Kauai, Hawaii

We wanted to do a helicopter ride somewhere on the trip, either in Alaska or in Hawaii. We baulked on the Alaskan idea since the weather most of the time had closed in making visibility marginal.  So Hawaii it was and the old extinct volcano on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai was looking good. (It is the oldest island in the Hawaiian group - estimated at over 5 million years old). Only 10% of the island is suitable for habitation, the rest steep rugged crags and plunging valleys covered in lush vegetation.

We hadn't realized how good it was seeing Kauai this way until it actually happened. It has been nicknamed the 'garden island'.

The 45 minute helicopter ride was just fantastic. I was totally gobsmacked. It was one of those awe inspiring journeys that left every turn, bank, climb and hover - an 'oh WOW' moment!! The day was magnificent. It normally rains on the mountains 355 days out of 365, but today the visibilty was outstanding, with not a cloud in the sky. The swamp on top of the highest mountain, Mt Waialeale (5080 feet) was formed and is continually fed by around 469 inches of rain per year! No wonder Kauai is so lush.The pilot reiterated how lucky we were. We could even see the mountains of Oahu in the distance ~ over 100 miles away. We flew over the Waimea canyon - over 10 miles long and 3500 feet deep. Everywhere there were beautiful waterfalls that plunged many hundreds of feet into the valleys below.

Nawilliwilli Harbour

One section was dubbed the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific" and was stark and barren. The trip finally took us out to the north - west coastline (the Napali Coast) over the 2000 foot high sea cliffs that were rutted and scarred and looked positively ancient.

This Island is famous for a number of movies that utilised the beauty of its rugged peaks and lush forests. Jurassic Park, Six Days/Seven Nights, Raiders of the Lost Ark and South Pacific, to name a few. The photos below show some of its glory.

The "Grand Canyon of the Pacific"

The Napali Cliffs

Maui, Hawaii

We had two days on Maui and no excursions booked. Another couple we had met, Peter and Lesley, had decided to hire a car for 24 hours and we agreed to share the costs. Maui is not a very big island but has two distinct halves pinched in the middle to give it a lopsided hourglass shape. The ship was moored on the western side of the island so we set off to the east side to explore Haleakala, the world's largest dormant volcano crater rising 10,023 feet above sea level. If you count its height from the ocean floor to the peak it is higher than Mount Everest. The crater is 3,000 feet deep and 21 miles around and is so barren and moon like it was used by NASA to train the Apollo astronauts in the 1960's.

The drive, although not very long in distance takes over 2 hours as it climbs quickly from sea level via a series of huge sweeping hairpin bends. Almost every corner was an OOH AAH moment and we stopped many times to take photos as the journey kept revealling amazing sights.  One of the photos below shows a cloud bank that looked just like a waterfall.

When we got near the top we were above the clouds and the temperature had dropped considerably. The thinning air was quite noticable as we walked a short distance to a look out to catch our first glimpse of the inside of the crater. Utterly amazing as the photo below shows. Barren, windswept cinder cones that look that they have just been desposited but are hundreds of years old.

There is an observatory at the top of the mountain which is supposed to have one of the best views of the night sky in the world. As we walked around, speechless with the beauty, people started to arrive, planning to watch the sunset. As we were only dressed in shorts and light tops we decided not to stay for the sunset as the temperature was continuing to drop. This volcano records the lowests temperatures in Hawaii, often dropping to below freezing at sunset. So we drove back to town, still overwhelmed by the sights we had seen.

The following day we spent walking through the town of Lahaina chatting the friendly locals and swimming in the clean warm water. We thoroughly enjoyed Maui and would love to go back.

Inside Haleakala Crater

Map of Maui

Cloud bank below the road

Silver spears, a rare plant that only grows on Haleakala

Gorgeous Beach on Maui

Kailua, Kona, Hawaii

After 6 days at sea we finally came to the big island in Hawaii. The town of Kailua on Kona. The ship was unable to dock so the 2000 or so passengers had to be tendered ashore. It took 3 hours or so to complete this task with 4 large tenders capable of carrying 120 passengers each. A quick calculation suggested around 9 tons of people per boat load!

The weather was magnificent - around 26 degrees with a substantial cloud cover. We were booked for a dolphin cruise on a catamaran with lunch and snorkeling. Since we did cold water snorkeling in Alaska now we were to enter 24 degree water in the tropics. Beautiful! The crew were friendly, efficient and competent. Lots of lava flows were evident in the water and on the land. The Island of Kona is the youngest of all the Hawaiian Islands and its volcano is still active. Large numbers of angel fish, parrot fish and many other colorful species swam around us. There were some hard and soft corals but they were not in abundance. From what I have seen in my travels it is still hard to beat the Barrier Reef in Queensland for shear abundance of coral species and fish. Still the day was great and very enjoyable - especially after all the cool weather in Canada.

We then walked the village for a couple of hours and ended up sitting in Starbucks so we could access the Internet after 6 days of no access.

