Technical problems are a fact of life. A technical problem, with say a kettle is quite minor, the lack of hot water being the worst-case scenario. Car won’t start equates with late for work. Burnt toast, reset the smoke alarm. My point is most technical problems are relatively minor not critical.

Our plane was delayed today due to an undisclosed technical problem. I put it to you that any technical problem with an aeroplane, especially if it is undisclosed in nature, is not to be taken lightly. It’s a critical problem not a technical one.

There is nothing worse than getting on a plane that has experienced a technical problem. Why? Because it might not have been fixed that’s why. Airlines run on timetables and there is huge pressure on staff to get the plane back in the air. I know how these things go and this knowledge leads me to imagine the following.

Timetable Manager: Is the plane’s technical problem fixed?

Technical Problem Guy: I can’t find anything wrong!

Timetable Manager: So it’s all good?

Technical Problem Guy: Guess so!

Now this is the real problem, the “Guess so”. That and all the question marks and exclamation marks. There should be no guess, not even in my imagination because I’m pretty sure that if I can imagine it then it’s possible. Remember Leslie Nielson’s rocket scooter.

Aeroplanes are very complex things. That’s why pilots get the big money to fly them. Pilots are people who go to bed early, never ever drink, have a loving relationship with their family and above all are not the least bit suicidal. They should not have to deal with technical problems, technical problems in fact should just not happen with aeroplanes. They should be prefect all the time due to a rigorous maintenance regime that prevent any such technical problems.

That said, we did finally get off the ground. Maybe the technical problem has been fixed after all. Or maybe, it will raise its no doubt very disagreeable head when we try to land. Let’s just hope it’s not one of those “Oh crap the wheels have come off “ sort of technical problems.

With all the flying we have done lately I’m beginning to worry that we are pushing the flight envelope a little. Logic dictates that because planes fly some will crash therefore the more you fly the more chance you have of crashing.

This flying business has also given me the opportunity to study the principles of flight. Quite simply flying is something that should be left to birds, bats, foxes, and winged insects. Even some of these natural flying creatures crash, usually with serious consequences. As clever as we are, being able to use a knife and fork with our special opposable thumb and all, we really shouldn’t be flying.

We are now flying over Noumea so there’s a chance, slim though it may be, of being picked up from the ocean should there be any fishermen out today. Lets hope the fish are biting.

Things that should not fly.

Potential Technical Problem.

Should fly.

Should fly.

Should fly, despite long nosecone.

Unsuspecting Flyers. Note proximity to bar.

More unsuspecting flyers. Note drink.

Well that’s it for this blog. I must remember to post it if when we land safely in Sydney. Thanks for pictures Jen. In fact…

Thank you one and all. 🙂

After one hundred and forty-nine inches of Hilo’s one hundred and fifty inches of rainfall the weather finally cleared and we saw the mountains for the first time.

The Hot Bits.

Lava Tube

Earthquake!

Locked In

Volcano letting off steam

Lava Arch

Steam me up Scotty

And Behind Crater number 2 we have……

The Rainforest Bits.

The Flowers.

The Observatory.

At thirteen thousand seven hundred and ninety-six  feet, the last five thousand on five miles of dirt road, we were not allowed to drive our hire car to the summit. So here are the pictures we would have taken if we had driven to the top, which we naturally did not, did we.

EXCLUDES SILLY AUSTRALIANS

James Cook was probably one of, if not the greatest explorer the world has ever seen. One of the things that made Cook great was his humanitarian attitude to the people of the lands that he “discovered”.

In Hawaii Cook was initially, at least, was seen as a god as he arrived just about the time the Hawaiians were expecting one. Despite a lot of confusion, no doubt in part due to the language barrier, the Hawaiians and the English hit it off pretty well. As Cook was well documented for his fair-mindedness when “visiting” new lands one wonders what led to the situation where Cook was killed and eaten. One could speculate that, as Cook was regarded as a god, that the Hawaiians saw some value in consuming him. Or perhaps Cook overstepped the mark in the re-provisioning of his ship and the Hawaiians sought retribution. In any event it’s clear that the Hawaiians hold Cook in some regard, with streets and towns named after him. One local described Cook as Hawaii’s Christopher Columbus and part of Hawaii’s history. On reflection that’s seems pretty fair.

