When Mark and Nicola Baker set out for a long drive through Europe in their Carado motorhome, they agreed that no matter where they were, some things would never change, Peta Stavelli writes.
Most of us would agree that two and a half years in a confined space with another person would be difficult. Yet this is exactly what Auckland couple Mark and Nicola Baker set out to do – and they succeeded gloriously, with their relationship emerging even stronger for the experience.
Like most success stories, this one was built on a strong foundation.
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The secret to a happy road trip relationship
"We're both pretty patient and tolerant people, and we don’t argue — we discuss," explains Mark.
One of the first things they discussed was how to incorporate their different personalities and travel styles so that each person had their needs met.
Recognising that Nicola liked routine, while Mark was just as happy to fly by the seat of his pants, they agreed on a few things to set each day up for the best outcome.
Mark politely says that Nicola’s day only starts when she has her morning coffee. So, he would make her a moka pot of coffee each morning to start the day. While Nicola was enjoying her coffee, they’d discuss the day ahead, and Mark would always joke that they had another day with no adults!
Daily rituals on the road
At the other end of the day, no matter where they were, they’d enjoy a cheese platter and some local wine while playing a game of backgammon.
These simple daily routines underpinned each day as they essentially completed two figure-of-eight tours of Europe through Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy — to name just a few of the countries visited.
A strong connection to Carado
The couple had previously enjoyed successful corporate careers. Nicola was a diamond specialist with more than 20 years of experience. Mark, meanwhile, had been seeking a change of pace when he left his role at an international company to sell motorhomes for Wilderness Motorhomes. There, he loved being part of a New Zealand family business and thrived in his new role — eventually rising to head of sales.
During this time, Mark met and formed a friendship with the managing director of Carado in Germany and fell in love with the Carado brand.
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Mark Baker |
Exploring Europe in the ultimate home-on-wheels
In October 2020, with the European borders slowly reopening to international travellers from selected countries like New Zealand, Mark and Nicola flew to Germany to meet their friend, Julian Manz, at Carado HQ. Julian had prepared the vehicle, which they named Matilda or Tilly for short, and after a few days, they hit the road.
“We had on the world’s thickest rose-coloured glasses,” Mark says of the beginning of their epic journey — as they drove out of Germany to Portugal through France and along the east coast of Spain.
The couple loved Portugal, and here they continued with their now-established daily routines, which included:
- Shopping for fresh food at the markets
- Eating local delicacies that they prepared themselves.
Nicola quickly became an expert at cooking in the Carado’s kitchen and found that eating in saved them an enormous amount of money, allowing them to travel for longer.
When not travelling, they hiked or, in Mark’s case, surfed or jogged. These two activities were new to Mark, and he was able to indulge his desire to improve his skills because they had so much time on their hands.
Like anywhere, the weather was changeable, but if they made one mistake, it was to be in Southern Italy during the summer.
“We had a heatwave while we were in Puglia, and it was around 44 degrees Celcius every day for a fortnight.”
After returning to Germany to finalise details of the vehicle purchase, the couple travelled through Italy, Greece, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia — eventually returning to Spain.
They bought a postcard in every major town or city and gave each place a rating, which helped jog their memory and served as a travel log, along with their travel diary and Instagram, where they also share travel tips for others — @midlife_crafted.
Some places just blew us away. We gave these nine or ten out of ten. They were places like Matera, San Sebastian and La Rochelle. We ended up with about a dozen cities or towns in our excellent range that we look forward to returning to. Mark Baker |
Castles, ruins and ancient towns
The couple both love history, and it had been suggested they would enjoy a route designed by an American travel agent, especially for motorhomes — the romantic road. It takes in approximately 25 medieval towns and villages, many offering freedom camping and all with camping grounds.
“It was right up there in terms of experiences — we'd love to go back.”
Mark and Nicola made a point of learning some language basics in every country they visited, even though it was also easy to converse in English in most countries. Acceptance of motorhomers varied and generally speaking, it was a bit more of a struggle in Portugal and Spain.
Meanwhile, Germany, France, and Albania welcomed them with open arms, allowing them to stay at stunning vineyards and châteaux.
Staying safe on the road
“The planning was down to me. We used an app called park4night that has a traffic light system of:
- Red for don’t park there
- Orange for not very good or safe
- Green for good.
We only drove during the daytime, and if one of us did not feel safe when we arrived, we moved on. We had no trouble at all in two and a half years,” Mark explains.
Nor did the couple endure opportunistic theft, and they have tips for other travellers to happily share through their Instagram account.
A new chapter in New Zealand
Eventually, it was time to return to New Zealand and Nicola and Mark put Matilda on the market. They advertised on the German version of TradeMe, and by complete chance, it sold to a Kiwi who had met her German partner when he was signed to the Wellington Phoenix football team.
The two couples swapped accommodation, and while the new owners came to terms with Tilly, Mark and Nicola lived in their apartment on Lake Constance before leaving Europe via Zurich.
Then, it was back to reality, albeit the long way around, as they opted to spend two months in Bali on their way home to New Zealand.
We met some beautiful, beautiful people and seeing all of the castles and ruins was amazing. We know we were blessed — but the real gold for me was spending every day with Nicola. Mark Baker |
Now back in Auckland and recently having moved back into their home, Mark and Nicola quickly purchased an ex-rental Carado T449 from Wilderness Motorhomes. This time, it was called Gertrude or Gerty — for continuing their explorations and, more importantly, getting away together.
This story was originally published in Motorhomes, Caravans & Destinations magazine in January 2025.
