Harvey is back!!!

It is with great joy that we announce the return of Harvey!  Not only that, he has also acquired his 2 little replacement minions (e-bikes that cling onto the back)!  This blog happily comes to you from the little town of Le Quesnoy in northern France – a town with a very significant connection with New Zealand… but more on that shortly.

Our last couple of days in the UK were just lovely, in particular to catch up with some very good friends from Russell who happened to be passing through the neighbourhood.  Then we were off on the drive from Newport to Dover, via an overnight in Kent to catch up with a long-lost cousin of Anita’s and his family.  As luck would have it, we turned up on ‘tenpin bowling night’ for said reacquainted cousin, so your faithful correspondent found himself on a bona fide boys’ night out.  What a most excellent way to conclude our short visit back to the UK - a quiet evening in the pink corner and a few beers with the lads for those residing in blue! 😊

Back on the car ferry although this time our destination was Dunkirk.  Why not Calais like last time you may ask?  Firstly it was nice to change things up and was somewhere we had planned to visit anyway, and secondly because it was around 50km closer to our next port of call which was Lille to collect the e-bikes.  Our first outing on them was to a shopping mall around 7km away and, not without a large degree of nervousness, did we tether them to the bike stand.  This time there are around £300 worth of locks and alarms however that didn’t stop us returning every 20-30 minutes to check that no-one was eyeing them up.  As an additional precaution, we will be removing the batteries and stowing them in a backpack in areas of potential concern, mainly large cities.  They’re very heavy but I’d rather have sore shoulders than stolen bikes!!!  Having said all that, it’s just so good to have our motorhome and equipment finally sorted, it really makes a difference having the bikes because we can park Harvey much further away from the places we wish to visit.  It’s great the way life is returning to some sort of rhythm and routine rather than constantly living out of a suitcase.  Harvey has had a good clean, winter clothes have been stashed in the roof box, the weather is fine and warm, and things feel like they are coming right for the travelling Woodies!

Our few days back in France have been characterised by two things.  Firstly more tunnels (they somehow seem to follow us around) and secondly, sites or towns with a significant connection to New Zealand.  Allow me to explain…

We had previously visited the town of Arras however were remiss in our research – yep, we Woodies had actually missed a couple of the most important sites in the area.  Thankfully it wasn’t much of a detour and in fact we parked up overnight right close to one of the sites which was Mur des Fusillés at Citadelle d’Arras.  A little like visiting a concentration camp, some memorial sites take a fair bit to get your head around - this place was the site where, during WWII, 218 members of the French resistance were executed.  Although the wrought iron gate was locked, we were still able to see many of the memorial plaques and pay our respects to those who passed away in the pursuit of freedom.

The next stop of the day was Vimy Ridge which is the Canadian National Monument to the fallen of WWI.  Much like Gallipoli for New Zealanders, this monument commemorates the first significant battle for Canada as a nation, as distinct from the British mother country.  This area was smack in the middle of the front line for most of the Great War and the success of the Canadians in taking the hilltop stronghold was significant to the overall outcome on the Western Front.  The museum was simple but beautifully effective, and the guided tour through the tunnels and trenches was enjoyable, eye-opening and professionally done.  In places on the front line, the 2 combatant armies were only 20-30m apart and you could wander through these preserved trenches and see just how close the opposition would have been.  And the memorial itself is probably amongst the largest we’ve seen – just so impressive! (look at the photos and you’ll see what I mean)

Finally in Arras and more significantly for us was a visit to Carrière Wellington, the tunnels which were famously dug by The New Zealand Tunnelling Company during WWI.  I’ll try and keep the back story briefish (as many of you know, I can rabbit on all day about some of this stuff) however we both found ourselves having chests puffed with pride at the achievements of our countrymen over a century ago.  It was discovered during the early part of the war that there were a large number of ancient quarries beneath the town of Arras which, like Vimy, was right on the front line of the Western Front.  It was believed that these underground chambers could be put to some military use however how best to achieve this?  Of course, create a tunneling company made up of New Zealand coal miners – who better to get the job done!  So you ended up with men, mainly those too old or who, for various reasons, had otherwise not been called up already.  They came from the likes of Thames, Huntly, Waihi, Blackball and other small NZ mining towns.  These guys proceeded to completely map the underground labyrinth, giving names from home such as Nelson and Blenheim to the various sectors.  Once this was done they were tasked with digging tunnels which would join up the pre-existing caverns, then to continue on tunneling right underneath the German front line.  All of which culminated in a major offensive in April 1917 with, would you believe, 24000 troops housed within the tunnels for one week prior to the battle.  How’s that for the element of surprise!

