Around The World In 42 Days

[LizG]

Well a very hectic 48 hours give or take a crossing of the international date line so we had two Friday the 5ths and we are back in the northern hemisphere! 

We landed in O'ahu (Hawaii Islands) an hour late after an overnight flight from Sydney. Nothing went smoothly, immigration took ages as we expected, one bag was thought to be missing (not was the case), buying a SIM card wasn't straightforward and then a huge queue to pick up the car. We had a 2pm tour booked for a tour the US Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbour but although we eventually got to the carpark there wasn't a space and we missed it! Plan B was to go to Diamond Point but foiled there as well as we needed to pre-book! Plus driving on the left and 4/5 lanes of traffic to cope with! Finally arrived at our hotel in Waikiki and a walk to the beach and a nice beer in the Maui Brewing Company. This morning we made it to the Pearl Harbour Visitor Centre - now on to another island!

[LizG]

Warning volcano and photo overload! Our travels took us to the island of Hawaii landing  - the big one landing at Kona. Arriving in the afternoon there was a large cloud sitting over the island but still about 28d c! Our first stop was a State Park by the sea (see photo for unpronounceable name) and then to our hotel by the sea where we had an amazing sunset. Next morning (Sunday) we set off into the island and then across passing numerous lava flows. It was still sunny and then suddenly the cloud rolled in...... Our first destination was the Lava Tree State Monument  where it rained and then finally Volcanoes National Park! We stayed at the Volcano House Hotel in the park. This morning we continued our tour of the park and now we are at Hilo for some more flying!

[kpnut]

The lava tubes! Fascinating, with their own little ecosystem. 
 

I wore out the soles of a good pair of walking boots on all that  clinkers ‘a’a lava on my trip in 2000. My mum treated me as a graduation present. For someone studying geology and ecology, the Hawaiian islands were heaven!

I would highly recommend an evening walk to wherever the lava flows are entering the ocean, if indeed they are flowing at the moment. They come and go from Pu’u o’o, a side crater of Mauna Kea. The other trip we found superb was up to the summit of Mauna Loa  I drove up rather a hairy road in a hired 4x4, I certainly needed low shift occasionally on the way back down. 

Enjoy your time there. Get to Waimea canyon on Kauai if you have time. 

[LizG]

17 hours ago, kpnut said:

The lava tubes! Fascinating, with their own little ecosystem. 
 

I wore out the soles of a good pair of walking boots on all that  clinkers ‘a’a lava on my trip in 2000. My mum treated me as a graduation present. For someone studying geology and ecology, the Hawaiian islands were heaven!

I would highly recommend an evening walk to wherever the lava flows are entering the ocean, if indeed they are flowing at the moment. They come and go from Pu’u o’o, a side crater of Mauna Kea. The other trip we found superb was up to the summit of Mauna Loa  I drove up rather a hairy road in a hired 4x4, I certainly needed low shift occasionally on the way back down. 

Enjoy your time there. Get to Waimea canyon on Kauai if you have time. 

My husband was a development research chemist as a day time job but after redundancy did earth sciences at the OU followed up by a research degree in meteorites (2 PhDs!!!) so he has a good knowledge of volcanoes which helps. We drove around most of the National Park but it was only a snap shop. The crater by the hotel had done some erupting on 23 June? but was just steaming when we were there.... maybe next time!!!!!!

[YnysMon]

The OU does seem to have nurtured good environmental scientists.

I’m proud to have worked for the OU. It’s a great institution, designed to open up opportunities to those who missed them earlier. It’s increasingly under threat from successive governments.

[kpnut]

The OU is also where I studied for 8 years through my thirties while bringing up the children and working full time. I can’t thank the institution enough for how it went about things in the 90’s. Very hard work, but so rewarding. 

[LizG]

On 08/07/2024 at 23:21, kpnut said:

 

We have now moved on but Monday evening we flew to Maui. The original plan was to stay longer but the devastating wild fires last year meant a lot of the island was no longer visitable so we were then for just under 24 hours. The plan was to get to Haleakalā National Park for sunrise. This involved getting up at 4am and driving 9000 feet up a mountain! We missed it by seconds as the time at sea level it is a minute or two later. It was heaving, blowing a gale but worth it! For the rest of the day we toured part of the item and stopped at some towns on the way!

[SwanR]

Looks stunning. 

[LizG]

Catch up from Wednesday morning when we landed in Anchorage (Alaska) at an antisocial hour of 5.20 (3.20 Hawaiian time) after a flight that can't be described as pleasant and finding out that the SIM card purchased in Honolulu and given assurances it would work didn't! After a rest in the lobby we caught the shuttle into downtown Anchorage and then went to join a wildlife tour along the Turnaround Arm of the Cook Inlet and then onto the Portage Lake for a tour of the lake and a view of one of the glaciers.  Weather did it's best to behave but we were told we're in the Alaskan Rain forest. We also stopped at the Alaskan Wildlife Centre where rescued/injured animals are homed A good way to stay awake! Pictures are quite dark because the light was poor!

