Tramping tales from UK

At the start of the northern hemisphere winter it snowed in North Lincolnshire. Otto alerted his grandmother that flakes were falling as he dressed for school. Lea opened the window and savoured the sight and touch wearing a summer nightie – just glorious! As the tail end of our time in Tetney came to a close, the sheer beauty of snow was back.

The view from our bedroom window

Blue skies yet beautiful snow kept floating down and newspaper headlines like Blizzard chaos set to hit Brits made us decidedly nervous as Thursday 17 January and our train journey to London approached. Pippa Gammage from Hereford sent a message of concern that we were possibly being snowed in for our departure. All seemed well as Lea anxiously drove about. Snow didn’t seem such a problem. ICE puts the fear up Lea! Alleviating the emotional trauma of ‘departing’ is a London sojourn. Justine put together a family plan of distraction. It began when our daughter took us by train for two days in the big city with her. The dire snow reports had George try to ‘cry off’ and come to London by car with Daniel and the children who were joining us, early Saturday morning, but. They were bringing our luggage. Justine wouldn’t have a bar of that as her plans were all arranged and in place. Further alarm arose with media alerts of Snow-mageddonas the country faced more heavy snowfalls and drifts as a mega storm from Russia brought in a big freeze. Travellers were urged to stay off roads and there was a likelihood of train and plane cancellations- all affected us in one way or another.

With bare minimum in our backpacks, at first light we arose to find Dan had cleared the snow off the little blue VW polo and warmed up the engine for our early departure. Justy was to drop off ‘our wheels’ at a garage close to the station for a final service before resale. Although the dreaded black ice across the parking lot prevented a short cut we were soon safely on the train and on our way. A winter wonderland followed us to the outskirts of London without any hitches. So much for dire reporting and it was a perfect winter’s day in London with the sun shining. On arrival at Kings Cross Station we decided, for safety sake, to check out the exact whereabouts of Elmwood Hotel in readiness for Sunday night- just in case we were faced with dragging our luggage during shocking weather. This prelim walk was to make it very easy later. Thereafter, we caught the tube to Leicester Square. George took refuge in an immense Foyle’s and lost himself in books while Justy and Lea walked until feet said ‘no more’. A leisurely lunch of unusual dishes in Chinatown went down well. Nuala and Jack Starks were putting us up in their home near the O2 Stadium where Justy was to attend an NBA Basketball match and the warm-up that evening. Justy mysteriously mentioned ‘other’ plans for us. As the clock ticked on a text from Nuala informed that ‘tickets were to be picked up at the theatre’ and just as suddenly Justy was hustling us towards the tube station and on to Covent Garden where Lea’s birthday surprise was to occur and away Justy went to attend her event. Following instructions we found Drury Lane shortly after 5p.m. – Lea stopped short at seeing the massive poster for WARHORSE – What excitement! When last in England “Warhorse” had been a top theatre talking point with seats difficult to come by. At the start of our stay, Lea found many Michael Morpurgo’s books amongst Otto and Roo’s library and was amazed to find ‘Warhorse’ belonged amongst this very popular author’s books for children. A beautiful story as are many others written by Morpurgo. Tickets in hand we proceeded on to a pre theatre dinner – quite sure we weren’t hungry after Chinese lunch but Justine had insisted we do things nicely and the atmosphere and pleasant service in “Machiavelli” soon had us tucking into a most tasty Italian meal. AND ‘Warhorse’ was gloriously impressive particularly the mechanical reality of the horses. We were on such a high as we caught the tube to O2 Stadium to meet up with Justy and Nuala. Successfully found them in the mass of people coming out from the basketball game. Nuala works for O2 and it was easy access to her car park and home in next to no time. Not what we have come to expect from London lifestyles. The severe weather warnings had Jack and Nuala put us in their bedroom for fear we would freeze in their attic.

Jack said the Horniman Museum and Gardens were ten minutes down the road – faster by car than bus so he dropped us off. London folk’s travel time scale is not the same as ours- a good half an hour later we were at the entrance amongst a milling throng of weepers and wailers, before the doors had opened. Free admission had the nanny brigade out in force to escape the weather. George eyed the scene apprehensively. All went well - we were to barely notice the mob of little people inside. The museum dates back to Victorian times when philanthropist, tea trader and inveterate collector, Frederick John Horniman, opened his home and extraordinary collection to the public. His collection continued to grow and was eventually housed in purpose built galleries. With no time constraints we happily wandered, learning and enjoying the many galleries. The British Wildlife Photography Awards 2011 had drawn us there. The Natural History Gallery grabbed a large amount of our time; a Centenary Gallery containing the anthropology specimens even the African World Gallery of art and cultural had plenty to fascinate but the discovery of the Music Gallery with Horniman’s renowned collection of musical instruments blew us away. Interactive panels captivated toddlers and adults alike and we’d easily have spent hours in there but tummies were rumbling. Little appealed in the cafe and Justine fancied Turkish. During her London research she had read about Levante Pide.

We departed Forest Hill for Lewisham from a bus outside the museum gardens, that didn’t keep us waiting long in the gentle ever-falling snow.

From the top of the red double-decker Justine fortuitously noticed the restaurant and we delightedly hopped off at the stop virtually opposite. Another lazy lunch with an array of dishes to try and beers to wash them down with, gave us another memorable meal as snow kept coming. Totally replete we decided a film in North Greenwich would best fit weather conditions.