It was very moving to see the stories of men from little old New Zealand who brought not only their expertise but a uniquely NZ sense of humour and camaraderie.  On one occasion a British Officer complained to the NZ CO that his men were failing to salute when officers passed by.  To which the NZ Officer replied: “if they stop to salute every time you pass, they’ll never get all the tunneling completed!”  This was also the first time Maori fought overseas as a unit: the Pioneer Battalion - and there were a few funny stories.  Timber was needed to shore up the tunnels however was in short supply and strictly rationed amongst the allied military units.  The Maori lads took it upon themselves to pilfer timber from the Brits then, on the odd occasion they were caught, pretended they didn't speak English.

All of which brings us to Le Quesnoy.  I first heard about this town maybe around 15 years ago when a good friend explained about his visits here.  A small walled medieval town, Le Quesnoy was in German hands for almost the entirety of WWI… that was until the Kiwis got involved.  On 4 November 1918, members of the 3^rd New Zealand Rifle Brigade scaled the walls and famously liberated the town.  Although the end of hostilities was only a week away, of course this wasn’t known by the troops at the time and their liberation of the town has led to a very special and close bond with New Zealand ever since.  Walk the streets and you’ll see many reminders such as Place des All Blacks and Rue Helen Clarke along with several other significant memorials and tributes to the kiwi soldiers.  Again, your author and his lovely travelling companion were filled with pride at the achievements of our countrymen all those years ago.  Interestingly, there is also a project in the works involving Weta Workshops to create a new museum, hopefully in time for Anzac Day next year.  If you happen to be nearby at the time, I’d say it would be well worth the effort to swing by!

We were fortunate enough to be introduced to a lady by the name of Hélène who lives in the town and previously spent 15 years working in the tourist information office.  She very kindly gave us a guided walking tour of the town last evening for which we were extremely grateful and now know a great deal about this lovely little town!

So that pretty much brings us to the end of another exciting edition of… wait for it…  Adventures WITH Harvey.  How good does that sound eh!!!

Much love to all

Europe Correspondent and Editor in Chief 😊

we are back in Harvey!!

lunch with our good friends from Russell 😊

the beach at Dunkirk with what appears to be a remnant of the German Atlantic Wall fortifications

we found this guy in the middle of a traffic island at Dunkirk - no doubt a tribute the famous allied evacuation from this very beach

Dunkirk has the unfortunate distinction of being in the thick of the action in both world wars.  this cemetery was the very end of the western front, but also contained WWII graves. interestingly, there were several Jewish headstones, fighting on the German side during the Great War

we have a motorhome AND bikes!

the eagle eyed amongst you may spot 3 different types of good quality bike locks in this photo

the view out our bedroom window in Lille. good morning France, nice to see you!

the site where 218 of the French resistance met a tragic end

one of the allied tunnels at Vimy ridge, this one is actually over 1km long and runs perpendicular to the front line. used for ferrying supplies, communications, wounded soldiers etc to and from the front

trenches at Vimy

Vimy Ridge Canadian Memorial. Wow!!!

on our tour of the tunnels at Arras

audio visual projected onto the wall of the tunnels

you can see supplies in the foreground and bunks in the background used to house troops underground for the week prior to the Battle of Arras

it's hard to spot but there is a New Zealand crest above this archway

out lovely tour guide Hélène with Anita in front of the NZ memorial.  this spot is just a few metres from the actual spot where the Kiwi soldiers famously scaled the wall to liberate Le Quesnoy. 

interestingly, they got her name wrong. Helen's actual name shouldn't have accents above the e's (this is the French spelling)

the image of Ngā Tapuwae has particular significance for your author, so cool to see it on the other side of the world!

the walls of Le Quesnoy and much of the moat remain to this day