Kakuda (Cont.)

We rose at 4.30am to facilitate an hour long drive to a boat journey at 6.30 am on the Yellow Water.  It was still dark and there were a huge number of frogs or toads on the road, which we painstakingly tried to avoid.  Later we found out that these were cane toads which have decimated the local wildlife in Kakadu – we should have driven straight over them.

The river trip was glorious.  We saw countless esturine crocodiles, but it was the richly varied and plentiful bird life and the tranquillity of the setting that made it so spectacular.  The trip  included a very welcome hot breakfast – the first decent one we have had since leaving England in August!

On the way back to the Aurora, we went on a walk to view some Aboriginal Rock Art.  It was, by this time, unbearably hot, but armed with hats and water, we set off.  The rock art was more a series of tutorial pictures to explain the dreamings and to also to enforce culture, which made them all the more fascinating.

A further walk took us to a sacred area which looks like the rocks used in the finale of Crocodile Dundee 2, when Wally accidentally shoots at Mick; it is the most beautiful location.

Pete, by now, was really suffering in the heat, so after a cool down and an ice lolly at the information centre, we returned to the Aurora and spent the afternoon in the pool.

At about 4.00 pm, we walked down the waterhole trail at the back of the hotel and discovered where the fruit bats roost.  The walk through the forested areas was so interesting and full of parrots and other exotic birds.  The waterhole had eroded sides from water buffalo and horses which is another problem Kakadu is experiencing.  Mosquitoes were also  plentiful and despite using deet, we came back with  numerous bites.

Darwin to Kakadu

Tuesday 12th October to Thursday, 14th October 2010

We arrived in hot, wet, humid Darwin in the late afternoon and went straight to our Hotel on the Esplanade; from the balcony window we overlooked the Bicentennial Park and the bay.  The trees were full of exotic birds creating a cacophony of sqwarks, whistles and twitterings.

After a fantastic meal at the hotel, with a free bottle of wine (which always helps!) we hired a very over priced car and set off next day for Kakadu.  We drove for about three hours through glorious countryside with birds a go go and stopped at an information centre.  Pete parked the car next to a tree full of green tree ants some of whom decided to jump across onto the car.  Green tree ants have a really painful bite followed by a more painful sting; if you kill one, the others gang up on you.  We brushed off what we could, but some crawled into the mirror cavity.

The information centre looked over a huge plain giving us a great taster for Kakadu; we saw Water Buffalo, cockatoos and Eagles. As we left the centre, it started to rain, the rain became heavier and heavier until visibility was about a yard at best.  We pulled off the road as water was now flowing heavily down the sides (very frightening in a flat area) then the lighting started – it hits the ground, drawn by the iron, vertically and it was absolutely terrifying to watch it crashing down around us.  A man stopped and ran over to us to make sure we were okay, which was very sweet of him, but as he talked, lightening struck the ground behind him; it was seriously frightening.  We later discovered that the storms terrify the locals, but a film company is hoping to capture some of the blue lightening strikes as they are considered ‘unique’. When the rain eased off a little, we commenced our journey and found that 20 kilometres up the road there had been no rain!  The storms are very localised.  The rest of the journey was only eventful in that the road was full of Whistling and Wedge Tailed Kites; we have never seen so many!

We had booked in the Aurora, one of only a handful of accommodation in Kakadu – all overpriced, but there really is no choice.  However, we were fortunate to have been bumped up to a family suite on the first floor with a great balcony.  Another truly amazing item to note was that the green tree ants were still with us when we arrived.

A flock of white cockatoos were camped out in the tree across from us and over the next two days we discovered what an extraordinary and unique location the Aurora occupies.

In the evening, Agile Wallabies appeared on the grassy areas and huge flocks of birds flew overhead to their nightly roosts, too many to list, but included White Pelicans, Brolgas, Cockatoos, Glossy and Sacred Ibis, the endangered Magpie Goose and countless varieties of ducks.  Then the fruit bats appeared, silhouetted against the red setting sun.  We have never seen such a fabulous aerial display!

                                        

Sydney, Australia

Arrived on Friday 8th Oct after losing a whole day due to crossing the international date line. Not a good start as we had to walk for miles with all our luggage because we got off the train at the wrong station.
The hotel was very near to Darling harbour, which was perfect, unfortunately it was very expensive.... In fact EVERYTHING was very expensive....and it rained!