We found the wonderfully comfortable cinema and there we became ensconced for two sessions (very nearly three!) First warming up in the coffee lounge with its wide glassed vision of the street below and snowflakes floating by, choices were made and decided by their scheduled times . It veered towards Lea’s choice of The Sessions. The story line had no appeal to Justine and George but fortunately they were won over ten minutes into the film. Polar bear weather outside easily persuaded us to stay on and see The Impossible with a drink in hand as the cocktail bar alongside had opened. What decadence! Django Unchained tempted us until we saw what a long film it was and we made our way back to the Starks on the bus.

Exultation of spirit had Lea hop over a garage chain onto a pristine piece of snow to make an ice angel!

Despite media scaremongering, all fears and inner anxieties fell away when a very early Saturday morning knock on the door awoke and alerted us to the safe arrival of Daniel, Otto, Roo and Kiki with our luggage. Daniel had taken no chances, left at 4 in the morning fully prepared to dig his way into London! With ‘departure’ looming we refused to let emotions spoil our time together and according to Justy’s‘London itinerary’ we caught the tube at O2 and effortlessly reached Wood Green where shuttle buses carted us to the London Model Engineering Exhibition at Alexandra Palace. Parents and children, making the most of the snow on the park hillsides sleighing was a sight to behold. Inside the fine venue there was a notably high percentage of grey headed ‘boys playing with toys’ and walking out like Cheshire cats with bulging packets! By the time we realized it was well past the lunch hour, the place was packed with queues waiting for a bite to eat – so we ate on the run, returning the way we’d come to the O2 Stadium as we’d all been given tickets for Britain’s Museum of Popular Music. This museum bombarded our senses as it took us on a music experience through the decades. The use of a personal ‘smart card’ at sensor points befuddled us at first – some were out of order and others didn’t work easily. We wanted more than a mere sound bite particularly for the sixties era! Overall, we preferred Tamworth’s presentation of Australia’s history of music. The British museum rather overwhelmed us with its technology. We found dinner at Cafe Zero. After a long day out we returned to the empty Stark home for an early night.

Once the Stark family returned from their night away and our bags were packed and reloaded into the car, the mob made for a heritage listed pub The George close to London Bridge to enjoy a fine roast lunch alongside a wood fire. Nuala and Jack helped lift the mood of the occasion as the clock ticked relentlessly on. The hour came... Dan and Otto helped us down to the tube for our direct line to Kings Cross amidst the tears. Thanks to the earlier survey we had a direct walk tugging our luggage through the snow to our hotel and there we stayed holed up with TV. The safe option of a tube to Heathrow early next morning changed when we spotted a flyer on the reception desk for cheap airport shuttle service- door to door. We booked that. Text messages from Justine kept us reassured the airline was on schedule. Despite wintry conditions we couldn’t have had a smoother, carefree journey to the airport bar a baby screaming its head off.

Tramping tales in San Fransisco

Mention this city and Flower Power, Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and earthquakes come to mind in no particular order. When we saw our flight itinerary from London to Perth flew via San Francisco, Honolulu and Auckland. We had to grab the opportunity to see San Francisco especially as a good offer was available; hotel room and four tours. Radisson Hotel gave us a very pleasant en suite bedroom conveniently located on the bay-front adjacent to Fishermans Wharf but seeing was believing! Early next morning (amazingly before traffic seemed to move in this big city) we discovered just how well placed we were to the central Wharf district; just steps away from Pier 39, the antique streetcars and the cable cars and as days passed we discovered even more on the doorstep. Required to confirm tour bookings on arrival with relevant tour offices we avoided expensive phone calls and walked to addresses within the wharf. A lucky decision as we discovered a few rare tickets were available that very day for early morning trips to Alcatraz –considered the best time to go. We quick stepped our way to Pier 33 in the opposite direction to successfully find Alcatraz Ticket Office alongside their boarding area for The Rock. For a country that refused to sign the Kyoto Agreement we were astounded by evidence of a conscientious awareness to cut carbon footprint during our visit. First example- the roof of our vessel was laden with row upon row of solar panels and two huge sculpture-like wind generators on the bow. It took us the short distance across the bay on the clearest and best day weatherwise we were to have in San Francisco. This had not been included in our scheduled tours but we took an extra night in Fog City, especially to visit Alcatraz. Having always understood California to be a ‘sunlit heaven’ we were most startled to learn San Francisco’s well known tag was Fog City, this results from the admixture of two contrasting air masses; one associated with the cold current off shore and another originating in the hot dry deserts that lie inland. Apparently fog and wind are very common in summer. Winter, the best time to visit as days are generally clearer.

