Canal Boating - Personal Diary

By Simon Louisson, Wellington, New Zealand

Looking for a European holiday combining boating, cycling, walking, wine touring and gastronomic delights? Then check out renting a "Penichette" on the French canals.

It had always been a dream to cruise on a canal boat on the French canals, and for me the reality measured up to the dream. It was the highlight of a three month European trip, even for our eight and five year-old girls, who revelled in the freedom the boat gave them compared with travelling by car.

Canal cruising is just such a pleasant and leisurely way to travel. There are no hassles with traffic or accommodation, you can dine in or out at your whim and the scenery is fantastic.

In France, most canals locks are operated by lock-keepers so your approach to a lock adds interest to the journey rather than detracts. Like most people on French boats, we rented bicyles which we used frequently to visit nearby villages for our morning supply of baguettes, croissants, wine and other necessities.

One of the beauties of travelling by canal boat is you can moor virtually anywhere, allowing you to visit a nearby chateau, winery or village that takes your fancy. The towpath that runs beside the canal means crew can cycle or walk beside the boat to burn off the previous day's indulgences!

The canal boats are similarly equipped to yachts. Most of the home comforts are supplied and depending on size, there is at least one shower and toilet.

The French Penichettes reminded me of something like a 2CV Citroen on water with the wheelhouse set in the middle -- but they are well suited to their purpose. As happens with most 2CV owners, the ugly duckling grew on us, and on several occasions people aboard modern, plastic vessels told us they wished they had rented a penichette like ours.

We had been worried about safety as our five year-old can barely swim but our concerns faded after the first day. The children soon learnt what was sensible, and they actually quickly became an integral part of the locking and docking team.

Operating the boat is simple enough. The Penichettes are virtually idiot-proof and the smaller variety we rented (P935) was very manoeuvrable. We entered our first lock with some trepidation, particularly as we were locking up, which is trickier than locking down, but emerged undamaged. Soon we became blasé and enjoyed watching novices get their ropes in a tangle!

France has an extensive canal system and deciding which area is the most attractive to cruise through can be a bit of a problem to most people - although a pleasant problem! To help us, we used a Christchurch agent, France the French Way, which specialises in canal boat trips. Because we chose to travel in the cheaper off-peak time from September 18, we decided on the Canal du Midi in the south, when it would still be warm.

The Languedoc scenery on the canal is extremely picturesque. It is easily the most popular pleasure boat waterway in France. However, it is far from crowded. Some days we only passed barely a dozen or so boats. We picked up our boat at a lock southeast of Toulouse and cruised one-way to Argens, a distance of about 250 km, with around 85 locks.

As befits this languid region where the sun shines warmly most days, we cruised a leisurely four to five hours a day often stopping for a siesta.The canal is shaded by plane trees for much of the distance while beyond the canal banks there are grape fields galore. The vendange (grape harvest) was in full swing during our travels and the pungent smell of crushed grapes at almost every village was often too much to resist. Stopping to wander off to a vineyard to buy the local wines (minervois and corbières) at such reasonable prices was one of the many pleasures of the voyage.

Almost every village in this medieval landscape is a wonder to our New

Zealand eyes. As well, there are the larger historic towns such as Castelnaudary, home of the regional specialty dish of cassoulet, a stew of haricot beans and meats - preserved goose, pork and sausage.

While Carcassonne, home of Europe's largest castle, was a wonder and a delight, our greatest pleasures were in the lesser known villages. Activities such as buying food or enjoying a quiet pastis while listening to a game of village boules opens your eyes to a lifestyle that is very different from what we are used to.

Now, we just want to do it all again, but for me, it’s back to work!!

THE END

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