Singapore

We have left The Netherlands about a week ago and relaxation is finally setting in. The last few days were spent lying around, reading, eating and doing some light exercise. We are really glad we were able to start our trip in this extremely relaxed way and we will actually arrive in Australia well rested. By the way, that arrival is tomorrow as we are leaving for Darwin tonight…

In the mean time, our gear has reached Darwin so the only remaining worry is the costumes formalities

Yesterday we cooked a great dinner for our hosts. After some minor issues with the oven a very tasty and healthy meal was put on the table. As the wine flowed freely, the mood soared and a good time was had by all. After dinner, we presented the adults with Criss CrOz T-shirts. This turned out to be a most excellent choice of gifts and some were seen wearing their new T-shirt until it was time for bed.

Anyway, today our program consists of an excellent lunch and an equally good dinner. Then it’s off to the airport. See ya in Australia!

At the very last moment!

Right, the time has come, the trip has started. But hey, something isn’t quite right in this picture. As this blog is being typed, Annemiek is lounging at some tropical pool side in Singapore, while Huub is in Holland. Then again, he did have to return a company Boeing 777 to Amsterdam before his vacation could start. But fear not, he will board a flight to his beloved tonight so this highly undesirable situation will be remedied shortly.

Many of you will have read our latest news letter and therefore know we were seen off by many friends and family last weekend. What most people do not know is that we had a bit of a “moment” last Monday. Right at the last minute our planned courier decided to refuse our flight case with our gear, citing customs complications as reason. Too bad they didn’t mention it before hand in any of the three telephone conversations we had earlier.

Anyway, there we were with 80Kg of freight and no way to get it to Australia. Armed with a cell phone and one telephone number, your Criss CrOz team had a new transport lined up inside 20 minutes. And not just any old company either. After being referred from one company to the other for a few time, we ended up talking to Rene from Remiro Freight Services. Turns out these guys are specialized in the logistical nightmares that are called expeditions and non-standard freight. Perfect! Within 2 hours everything was delivered, processed, payed and sorted. Really, there is no way you can imagine our relief!

So, as stated above, Huub will fly back to Singapore tonight so the team will be complete again. They will be recuperating with their friends Pete and Jana for a few days, after which they will travel to Darwin. There they will undoubtedly be confronted with new and exciting challenges in the field of customs regulations…

To be continued!

Almost ready...

A week has gone by since our last Blog update and it has flown past. We did receive quite a few reactions to that last one: several readers have offered themselves as web master. In the end we have decided on Annemiek’s sister, Nannet. She manages her own site and is familiar with our software. Many thanks to all who have offered their services. And to Nannet of course.

We also spend a day at the Yamaha Motor Europe Training centre. That turned out to be both fun and very informative. In no time a brand new XT was reduced to a heap of parts. After the course our teacher Wil Brugman wanted his bike back. It was amazing how fast your Criss CrOz team managed to produce a working XT out of this pile of assorted parts. This bike was definitely designed with easy servicing in mind. A reassuring thought.

Something totally different: we have received a lot of questions regarding our sweepstakes. Quite a few people have obviously taken our questions serious and spared no time and effort trying to figure out how often we are going to refuel. These folks were quite worried that the smaller tank would negate all their hard work, and rightly so. We discussed the subject at length and even considered dropping the question all together. But then our good friend at Yamaha Motor Australia, Ray Howard, found us a great solution. A plastic tank will be mounted on the back of our bikes, bringing the fuel capacity back up to the old 23 litre. So, no worries, the question stays the way it was and we probably won’t have to push.

While we are on the subject, please be aware that our sweepstakes will close September 1^st. Thereafter you will be able to still donate, but you will not be eligible for the one of the wonderful prizes. More info in the upcoming news letter.

Right, that leaves us with a reminder: don’t forget the farewell party at ten Kate Motors in Nieuwleusen. This coming Saturday August 15^th we will be officially seen off. The precise program is still a bit of a secret but music, food and drink will be present. And so should you. Party kicks off around 3 P.M., make sure you’re there!

See you Saturday!

No worries

Our last Blog caused quite some confusion. We had no idea so many people are already following our exploits. Boy, were we ever wrong, the number of concerned e-mails was staggering. So, to put everybody at ease: Yes, we are still going! This coming week we will get our luggage racks and the fuel issue will be solved by using jerry cans. Everybody can breathe easy, and we can too.

In the mean while we have received our HD video camera from our friends at VholdR. We messed about with it a bit and are really impressed with it. We are not quite sure how, be we intend to post a few video’s during our trip.

By the way, if anyone fancies managing our web site while we are travelling, please send us a mail at info@crisscroz.nl.

Other good digital news: we will be carrying a Spot with us. The nifty little gizmo will let everybody check out our location while we are traversing Australia. Also, the spot doubles as an emergency beacon. Now we got two…

So no worries folks, everything is moving along just fine and we will start our trip by the end of this month.