Tourists or Travellers

Getting there is common to both tourists and travellers. Arrangements have to be made and flights booked. From here on the itinerary of the traveller are freer and the objectives are broader. I began to figure this out more clearly in the short time that we spent in LA and concluded that our trips to the 'upside down peoples on the islands near to Australia' came more in the category of travels than tours. Not that it really matters.

Our flight through the night started on Tuesday evening in Auckland and ended on Tuesday afternoon in LA. When we left it was Autumn. When we arrived it was Spring. We travelled with the New Zealand cycle team, whose coach took our window seat and rooted himself in it for the 12 hour flight. They were a quiet and pleasant bunch, unlike the Argentinian rugby squad that we had shared the airport with.

We had our evening meal in a grill which served meat with unlimited salads. My starter was the clam chowder, which is really delicious and I washed the meal down with root beer. A big guy armed to the teeth entered the restaurant. His badge said that he was a probation officer. Imagine that in the UK. In the morning we had our pancakes and American coffee in a diner. Was more a uniformed, armed officer came in for his meal. I can't imagine uniformed officers sitting down for food in the UK, let alone carrying guns. There presence in UK restaurants might make the staff and the diners feel more comfortable, but I can't help wondering if a high public display of weaponry is in some ways counter-productive.


We had made a decision that in LA we would avoid the booked tourist journeys into 'Unreal Land' and travel into the real city. To do this we took public transport in the form of the 'Metro'. We needed a little help with this from the hotel staff. But, from then it became a piece of cake. The nearest Metro station was ten minutes walk away at Maripossa and Nash.

The LA Metro is generally above ground, using unmanned stations, with a day fare of £2.50. The layout around the city is easy with lines denoted by colour. I made a mistake of getting on to a carriage whose only occupant was a 'hoody', but soon more people got on. (The guide books tell you not to travel alone or at night). For most of the journey we were the only white people on the train and all announcements and signs were in English and Mexican.

The rail journey took us down the middle of eight lane carriageways, sometimes above ground and sometime along streets which were sometimes depressed and sometimes pleasant suburbia. One of our intersections was Union Station. This was built in the 30's in the Art Deco style and was the arrival point of many 'Stars'. We took an opportunity to look out and see the station. It is impressive. Some unused areas are cathedral like and the main concourse more like a grand hotel.

From here we took the Metro to its furthest point. This being Sierra Madre, near the 'Foothills', with our objective being to reach them. The Metro bridge took us over an eight lane motorway. The noise was appalling, but once over we set off out of town. The road was wide, there were less cars and no pedestrians. The heat beat us and after finding no refreshments, having glimpsed the 'Foothills' we turned back to civilisation. To be honest we did not really want to pay golf club prices. We knew that the bars near the station would be cheaper.

Mum had wanted to go into a park and so we got off at a stop called 'Memorial Park'. All of this journeying had actually been in Pasadena.


Having paid homage to a 'Yanky' soldier we set off back to the station and spotted a magnificent building. This turned out to be Pasadena Town Hall.

We had noticed that each station somehow reflected the area. We happened to be in a arty area and I decided to photograph the platform. It was here that we met the real America. That very morning the US government were talking about a $9,000,000,000,000 bail out. But here we met a man whose needs were more pressing. He was a black man and he engaged me in a conversation about my photograph. He had a large holdall. He explained that he was bag-at-a-time moving his belonging from what was his Pasadena home to a 'Project' (council) home in a more affordable part of LA. He seemed to be neither begging, boasting or complaining, but telling it as it is. He was not the only one we met on two continents for whom the recession is a reality.

Next we went to China Town. It is a real home to the Chinese people of the city and they go about their lives and play Mahjong on street corners.

I must do something about the pose.

Our final stop was to be in Downtown LA itself where we purchased 'Smoothies' and sat on a wall amongst the people in the busy city.

A view from the Smoothies.

The return was through busy rush hour. It is a bit scary to be challenged by a fully armed 'Sheriff' ticket collector.

We had a morning before flying home. The bright sun of the previous day was LA smog. We did the half hour walk to the beach the El Segundo town. The beach has beautiful sand, but is delightfully adorned by the petroleum plant and the LA water works.

Some final photos.

The Beach at El Segundo


Grand Avenue, El Segundo (Note the smogged out buildings)

California Poppies (The pretty bits)

Conclusion
After the 28 hour journey back from LA I would conclude that we return as travellers. We had

1. Suffered some deprivations
2. Experienced some risks
3. Had close personal encounters
4. We hope that we are somewhat different because of our experiences.

