When we sold Tearangi, prices had risen a great deal- We got about three times its original net price which did not include the value of my seven months labour. To comply with our principle of never dissipating our capital, we invested in a three bedroom house. There was still enough money left over to buy materials for me to build a motor caravan. We now use the rent from the house to pay for our holidays. It became our fun money which helped with overseas travel.

I bought an old Toyota truck, stripped it down to its chassis, designed and built a motor caravan. It took me some time to leam how to weld and then complete the inside. The motor-van also gives us a great deal of pleasure. We have a pressurised water system; a fridge;

gas stove with an oven; flush toilet; a shower and T.V. So it is a home away from home. So far, we have travelled nearly sixty thousand kilometres around New Zealand,

Our most economical overseas trip was to America in I979. We purchased a V,W, pop-top van already fitted out with water tanks and kitchen equipment. For over five months we toured America, up into Canada and south into Mexico. The total distance was over 25,000 km. The sale of the vehicle was only $300 less than its cost price.

Our America trip was interesting. We flew into L.A., traveled by bus up the coast to San Francisco and stayed with our good friends, the Tolands. Within a few days we bought our van already fitted out with the necessary equipment. From there, we traveled north, sight-seeing all the way, through Oregon to the north western corner of Washington State and took a ferry to Victoria Island, The city of Victoria was beautiful, tidy and colourful. Going north we visited the Buchard Gardens which had been built in an abandoned quarry,

As the evening approached we came off the main highway onto a small road which ran down to a flat area against an arm of the sea. Elaine got out of the van while I turned it around onto the place we intended to park for the night. She was frightened by a snake which slithered away. A young man was approaching so she asked him if the snake was dangerous. They started talking and the next thing I noticed was both of them coming over to the van. We brought out our map and showed him where New Zealand was and asked if it would be all right to spend the night where we had parked. Permission granted he invited us to walk a little way to the next bay where a practice for a boat race would occur in about an hour's time.

When we arrived people had assembled and long dug-out boats were being brought down to the water, About a dozen men got two abreast into a boat and paddled out smartly on the calm water. The native American-Indians were very friendly and welcomed us among them. It appeared we had come onto a native reserve. When the boat returned, I was invited to be a crew member on the next trip. Provided with a paddle I took my place in the boat which within seconds filled up with men and was moving fast in the water. We all dipped our paddles in time to a chant and quickly built up a speed which I calculated to be nearly ten knots. When we returned, Elaine was invited to have a turn with the women. In a short time we were asked if we would mind looking after the children so all the men and women could have a race.

The white Americans seemed to be surprised that Elaine and I were so quickly accepted among the native people. It was, of course, because we were visiting from another country, were not a threat and offered open friendship ourselves. We found later when we visited a native village that there is still a lack of full acceptance of the American people by the indigenous people.

After a few days we crossed over to lovely Vancouver City to visit more friends, then up through the Canadian Rockies and on to Calgary. The Canadian Rockies are rightfully world famous for their beauty. Lake Louise, Banff and the surrounding area are an inspiration. Both Elaine and I felt, however, that our New Zealand South Island scenery was more extensive and perhaps, in some ways, even more dramatic. From Calgary we headed south back into America.

The next point of great interest was Vernal in Utah Sixty five million years ago several species of dead dinosaurs were likely washed down a river and stranded on a sand bank. They became covered with soil. Perhaps a hillside collapsed over them. Over millions of years the minerals in the soil fossilised the bones and the earth pressure pushed the area up into a high ridge. A professor from the University of California, walking on the hills one day, discovered some huge fossilised bones. In time, a large roof has been built over the area.

Thus began the excavation of a very rich deposit of prehistoric dinosaur bones. About thirty whole skeletons have been recovered and placed in various museums. Today the remaining skeletons are left in f,ifu partly exposed. We could run our hands over huge leg bones which had belonged to dinosaurs which lived about sixty five million years ago.

Yellowstone National Park, like all American National Parks, is a wonderful place to stay. The thermal area is much larger than in New Zealand and not commercial like Rotorua, a quality we liked. We saw bison, elk, moose, wild sheep and large numbers of chipmunks but no bears. They were there but are not encouraged near the caravan parks.