Alcatraz Island first served as a harbour fortification and military facility and the West Coast’s first and oldest lighthouse stands proud there before being turned into the super maximum prison for which Alcatraz was immortalized in movies - Birdman of Alcatraz and Escape from Alcatraz for us, in particular. Not once did we experience the chilling atmosphere we’d expected. In fact, we found ourselves equating its similarity to Cockatoo Island, off Sydney since we were unable to compare it with Robin Island where Mandela was incarcerated, as somehow a visit there, has always been thwarted by circumstances. Nevertheless, we definitely have a perceived harshness on Robin Island and sensed it on Cockatoo Island. A good example – historically, prison riots began over food and the Alcatraz warden vowed the food there would be the best in the prison system - doubt anyone gave a toss about the awful food of Cockatoo and Robin! Bear in mind too, the hardened criminals in Alcatraz were inherently troublesome inmates sent from other federal penitentiaries. When ‘unruly’these inmates could be punished by segregation in D Block (42 cells) and yet it could hardly be described as brutal - despite being in ‘Isolation’! We spent very informative hours out there beginning with an orientation video with Stories from the Rock, information boards and exhibits along the route and a self guided tour with an award winning audio device, smoothly distributed and returned - inside the prison itself. In the dining hall with life size photographs of prisoners and their stories (part of an exhibition) we spotted a corner that encouraged the public to add a sticky note to the board to vent emotionally! George photographed a random one for memory sake. Reminiscence of life out there ere related by former inmates, correctional officers and residents (some as children). Notorious inmates like Al Capone and Robert Stroud had their places and of course we saw how escapes were attempted. The Rock it may be but the most surprising thing was the gardens on the hillside – no ugliness. Prisoner AZ#578 quoted “the garden provided a refuge from the disturbances of prison, the work a release and it became an obsession. This one thing I would do well.” From view points in the hillside gardens we stared out on a cold sea with its vicious currents, BUT, it was the nerve shattering, simultaneously slamming of prison doors by automatic machinery, imposing a rigid end to liberty that raised the hair on Lea’s neck.

Our first tour was an All Loops 48 hour Package Hop on - Hop off on open top double-decker buses. The first loop took us Downtown enabling us to orientate ourselves and learn the city history. We actually heard it many times over according to the versions of Guide aboard and their different personalities which came of supplementary interest to us. Our aversion towards these young guides arose from the constant reminder for gratuities peppered into their chatter and the large bucket placed strategically. Hopping on and off seemed to require a very deep pocket. The 48 hours use aside from being the best value served us well. The Golden Gate Park Loop introduced us to its devastating earthquake left-overs! ‘Frisco’s beautifully preserved Victorian architecture - particularly postcard row or the iconic‘Painted Ladies’. They are not ladies of the night, all seven are the most photographed and celebrated houses on Alamo Square, very worthily so; while Lombard Street considered the crookedest in the world due to eight short, sharp bends created to allow traffic to descend the steep incline safely in the 1920’s when the likes of Model T Ford’s were finding their place on streets; and up on top of another ‘hill’ Golden Gate Park - among the world’s greatest urban parks; these three stood out as highlights out of the many, many other attractions we saw on this loop. Even unexpected rain couldn’t dampen our spirits and as we’d all been caught short – we were given red rain ponchos.  

There are five bridges crossing the famous San Francisco Bay! The first, at the entrance to the bay has international focus thrust upon it – we all know of it! A little further east and slightly older by six months is the next, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (locally known as Bay Bridge). This is a most elegant and much longer bridge with two decks to carry all the traffic. From the wharf frontage it is far more noticeable and often mistaken for Golden Gate. We had a scheduled Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito - a bay side community on the other side. This took place on a particularly wet afternoon with a good bus-driver cum guide to fill us in on the conception and creation of one of the most recognized landmarks in the world (painted international orange not golden! The name Golden Gate simply arose from its resemblance to the Golden Horn in Turkey). Having stopped at viewpoints in misty wet conditions he took us into the attractive Sausalito which reminded us of Monte Carlo minus big boats. Real Estate belonging to the likes of Sean Penn and Robbie Williams was priced in hefty bands from fifteen million at the top of the ‘hill’, ten million around halfway to five million dollars along the very bay where singer song writer Ottis Redding’s wonderfully evocative “Sitting by the dock on the bay’ was composed, leaving Lea with an ear-worm to fittingly trail through her head, for the rest of our stay. Guides embellish journeys with snippets of useful and bizarre information. On this tour the Guide pointed out Fog City Doggie Day Centre where clients happily pay $89 for their daily dog care even $200 for a doggie massage. While a well paid job as a Dog Walker earns $500 a day with ten to one ratio! The rain kept up and on our return, we asked whether San Francisco by night was worth taking before our forty eight hours ran out and the honest answer was no. We decided to forgo that one.