We had experienced the friendliness of other peoples and shared in some of their the difficulties that this current recession is bringing. We have seen people apparently unaffected by the problems confronting us all, but we have also felt the spirit of resilience and determination that seems to be common to everyone that we met in both NZ and US societies.

Our travels abroad end for the time being, but we are determined to continue to be travellers wherever are journey now takes us.

Note
There was some sadness in our homecoming. Our friend Arthur died in his sleep on the day before we got home. We have been welcomed by all his family and feel that we almost belong with them, especially at this time.
Arthur has left me his railway stuff.

Last Post Before Home

Tomorrow is our last day here in Kiwi land. A final picture blog will sum up this journey when we get home.

On Saturday it was Zoe's birthday. It was a good day. It started with some present opening and then Ian, Sally and Zoe set off as the party organisers at 'Butterfly Creek'. Half an hour later, mum, Emily and I followed behind.

No one thought that the weather could be as good as it was. we left a dull Glover Park and turned up at the party to baking heat. The party went well and the first drops of rain fell and turned into a downpour when we got back.

We spent the afternoon presenting, but it became obvious that leg stretching was in order. All of us drove off to 'Valentines' in Papuranga. At this restaurant you could eat as much as you wanted, including pud for a fiver. The choice was wide, including baby octopus and the quality was high. A good day ended well.

On Sunday it was 'Around the Bays' day and, despite dire predictions, it was hot and sunny. The family had made provisions to 'batten down the hatches', but suddenly Ian decided to take Emily to the zoo. For me it was a good opportunity to do the photo swap with Sally. Ian prepared tea and then mum and I set off for my final NZ photo shoot of Auckland City from Devonport. I stayed as long as I was allowed. A few minutes more would have bought real darkness.


Today we are doing last jobs around the house and getting ready to pack in the morning. We have had a final walk down to St Heliers shops and I hope to go to Sylvia Park to buy a new suitcase this evening.

Chimney Sweep

I forgot to mention the chimney sweep.
I love talking to real Kiwis. This gentleman who came to sweep the chimney was a real Kiwi of many generations. His story was that his something, something grandfather came to New Zealand in 1840. He came has a retired soldier to be a 'Fencible'. A Fencible was given a plot of land by the government and was expected to defend the Pakia against the Maori whenever necessary. His plot was in South Auckland. He was mentioned again in 1896 as being the oldest pensioner in New Zealand.
The chimney sweep was also proud of the fact that there was no Maori blood in his family line. I am told that this is something of a rarity.

The weather has suddenly changed. Summer is over. The mornings are darker and colder. Mum is in cardigans. I am wearing a top, but still in short sleeves, short and trainers with no socks.

I went down to St Heliers this morning for some turps. I took the precaution of taking a waterproof. The rain comes very suddenly and equally heavily. As I neared the town the rain was visibly moving up the sea front towards me. I thought that I would make it to shelter. On the corner just before crossing to the shops a silver coloured car pulled up in front of me. I was certain that it was Ian coming to the rescue. I started to get in. It was in fact a stranger waiting to pick up his wife. Sorry! sorry! Leg it. As soon as I had made my purchase the rain stopped, so with soggy short bottoms and a very wet coat I made my way back. By the time I reached home I was bone dry.

Sheets of rain are still coming. The workman are trying to set up the marquees for the 'Around the Bays' fun run/walk on Sunday.

Oriwa and the Hibiscus Coast

Sally took the day off on Wednesday. This is becoming standard practice for her to have a special day with us just before we leave.

This time we chose to go to Oriwa.This is a holiday town just north of Auckland. It has a huge clean beach and a few shops. We walked most of the beach. Their were many beautiful shells which mum enjoyed and collected some. We had morning coffee with cheese cake and headed back via the Hybiscus Coast. This a long peninsula with one road in and out. It can get conjested in rush hour and holiday times. We passed through an area which was a settlement for the wealthy centred on the Gulf Golf course. The open is player here. It is a strange place. At the end of the peninsula is a headland. It mainly belongs to the army, but there is a short path which allowed us to 'go bush'.

Another strange part is called Manly and there is a sign saying 'Manly' and 'Ladies Mile'. Work it out.

We stopped at one more bay. It was small, but almost within wading distance was an almost pyramid shaped island.

On the way back to Auckland we stopped off at a shop called 'Spotlight'. It is a 'Hobby Craft' plus kitchen and bedroom wares.

Today we have had Zoe home with a cold. I took Sally to work then Emily to childcare, then Zoe shopping, then to 'Placemakers'. I have added a new downpipe to the car porch.

