Day 118

15 Aug 2013

New Zealand- Not

Sometimes a missed opportunity may be a blessing. Ab and I travelled in a Mercedes Vito double cab van with just enough room to stretch in the back and enough room not to be too squeezy. The ever present possibility of snoring sounds was not applicable due to the use of ear plugs, so we managed to have some decent night's sleep.

To local caravan park in Ypres had an electronic reception which refused payment so we were unable to enter. Later someone told us that the park was full hence the problem. Again, at the back of the park there was a camper area designated for campers where we found a spot between (all the other) grey nomads.

In the morning we decided to have a look at a different side of Ypres and did a walking tour of the town with the help of a written guide. We finished in the bookshop of the war museum.

For persons interested in First World War history this is one of the better places to be. About 8 km from Ypres is town of Zonnebeke where right in the middle of a forest there is an Australian cemetery which I could not pass without paying a visit. The place is right where a major battle took place and most where most of the dead lost their lives. (See the pictures.)

From Western Belgium you enter the Dutch province of Zeeland (Zealand) from which the country of New Zealand got its name. Various island are connected with dikes, some of the made of steel with built in sluice gates to enable a natural flow of the tides but can be closed at times of king tides. On top of the dikes they have created roads to shorten the distance from Belgium to various western provinces of Zeeland and Holland.