Tour Two was to Yosemite in a day by coach! We arrived at the pickup point extra early in the morning and after a long wait discovered there hadn’t been enough people to warrant the long trip. This messed up our itinerary as they rescheduled us for our last day, sadly throwing out a trip we’d paid for the day before taking us to Monterey and Carmel travelling the very scenic 17 mile coastal road we had heard so much about. Fortunately they refunded us and our last day was spent in Yosemite. We now had to rethink this day at short notice. With help from our hotel concierge we decided the city bus service was by far the cheapest option - 75c for a senior’s ticket would bridge all three sectors required to reach Golden Gate Park. And, we were able to use a famous streetcar for the first leg. We set off to find the relatively new California Academy of Sciences, one of the park’s main attractions as it advertised a new exhibit EARTHQUAKE and it seemed fitting to learn more about the ‘Frisco’s earthquakes especially as there was a simulator! A bonus turned out to be a walk through the park, passing through grassy meadows, open groves and natural looking gardens. The Academy was pricey but plenty going on within... First up the earthquake Exhibit for “a kinetic journey towards understanding this super seismic phenomena” – QUEUE, for a long time amidst classes of schoolchildren that standing, quite wore us out as we waited to enter the disappointing pre-show – more standing in an ‘immersive miniature dome’ and finally more disappointing earthquake simulator. Anatomy of a Shake House didn’t warrant the hoopla! It didn’t even match the sights and sounds of Darwin Museum’s cyclone simulator. The flora and fauna of Gondwanaland was an interesting exhibit geared towards children naturally as was everything else really. Lea fell asleep during the planetarium show- not because she was bored. Neck stretched backwards, the brightness of the massive domed screen flickering on her light- sensitive eyes and welcome chair were to blame! All in all, we liked the ‘living roof’ of the Academy, the rainforest happened to exit into the aquarium and this caught us by surprise as it was very good and we’d have notgone there otherwise! And, we liked the photographic history of San Francisco’s seismic past especially as we recognised the photo that went round the world, with a crumpled bridge in 1989!

In the afternoon, back tracking the way we’d come with the bus service, we hopped off to spend a bit of time looking through the departmental stores around Union Square and found little to capture any money in our wallet that we returned to the wharf-side riding back on another of the Muni F-line vintage streetcars- that come from different parts of the world. A spur of the moment decision had us jump off at the Embarcadero – a picturesque waterfront boulevard amidst the pier structures close to Bay Bridge. We went inside the historic Ferry building which survived the earthquakes and found located in there, delightful gourmet shops, restaurants and a wonderful kitchen bazaar. Despite tired legs we walked the distance to Fisherman’s Wharf and were so glad we did as we witnessed a cyclist ride past us without any clothes on. We had been told to expect surprises in ‘Frisco as it is the only city where nudity is not an offence. What a delight to observe the stunned amazement of tourists twice over, as our man nonchalantly cycled down the wharf and returned a good time later.

Pier 39 became a favourite with us– because of the SEA LIONS (more will come); Le Beastro -a pet boutique and breed-specific gift shop that intrigued and delighted us no end only our wallets were nowhere full enough; The San Francisco Sock Shop that had us humming and hawing at great length over the infinite variety and couldn’t leave without two pairs! SOLVE IT - a think out of the box puzzle shop where a charming young man made us feel at home and comfortable as our sense of inadequacies grew! Nor did we ever feel obliged to buy. And of course an array of buskers - particularly an acoustic guitarist!

Some meaningful streetscapes of San Francisco with a few tales to follow...

Have you heard about “Bushman”? We were told about him on one of our tours and recalled seeing droopy leaves and branches stuffed into a bin on at least two occasions – our attention drawn because there was no rhyme or reason for them to be there! We were doubly thrilled when we spotted him in action; concealed in his portable “bush” he’d jump out to scare an unsuspecting pedestrian. We crossed over to photograph this renowned character, whose appearance on one of America’s top chat-shows actually attracted the interest of the taxman when he inadvertently disclosed his annual earnings! Bushman told Lea he’d been doing this unusual and lucrative job for over twenty five years. Good for him he had our dollar. Better than sitting on his butt begging as we saw elsewhere!

Another singular delight was spotting, amongst a display of tee-shirts (albeit at the bottom) the honey badger tee-shirt that came as a result of the YouTube video phenomenon that very recently passed 56 million viewers since it was launched two years ago; inspired by the fearless nature of Keith and Colleen’s honey badgers in their film “Snake Killers of the Kalahari”.

Naturally, mention must be made of San Francisco’s beloved cable cars. Conceived after a dreadful accident in which a horse–drawn carriage faltered on the hill and rolled downhill dragging the horses behind it in the 1800’s. These declared National Landmarks are the only vehicles of their kind still in operation and by Jove a ride in one is quite something, if for no other reason than to watch the driver in action - yanking at gigantic levers and stamping on all sorts of weird pedals in between ringing his bell and waving at passerby’s. Cable cars became the primary mode of transport throughout the 1890’s until the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires demolished the city including the cable car system. Glad they resurrected this history as we relished this slow steady and rickety ride to experience San Francisco’s hilly streets that have found place in so many films.

With no meals included during our time in San Francisco – timing either sent us on out on empty and when we were falling down starving we revived at a small branch of Boudin’s Bakery which produced well priced, unusual and very tasty lunchtime soups with a toastie or American breakfasts at Pier 39. Closer to our hotel was the historic Boudin Museum and Bakery where you could observe bakers at work- some creating dough animals. Back at Pier 39 we went to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co with its excellent view of the Bay and overlooking the Sea Lions on K- Dock especially for clam chowder – knowing this was a Californian speciality. We loved the atmosphere of this restaurant based on the movie Forrest Gump – passing the waitress’s verbal quiz on the film, as we were served. Good value in an exciting venue we determined to find our last meal –lunch, in another Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, Waikiki before flying out of the USA and we were not disappointed.