A little while ago Sally called. I went off to pick her up and on route home we took Emily in to the doctors. She will be home tomorrow. Zoe will be in daycare sharing a Dora and Diago cake.

Tonight we are baby sitting while Sally and Ian visit Churchill Park School as a possible palce for Zoe quite soon.

I will not be posting pictures until I get home.

Banquet and Thomas

Saturday was a busy day. It started by taking the hire car back to the city. From here we went to Pakuranga shopping centre. The main street is called Aylesbury Street. The main claim to fame is that it has a British shop. However, our main mission was shoes for Sally and Zoe. Then it was a dash to Zoe's ballet class. From here we went back to Sylvia Park. The show issue was not resolved and we were birthday present buying. This shopping trip turned out to be extensive and we returned home with a short time before the banquet.

Karen arrived about 6 pm to baby sit and ian drove us in to Mission Bay. Having arrived a little early we had beers at the Belgium Bar. From here we moved on to the Tai restaurant. Sally had booked a window table overlooking Selwyn Domain, the sea and, of course, Rangitoto.

The food and the wine were excellent and we hope that the were a good treat from us to Ian and Sally at the start of our final week here.

On Sunday Sally, Ian and Zoe went off to swimming lessons. We took Emily off to the beach, but our time was cut short by the arrival of spots of rain and the returning family.

After a short time home I drove Mum and Zoe out to Glenbrook Vintage Railway. It was Thomas weekend.

Mum and Zoe on Thomas

It was very busy. The ladies rode Thomas in an open carriage. We found lunch on the platform where we purchased tickets for a longer run down the line in proper coaches. The presentation of the engines was excellent. They all had names and their faces were properly moulded and fixed to the front. It was an amature thing, but well done.

Not the Office Roof

On Thursday morning Zoe had a special treat. Sally went off to work. Karen picked up Emily and took her to child care. Later we took Zoe to see mummy at work in her office.


As you can see, Sally is in the beverages business. Zoe stayed longer than we thought she would and we were able to join in with enjoying the chocolate cheese cake being shared to celebrate the departure of one of the staff to maternity leave.

Having dropped Zoe back to child care we returned home to do a few jobs. The wind was getting stronger and the weather was deteriorating. As we sat eating lunch there was the most almighty metallic crashing sound. We rushed to the window thinking that something had blown off the house to see part of the roof of the park building opposite on the other side of the car park and another piece blow across, hitting the power cable, causing sparks and landing across the end of our drive. There was no disruption to the power.


We watched as the council workers on the park calmly did nothing. However, the foreman was soon on his mobile phone. We watched as the wind threatened to bring the corrugated metal sheet up to the drive and into the front of the hire car. No one would believe it if I saw two cars go to the body shop in one holiday. (By the way, Sally had her car back and it looks better than it did before the collision - even the rust had gone.)

In a short time a fire engine appeared and naturally started the proceedings by putting out cones.


As you can see the council work men had the wisdom to run a digger on to the sheets in the park to prevent further damage.


Once they got going the firemen and the workmen quickly got the bits of roof removed and tidied up.

No one was injured and, apart from the roof, no serious damage was done. The lady owner of the white car in the picture above returned to her car to find the scene of devastation, but was obviously relieved to see her car completely unscathed and was escorted off the scene by the firemen.

I checked with a fireman whether it was safe to leave and we set off to the local garden centre. The wind was getting more furious and the coast road was getting drenched by waves breaking on the sea wall.

We arrived at Palmers Garden Centre as it started to rain. The centre has a collection of brollies for customer use. (Great idea - UK garden centres take note.)

We collected the girls, had tea, spent some time on our own before rejoining Sally for another episode of 'Boston Legal' before going to bed with the wind howling and rain lashing down. Aucklanders were warned to keep off the roads between 7 am and 12 noon, but by morning it was calm so we took the girls to school and then went off to do some shopping in Newmarket and Slyvia Park.

We were pleased to find a letter from Jenny when we arrived back. (It was a little soggy -Please note the mail box. Papers are put in the round hole and letters through a slot in the box below. The box has a rear flap which blows about in the wind.)

The weather looks brighter and the wind has dropped.

Spit, Nuts, Honey and Cheese

This blog covers trips on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Wednesday we had the most glorious weather, but with little free time we decided to repeat a walk we made last year. Five minutes drive away is a play park which has got to be known as 'Ladybird Park', because one of the rides is shaped like a beetle. Across the park, over a bridge up and down a rise is a sea/river side path which leads to spit that reaches across the river. It is a beautifully quiet walk. The sea was very warm and gentle. Even I got my feet wet, as did mum.

Well not in this picture

The spit was populated by birds and small car ferries went back and forward from 'John 3:16' to Waiheke island.


