luggage at the house while we went to Ames, so at that point, they guided us in.

We learned many lessons from our first experience of home exchange. Firstly, that people can be so very, very generous and that generosity makes a real impression. Secondly, that a good exchange arises from wanting to share the experience of living where you live with people from other parts of the world, or even other parts of your own country. The sheer joy you get from knowing that you have shared this experience is beyond description and it makes the extensive cleaning and the organising all the more worthwhile. Thirdly, you will add greatly to the experience if you are actually able to meet, and spend a little time with, the people you exchange with.

We arrived in Chicago on the 19th and after spending the night at the youth hostel and doing a small amount of sightseeing, we rang Sunnie and Randolph and arranged to meet them. Sunnie was surprised to find that we didn’t know where to head for and offered to pick us up, but a bus came by heading in the right direction and she just had to let us know where to get off it. We found the stop at the end of Surf Street, Chicago, and there they were, ready to greet us with smiles and hugs. After weeks and weeks of communications by email, we met in person.

Sunnie and Randolph took us out to dinner, where we met some of their friends. The children (Ben 8 and Beccy 6) were so jet-lagged that they both slept on our laps in the restaurant. After dinner, having deposited some luggage at their house, they gave us a key for our return and took us to the coach station. We said ‘goodbye’ and agreed to go out again before our return to the UK.

At the end of our stay we visited Sunnie’s parents at their apartment and met one of her daughters at a meal we all went to at an Italian restaurant, specially chosen because it catered well for families. Dan and Helen flew to Ames for a few days on their own together and we prepared to leave for the UK. On the morning of our departure we all met up again for breakfast. Then Randolph drove us to the airport.

To describe everything else that happened would be to describe our visit rather than the exchange. However, here are a few of the benefits of home exchange as we experienced it in Chicago:

We met some wonderful, inspiring people who gave us our first experience of the beauty of sharing part of you lives and we were able to spend a short time getting to know them a little better;

We had assistance in travelling to the airport, storing our luggage and getting to the Greyhound bus station;

Sunnie and Randolph were both musicians and their house had a number of pianos and musical inspiration. We were able to listen to Randolph playing live in a Chicago jazz bar. They were happy for the children to have a go on the pianos and, as a result, Ben took up the piano and is becoming quite a good jazz pianist;

When we did our first exchange where a family stayed in our house, we knew what we were doing;

We were able to afford to stay in a central location, in a house that was big enough for seven of us and had all the home comforts that made the stay easier (we were even able to put up some Christmas decorations and a tree);

The experience was one we would definitely want to do again and to offer to others.

I hope the benefits were not all ours. For their generosity I hope that sunnie and Randolph will know that they will always have somewhere to stay if they choose to visit England. I hope they will know that they have inspired at least one family to become exchangers and, hopefully, through them, inspired others to do the same.

We find that many people are interested in finding our about home exchange. I’m often asked for the website address. We have since exchanged with a number of families who hadn’t done so before and we know that some of them have definitely repeated the experience.

For us, home exchange has led to many varied and rewarding experiences and we will always be grateful to Sunnie and Randolph for that first one.

So, where next?

Out of England to North and South - Newcastle

Our holiday this year took us north to Hadrian's Wall and border country, then south, by train, to the Loire Valley. Up north we stayed at Wendy and Bill's house in Gosforth, Newcastle. Wendy and Bill had stayed in our house (a non-simultaneous exchange) in 2004 while we went to Finland and then to Cardigan Bay. Up until now we hadn't organised a return stay as nothing had taken us that far north. This year, however, we were offered a voluntary wardening position, with the YHA, at Birdoswald Roman Fort for a few days; a good opportunity to spend a few days visiting Newcastle. The first few week or so of our holiday would be spent in the north.

We had, this year, arranged an exchange with a French family and we wanted to spend at least a little time in France. After the long drive north and back we thought it would be more pleasant to go by train to France and so we booked the Eurostar to Paris and then a train to Tours.