Bubba Gump - San Francisco

A similar cancellation occurred when we took the tour to Muir Wood. As we waited at the pickup we were informed it was no longer taking place for lack of numbers. In this instance they arranged for another company to include the four of us in their bus load so all was well, other than a delay of an hour. Although we repeated the ride across Golden Gate and through Sausalito on a drier day, our guide nevertheless pointed out different things like the quaint cliff hanging cottages and the houseboat community, Hippies took over during the time of flower power. With rain over past days we were warned Rangers possibly closed walking tracks within the National Park. Muir Woods, a National Monument nestled at the foot of Mount Tamalpais is a remnant of ancient coast redwood forest - the tallest and oldest trees that once covered the coastal valleys before the 1800’s and fortunately given permanent protection through the generosity of a businessman and his wife William and Elizabeth Kent and a proclamation by President Theodore Roosevelt. The Kent’s had been inspired by a naturalist, John Muir. At their request the park was named for him.

“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than one seeks” – John Muir

We could not help but smile when hearing the bus driver draw attention to the eucalyptus trees in the area that had been brought in from Australia for purposes of railroad construction, he even claimed animals such as kangaroos and koalas become intoxicated and positively dangerous after eating eucalyptus oils! Nevertheless, with the redwood trees in the Park towering to a height of 250 ft or more, walking through the quiet, mist-shrouded forest with its cathedral like atmosphere, made the all too brief excursion to Muir Woods very worthwhile. Although advised to look out for them– we sadly saw no chipmunks.

Walking in the direction of Fisherman’s markets one afternoon we found Pier 45 with The USS Pampanito docked long side, a World War Two submarine museum and memorial. We didn’t go aboard wandering further along reading information boards – one bearing a very recognisable war poster of a girl with a rivet gun and we quickly became absorbed by the story of Liberty ships – each of which were built inside eight weeks during World War Two and all the riveting done by women.

The Jeriamiah O'Brien is the only Liberty Ship remaining from the convoy of ships that stormed Normandy beachheads in 1944.  As a working and restored ship, The O'Brien made the historic trip back to the coast of France and England for the 50th anniversary of the Allies landing on D-Day. 

Last day and we were off to the Yosemite Valley, one of the natural wonders of the world. As the sun began to rise, we finally made our first crossing of the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge. Coincidently, the night before, we saw this bridge on TV. Its 75^th anniversary gift from the city are 25,000 LED lights that have been aligned along the bridge’s vertical cables to form a mesmerizing light sculpture by Leo Villareal, a pioneer of illuminated art. There were delays in the sculpture’s assembly as the celebration was November 2011 BUT the new sparkles are due to be formally switched on in March 2013. Last night they were tested and we saw! Another bridge is in the midst of construction alongside this pair of bridges as Bay Bridge has been beset with calamities. Treasure Island breaks into one of the longest spans in the world and the other side is quite different to Golden Gate. This is an industrialised side, one of the largest container terminals in the world, and according to our German Guide-traffic thick on the ground with four to five lanes on either side. The communities we were driven through suffer the ongoing economical downturns of 2008. Midway in our three and half hour journey we had a refreshment stop on reaching the Central Valley, the most productive agriculture valley in America. Helmut was a most interesting guide and he shortened the journey with his informative comment. Passing through Mariposa he pointed out the oldest pub dating back to mining days aptly named Forty-Niner. Amazingly, lyrics of an American folk ballad from Lea’s childhood jumped to mind and hummed their way through her head

In a cavern, in a canyon,
Excavating for a mine,
Dwelt a miner, forty-niner,
And his daughter Clementine.
Oh my Darling, oh my Darling
Oh my Darling Clementine you are lost ...

as the coach made the steep climbs up and down the Sierra Mountains to the Merced River which we followed into the Park. Granite rocks edged over the road similar to one we had travelled in New Zealand close to the river edge, slowing the coach. The closer we came the more we saw of snow capped mountains. A natural granite formation provided a good entrance ‘gate’ to the Park. Immediately Helmet took us as high as the coach could go which was the Tunnel Lookout for the best view ever..

 

 

“It is by far the grandest of all the special temples of Nature I was ever permitted to enter”-John Muir. Our guide remarked “from here, you have seen everything in one go in Yosemite” It was breathtaking.

Returning to Yosemite Village we were given a good overview of Yosemite and inducted into the use of the Park‘s free shuttle as visitors are urged not to drive around. Although it is a hop on - hop off service we were warned not to get carried away, lose sense of time or become disorientated; all easily done or we’d be left behind. Looking upwards at the Salathe Wall of El Capitan, Hemut’s words “tiny, tiny, small climbers” will forever ring in our ears and no doubt become a catch phrase in our life, matching his intonation!

As soon as we had been set free to make the most of almost three hours in the Park we caught the shuttle and did the round trip gaining a good overview of the layout and services available AND looking for bears! Like the chipmunks, sadly there were no sign of any.

Thigmotaxis became term of 'intimacy' for us in San Francisco and very likely to stick forever in our vocabulary! Fittingly, it came about from an article celebrating Pier 39’s Sea Lions and as these creatures came to epitomise San Francisco for us – we salute them at the end of our trip here... The first time we stepped out onto the Wharf front- Lea became aware of barks wafting on the air. Having ascertained it could be a seal we went to search the ocean - nothing. On the way to the Alcatraz Office we passed a silent Aquarium and thought perhaps the sound had come from there. Boarding the boat we spotted a lone sea lion wallowing nearby and marked him as the early morning caller. At the end of our time on Alcatraz we walked along a harbour wall to the little lighthouse and noticed sea lions within the yacht mole, snoozing on the decking.