Ps I can't get my phone to remove the below quote box?

On 08/07/2024 at 23:21, kpnut said:

 

[kpnut]

I didn’t know what Alaska is like, but I didn’t think it looked like that for some reason. I think I thought it’d be flat snowfields. 
What an absolute world tour you’re having. 

[ZimbiIV]

Somebody is going to need a holiday when they get back to Blighty.

paul

[LizG]

7 hours ago, ZimbiIV said:

Somebody is going to need a holiday when they get back to Blighty.

paul

Definitely 

[LizG]

Now we are talking Thursday and another far too early start to get the hotel shuttle to the station so we could walk to the coach stop and have a trip down to Seward on the coast. We were on an adventure and the first thing we were warned was it was going to be rough and we should all take seasickness tablets - great! All 6 hours on the water. The truth was that at time it was choppy and there were a lot of green passengers but we sat in the freesh air although it was pretty cold. We travelled down Resurrection Bay into the ocean with final destination the Holgate Glacier (when the weather shut in). Along the way we saw Sea Otters, Fin Whales, a pod of Orcas, a Humpback Whale showing off and two type of Puffin - no photos but amazing! The final treat was a 4 hour trip on the Alaskan Railroad through amazing scenery and back to the hotel late!

[LizG]

Friday we caught the Wilderness Express ( not as fast as the name implies) north to Talkeena. A quirky pioneer town with a mix of old and new! I thought we were going on a 'wildlife tour' but it was a bit more adventurous and a tad scary. We flew to a glacier at the foot of Mount Denali ( once known as Mount Mc Kinley). I did think we were going in something bigger - there was just 4 of us and the pilot! The weather was drawing in but it was amazing. Checked out the local brewery and made our way home on the train. The scenery on the train was good but not as good as on Thursday!

[SwanR]

Liz it looks amazing. If you get a chance can you let me know what the four hour Alaskan train journey was please. Let’s just say we have some vague ideas for a future trip and I would be really interested to know. 

[kpnut]

That certainly was an adventure. 

[Troyboy]

What an adventure indeed. I'll be sad to see you come back. Brilliant trip and your pictures are fantastic. Thank you. 

[LizG]

8 hours ago, SwanR said:

Liz it looks amazing. If you get a chance can you let me know what the four hour Alaskan train journey was please. Let’s just say we have some vague ideas for a future trip and I would be really interested to know. 

Alaskan Railroad Seward to Anchorage - there is only one railway in Alaska - continues to Fairbanks. Google should give you the information 

[LizG]

Well the rain arrived in Anchorage on Saturday but it still didn't deter us! Easy option take a Trolley Bus Tour around the sites/sights of Anchorage. We learnt a lot about the driver's family and a few other things..... Anchorage airport is the biggest freight hub of the world. The salmon are missing this year and when the Beluga Whales arrive all boat movement is halted in the bay! We heard about the Float planes and how many there are and we stopped at Earthquake Park and saw the land movement following the earthquake - the 2nd largest magnitude on record. Some photos were taken on the day we arrived. What is not easy to take in but it is still light at 10.30pm. We then caught an evening flight to a new destination.....

Earthquake Park 

 

 

[Happy]

Looking at all that rain I thought you had returned home early 

[LizG]

Sunny Seattle just 36 hours having flown in on Saturday evening and moved from a cheap and cheerful airport hotel to one in the city. First stop had to be Pike Place Market and the famous fish stalls. A walk down to the seafront wharfs and back up the hill to the Space Needle which we didn't go up. Checked out the Monorail and a few busy bars on a very sunny Sunday. Now on an Amtrak train which will take us to our final destination!

[kpnut]

Love your photos, especially that flat fish trying to escape - ray? skate? or something I’ve never heard of?

[CambridgeCabby]

Looks almost monkfish type

[LizG]

Well our Amtrak train journey took us across the Canadian border to Vancouver. The scenery was superb but not easy to photo and the sun came out at 11. We were able to check into our hotel and set off out. Yesterday's destination was Granville Island which you could get to by water taxi. Today we went to the Waterfront in the opposite direction and Gastown. We watched the steam clock at the time it said - 10 - nothing! It went off at the correct time of 10. Our final adventure was a Sea plane flight over Vancouver and that's all folks! Thank you for your comments and likes until the next adventure ( and it won't be 6 weeks either again). Tomorrow we will be back to sunny England !!!!

You never know I might get around to writing up last year's New Zealand adventure?

I may if I have time write a summary of the highs and lows, how many miles we drove etc etc.

[SwanR]

Wow! What an adventure. Thank you so much for sharing. How was the Amtrak train? And would you recommend Vancouver? Is it similar to Sydney in any way? Safe travels home and you might just be bringing summer with you. 🤗☀️