On we went to Salt Lake City. The thick carpet of the Mormon Temple spoke of wealth. We were taken around by someone intent on hard sell. Being atheists, we could not get out of the place quickly enough. Eiaine went for a swim in the salt lake. She was not impressed. She had to walk out too far to get a swim. Nearby was a huge open-cast copper mine. It was so wide we had to look carefully to see a number of trains working on the opposite cutting.

We visited Bryce and Zion canyons. Both are famous and beautiful. At the Grand Canyon we rode halfway down on mules. It is a vast place and great fun. Having decided to visit an American couple who had been our tenants in New Zealand, we now headed north and east in the general direction of St. Louis. On the map we noted a road going to Green River which we expected would provide a pleasant resting place. We discovered that the river had very few trees. It was flowing through almost barren desert county. We were miles from civilisation, it was hot and the motor began to make an odd noise. There were a few trees ahead so we headed for them, I discovered that a pulley being driven by a belt was loose but refused to be tightened up. I asked Eiaine to open a tin of something for lunch and give me the lid. With the tip of my Swiss pocket knife, I cut a washer and fitted it on the shaft, did the nut up tightly again and presto, no more odd noises. That washer did splendid service for another fifteen thousand kilometers.

Near Albuquerque we spoke to a native American who was attending to his corn field with a push hoe. He said that, provided they got just one good rain after planting, the crops would mature. That was why he was keeping the soil loose over the whole garden. We drove into a native village and had a very interesting talk with the village chief who was not pleased with the way the Government was treating the native people. He knew where New Zealand was and was very friendly, I told him that there were sixty million sheep in New Zealand. He thought that for only three million people we must all "e very wealthy indeed. We found the American Indian culture and the ancient dwellings which had been cut '"to cliff faces at Bandelier and the surrounding area, very interesting, Santa Fe is a centre of native culture. It has a museum and a mud brick village. We spent several days in the area and visited Los Alamos, a city wholly given over to scientific research.

Somewhere nearby we noticed a new house which was having a garage built of mud bricks. The walls were to have wire netting fastened to the mud bricks and would then be plastered before painting. The proud owner invited us inside. The appearance was of a solid concrete structure. He said the earth was the best possible insulation one can have. He found no difficulty of raising a mortgage with the bank.

We now headed east toward St. Louis on the Mississippi river. On the way we spent some time at Huntsville where many space exploration rockets and equipment were displayed. Finally we arrived at the city of Dallas where we stayed with friends for a few days. They took us around the oil rich city of Dallas where we visited the place where President Kennedy was assassinated. We reached the eastern coast at Corpus Christi and continued down to Mexico City, which is one of the most populous cities in the world. We found the city traffic simply terrifying.

Fortunately someone had warned us about traffic officers trying to get money from visitors. Sure enough an officer pulled us over and falsely accused us of a minor offence. In sign language he demanded $30 from us. In sign language I told him I would give him the money if he gave me a receipt. I indicated that I would write the number which was on his shoulder on the receipt. If there was no receipt, there would be no money. After a short argument he waved us on.

We did a loop south to the silver mining district and spent time in its shops and markets. Then we headed west toward the Pacific coast and north to friends in Tucson, America. It was good to get back into a stable, orderly and clean America. In Mexico we felt somewhat on edge, certainly less secure and comfortable-

On the way north we spent time with friends at Phoenix before going on to Yosemite National Park which is beautiful. We noticed rock climbers halfway up a tremendously high cliff. They had slept the night up there in their hammocks and now would complete the climb to the top. That looked like turning a holiday into hard dangerous work, I'd sooner be sailing. On we went to Las Vagas and Disneyland in L.A. It is intended for children but is also of interest to adults. We had had a great time for five months travelling around America, Canada and Mexico. It was time to return to our good friends in San Francisco and fly home. It was an interesting trip but we were glad to get home. In all the world there is no place quite like our own country. New Zealand.

Funny things happen while one is traveling in foreign countries. The Australian town of lngham has a majority of Italian immigrants. It is famous for its cemetery which has an elaborate collection of mausoleums above ground. We met an Italian gentleman who asked "Have-a you seen-a da cemetery?" "Yes, we passed it when we drove in this morning, we'll look at it tomorrow." "No, no, that-a da dead-a cemetery, you want-a da live-a cemetery." So he gave us directions and we visited the 'live-a cemetery' Over the graves they had built tiled enclosures with altars covered with crocheted cloths, a photograph of the deceased and porcelain and plastic flowers. A great deal of money had been spent on 'dead-a' people in the 'live-a' cemetery!