On the land side of the spit mangrove were taking over and forming swamps and pools of clear water.
On Wednesday the day was not quite as pleasant, but we did have a good drive up the North West side of North Island beyond Helensville to MacNuts Farm on South Head Road. Here they grow and harvest nuts -Macadamia nuts to be precise. We had a slice of very tasty MacNut mud cake and a cup of chai latte, before exploring the garden attached to the farm and buying a pack of tasty nuts.

From here we made our way, with some help from the SAT NAV, across from the West coast and State Highway 16 to the East coast and State Highway 1.

We eventually made it to Warkworth where we joined SH1 and started down to Puhoi which was our destination. Very soon I spotted the Honey Centre. Here we had (Mum - Ginger Ale and fruit yogurt / me lime milkshake and a wrap).

On we went. SH1 goes from the furthest north of North Island where it is a gravel track to Wellington, where it is a four lane motorway. From Warkworth to the new toll road section it is a single lane road, but like most open roads the speed limit is 100kph (70 mph - if you dare).

Just before the toll road tunnel was our turn to Puhoi. You simply go to the centre of the road and take the right turn.

Puhoi is almost another world. It calls itself a town. (Population is too small for 'Lonely Planet' to record.) It claims to be NZs first Bohemian (Czechoslovakian) settlement. It has a Catholic church, a hotel, a Catholic school, a stables and a library.

The library is a good example of the village spirit. It is a small white hut in the centre of the village.


I had set up my tripod to take a picture of the front of the building when there was a movement and an apology from inside. I then had a very pleasant meeting with Mary. I went in and spoke with an elderly lady. She told me that she was not the librarian, but was standing in while the librarian was playing golf. I then asked how often new books were put into the library. Here is where the strength of community came in. Apparently the library has no public funds. Once a year the whole stock is put out in a marquee to be sold and the people of the village supply a new stock by donating books.

Mary did not sound very much like a Kiwi. She told me that she was from Yorkshire. I asked how long ago. She said 40 years. She had bought out her three children. The eldest was now 52 and all had settled either here or in Australia. Her husband was a carding machine engineer. We talked about not everywhere being as rosy as people make out. She made it clear that if it was only her and her husband they would return to the UK. It is still home to them.

Puhoi was our destination because it had a cheese factory.This was 3km further up the road. We were free to walk around the grounds which had fountains and great views of the hills. After our walk we had afternoon tea and set off back to Auckland.


Once more we crossed SH1 and a few meter later arrived at the mouth of the very recently opened toll road. Regular drivers clocked up a bill, courtesy of cameras and computers. We chose to pull off to the cash pay point. Two officials had a tent and seats to help motorists deal with the computer terminal. Mum succeeded in typing in our registration number and putting the princely sum of $2 into the machine and we were on our way. From here it is motorway through Auckland.

Beach and New Car

On Sunday Ian and Sally took Zoe off to swimming lessons, followed by breakfast and special Early Learning Centre shopping. Mum and I used the buggy to take Emily down to the beach. She became very excited when she saw the playground; so much so it was difficult restraining her - and it would be one of those moments when traffic was heavy.

The beach was in full use. A large group of children were having their fourth surfboard lifesaving class.


After her time in the playground Emily spotted the beach. She was bit miffed when we would not let her simply jump off the high grassy bank on to the beach. However, as soon as she got on to the beach she spotted the sea. She made a bee-line for it with mum in hot pursuit. The sea edge is still lined with sea weed from the recent storm, but mum found a clearer space near the rocks.


The sea was really busy. Further down the bay a large group of people were in various stages of swimming to Rangitoto and back and there were many boats of various sizes in view.

We regrouped for a really nice lunch and after lunch it was time to get the new car.

We knew that this week was going to be difficult for Sally, but we had plans. On Friday Ian informed us that it was going to be difficult for him to help. The solution was that we had a car, leaving both of them free to come and go as they needed. Ian came up with the idea of using air-miles to hire one (if you remember the Subi is off the road at least until Wednesday at the earlist). So, Sally and I went off into town. We did not realise that the Saturday street jazz festival had been transferred to Sunday in Mission Bay, causing a slight delay.

The centre of Auckland City is strangely quiet on a Sunday and all the car hire places are in one area. The hire was speedily carried out and soon I was following Sally on detour of Mission Bay route in a rather nice red Mitsubishi Lancer.


Another good meal, prepared by Ian ended a pleasant, if half stormy weekend. The only trouble being that I went to bed itching madly due to insect bites we think we picked up from the pond side at Monterey Bay. They still itch even now.