All four of us went north but Beccy wanted to go to scout camp, which started during our holiday. This would mean that we would return to Rochester to drop her off and then get the Eurostar from Ebbsfleet.

Patricia and Didier (our French exchange family) had offered us their car and had arranged for it to be left at the TGV station. We would need to pick up the keys and directions for the house, so I suggested that we meet for lunch. They had a better idea: they would invite us to lunch at our house.

The final plan was: one day travelling north; three days in Newcastle; one day travelling to Birdoswald; three days at Birdoswald; one day travelling south; one day around Rochester including lunch with Patricia and Didier, dropping Beccy off for scout camp, and taking the train to Tours; three days in the Loire Valley; one day in Paris then home.

Sunday August 10th, we left home and drove to Lincoln for an overnight stop. We had a quick look around the university campus, as Ben thought he might be interested in applying there, then went to the city centre for our first ever visit to Lincoln. We walked around the cathedral area through the cobbled streets, past old buildings and the statue of Tennyson in the cathedral grounds. We found an excellent Indian restaurant called The Bombay where we had one of the best meals we remember. On the way back to the hotel we drove out onto the fens and spotted an owl hunting in the fields.

Monday August 11th, we drove from Lincoln along the A19 and over the Humber Bridge. We then headed towards Middlesborough and across the A1(M) so that we could see the Angel of the North. A drive round Newcastle to Gosforth and we arrived at Wendy and Bill's house where we met them, finally, after four years of contact by email and phone. We hadn't managed to meet them when they came to our house as the timing meant that they arrived after we had left and left before we arrive home. Mum had let them into the house and shown them around.

We had time for a cup of tea and a chat before Wendy and Bill left for Leeds and Chester where they were going to visit some friends.

We settled into the house and then went out to explore. We took the Metro to Newcastle City Centre (Monument Station where there is a statue of Earl Grey whose tea we drink!)

We walked around the city centre then down to the river to see the Millenium Bridge, the Tyne Bridge and a rail bridge. we crossed the millenium bridge to find the Baltic Centre closed but we were able to go into the Sage where we had a cup of coffee and a look at the concert hall from the viewing gallery. We sat in the library for a while, listening to some music and looking at music books and magazines.

We walked back into the city centre and found a Mongolian restaurant where you could choose your vegetables, meat and sauce plus rice or noodles, then pass your plate to the kitchen where they would stir fry it and return it to you. You could do this as many times as you wanted and we all had 2 or 3 plates full.

After eating we walked along the river again so that we could see the bridges lit up, and eventually made our way back to the metro station.

Back at the house got ourselves settled and drifted off to bed. Brian and I liked the memory foam mattress on our bed, a real treat.

Tuesday August 12th, we woke up at around 8.30am and slowly got ready and had breakfast. The weather forecast gave persistent and heavy rain and we weren't sure what to do. We did want to visit the north east coast so we went for a drive, up the A1 to Alnwick. The literature that Wendy had left us about the area said that Alnwick was a historic market town and we thought it would be worth a look. We looked at the shops in the main street and then visited the Bailiffgate museum where we looked at the mining exhibition, the local history exhibition and the regional history exhibition. We learned about the lengthy battle across the borders between the Scots and the English.

We drove to the river and then along the coast road back towards Newcastle. We stopped at Seaton Point, between Alnwick and Alnmouth, and walked along the beach, looking at birds, skimming stones, and playing ball.

It did rain and quite heavily at times so we drove on to Alnmouth (not much there) and then to Whitley Bay (which was like a ghost town at the north end but more lively looking at the south end, although there was no one around because of the rain).

We stopped at the supermarket to get food for dinner. After dinner we all sat down to watch The Shawshank Redemption on DVD.

I rang Patricia to explain how to get the key for the house and that we had left some food in the fridge and freezer for them.

Wednesday August 13th, we managed to block the toilet! Too much toilet paper! we tried and tried to unblock it and thought that we would have to call someone out but buckets of water and a good brushing cleared it in the end. We had got up late and then had the toilet drama but we managed to get out by noon. We got the Metro again to the city centre where we visited the shops and Grainger market. We spent some time in a large music shop where Ben played the piano and Beccy played the drums. We hadn't heard her play before as she has her lessons at school so this was a great opportunity to see what she had learnt.