            Good grief! look what those darned colonials have done to Queen Victoria

I think the travelling had got to us because we did not see Sydney in the same light as our previous visit, but after a good nights sleep we felt much better.
We spent the day visiting the aquarium and animal world at Darling harbour .Both were great and anyone new in Aus should visit both before exploring the country further. In the evening we were lucky to see one of the best firework displays ever. We were back 'in love' with Sydney.

                                    Making friends with the wildlife in Victoria park

                                     One of the parks interesting occupants

On Sunday we climbed the 'tower' for some spectacular views, before walking to Victoria park. This is one of the best parks in the world. It has wonderful views of the opera house and bridge, and has lots of wildlife such as fruit bats and sulpher crested cockatoos. We then caught the ferry to Manly which was really not worth the effort as it was a pretty miserable place. This day was also very difficult for Carole as she was still suffering from the after-effects of her food poisonning, which was more serious than we had thought. This meant that we had to fit in a visit to the hospital and a doctors...what a busy day!

Our last day was spent at the zoo, if fact, one of the best zoos we have ever seen. We ran out of time.... OK! we like wildlife and this was the best place to see what Australia had to offer.
The evening was spent at a food market in the park, a real social event, with truly international food and fruit bats flying overhead..

                                                   A zoo with a view!

Goodbye to the USA

As we say goodbye to the USA, I thought it would be worthwhile sharing some impressions..


GOOD
The people:        Friendly, polite, helpfull.....and that includes the young
Driving:               An absolute joy (except the cities). US drivers are much more civilised than UK ones
National parks:   Well organised, cheap and priority given to the environment and wildlife (except Yosemite)
Internet access:  Almost everywhere..and free!
Recycling:           Widespread

BAD
The Food:         Really awful
Hunting:             The hunting lobby is very powerful.
California:          Has the food hygene standards of a third world country.
RV's:                  Recreational Vehicles. These are 'obscene'. They have a living area in excess of many peoples homes, with all possible luxuries. A huge one ran us off the road....

OVERALL.     A great country with great people....but could do more to save energy

Hawaii - More photos

Hawaii

Thursday 30th September to Thursday 7th October 2010

From the moment we landed in Honolulu we knew we were in a very special place.  The airport must be one of the prettiest in  the world with gorgeous Hula music playing in the background.  We journeyed on to Kauai via a budget airline called Mokulele; the air hostess was fantastic with her running commentary during the 25 minute flight.  But, when we landed, the Americans clapped and cheered......!

The car hire company immediately upgraded us at no extra cost to a larger car and everyone was so lovely and welcoming to us that we wondered at first if they wanted tips - but no!  It really is a very friendly happy place.

We had booked accommodation in the deserted northern end of the Island at an Organic working farm. - Our cottage, aptly named Garden Cottage was located near the main house.  We couldn't believe our luck when we saw it - it was gorgeous!  Surrounded by the most beautiful trees, shrubs and orchids, harbouring unusual coloured birds and flanked by fruit trees, made it an idyllic location.  We were permitted to pick any fruit and veges we wanted, and after 5 weeks in the States, this was ideal for us to detox!

                                                              Garden Cottage

The Coconut Festival was hosted on our first weekend, so we got to see Hula dancing etc, but the stars of the show were a group of Samoans; fierce looking guys with a great sense of humour. My favourite line was 'in Samoa, the men cook. In America, either the man or woman do the food - whoever gets to the phone first books the takeway!'
One guy shinned up a coconut tree with amazing dexterity and speed.  The others did fire dancing and played drums - all highly entertaining. And lets face it, these guys may have plaited reeds in their hair but no one would mess with them!

                                          Samoan taking a rest!
We felt privileged to attend this local festival.  The locals made a fuss of us and we really enjoyed the culture.

Across the road from our Farm was the ranch used to film Jurassic Park which has now been renamed the Jurassic Kunhili Ranch.  The trees bordering the ranch are so distinct and make the location instantly recognisable, as do the lumps and bumps used when the flocking Compeys run past Sam Neill and the Children.