When traveling to Europe or English speaking countries we usually purchase a van and sell it when we leave. The van provides accommodation and gives us tremendous freedom- To tour non English speaking countries, we use package deals from travel agents.

While in Europe we wanted to see the collection of twelve or fourteen thousand New Zealand artifacts sent to Vienna by Andreas Reicheck over a hundred years ago. Vienna is on the North East corner of Austria. It is an appealing city with delightful architecture, parks and several museums. We saw famous paintings and works of art but we could only find about a hundred New Zealand artifacts in a three day search. Vienna should have had one of the best New Zealand collections in the world. Where had it all gone? Nobody could tell us We were feeling disappointed, it was raining and cold so we said "let's get down to the Adriatic where it will be warm."

As we crossed the border into Yugoslavia we were presented with literature showing several nudist colonies along the coast. I said "it would be fun, let's go I've never done anything like that before." Years previously I had a Swedish woman working for me. She and her husband were keen members of a nudist club. She always said "You know nudists are very moral people " Somehow knowing them I believed she was right. Our experience confirmed that conclusion,

We found a place on the sea shore near Pula and discovered that it accommodated thousands of people including both children and grandparents. The only people who seemed generally missing were young people at the mating age, looking for marriage partners. We handed our passports in and found somewhere to park our van. It was embarrassing being dressed. We could not get our clothes off quickly enough. It was so comfortable we stayed for a few days. Nudity is not sexy. We saw no sign of sexual arousal. It is basic honesty, trust and openness. It is very free and comfortable in a warm climate. No wonder small children often love being without clothes. We met an English school teacher and his wife who invited us into their tent for a cup of tea- They often came back for the liberty and openness the colony offered. A group of deformed people was there. No one was ashamed and why should they be? We felt glad for them. Talk about honesty, there was nothing evil to hide. We needed stores and went to the supermarket within the grounds. Imagine this happening at home, dozens of people pushing trolleys around the shop and every one of them stark naked! Those few days were good for us.

We came down the coast past the ancient walled city of Split and took the vehicular ferry to the island of Hyar. The next day when we wanted to return to the mainland, one of the ferries had broken down. There was a very long queue waiting in line. On each side of the van I had written 'New Zealand' in I00 mm letters. Each half hour we moved nearer the ferry by a dozen or fifteen vehicles and each time we stopped a new lot of Yugoslav people would appear. They all had been to New Zealand at some time or had a relative or knew someone there. And they all wanted to go to New Zealand.

At Dubrovnik we found a caravan park, and walked around the top of the ancient city wall from which we looked over the city and down to the crystal clear Adriatic sea. The next day we decided to take the ship to Ban in Italy. The dining room on board would not take Yugoslav money and, apart from travellers cheques, we had no other. The journey would take eight hours and our van was well out of reach in the bowels of the ship. Fortunately Elaine had cut sandwiches just in case.

By the time we arrived in Bari and collected our van, it was dark and we were hungry. We stopped at the first open area, still in the city and put up the pop-top. Elaine cooked dinner while I recorded the day's experience on a tape recorder. Some children were playing around and Elaine waved to them. They waited until we had finished and cleaned away our dishes. Then suddenly we had grandparents, parents and children around the door. As was my habit, I leaned down and got a bottle of wine from under the seat. Holding it up I said to the grandfather, "vino?" He replied with the only English word he knew, "naw naw Yugoslav vino 'bullshit' vino!'' He jabbered to one of the children and she ran into the house and brought out a bottle of good red Italian wine. So we became his guest instead of the other way around. We showed them photos of New Zealand and the family and nursed the baby. Using sign language I asked if it was all right to sleep here. "Si, si, Politzei" and he pointed down the road to indicate where we could find the police. He made a locking up movement with his hand. It is amazing how much one can communicate using sign language. In all our travels, wherever we have been, we have found that people return friendliness with friendliness and kindness with kindness.