The local lads fishing

The day ended with a pleasant meal on ship when the head waiter presented me with a creme caramel desert decorated with a happy birthday flag and a candle! The whole of the Australian contingent crowded around and sang happy birthday. I was very happy - and so ended the day after watching a show of energetic dance and song in the theatre. All in all a pleasant way to spend my birthday.

Lava flows

At sea

After leaving Vancouver we had 6 sea days cruising halfway across the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii.

The ship has 13 decks and 10 lifts to move passengers up and down all day. As you walk in the lift the name of the day is on the floor and changed every day. That has been remarkable useful as when you look at someone and say "what day is it today?" you just check the lift!

There are tons of activities to keep you busy onboard. Trivia quizzes, musical performances, karaoke, a casino, shops, demonstrations of everything from napkin folding to ballroom dancing, movies, bingo, a library and a games room. Also 2 swimming pools and 4 spas and a beauty clinic.

So much to do!!!

We spent most days doing the following; up early and breakfast in the buffet before the crowds. Reading by the pool and jumping in for a swim from time to time. Chatting with fellow passengers. Then lunch by the pool maybe catch a movie after lunch or go for a nana nap (so exhausting ). Time to dress for dinner, grab a cocktail and listen to live music in one of the many bars. After dinner. Check out the daily specials in the shops. (need an extra bag to bring it all home) Trevor is a t shirt junkie and I have bought more jewelry than I need. Then the nightly show starting at 9 pm. A full blown song and dance show or an award winning pianist , musician or comedian. Then off to bed to recharge the batteries for the next day.

I went to a trivia comp one night with a couple of other women. We won!!!

Took Trevor for his first game of bingo. And his last. We both has a beauty treatment one day; body scrub, massage and facial. Very nice.

So now we are in Hawaii visiting 4 ports before we leave the ship for 2 last nights in Honolulu before flying home.

Lots yet to see and do.

Love. Nadine

Jasper to Sun Peaks

10 hours sleep last night - yippee!!

We left Jasper by 8 to have the best chance to see wildlife as we weren't disappointed. 6 elk 2 moose and 3 black bears, a mother with two cubs. Very pleased! Got a few photos and some video footage. At one point we thought the big male elk was going to charge the coach - very exciting.

The early start was also to take us for a trip on the Maligne Lake. The photos show the lake and Spirit Island. A place if such peace and tranquility it was hard to pull ourselves away.

The glacier below was (almost) the last glacier of the day. They are so amazing that the photos really don't do them justice.

The rest of the day was a long coach trip heading back south and west towards Vancouver were we will board the cruise ship to Hawaii tomorrow.

Tonight we are staying at Sun Peaks. A gorgeous ski resort near Kamloops. Then we have six days at sea arriving in Hawaii on Trevor's birthday. So this may be the last blog for a week if we have no Internet at sea.

More soon love Nadine xxxx

The Icefields Parkway

We left Banff at 6.45am after only a few hours sleep. There was disappointment that we had so little time to see Banff but the schedule was unable to be changed. I felt it particularly since I remember my mother being very taken with Banff and she hated to travel. What we saw of it in a short drive around the town found a very clean and quaint village overlaid with expensive magnificence.

Soon afterwards we came to the famous Lake Louise. A beautiful emerald green lake with a glacier between two mountains, crisp air and a luxury hotel. We would have loved to hike around the lake and into the forest, but on this trip it was not to be.

On we went to Bow Summit and Peyto Lake. Yet another magnificent picture postcard view. Tall craggy sharply defined mountains of limestone, dolomite and shale, with plunging valleys between often filled with emerald green glacial lakes. This stretch of road was 260 km long between Banff and Jasper and there were over 100 glaciers. Not all were visible particularly with the low cloud cover of the day.

One fabulous experience was the visit to the Athabasca glacier. Here we were transported onto the glacier in specially constructed all terrain vehicles to stand on 300 metres of ice that was over 300 years old. It was an amazing experience.

This journey by coach was wonderful because it followed along the actual Rocky Mountains and was so spectacular. Certainly there is nothing like this in Australia.

Athabasca Scene

Athabasca Glacier

Athabasca Falls

Peyto Lake

Lake Louise

Day 2 Kamloops to Banff

After a good nights sleep in Kamloops we had a very early start back to the train. The terrain quickly changed from desert to trees to mountains which grew more magnificent as the day wore on.

Gorgeous rivers, mirror lakes then towering mountains then eventually snow on the peaks.

When the Rockies came into view the sight was amazing!!!

The train line is owned by the freight company and we had to pull into sidings a number of times to let the freight trains continue. I counted 127 carriages on one train that passed us.

The sport of the day was bear watching - no luck today but lots of laughs with the rest of the passengers in our carriage. Maybe tomorrow.

Pretty happy with the photos we took. I hope you like them too.

Love Nadine

Day 2 the final leg

I thought I would get ahead and typed the day 2 blog while still on the train.

Remember how I said we had to pull over a few times. Well at 5 pm we were told we were about 2 hours behind schedule. We just had the corkscrew tunnels to go then a run into Banff.

Waiting. Waiting. Then an announcement came that a train had had an emergency breaking procedure coming through the tunnel and they were not sure how long it would take to clear. We were pulled over in a siding in the little town of Field.