Little did we know we were looking at pinnipeds that have been an international sensation for over twenty years! They are celebrities in their own right and we loved their antics and could not resist daily visits to K-Dock.

This wonderful story begins after the Loma Prieta earthquake that took down a portion of Bay Bridge and caused $6 billion worth of damage throughout the Bay area in 1989. A couple of months after, locals noticed a few California sea lions hauling out on Pier 39’s K-Dock. Not a problem until 300 were counted ... These energetic sea lions were taking over K-dock, barking, bathing and playing noisily, even making use of some of the luxury yachts for a spot of sunbathing! The local yachtsmen were incensed and decided to turn high pressure hoses on them which the sea lions loved of course, considering such treatment to be the best massage they’d had for years. The next option was to cull them. It was only at that stage the public became involved along with animal rights lawyers eventuating in the sea lions formally being given free range of K-dock (all the yachts moored there removed) and sea lions virtually had “freedom of the city”rights. Soon their extended family began arriving and by November 2009 there were 1 700 of them flourishing in the area of Pier 39.

VIDEO : Sea lions have an innate need, called thigmotaxis, to be in close contact with others. They are incredibly social creatures and generally feel more secure when they are surrounded by others. 

Tramping tales from Hawaii

January 27 – We left San Francisco for Hawaii and landed in Honolulu on Oahu Island and speedily improved our geographical understanding of this chain of islands forming Hawaii! George was very keen to see the erupting volcano that spills into the sea and Lea had Pearl Harbour her priority when the stopover in Hawaii was planned. We’d chosen to have three nights. This had to be extended to five as no onward flights were available. Our friendly meet and greet driver gave us a pretty good orientation tour as we were driven through a relatively quiet city. Everyone was at ‘The Game’! Once again we found ourselves well situated in the Miramar Hotel, Waikiki Beach. All we could think of was FOOD as we found our en suite bedroom as we were absolutely starving. We’d expected a meal on the plane in the early morning rush to catch our flight only to be offered nothing as a ‘drama’ occurred soon after take-off. We picked up on this when we noticed the stewards had quickened their pace, the pilot called for any doctors on board to make themselves known and near us a hostess battled to get a defibrillator out of the overhead locker. Aside from a glass of water it was close on two hours before we were told the patient had been stabilised and service resumed. Slowly, we realised this internal flight did not serve meals – plenty of water on offer and a drink at lunch time. Even hot drinks were held off for a while due to turbulence. And, as is often the Begg way, we found ourselves at evening time without a morsel having passed our lips. Fortunately our driver had recommended Denny's next door to our hotel as good value and we hot footed it there and found a hive of activity – we had a short wait for seating and service again came in friendly and speedy style. Good value it was, especially that week’s special: a three course meal of soup or salad, a choice of skillet and dessert for $8.00.Between us, all the tasty skillets passed muster in days to come! Once replete we found “Jingle Bells” in the hotel lobby and her efficiency astounded as she made suggestions, solved problems and sorted out our days - booking the flight to Big Island to see Kilauea in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and a day at Pearl Harbour. Relief! We could accomplish all and more.

Exotic Waikiki Beach was a short block away and as we took a walk just before sunset we were amazed by the obvious and predominant number of retirees everywhere.

Having just spent time with our family that love extreme sports and wind surfing it seemed appropriate to relax and enjoy a ‘day in the country’ and we chose a fun day on the North Shore. Taking The Surf Bus rather than the local bus service which took ages to reach that destination and apparently “the homeless jump aboard and taint the air with unwashed bodies” – exact words we were told. Overcast weather as we climbed aboard the Surf Bus with a guide to narrate along the way and explain how the day would pan out. The surf was a ‘recordable day’ and he checked the forecast before we reached the famous beaches. Little chance of sunny conditions and no chance of snorkelling, surfing or body-surfing as conditions were too dangerous. Bike riding, nature walking and cruising the beaches were our morning options as he dropped us off at the famous Banzai Pipeline – this is the big daddy of all beaches, the Mecca of big waves and we had arrived on a prime day spoilt only by intermittent drizzle!

Bush chooks rule Oahu –we saw them everywhere and we met this old fellow sunning himself on Turtle Beach.

