It is amazing what you can find out about someones life in 10 minutes just by asking how old their caravan is when travelling with a camera.  I walked past Morris Crane’s caravan in Thame, NZ, admired it, and asked how old it was as he was making himself a cuppa.

Morris asked me to guess and I said, “mmm, 40?”.  Morris shook his head and said “no, its not that old”.  Morris then wandered around to the rear window to check what year it was registered.  I think even Morris was surprised when he saw 1980 and realised it was 37 years old!  The old Oxford was in impeccable condition inside and out, still with its original decor.

Caravanning had been part of Mr Crane’s family life for over 40 years.  Mrs Morris had fallen in love with the Oxford when she saw it at a caravan show and they bought the van the year after.  Sadly, Mrs Morris passed away a few years later, but Morris kept on caravaning.  I can imagine the Morris boys having so much fun on their family holidays.  Thankfully, his one son stepped in to feed the parakeet to enable him to make this trip to meet up with his fellow caravan pals.

When I asked if I could take a photo of Morris by his beloved caravan, he asked me if I wanted the shot with him combing his hair!  An ex traffic policeman of 25 years and 90 next birthday, he knew a lot about the road and wondered if soon he would have to give the Oxford up.  But at the moment it was just a bit of a struggle to get the gear ready.  Once he was on the open road, he was the happiest man on the North Island.

Morris then said, a bit more for your story (I hadn’t even told him I was travel blogging!).  At that, he added that he was a holder of the Burma Star.  Then, with a huge smile on his face, said that while he was on military leave, he had the chance to trek to the base of Mount Everest with a local sherpa.  And, that until someone else proved him wrong, he was the first New Zealander to see the peak of K2, and beat Edmund Hillary to that sight.

I left Morris with a fond farewell and sturdy handshake.  I popped back by his van with a note of my website and to tell him to check my blog about him, but I think he was taking an afternoon nap.  I dropped my card on his driver seat and hope that he gets to see his amazing story and photograph.  If you do Morris, I hope you like the sepia version too.

Just taking the time to ask that one question made my day.  I think it made it for Morris too.

Carry on caravanning Morris Crane!