ANZAC Convoy Program and Route

Date	From	To	Distance	Hours	Notes
May-01	Istanbul	Gallipoli	270	5.5	Starting from Selimpassa Camp to Gallipoli National Park camp site
2	Gallipoli	Layday			Day in Gallipoli. Can take 15min ferry to Canakkale and Troy and return if desired.
3	Gallipoli	Alexandropolis	187	3.5	Enter Greece
4	Alexandropolis	Thassos	130	2.5	Get 30min ferry from Keramoti. Stay in one of several beachside camp grounds
5	Thassos	Layday			Day off on rugged island of Thassos. Spectacular views and great seafood.
6	Thassos	Thessalonika	230	4.5	1hr ferry trip to Kavalla then on to the pretty second city of Greece.
7	Thessalonika	Volos	222	4.5	Via magnificent scenic route past Mount Olympus
8	Volos	Athens/Piraeus	292	6	Board ferry to Crete at 2000. Arrive Iraklion 0630.
9	Iraklion	Chania	125	2.5	Lunch at Rethimnon. Outdoor café dinner on ancient harbour wall.
10	Chania	Sfakia	95	2	Morning Maleme airfield/war graves then mountain drive south coast evacuation point.
11	Sfakia	Chania/Suda	105	2	Walk up spectacular gorge, winding drive to Souda (Main Crete war Cemetary)
12	Souda	Iraklion	125	2.5	Explore ancient harbour town and lost city of Knossos.
13	Iraklion	Iraklion	148	3	Drive the beautiful coast - lunch at Agios-Nikolaos. Return to ferry at 2100/ Piraeus at 0630
14	Piraeus/Athens	Korinthos	60	1	Day exploring Athens then short drive over Corinth Canal to camp site.
15	Korinthos	Patra	120	2.5	Relaxed costal drive. Visit ANZAC evacuation ports. Board ferry at 1700/ Ancona 1300
16	Ancona	Layday			Arrive 1300 rest and explore. Meet up with Italian Military Vehicle Club members.
17	Ancona	Scarperia	200	4	Cross Italian mountain spine to Scarperia. Picturesque Tuscan village 20kms from Florence.
18	Scarperia	Pisa	82	1.5	Sightseeing Florence and Pisa.
19	Pisa	Garlenda	268	5.5	One of the most beautiful coastal drives in the world. Garlenda village welcome.
20	Garlenda	Turin	180	2.5	Pretty drive to probably the nicest big city of the whole trip.
21	Turin	Feriolo	160	2.5	Drive up the picture-postcard Lake Maggiore. Camp ground on the lake waterfront.
22	Feriola	Layday			Day off to catch up on washing, shopping, sightseeing and swimming.
23	Verbano	Seelisberg	200	5	Winding Semplon Pass, Furka underground railway, Seelisberg mountain-top lake camp.
24	Seelisberg	Mulhouse	160	3	Three great museums - Automobile, Firefighters and Railways.
25	Mulhouse	Verdun	250	5	Enter France
26	Verdun	Layday			Visit the Citadel, untouched WW1 battle sites and French National War Memorial.
27	Verdun	Bois de Boulogne	280	5	Night visit to Paris if desired
28	Bois de Boulogne	Layday			Paris day. Drive or catch train. Visit French Military Club large workshops.
29	Bois de Boulogne	Bagnoles de L'Orne	170	3.5	Beautiful small spa town nestled in forested hills.
30	Bagnoles de L'Orne	Pontorson	80	1.5	Straight on to Mont St Michel (9kms) for day before returning to camp.
31	Pontorson	Periers	60	1	Nice drive to Peter Tomb's farm. Clean-up. Look at Peter's collection, BBQ
1-Jun	Periers	Etreham	50	1	Join British MVT at campground.
2 - 7 Jun					Normandy Activities
8	Etreham	Dieppe	220	4.5	Via coast road and outstanding scenery.
9	Dieppe	Villers-Bretonneux	100	2	Australian national War Memorial.
10	Villers- Bretonneux	Amiens	130	2.5	Ancient cathedral town. Many war cemetaries and museums enroute
11	Amiens	Eiper/Ypres	180	3.5	Canadian Memorial Vimy Ridge, tunnels. Last Post/ Lowering of Australian flag Eiper Menin Gate
12	Eiper/Ypres	Zeebrugge	60	1	Loading, customs etc. expected 1-2 days before train to Brussels or Paris etc for trip home.

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The Start Of The Adventure

Well, after only 12 months from inception, there are now 15 restored World War Two vehicles sitting on the dock in Istanbul awaiting our arrival, appropriately on ANZAC Day.

I must say that the administration to get to this stage was considerably more than anticipated (you would think we would know by now!) and a number of bureaucratic hurdles were placed in our path that had been clear runs on previous expeditions.

Unfortunately, while the rest of the Western World is achieving something of a streamlining of administration in international customs and movement, Australia is descending into a growing morass of mindless regulations and employing an expanding army of lethargic public servants who have the efficient operation of the business of the nation as the furtherest thing from their minds.

Anyhow, as they say, we didn't let the b....ds beat us and are on our way. Bev, as always, carried the brunt of the burden and, while I cast aspersions on some Canberra mental-pygmy's parentage, she calmly chained herself to the computer and carried on. Bev, has only half her baggage allowance as the rest is taken up with vast amounts of paperwork and files required to take 15 vehicles and 35 people on a trip across Europe from Australia.

The variety of vehicles, 13 from Australia and 2 from New Zealand, is wonderful. We, have 5 Jeeps and also 3 Canadian Pattern Chevrolet "Blitzs", a Ford and a Chevrolet utility (pick-up), Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton, Studebaker 6X6, Chevrolet 3 ton, Dodge weapon carrier and Harley Davidson motorcycle.

All these vehicles have an Australian or New Zealand history and carry their full wartime markings.

This web site has been changed from our previous set-up and may need a little tweaking so bear with us while the glitches are sorted. Quite a number of other trip members are doing blogs and putting up photos and as these become available we will let you know the blog addresses.

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OUR NEXT EXPEDITION!

Anzac convoy to 65th D-Day celebrations in Normandy, France.

(The team is now full)

Bev and Lang will lead 15 restored World War 2 military vehicles shipped from Australia and New Zealand to Istanbul, Turkey. The convoy (very loose with people able to do their own thing) will then visit ANZAC Cove on Gallipoli before travelling to Greece. All the vehicles will go to Crete to see the WW2 battlefields before returning by ferry to Athens. They will then drive through Greece, across to Italy and all the way north to Switzerland.

After crossing France to Normandy, the Australian and New Zealand vehicles will join 3,000 others spread out in delightful camping grounds for a week in this beautiful countryside. Leaving Normandy they will travel into Belgium to see the WW1 battlefields before shipping the vehicles home.

Bev and Lang will coordinate all the shipping, camping etc. All the participants are expecting to have a great adventure on a wonderful 4,500km journey from 1 May 09 until late June. It is not all military but a fabulous European trip at a leisurely pace going off the beaten track. in our 65 year old vehicles. The arrival of the Anzac convoy in Normandy will be a highlight of one of the world's great historic vehicle gatherings.