Pro Tours take place during the winter months and this was the Home of the Triple Crown of surfing. Despite beach closures those fanatics waiting for the big one were out there “tiny, tiny, small” amongst those thunderous 30-50 foot waves while gawkers on the beach waited, eyes peeled – then gasping as a “tiny, tiny, small” came over the crest, through the curl and disappeared into a gaping hole – sometimes to be chewed up and sometimes cheered on as they miraculously reappeared all in control to just as quickly swerve back over another crest. Talk about OOHS and AHHS even above the booming noise of waves we were aware of spectator vocalisation. Thankfully Lea had brought her beautiful brolly and that saved the day as we were not gently soaked. As the scheduled Pro Tour didn’t appear to be taking place at Pipeline, we followed the walkway from Sunset Beach to Waimea Bay where we’d arranged for the Surf Bus to pick us up. Since it was Lea’s birthday, we took a welcome break at a Starbucks halfway down. Approaching the last beach we became aware of a surfing accident when a Beach Rescue truck pulled up on the side walk in front of and we saw lifesavers carrying a surfing senior towards the steps we overlooked.Obviously more serious than first thought as an ambulance was called and by the time we reached the other end of the beach we heard the siren curling around the coastal road. This was not a day for novices or experienced‘wrinklies’, sorry to say! The gentle rain put us off visiting the Waimea Valley Audubon Centre with its entrance immediately across the road – preferring to have our ‘morning activity’ converted into a lunch in historic Haleiwa, as soggy ground likely to have made these Botanic Gardens difficult to enjoy. Instead we sat under the brolly watching the surf, the feral chickens that are said to have taken over Hawaii (as well as some feral cats); stopped to see a green turtle called Brutus who had come ashore to rest on such a turbulent day. Brutus has been regularly resting on this beach since 1999. Glad we chose ‘lunch’ instead of an activity as we arrived in Haleiwa to enjoy a very tasty shrimp lunch preordered on our behalf from one of the iconic trailer kitchens and our driver set us up outside the home of the Artis Family with another very pleasant young Japanese couple. The late Ron Artis was a well known surfer and  artist, so the family garden became his memorial gallery. Music was obviously a great love within his family, hence a section in the house  had been turned into a music studio. As we finished lunch we heard the Ron Artis family band start up and in we went to enjoy a free hour of their music before exploring the town.

Ron Artis, the artist, painted on broken surfboards and their old vehicles plus other quirky installations.

 

Despite a damp and drizzly day we enjoyed our first excursion into the countryside with coffee being grown in large quantities as well as some sugarcane and pineapples just for local consumption.

Pearl Harbour was all we could wish and more. Every minute of the day was made the most of thanks to our driver guide from the moment we boarded and were hauled to the front seat and treated royally thanks to our “gold” sticker - which had us most bemused. Ernel Smith, a native Hawaiian,  a very good natured and amusing guide had us all ( oh no, not George!) singing songs (like The wheels of the bus go round and round…) and giving Ernel bear hugs! He professed to have so many bloods / ancestors that some of his nick-names were chop-suey and Bitsa (bits of this and bits of that). From him we learnt some Hawaiian language and he now considered us part of the SMITH family! Adding hilarity to the day Ernel insisted on a complicated password (hunu-hunu, nuku-nuku, pi, oooah) before being allowed re-entry on the bus; using the term wiki-wiki to mean hurry, hurry quickly; pipi for folk in the front and pupu for those in the back of the bus.

The highlights – that is hard! Perhaps the 25 minute long film we saw, containing footage taken by the Americans and Japanese during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 Dec 1941 – the massive explosion of the battle ship USS Arizona fortuitously filmed by someone on the hospital ship taking the 8.00 a.m. ritual flag raising ceremony! We could not help but admire the meticulous planning and cunning of the Japanese which caught the Yanks so unprepared that some marines reverted to throwing spanners at the passing aircraft in frustration! The two successive waves of Japanese aircraft (numbering 169 and 180 respectively) absolutely decimated the place, flattening over 300 American planes parked side by side on the airfield, and with the aid of torpedoes and bombs sinking 185 vessels (including five battleships) in the harbour. Had America’s three aircraft carriers been in port that day, they too would have been destroyed.

Or was it our visit out to USS Arizona Memorial to 1 177 marines and sailors that lost their lives on board that day. This is a beautiful memorial set above the rusting hull of the ship, with only the # three gun turret showing above water and, 70 years after the event traces of black oil (said to be the tears of the dead) still rise to the surface – a moving thought especially when at least a quart of oil is said to rise each day.

Pearl Harbour highlights

On Ford Island our tour of‘Mighty Mo’ was also very special. The 270 metre long battleship Missouri (aka Mighty Mo) served the USA through three wars and is best known as the site of the signing of the unconditional surrender of the Japanese in Tokyo harbour, 2 Sept. 1945. On board were nine enormous 16 inch guns capable of firing 2700 pound shells a distance of 23 miles (at two rounds a minute); 12 nine inch guns with a range of 9 miles; 32 tomahawk missiles, radar tracking devices and four very sophisticated air defence weapons systems. The story of the Kamikaze pilot who attacked USS Missouri (April 1945) was particularly interesting as the marks where his plane hit the side of the ship are still evident. The remains of the pilot, found amongst the wreckage strewn on the deck had a formal burial at sea the next day on the grounds that he was fighting for his country just as everyone else was doing. Such compassion – even in the heat of war is admirable and we wish we heard more of these stories rather than the dastardly ones.
 

Before leaving Pearl Harbour we visited the Pacific Aircraft Museum and a submarine, the USS Bowfin, which was launched a year after the Pearl harbour attack and established herself as one of the most successful submarines of the war. The Bowfin is now a waterfront Memorial and tribute to the 52 American subs and 3500 submariners lost during the war. This provided a moving chronicle of the wartime record of each sub and a list of the men lost. A Japanese suicide torpedo, or kaiten– basically an enlarged torpedo with a cockpit and periscope, horrified our imaginations as it enabled it’s ‘captain’ tosteered it towards the ship he intended sinking, with instructions to bail out at 150 metres fromtarget. ONE US navy ship was destroyed in this way (Nov 1944) but 96 Japanese suicide pilots died trying to do so.We were the last to be hustled out at closing time it was such a fascinating place!

