Tag-a-Long Tours is the name we have given to the tours Herb and Ruth Farrant have organised to the Western Front over the past eight years. The name grew out of the ability for those who might have attempted the trip individually to tag along as time and commitments allowed. Essentially the tour allows a group of like-minded individuals to visit the Western Front in the footsteps of the First NZEF circa 1916-18.
This visit in April is centered around the annual weekend celebrations at Le Quesnoy on the nearest weekend to ANZAC Day which commemorates the liberation of that town on 4th November 1918. These tours are arranged to coincide with the events specific to New Zealanders such as the ANZAC Commemorations and the weekend at Le Quesnoy. By travelling as a group, transport and accommodation costs are shared and access to specific areas with commentaries available made easier to avoid the hassles of travelling as individuals.
Ideally the travel group size is between 14 and 21 (maximum) people.Age is not a barrier and while the bulk of us are in the senior citizen category we do like to minimize walking too far. Where practical we use members of the group as drivers of the 9-seater type wagons, albeit that some people wish to drive their own rental cars. Accommodation, where ever possible including at Le Quesnoy, is via B&Bs (Gîte in France) or as at Waterloo, via the Accor Hotel chain (Ibis). For budget purposes the following costs are indicated:
Note - A charge for H Farrant’s services of NZ$100.00 per person will be charged in respect to administration services.
Costs are as follows:
1. Vehicle Expenses - Based on 7 people per vehicle covering approximately 1,500 kms including GPS, insurance, tolls and fuel etc - averages 140 Euro per person per week (7 days). Total charge likely to be NZ$ 300.00 per person due to a less expensive Euro!
2. Accommodation
- Bed and Breakfast - Hotels, averages 100 Euro per night (twin or double rooms)
- Accommodation in the Gîtes in Flanders and Le Quesnoy and elsewhere averages 50-60 euros per room (twin share). These costs paid in cash.
Note: 1 Euro equals approximately NZ$2.00 but check exchange rate.3. Evening meals, drinks etc are at individuals expense except for Saturday and Sunday lunch at Le Quesnoy where we are guests.
TAG-A-LONG TOURS - April 2011
Attached is a draft itinerary, with the emphasis on paying our respects to the 13,500 New Zealanders buried in France and Belgium by visiting battlefields, memorials and graves where the First NZEF saw service on the Western Front and where these coincide with the general route of travel._
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DRAFT ITINERARY FOR APRIL 2011
Assemble in Paris - Charles De Gaulle Airport, Terminal 2C, by 2.30 pm Tuesday 19 April 2011. H Farrant and others arrive on Emirates Flight EK 73 landing at 13.30 pm.
Note: Contact details (mobile phone) for H Farrant in France will be available nearer the time. Mobile phone number is 0064 274 909 529.
Day 1 - Paris to Waterloo - 260 kms - Tuesday 19 April
- Depart at 3.30pm from Charles De Gaulle via A1/ E19 to Waterloo (near Brussels)
- Dependant on the weather and timing we may fit in a visit to the Forest of Compiègne where the Armistice was signed on 11/11/1918.Overnight at the Ibis Hotel, Waterloo.
Day 2 - Waterloo to Ieper via Battlefield - 160 kms - Wednesday 20 April
- Depart 9am – Visit the Wellington Museum in Waterloo thence back to
tour the battlefield 5kms south at Mont St Jean
- After lunch at Mont St Jean depart for Ieper around 1.00pm
- Arrive 3pm, visit Passchendaele 1917 Museum at Zonnebeke, Tyne Cot Cemetery etc.
- Settle into B&Bs early evening
- Attend Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate at 8pm, evening meal to follow.Day 3 - Ieper (Ypres) – 80 kms Thursday 21 April
- Depart 9am
- Guided visit of the New Zealand Battlefields at ‘s Gravenstafel, Passchendaele, Polygon Wood and Polderhoek Chateau
- Lunch - Ieper, visit Flanders Field Museum
- Afternoon visit to Poperinge & Nine Elms Cemetery to see Dave Gallaher’s grave (1905 All Black Captain)
- Assemble for the Last Post Ceremony at 7.45pm at the Menin Gate
Ceremony conducted by Tag Along Tour personnel under guise of NZMHS
- Dinner at 8.30pm.