                                            Jurassic Kunhili Ranch
A little further along the coast is a lighthouse which is home to hundreds of Shearwaters, Red Footed Boobies and the endangered Nene Goose.  In the day Frigate Birds, Red and White Tropic birds fly overhead.  In winter the bay is also a breeding ground for the Humpback Whale.  In the evening we watched the Shearwaters returning to their fluffy grey chicks in their tunnelled nests and listened to the weird clicks and mournful singing they use to navigate safely in.  Sailors used to think these were the songs of dead mariners.

We managed to snorkel on just one bay as the waves are too high and the seas too dangerous (rip tides and sharks) at this time of the year. The corals and fish life are so beautiful; we swam with giant green turtles and even saw a turquoise and yellow ribbon eel which is a first.

There is a large gorge which covers over half of the Island and the falls in the centre were also used in Jurassic Park but these are inaccessible by car; a helicopter ride is required and obviously this attracts a premium price.  The gorge itself is very beautiful, but walking trails are at a minimum.  Plus, Americans like to go there to hunt and the onus is on you not to get shot, rather than the hunter to exercise care!

                                             Sign by a footpath in the gorge

The whole island is a huge tropical garden, well loved and and well tended.  There is so little rubbish that the lack of it is noticable. Recycling is carried out on a grand scale as landfill sites are minimal.  Locals are worried about the effects of global climate change as it is affecting their way of life.  This must be the only American State that actually believes and cares about what is happening.

We left the island after a week, wishing we could have stayed so much longer; this really is a very special place.

                                                     Waterfall used in 'Fantasy Island'

Hollywood!

Monday 28th Sept.
We headed straight for Los Angeles as Carole was feeling pretty rotten after her bout of food poisoning. It was a good job too as it was way too hot. (we recorded 116 degrees on the car thermometer...it was a mild 109 in death valley). This was the hottest temperature ever recorded in LA.

 
                      Graummans chinese theatre

We were to stay at the Best Western Hollywood plaza for 3 nights. This was great as it enabled us to plan our sightseeing locally but I would not recommend staying in Hollywood any longer.... as it is a DUMP.

                                              John Wayne had really tiny feet!!!!!!!

We did not intend to visit the 'stars' Hollywood homes but the touts just got cheaper and cheaper as we declined their offers, until they made us an offer we could not refuse.  We were glad because we had a great time,.. lots of funny stories and scandal. we also went to the cinema. Not just an ordinary one either. we saw 'Guardians of the deep', in 3D at Graumanns Chinese Theatre (where they used to hold the 'OSCARS' and they have all the stars foot and hand prints set in concrete). Well, we almost had the cinema to ourselves (total of 9), and what a cinema it was!!!!

                                            'Friends' set at Warner Bros studios

On the last day we did the Warner Brothers studio tour, which was absolutely fantastic. It was a 'genuine' tour round all the back lots and working studios. The museum was great but we just did not have enough time to do it justice. There were lots of props from films such as Harry Potter, Matrix, Casablanca, Batman and much more. We even got to see the old 'Friends' studio which has been preserved for posterity.

Later in the day we took the train to 'downtown' for some shopping. Well, this was the biggest 'DUMP' yet, It was obvious that we would not get what we wanted without being 'mugged' so we beat a hasty retreat back to the hotel.

Highway 1

From Monterey Bay, we followed Highway 1 as part of a two day journey back to Los Angeles.  The road is amazing as it follows the edge of the mountains on one side and the sea on the other.  Its so bendy that the journey seems to take forever, but the views are stunning.  The downside is that there are no signs to inform people that there are no petrol stations for a substantial distance so cars do tend to run out!  And, after several hours of this kind of driving, it does become tiring and tedious!

We decided not to visit Hearst Castle as apparently Europeans are disappointed by the eclectic collection of art works, but we did visit the nearby Elephant Seal sanctuary!

We stayed overnight at San Simeon which is close to the Sanctuary, then went back next morning for another look at the Elephant seals.

Then onwards to Pismo Beach; reputably the place Bugs Bunny always wanted to visit!  Its a lovely resort on the migratory passage for Humpback whales and the Monarch Butterfly.  There is also a huge brown pelican on the nearby rocks - there seemed to be Pelicans everywhere!

We stayed the night at Carpinetta, but, unfortunately, Carole had a chicken salad at a Taco and got food poisoning, which curtailed our activities; Environmental Health have just confirmed that they will be visiting the establishment concerned!