Hello!

As the song says, “Hello it’s been a while. Not much, how ‘bout you?”

Actually, it’s a year today that the final edition of iMotorhome ‘hit the stands’. Sometimes it seems like five minutes and at other times, a lifetime.

My apologies for being a stranger and not living up to the vague promise of “the occasional email”. Truth be known I couldn’t find the motivation: After nine furious years I think cumulative fatigue had taken its toll. Thanks to those who emailed after the final issue; your kind words and good wishes were most heartening!

Funnily enough, ‘retirement’ lasted about a week as I was approached by a former colleague to supply content for the re-born Ken Tame Insurance brand – now KT Insurance as you’re probably aware – for its newsletter and new website. A mix of rehashed articles and new, it’s under the heading The Big Lap and you can find it here: https://ktinsurance.com.au/the-big-lap. That kicked off last September, which frankly was too soon for my liking, but you know what they say about gift horses and mouths…

In other news, Polly found new owners some months back and is somewhere out there (and hopefully treating them well). We sold her on consignment as we didn’t want any hassle and got a fair price. Although missed, it was time for the old girl to move on.

Consignment selling was a bit of an opaque process. I know the dealer was initially asking $20k over ‘my’ price and I had to give a bit in the end, but I don’t know what the final figure was. So while it was painless and relatively quick – a month or two – it’s obviously not the best way to sell if you’re chasing maximum dollars. On the plus side, the new owners got some kind of warranty that would have taken care of a couple of niggles, which is good to know.

Moving Ahead!

Seeing as I’m writing for KT Insurance and the world is reopening, it seems time to dust-off the iMotorhome website and perhaps reinvent it. I’ll be posting news and other articles, and sending out the odd email (promise!) to morph it into a general-interest motorhome website rather than being magazine centric. Interestingly, yesterday we test drove Suncamper’s new C-Class Sovereign, the first coach-built motorhome I’m aware of on the Chinese LDV Deliver 9 cab-chassis. Watch for upcoming review!

Mrs iM and I are off to Dusseldorf in August for the first time since 2019 and we’re looking forward to immersing ourselves in the wider motorhome scene again. Would you be interested in 360º virtual tours of the best RVs we find over there? It’s something I started doing just before closing the magazine and is a great way to have a proper look through a vehicle.

Then, in November we are doing a reconnaissance run around New Zealand’s stunning South Island for a new escorted tour we’re planning for late 2023. It will immediately follow an updated version of our Taste of New Zealand tour, from Auckland to Christchurch, and the two will be able to be combined for the ultimate NZ motorhoming holiday experience. Full details will appear early in the new year, so watch this space!

Finally, my Facebook account was hacked last December and consequently I’ve lost access to the IMotorhome Facebook page. Facebook is an impenetrable monolith that answers to no one, least of all those it locks out after criminals take over their account and start to run political ads for Hong Kong elections. There might be a new Page at some stage – the shell is already there – but we’ll see.

I have to say it’s already feeling good to be back – sort of – and I hope you’ll be happy to pick-up where we left off and see what the future holds. For now I wish you safe travels and let me know what you think: richard@imotorhome.com.au still works!