But you see now I’m confused. I’m confused because we tried to visit the Cook monument that is very close to where “the worlds fairest explorer” and a part of Hawaii’s history met his maker. The problem is there are no signs for direction. In fact people seem to be actively discouraged from visiting the monument. No, I am not being paranoid; look at the only sign at the start of the four-hour trek to the monument. Look at the parking at the trailhead, oh and don’t forget to dial 911 when your trip to Cook’s monument goes pear-shaped.

Something is wrong here, Hawaii thrives on tourism, names a town after their Christopher Columbus yet it’s a half day trek to see the monument if you can find the track.

Just as an aside the person who made that statement had a tattoo that said “Hawaiian by birth, American by force”. What if the Hawaiians dislike the US more than Cook? I still see the Union Jack on the state flag after all.

Enter at your Peril

The Cook “No Parking” Lot

Just another day in Hawaii.

The Big Island of Hawaii is nothing if not wet, it’s composed of 5 shield volcanoes, has the most diverse climate in Hawaii and contains 10 of the worlds 15 climate zones. Hilo on the windward side is the wettest city in the U.S., averaging more than 130 inches of rain per year. We of course are staying at Hilo and its raining. Trivia….although it’s in the middle of the Pacific, Hawaii is not as far west as Alaska (just ask Bec or James).

There are questions whether the Spanish arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in the 16th century, two centuries before Captain James Cook first documented visit in 1778. Later in his career Cook famously became Hawaii’s first ordered in meal and there is now a town called Captain Cook.

Rain

Rainforest

Volcano National Park.

Fire

Fire

We can now say… “we’ve seen fire and we’ve seen rain and we’ve seen sunny days we thought would never end”. With apologies to James Taylor of course.

We left the “crazzie’s” at Vegas early this morning and headed for Los Angeles and a whole new batch of “crazzie’s”. The trouble is this bunch have cars, so they are armed and dangerous.

L.A. is a seriously dangerous place to drive. Unlike everywhere else we have been. “Road Rules” become “Guidelines” and common courtesy goes out the window. Well that’s the attitude I’ve adopted anyway.

Having navigated the L.A. freeway system to Wilshire Boulevard we visited the Le Brea Tar Pits to check the ancient critters that came to a sticky end over the last eon or two. A moment of poor judgement, for lets say, a mammoth and the little fellow is stuck in the goo. But wait it gets better. Opportunist Dire Wolves and Buzzard like birds come to peck at the carcass and get stuck as well. Before long there’s a whole mess of black, sticky and very dead fauna swallowed up and preserved for thousands of years in asphalt. Three and a half million bituminised bits of bison, buzzard and so forth have been excavated to date, the richest fossil area in the world.

In the early days, when the pit was just a pit for digging up asphalt, the bones were seen as a bit of a nuisance so they were just dumped.

A hollowed out Coyote.

The Bone Room.

Ride em’ Cowgirl or The last Sloth Roundup.

Pit Site

Bones

Sabre Tooth Snacking

Griffith Observatory, “The Greatest Show On Earth”, or everything you ever wanted to know about the universe but were too afraid to ask.

Sunset over L.A.

Griffith Observatory.

There is something about Vegas that brings out the Elvis in people. What I am saying is they want to stand out, to be exceptional. Some achieve it, others fall more than a little short. Some sing, some are a little flat, others need soundproofed showers to protect their own hearing. God protect some if they have a mirror in the bathroom. These are the “Strip People”.

One of these is a passer-by. Clue, it’s not the Tiger.

This is probably a WTF in current text jargon.

Hello yourself.

This one is definitely an OMG in text speak.

This guy just stands on street corners and bunnies rush up to him.

The amazing umbrella sitting man.

You can buy anything in Vegas.

There are , of course, some normal people out and about.

Truth, Justice and the American way! Vegas Style!

Westward Ho! as in Wagon Train not the other kind.

We are on the final leg of this giant circle route around the USA mainland and a little bit of Canada. We are still about one thousand kilometres from Los Angeles which is our departure point. We have seen a lot of this stretch before so we should have plenty of time.

Quick re-visit to Sunset Point at Bryce Canyon

Rock house at Cliff Dwellers en route to Grand Canyon

The Historic Watchtower at the South Rim

Grand Canyon

View from Watchtower Gift Shop

Inside The Watchtower

Motorhome

Twins????