An hour later another announcement that they would be giving us something to eat because they still didn't know when we would get moving.

The catering staff whipped up some soup and some quiches with whatever food they still had on the train.

Another hour ticked over and they started distributing pillows and blankets. Let me remind you here that we had got up at 5:30 that morning.

Eventually after about 6 hours, 12 buses arrived from Banff and all 600 passengers got off the train , into buses and another hour journey by road to our hotel. We hit the sack at about 1;45 am with the knowledge we had a 6:30 wake up call to make all the stops planned for Wednesday.

Tired tired girl (and boy ) today.

Trevor will tell you about the magnificent trip from Banff to Jasper.

Love Nadine xxxx

Day 1 on the Rocky Mountaineer

Vancouver to Kamloops.

Leaving Vancouver saw the Mountaineer follow the Fraser River for many kilometers. This area is famous for salmon and for some reason 2 years ago the total run amounted to only 2.2 million. This caused great consternation in the scientific community because it was well below the normal run. Global warming, pollution, over fishing etc were blamed. However to everybody's amazement last year the run went to 37 million. Nobody has come up with an explanation so far. The salmon sold that year for around $2 a pound!?!

The Rocky Mountaineer today is 25 carriages long pulled by 2 x 3000 horsepower diesel locos. It is an older, but tastefully refurbished train with large windows, plenty of legroom and enormous amounts of food to support our ever expanding waistlines! Every day we determined to reduce our food intake and every day we failed abysmally.

We climbed around 300 meters over 460 km to Kamloops where we stayed overnight. What can I say - the scenery was stunning. Moving from river valley agriculture to heavily forested hills and mountains to Soma desert. All the way we followed the Fraser River which changed from fast moving rapids to placid lakes. Later it was joined by the Thompson River. Enormous amounts of fresh water flowed in each: the Fraser carried lots of silt and the Thompson was a beautiful blue colour.

The changes in scenery over the day made the journey really interesting as the exhausted batteries in our cameras attested. What will we do with all the photos?

Vancouver

Less than 24 hours in Vancouver city before setting off on our Rocky Mountains adventure. The coach collected us from the hotel in Victoria. Then back to the ferry via the scenic route. Once again a gorgeous crossing and back to Vancouver.

The coach took us on a tour of the city; Gastown Chinatown, downtown and then on to Stanley Park with a quick stop to see the totem poles.

We drove past the Laughing Men. Wonderful sculptures that were a gift from the Chinese people following last years winter Olympics which were held here

We met up with Frances for dinner. She is an old friend Trevor had not seen in 40 years. We had a great dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant. Walking back to our hotel we realized that our hotel was bang in the middle of Vancouver's equivalent of Kings Cross resplendent with peep shows (only 25c) and gorgeous gay bars.

Early start for the Rocky Mountaineer Train which is our transport for the next two days. On the way out of town got a shot of the Fraser River Swing Bridge. More about that trip on Trevor's next post.

Love Nadine xxx

Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island

On the way to Victoria we stopped at the Butchart Gardens. 33 acres of magnificent gardens that were once privately owned, but now open to the public. We were amazed by size and the splendour of the fuschias, dahlias, and the begonias in particular. It must have been a very healthy environment for plants because they were so lush.

I nearly lost Nadine in the gift shop but thankfully recovered her without any loss of money.

Vancouver Island

We arrived in Vancouver only momentarily after the Alaskan cruise and joined a coach to be transported to Vancouver Island via the ferry at Tsawwassen Terminal. The Island, we were informed, and in particular the city of Victoria, was Canada's retirement "capital" as well as the provincial capital of British Columbia.
Very expensive living with large immaculately kept dwellings, beautiful gardens and lawns, and an amazing variety of architectural styles.

Our hotel in Victoria was near the harbour and right next to parliament house for the provincial government. One of the pictures shows a night view of parliament house. Attached are 3,333 light bulbs reflecting the number of jewels in Queen Elizabeth's crown. Interesting! The Empress hotel is a magnificent old world, very expensive hotel, similar to a number in the area.

The Harbour was quite beautiful, as well as its normal use for shipping, It is an official airport for the many seaplanes that ply the Islands and ferry tourists around. It is quite busy with a high traffic density - approx one aircraft movement every 10 minutes. It has a large number of fishing and other vessels as well. Looking south in the distance the Olympic Mountains loom large and beautiful from the state of Washington in the USA.

While we were in Victoria they were having record temperatures for September - 26 Celsius. This made it perfect for a night walk around the Harbour markets to enjoy the atmosphere and some superb busking. All in all a great experience.

Inside Passage Final Day

We had one final day cruising before arriving in Vancouver for the next stage of our journey. With the promise of amazing sights we rose early - to a thick heavy fog!

All day we waited for the breathtaking views. Regular blasts if the ships foghorn reminded us that the fog was still all around. Then at 5 pm the impossible happened the mists cleared to an amazing clear blue sky and a warm evening.

As the photos show the sights were gorgeous !!!

Love Nadine

Pigeons Sheltering from the Rain in Ketchikan