The Normandy Coast

26th May 2019

After a long drive from Paris, we arrived on the Normandy Coast in a beautiful seaside town called Étretat! If there is one thing we have learned on this trip so far, it is how much we miss seeing the ocean on a daily basis so we were very excited to smell the salty ocean air. 

We had planned to have a night totally off grid and park at a lighthouse on the edge of the Étretat cliffs however when we arrived and started setting up for the night, it became apparent very quickly just how windy it was! We knew we wouldn’t have had a decent night sleep if we stayed (although the view would have been amazing) so we decided to move to a more central location within the village. 

We have been using a fabulous app called Park4Night which is a platform within the camper/van life community where people post GPS locations, reviews and pictures of where they have stayed (these locations range from actual campgrounds with full facilities to basic parking areas with no facilities.) It has been a lifesaver so far and we haven’t had any bad experiences yet.. touch wood. 

We arrived at our parking facility for the night and it was nothing flash, but provided electricity hook up. The catch was, there were only two power points in the whole area, one of which was already taken. After scoping out the campsite, it appeared that all other campers were well set up for the night and if nobody was going to use the power outlet, we decided we’d take advantage of electricity! We purposely parked our van close enough to run our extension cable to the outlet. Mid-process we noticed a cheeky Frenchman quickly scurrying down the hedge line with his extension cord trying to snake us!!! As we didn’t desperately need it, we didn’t think too much of it and let him have this one, however, shortly after his sneaky attempt he gave us a knock on the door and told us “too short” and walked away!! To our delight, we gave each other a hi-five and hooked up to the outlet before he changed his mind. NZ – 1, France – 0. We settled in for the night and you best believe, we made absolute use of that electricity by running the central heating for the night hehe! 

27th May 2019

What drew us to visiting Étretat was it’s beautiful white cliff faces, arches, and pebbled beach. I’ll let the pictures bellow speak for themselves! We had a beautiful morning exploring the gorgeous seaside town and soaking in the breathtaking view. 

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That afternoon, we jumped back in the van and headed towards Omaha Beach on the Normandy Coast. Since planning this trip, Morgan and I had always been keen to make our way to the Normandy Coast to see D-Day landing sites as well as the American Cemetery. 

Through Park4Night, we found a really cool spot on an organic cider farm! The best part was, it had a friendly dog who we basically adopted while we were there. We had a lovely evening, parked up amongst the orchid and enjoying a delicious glass (or two) of Rose. 

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28th May 2019

When we were planning our trip, visiting the Normandy Coast was at the top of our list. We wanted to visit the D Day Landing sites, the cemetery and a few museums. We woke early and made our way to the Normandy American Cemetery. It is situated on top of the hills that overlook Omaha Beach. The cemetery contains the graves of more than 9380 men who lost their lives during the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. There is also an area dedicated to 1557 men whose bodies were never recovered, The Walls of the Missing.

It was incredibly emotional and moving to visit the cemetery. Many of these men were as young as 16, having lied to join the military to serve for their country. Standing at the top of the hills looking down at the beach you could only imagine the carnage and destruction that unfolded here on June 6, 1944. So many men sent to slaughter, it really did send shivers down us. Looking at each cross you imagine a man standing there, not just across. It really does make you wonder what they would have gone on to do had they survived. 

The grounds were immaculately groomed, everything was… beautiful. Beautiful doesn’t seem like the right word to use, given what went on 75 years ago however there was a real sense of tranquility and peace as we paid our respects walking through.

Afterwards, we headed down the road to visit the Overlord Museum. The museum is dedicated to Operation Overlord which was the code name for the Battle of Normandy. We spent an hour or so going through learning more details about the battle and looking at some genuine WWII artifacts. A great museum to honor the memory of the lives lost.

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29th May 2019

Our last day on the Normandy Coast before we started the journey south towards Angouleme to see Becs and Jack. We had one last museum stop that we wanted to visit which was in Sainte-Mère-Énglise a short 30-minute drive from the cider orchard. First, we had to do our morning chores which have become a very routine part of our new van life. Toilet emptying (Morgan) fresh water fill up and grey water dumping. Once completed we said our farewells to our new furry friend and headed off. 

The museum we were visiting was The Airborne Museum, dedicated to the American troops who served as paratroopers in the D Day landing. We spent a couple of hours walking through, again the museum had been done incredibly well. Housing many genuine artifacts, some of which were personal belongings such as letters, dog tags, and other bits and pieces. One area had original WWII medical supplies which included old bottles of morphine, plasma, needles and wound dressings which was of particular interest to Han.

Before we left the Normandy Coast we had to make a quick pit stop at the supermarket for supplies. At the checkout, an American man, Dion Murphy, made conversation with us about our experience on the Normandy Coast. As we got talking to him he mentioned that his father was a Paratrooper in WWII. Dion was out there to take part in the 75 anniversary of the landings by jumping in his father’s memory. He was going to be jumping in his father’s original jumpsuit from WWII which would have been incredible to see. He gave us his card and we later googled his father to learn more. It turns out his father was actually the FIRST American Paratrooper to land on the Normandy Coast. He was a true American war hero who went on to fight in many pivotal battles in WWII.  

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After visiting the museum and the multiple sights involved in the D Day landings, we felt as though we had really got to learn and experience more about the D Day. We believe it is important to honor and remember the fallen men and what they fought for in WWII so we would highly recommend you visit the Normandy Coast once in your life.