Overnight at the B&Bs, Ieper.At this point we are looking forward to being joined by John Gray, author of “From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth – a Guide to the NZEF On the Western Front 1916-18” published in 2010 and benefitting from his considerable knowledge of the subject.
Day 4 - Ieper to Le Quesnoy – 150 kms - Friday 22 April
- Depart 8.30am for Messines, visit NZ Monument, Museum & Cemetery
- Proceed to Armentieres; visit Cite Bon Jean Cemetery, thence via Anthony Wilding’s grave to the Canadian Monument at Vimy Ridge
- 3.30pm departure for Le QuesnoyWeekend Accommodation at B & Bs – Le Quesnoy/ Beaudignies.
Note: At Le Quesnoy there is the possibility of some billeting otherwise we are accommodated in very comfortable Gîte Apartments in Le Quesnoy and Beaudignies.
Day 5 - Le Quesnoy – 50 kms - Saturday 23 April
- 10.00am Battlefield Tour – How the New Zealanders came to Le Quesnoy. See Details from 2009 (attached)
- 1.00pm Smorgasbord Lunch courtesy LMQNZ Association in Beaudignies
- 4.30pm Visit to Potelle Chateaux
- 7.30pm - Evening reception by La Maison Querçitaine Nouvelle Zelande (LMQNZ) with meal, venue to be confirmed with much singing and conviviality.Day 6 - Le Quesnoy - Sunday 24 April
- Formal Commemoration Ceremony starts in the Town Square at 11am with a march to the NZ Monument at the Ramparts returning to the Town Hall followed by speeches before lunch etc. Full Regalia & Medals to be worn.
- Formal Lunch provided by the Town of Le Quesnoy for all New Zealanders present that day.Day 7 - Le Quesnoy to Messines - 135 kms - Monday 25 April -ANZAC DAY
- Depart 7am Town Square Le Quesnoy direct to Messines
- Participate in 9am ANZAC Day Ceremonies at Messines Ridge Memorial followed by morning tea with locals
- Depart at 10.30 am for Arras, have lunch, visit the Citadel where the Gestapo shot 216 French Patriots in WWII, then
- 1.00pm guided tour of the Wellington Tunnels in Arras
- 2.00pm Visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission at Bearains
- Visit Grevillers Military Cemetery-NZ Memorial to the Missing 1918
- Lochnigar Mine Crater at La Boiselle en route to Longueval.
B & B Accommodation at Flers/Longueval whilst elderly get Rose Cottage
- Evening smorgasbord meal in and around Longueval.Day 8 - The Somme - Tuesday 26 April
- 9am start to New Zealand Memorial at Longueval and Caterpillar Valley Cemetery
- Visit areas around Thiepval - British Monument to the Missing
- Lunch at Auchonvillers where New Zealanders plugged the gap in March 1918. Visit new Museum in Auchonvillers
- Late afternoon visit to Australian Memorial to the Missing at Villers- Bretonneux and Amiens Cathedral.
Day 9 - The Somme – Wednesday 27 April
- 9am Start to Couin (Dick Travis grave) and Doullen area
- Return to Albert for late lunch, visit Somme Museum in Church Crypt at Albert
- Somme Battlefield guided tour covering 1916 involvement
- 7.30pm evening meal at an Auberge in Authuille - this is an awards night and Peter and Hilary Smith from Flers are our guests.Day 10 Flers to Paris (Charles De Gaulle Airport) - 130kms - Thursday 28 April
- Depart at 8.30am
- Via Warlencourt Cemetery (grave of Donald Brown, VC), through Bapaume thence to site of the bridge over Canal du Nord at Havrincourt built by the New Zealand Tunnelling Company in late September 1918
- Lunch at Cambrai
- Visit the French Great War Museum at Peronne in late afternoon before
- Brief visit to Forest of Compiègne to see the site of the German surrender 1918
- Return to Charles De Gaulle Airport by 6pm.Note: Herb Farrant has been visiting the Western Front for the past 16 years and the a-foregoing draft simply outlines the basic tour highlights. Every year, because distances are not great we attempt to visit sites and cemeteries of personal interest to those coming on tour where the route of travel is not unduly disrupted.
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Contact Details for those wishing to come on tour are via:Herbert H Farrant - Contacts
- Phone (Home ) 09 528 9297 evenings
- Mobile 0274 909 529
- Fax 09 528 6011
- Email ruthfarrant@xtra.co.nz
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