Waking to find a beautiful sunny day in Honolulu we so looked forward to Big Island and the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park but from ourwiki wiki airport pick up, we found ourselves in a severe hurry up and WAIT situation! Naively – yes, after all the travel we do, we still found ourselves with high expectations. The day trip had sounded like plenty of time but reality was quite different. Hanging around the airport (even if it did have huge arm chairs making us wonder if we’d stepped into a furniture store in error) by the time we’d cleared security with all its attendant searches and landed in Hilo (the main town) it was 12.30. Amongst the passengers bound for Big Island with us were a trio of Australians – the one lady took a liking to us and would hang onto our arms for support and make the strangest of sounds imaginable. Further stops took place at Rainbow Falls, a macadamia nut factory and finally a late lunch at Lava Rock Café just as we felt the day was virtually over. Adding to our growing feelings of discontent it began to rain as we drove up a very misty mountain and the Volcanoes NP. Donning yellow plastic ponchos handed to us by the tour guide, our view overthe Kilauea crater (one of the best understood volcanoes in the world that has been spilling into the sea continuously for the last 30 years) was not exactly inspiring since we were enveloped in swirling mist (low cloud). All we could see were some steam vents. Nor was there any of the sulphurous smells (SO2 gas) we’d been warned about.The visit to the Jagger Museum at the Visitors Centre had to be rushed as by then it was time to drive part of the Chain of Craters Road to see the Lua Manu lava flow and walk through the Thurston Lava Tube, as light was fading fast.

Shots from our day at Hawaii Volcano National Park – No we didn’t see the middle photo THAT is what we had hoped to see!

As darkness set in we returned to the Kilauea crater to see the reddish glow of the magma lighting up the sky – but that too was hugely disappointing. The map of the NP showed there were walking trails right around the rim of the crater and some through the middle – all of which made us realise that one really needs to stay nearby and over the course of two or three days, enjoy exploring and driving through the park at one’s leisure. A lesson learnt - maybe next time! However we did learn interesting things like the highest of the volcanoes on Big Island is Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984 and almost led to the evacuation of Hilo, becomes snow covered! Standing 17 000m above the depressed sea floor it is twice as high as Mt Everest according to the  literature and research by US Geological Survey scintists.  We also learnt about another biological blunder... the impact of the mongooses brought in from India to control rats – Not realising that 51 species of endemic birds, all now extinct, would be destroyed in the process – a story not dissimilar to what happened in New Zealand after the introduction of possums;  and finally, Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii ( his bones eaten to enable his attackers to inherit his revered skills as a warrior). By the time we returned to Honolulu and dropped back at the Miramar, it was 10.30pm and we were both too dog tired to even go in search of a meal.

The best price we have ever come across for Whale Watching cropped up in Hawaii, persuading us to finally part with our money and take the chance to “see more whales with Navatek”! Winter months mark the whale season in Hawaii when anything between 8,000 and 10,000 North Pacific humpback whales leave Alaska and migrate to warm Hawaiian waters to breed, calve and nurse. It sounded very good.

REALITY! On a beautifully calm, sunny day, soon after leaving the harbour a mother whale and her calf were spotted rising ahead of us, spouting, spy-hopping, tail slapping and breaching at a fair distance. Unfortunately this was directly into the sun, so useless for photographic purposes – especially without telephoto lens. Despite being on a twin hulled boat with spacious viewing – front viewing space was at a premium and the commentary from the expert naturalist on board gave rise to an excitement that was difficult to match let alone see what he said was happening ahead.

The cold hard fact of the matter was really, whales cannot be stressed by boatloads of spectators and not being able to get closer than 100m if that and, even though the whale watching company considered the outing to have been an “awesome” experience; we were most disappointed.

Best view we have ever had of a whale was for free and unexpected – as we rounded into Gordons Bay, South Africa in 2009 and spotted the immense shape of a whale just off shore. Two hours later we were back at our hotel and we set off to walk the length of Waikiki beachfront stopping for a quick bite to eat at the Barefoot Beach café, only to be entertained by the unexpected arrival of a film crew filming a couple of models and the owner jumping in to gain some free advertising! Magnificent trees and large parks added to the positive feel we had for Waikiki.

Lea stands before the statue to the father of surfing, Duke Kahanamo, along Wakiki Beach

We had been determined to end on a high note with our last meal in Bubba Gump, Honolulu - touble being. we hadn't seen where it was or any advertising so after leaving our luggage with the concierge midmorning we asked directions... This lead us on a Hawaiian Pink line trolley bus to the Ala Moana Centre - WOW! the world's largest open-air shopping centre with a complimentary Hula Show at 1 p.m. every day and we had come by it in the eleventh hour and by chance. Lea was in her element. These were the American shops she had so looked forward to seeing and not found until now- she was almost prepared to forego a shrimp feed at Bubba Gump!

A prawn feast and a bucket of calamari - Cheers!

We shopped and ate a fine lunch before catching the Pink Trolley back to our hotel in time for our airport pickup. The last exhausting leg to Auckland took place on the night of 1 February landing at a very early hour next morning, 3 February. We had lost a day in our lives... Nevertheless we had to sit the long drawn out morning before the flight to Perth but at the other end waited Saxon, Paul and the girls which raised a high level of excitement.