Author Archives: khodges2013

About khodges2013

Alan and I divide our time between our apartment in Christchurch, New Zealand, and our 11.5m Dutch Cruiser, Silver Fern, on the canals in France. We started out hiring and eventually bought our boat in 2014. The two summers lifestyle is wonderful and we feel very lucky!

La Linge, Colmar and Strasbourg by car.

Posted on July 1, 2018

What a week we’ve had. After a few days in Epinal we decided to rent a car and go further afield. The mooring fees are really reasonable (€8 a night) so leaving Silver Fern moored up for a few extra … Continue reading →

Posted in France, French Canal boating | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Scey-sur-Saône to Epinal. Stunning!

Posted on June 24, 2018

After the lovely setting of Scey-sur-Saône we meandered up the Petit Saône past Port-sur-Saône without stopping and continued on to Fourecourt. There is a small port here, very small, but they charge quite high, I thought. €15 with power and … Continue reading →

Posted in Canal boat, Canal des Vosges, France, French Canal boating, Holiday 2018, Petite Saône | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Gray to Scey-sur-Saône. Stormy weather.

Posted on June 14, 2018

Gray was such a convenient (and free) mooring we stayed for six days. It’s a big town with an Intermarché Super and Brico only five minutes walk away and free power and water if you moor close enough to an … Continue reading →

Posted in French Canal boating, Gray, Savoyeux, Scey-sur-Saône | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Auxonne, Pontailler-sur-Saône, Mantoche and Gray. Stormy weather.

Posted on June 4, 2018

Auxonne is a great spot for a few days. The Port Royale has very nice moorings but quite pricey. For us €14 per night. There is a large military presence here (Napoleon did his training here back in the day) … Continue reading →

Posted in Auxonne, Burgundy, Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne, France, French Canal boating, French markets, Mantoche, Petite Saône, Pontailler-sur-Saône, Saone river, Speaking French, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

St Jean de Losne to Auxonne. The sun came out.

Posted on May 29, 2018

So we’ve been in our home port of St-Jean-de-Losne for two weeks now and we were planning on heading out on our next adventure today but although we finally have our water pump issue sorted at long last (am I … Continue reading →

Posted in Auxonne, Canal boat, France, French Canal boating, Holiday 2018, Petite Saône, Saone river, Travel, weed eater | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Forget Spring. It feels like Winter.

Posted on May 18, 2018

Apparently we missed Summer. It was lovely but only lasted a week. Since we arrived in France it’s back to rainy cold days with thunderstorms and lightening. I love a good storm but this winter blast is no fun. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgundy, Canal boat, Chalon Sur Saone, Christchurch, Dijon, France, French Canal boating, French markets, highs and lows of living on a boat, Holiday 2018, New Zealand, Saone river, St Jean de Losne | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Goodbye to Autumn, Bonjour au Printemps.

Posted on May 10, 2018

Autumn is here in New Zealand although you wouldn’t know it by the weather! The colours in Christchurch’s Hagley Park and the Botanic Gardens are spectacular. But Alan and I are off to France on Sunday for our next adventure. … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgundy, Canal boat, Christchurch, French Canal boating, Holiday 2018, New Zealand, Paris, Paris, Petite Saône, St Jean de Losne, The adventure begins... | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments