Newsletter – Second Half 2025

Welcome to our Newsletter

Find out what we’ve been up to during the 2nd half of 2025 and what our plans are for the rest of the year.

July and August – Iceland

In July and August, Stephen, Elise, and Shirley completed a rare traverse of Iceland, walking from the northernmost lighthouse to the southernmost lighthouse. Covering more than 700 kms over 33 days, the journey crossed the stark northern tundra, the volcanic central highlands, and the lush yet busy Laugavegur trail. Months of careful planning helped turn this ambitious idea into a successful expedition. We set out as three friends—and finished the journey the same way.

Caroline and Tim followed along being our eyes-in-the-sky. They provided weather and river level updates for us.

Caroline enjoyed the Belgium summer, attending concerts and catching up with friends.

September and October

At the end of August, we packed up our home in Belgium and headed back to North America and to Molly. After a brief return to Canada, we continued exploring the East Coast, visiting Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, followed by a quick stop with Tanya and Taras before re-entering the United States.

Our original plan was to stay longer to see the fall colours, but with the change still weeks away, we decided to head west earlier than planned. The cross-country drive took us via Sioux Falls and on to Las Vegas over a couple of weeks, where we celebrated our 25th anniversary with Tim.

Molly was then placed into long-term storage, but the trip wasn’t quite over. We rented a car and drove to San Francisco for our flight to New Zealand, visiting a few friends along the way.

November and December

We arrived in New Zealand at the start of summer. The garden, now three years old, is beginning to feel established, and returning after a long gap made the progress especially noticeable.

Preparation began on Molly for the upcoming Australia trip. Front hoops were added to the bull bar on Q to improve protection from animal strikes. Our awning arrived, checker plates were fitted to give Q a classic Land Rover Defender look, and the rear seats were removed to begin construction of a storage area. This work will be completed in March.

We also finally completed one of the walks we had been planning for some time: the Queen Charlotte Track. This four-day walk included luggage transfers between lodges, making for a very comfortable way to experience a section of the Te Araroa.

We then returned to Belgium for Christmas and New Year. We hosted Shirley and her boyfriend, who flew in from Norway, and spent time catching up with friends and revisiting stories from our Iceland adventure earlier in the year. Christmas and the New Year were celebrated before returning to New Zealand.

What’s Next?

Stephen heads to New Zealand to resume season 3 of the Te Araroa. Caroline stays a little longer in Belgium before heading south for the southern hemisphere summer. At the end of February Stephen and Caroline will reunite.

March will be planning for our Australian trip and hosting friends from America. The plan is to have our car into a shipping container before the end of March. In May we will fly to Australia and commence our trip to the Cape York, the northern most point of Australia. A journey that is expected to take 3 to 4 weeks, and involve some camping.

July we return to Belgium for a summer break. Caroline likely stays on and Stephen will return to Australia for more overland travel. He will be joined again by Tim and his Defender.

In the second half of the year we may return to Molly.

Plans are always subject to change.