Ready to head home.

We've just finished a 3 week stint in Bosnia Hercegovina.

We set off for home tomorrow.

I've spent the last 2 evenings getting ready:
Washed, vacuumed, windows polished, headlights polished.
Bumpers and plastic trim restored to black.
Wheels cleaned, tyres dressed, and pressures checked.
All fluids checked. Tank filled.
Fully loaded including roof-box.

Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen CDs at the ready

It may be trickcyclist bo**cks but I swear the TD4 goes faster when it's nice clean and shiny and the music is LOUD.

Temperature today was 31°C - we expect 32°C tomorrow. Hooray for an efficient A/C - mine has extra lagging on the cool feed pipes.

Early start due in the morning but we only intend going as far as Liezen in Austria on the first day.

Then -it's fun in the Alps.

I love passes with hairpin bends -think of 'The Italian Job' but with Hippos instead of Michael Caine in an E-Type LOL

Remember the thread a while back that went something like 'Would you trust your Freelander on a long journey'.

I trust mine - this is the 23rd time that this Freelander has done this return trip in eight and a half years.

We've had a few probs along the way from time to time - split turbo hose was the worst - and several punctures - sourcing a new 17" 4X4 tyre isn't too easy out here.

Anyhow that's it for today. Back in the UK in a week or so.

oh the rolling stones I have worked with them a couple of times in the sixtees

Safe journey mate

Have a good trip mate

Safe trip mate.

have a good trip mate and stay safe

safe journey home

'n have fun in the alps

Enjoy the trip and have a safe journey.

Hope you had a nice time and have a safe trip home.

Save trip home song bird

Whatcha been doing is Bosnia?

Enjoy and stay safe mate pack some good food for the way

Safe trip home SV, hope you have a good one.

Thanks for your good wishes guys.

On day one we were held up a bit and didn't get away from Tuzla (Bosnia) until 11 o' clock - so much for the early start, eh.

We did 415 miles up the motorway past Zagreb (Croatia) - then to Ptuj (Slovenia) and on into Austria past Graz to stop for the night near Liezen.

Temperature peaked at 31 degrees C around 14.30.

What a shock in the morning - opened the door and stepped onto the balcony - bejasus it was 9 degrees. Lovely view up the mountainside through the cloud to the snow covered peaks of Styria.

So today was 'fun day' starting with the Pyrhn Pass and then through countless tunnels - several times turning off the Autobahn to follow the old twisty 'bundestrasse' over the hills instead of taking the boring easy way.

Eventually crossed over the River Inn at Passau into Germany.

So - on past Regensburg and eventually we have stopped at a small hotel in Nurnberg. Only done 340 miles today, but they were good 'uns.

Tomorrow we hope to reach Lille in N France which is an easy 500 or so miles from here.

What was I doing in Bosna? - for the last 20 or more years (since the start of the Jugoslav wars I've been working for several Humanitarian Aid agencies taking all sorts of stuff to all sides in the conflict.

These 'post war' days it's all a lot happier but still a lot of mines to clear and fatherless families to help - lots of old folks with no families to help them and living on an out-dated pension that wasn't very much even in the old days.

At one time I was overseeing a 'shuttle service' of aid convoys - but now we've got it down to 3 or 4 trips a year

Anyhow off to bed.

Next instalment when i can get a wi-fi connection.

Singvogel.

Great stuff,its nice to help people!!

An expedition with the best reason in the world ..hats of to you Singvogel - have a safe journey home

Good to hear you have plenty of faith (and proven history) in the Freelander doing long trips. I used to regularly do trips to Poland with my family which was a long drive, but fun (I had a big fast saloon in those days). It was always nice looking after the car before and after each leg of the journey - like grooming a horse!
I am taking the Hippo to the UK in July for a couple of weeks and am sure it will rise to the challenge. All known (serious) problems fixed

Have a safe trip home!

for those mines sv why don't you send in the tratter boys with there cars to see if there are any.

Enjoy the trip and drive safe. What mileage has your
Freelsnder done with all those long trips?

Thanks for the supportive comments guys.

We left Nürnberg (Nuremberg) on Saturday morning heading north to Frankfurt am Main and then crossed into Belguim at Aachen before finding a hotel in Valencienne in France.

Of all the countries we crossed I have to say that the roads in Belgium are the worst maintained - a general sloppiness is evident in the whole network and the standard of driving of some folks is unbelieveable. You really need to be on your toes at motorway junctions and slip-roads.

Sunday was an easy day - through Lille and on past Dunkirk to Calais.
Very efficient, for once, we were on board the P&O's 'Pride of Canterbury' within 20 minutes of pulling in.

With it being a bank holiday weekend the M25 and the M1 were not very busy so we rolled it on up to Wetherby where we stopped for the night.

Bank Holiday Monday was an easy trip north up the M1, then the M18 across to the A1(M)

After a brief stop in Bishop Auckland we headed north to Edinburgh where the by-pass was chock-a-block due to a fatal motorcycle accident near the airport.

Home at 21.45. Another successful trip completed.

I'm scheduled to do the same thing again come September or October.

The Freelander never missed a beat this trip - 2250 miles in 5 days - haven't worked out the fuel consuption yet but I reckon it'll be in the high 30s as usual.

The only thing I had to do was top up the oil less than 500ml at the truck-stop in Aachen.

It's now done 124K in total since I got it new in September 2004.

Not that high a mileage really as when I'm at home I'm lucky to do 100 miles some weeks - I have 2 other vehicles, all with well over 100K on them.

Back to normal tomorrow - first thing is to get the summer tyres on!