We had taken a packed lunch into town but, as it was raining, we couldn't find anywhere to sit and eat it. We ended up eating standing up in a shopping centre! After lunch we visited the (relatively new) castle keep. There were no toilets in the castle and Beccy was desperate so this was a good excuse to visit a nearby pub for a drink. From there we walked over the old bridge that carries trains on the top level and buses and taxis on the lower level and has a sign to say that it is a weak bridge! The bridge took us to Gateshead where we caught the metro home.

We stopped in the Co op next to Wansbeck Road metro station on the way back. After dinner we watched Time Bandits on DVD but we gradually all fell asleep and didn't see the end. It must have been a tiring day!

Thursday August 14th, We cleared up the house making sure we left everything clean and left around lunchtime. We left behind some chocolates, wine and a card explaining that we were sorry about the teaspoon that we broke!

We drove out of Newcastle and toward Kielder Water and Forest Park. We visited the Tower Knowle visitor centre and viewed the exhibition about the history of the area and the flooding of the valley to create the reservoir. We walked to the water's edge through very wet ground and got soaking wet feet. Ben and Beccy chased a rabbit and, having got it cornered, it scratched Ben's leg on its way out of its trapped state. A discussion about the merits of trapping and frightening wild animals followed! We travelled on to an area further round where we could see the river flowing rapidly. We saw an eagle land in a tree next to the road and fly off again.

From Kielder Water we drove to the west and down to Birdoswald. Just outside Kielder we entered Scotland and all got excited at the idea that we had crossed the border. Around 20 minutes later we were back in England, our short visit out to the north over.

This stage of our holiday was a different type of exchange. We exchanged our efforts (running a youth hostel) for free accommodation. Most of the work was done by me but we were given a four bed room with shower room and had use of the self-catering kitchen, complete with Aga!

At Birdoswald Roman Fort, we met Daryl, the supervisor we were relieving. He showed me around the site and explained how everything was run. This was a temporary hostel in a building owned by English Heritage. Other than that the arrangements were the same as for any other youth hostel with a volunteer warden.

Beccy went out exploring and, after a trip to Brampton to the co-op, we had dinner and played battleships and poker.

Friday August 15th, I woke to loud boiler noises, although this didn't disturb Brian, Ben or Beccy. I did the general hostel cleaning and, after a shower in our large shower room, was ready at around noon. I later discovered that one of the guest shower rooms caused the noise with the boiler. The solution was - don't use it unless it is needed!

During the morning, Mum rang to let me know that our gerbil had been eaten by Smudge (our tortoiseshell cat). I phoned Patricia to reassure her that this wasn't her fault. She was very apologetic and needed to be convinced that she wasn't responsible for Smudge's actions. Exchanging often involves caring for animals, especially cats, which is great unless something goes wrong. Smudge had seen to it that something did go wrong this time.

We drove to Haltwhistle and found a shop where we could hire some bikes. We got 3 folding bikes and a touring bike (obviously Brian's). We cycled along the South Tyne trail along a disused railway track turned cycle path, to Lampley Viaduct. We cycled across the viaduct (to a dead end) then locked the bikes and walked down some steps running down the side of the valley to a footbridge. We climbed down to the water's edge and found a rock large enough to sit on to eat our packed lunch while the children skimmed stones across the river.
We climbed back up to the bikes and cycled back to the shop. Apparently there were red squirrels by the viaduct although we don't think we saw any. After returning the bikes and shopping in the co-op we went back to the hostel, arriving at exactly 5pm to open up.
We played crib and cards, had dinner and went for some walks around the fort. An English Heritage event was running over the weekend and people who would be doing the historical re-enactments had started camping in old style tents in the hostel grounds. One of these people told us that there were red squirrels in the woods around the fort. We decided to try to see one before leaving.