just a few last photos

We've been in England since December 12 but we are still not quite home yet. Spent time with family and friends over Christmas and now have a week with a friend in Hereford before we can move back into our house. During our trip we often did not get around to uploading pictures to the blog so here are a few before we wrap up. Hope to be back in our house soon so one more post then and that's it.

grave of RLS on Western Samoa

nz north island geothermal area

walk near Mount Tongariro?

Mount Tongariro? which erupted the day after we were there with no casualties

Kaikoura, south island  for whale watch

Milford or Doubtful Sound? they were equally memorable :)

Doubtful Sound

Tareri gorge railway viaduct

Christchurch reminiscent of the Cambridge banks. It's name comes from the Oxford college.

a beautiful short circular walk at Palm Beach north of Sydney

Palm Beach north of Sydney

Blue Mountains west of Sydney - descent into canyon by Giants Stairway

some wildlife photos -nz and sydney

rainbow lorikeet? Sydney

sulphur crested cockatoo Sydney

stilt can tolerate the geothermal areas

seen at Rotorua, north island

quail seen at Queenstown, south island

dusky dolphin at Kaikoura, south island

sperm whale

wallaby at Pittwater youth hostel north of Sydney

Back in the UK

Safe home in the UK.
Kate

Australia part two

For our second day in Collaroy, we were again entertained by my cousin who drove us up to Palm Beach, which is the poshest address in these parts. We had a walk up to the lighthouse on the headland where there were fantastic views across the water - masses of yachts racing and wooded headlands - also views up along the coast. She then took us down to Manly where we had a picnic near the beach, then had a walk up the headland there.
At the end of the day David and I borrowed a bodyboard from the Youth Hostel as the surf had got a bit more impressive. It was quite wild but a lot of fun.
Sunday we took a train up to the Blue Mountains where we stayed in Katoomba, which is the traditional place for escaping the heat of Sydney. The Youth Hostel there is an old Art Deco style hotel. There is a sandstone plateau with amazing cliffs and waterfalls - loads of paths through the temperate (=cool) rain forest.
Monday and we are back down in Sydney staying with our friend - tomorrow we'll be doing the sights of Sydney itself then getting our flight back to the UK. PHEW!

Australia

Australia has been quite different from expected, pleasantly cool. We've been staying with our friend (who introduced us to each other in Guyana) - that has been great and a bit like coming home. We've been viewing the sights of Sydney by swanning around on the ferries. We've also been regally entertained by my cousin. Now we are doing a few nights' hostelling - firstly at Pittwater which is set in a National Park and is only accessible by ferry. There were wallabies hopping around outside the Youth Hostel, and we've seen white cockatoos, kookaburas and massive lizards (goannas).
Tonight we are back in civilisation, across the road from a surf beach - no surf today though, so we had a walk up the hill behind and enjoyed spotting some more birds (rainbow lorikeets) as well as spotting a suitable ice cream shop!
Kate

Penguins

Next day was a massively long trip over to Doubtful Sound. Coach then boat across one lake to where the hydropower stations is, then coach over the pass, then cruise on the Sound. A beautiful and majestic place, misty, shear cliffs with many waterfalls. We went along the winding fiord out to the sea, spotting some little penguins.
We had a day to explore Queenstown - a beautiful spot on a lake reminiscent of the Swiss Alps, did a great walk up the hill behind the town, seeing quite a few birds.
Next we had a coach ride then train ride to Dunedin on the east coast. The train was a heritage train along the Tarieri Gorge. Dunedin is a town which grew very rich through the gold rush, we admired some impressive buildings and the botanical gardens. The museum was good yesterday on a wet afternoon.
Now we are back in Christchurch and due to fly out to Australia tomorrow afternoon! We hear there is a heatwave there...

Southern Alps, birds

Had a great trip on the Trans Alpine train - I had no idea that the South Island was so scenic - building the tracks and roads over this side is quite an epic story as well. We've since done coach journeys with commentary down the west coast, ending up at Queenstown. Yesterday we went over the mountains to Milford Sound for a nature cruise. We saw a penguin (just the one) but it was a very rare one apparently, and fur seals. The shear cliffs and long waterfalls are impressive.
It feels like we are in Switzerland, only it is all much more isolated. The really sad thing is that the native bird population has been decimated by possums which were brought over from Australia for the fur trade. They have spread all over and climb trees to get at the birds' nests. The Dept of conservation is doing a trapping and poisoning programme to try to reduce the numbers of them, but there is so much land which is just native bush that it seems an insurmountable task. Meanwhile English introduced species are doing well - sparrows, blackbirds and chaffinches are everywhere.

Dates we get back

We get back to the UK on 12 Dec.
We will be staying at David's parents (Dorset), sister (London),  friend (London).
Back to Hereford around 2 January when we will be staying with a friend until 14 January when we can move back into our house.

Whales, Christchurch

Whale watching - had a lovely walk early morning and got back to the motel in time for being picked up for whale watching - we had good conditions (as a precaution Kate had not breakfast) and a very fast boat. They had echo location to search for the whales, then zipped over to get close in time for when they surfaced. The whales are only on the surface for a few minutes so they have to be quick. We saw two sperm whales this way, they were breathing on the surface, then dived deep with a majestic sweep of the tail - just like the posters. We also saw masses of dusky dolphins which were playing all round us, leaping out of the water. We were told by our young male guide that they have sex several times a day with different partners, he said if we believed in reincarnation then being a dusky dolphin might be a good option...
Christchurch - arrived by scenic train with commentary. The centre of the city is still shut down after the earthquake - they are disassembling some high rise buildings - people were
sitting out in the sun watching. It is rather sad as many of the oldest building and grandest new buildings were affected including nearly all the churches. We went to see Re-START which is a new shopping mall made entirely in shipping containers - it is a rejuvenation of the city shopping centre with all the big names. It is very bright and cheerful with the containers all painted bright colours. Also saw the museum there which had loads of stuff about Antarctic exploration.
Kate and David

Volcanoes, beaches, Wellington, Ferry

We are really getting into this tourist thing now. Tuesday we did a mountain walk on the slopes of one of the massive volcanoes in the centre of the North Island - fantastic views of the volcanes on a sunny breezy day. On Wednesday we heard that one of the volcanoes had erupted - only an ash cloud - but they had a panic getting walkers off the high slopes.
Wednesday we travelled down the west coast stopping at a few beaches - all massive long and windswept, but we found a place to swim, a place to walk and some craft shops to mooch round.
Thursday was Wellington - the capital city - we ticked off the tourist things - old churches, cable car to the Botanical Gardens, Te Papa Museum which is massive, fantastically entertaining and free. I really enjoyed the Maori stuff, very evocative - I did a lot of reading on the internet while I was off sick so it was all much more interesting having read about it all.
Today we travelled to South Island on the ferry which goes along fiord type places - I saw some whales in the distance which was exciting for me. Then a scenic train ride down the east coast to Kaikura where we are booked onto a whale watching trip tomorrow morning. And this evening we had a steak and a pint in an English type pub - shame the beer is cold...
And all this week we have been blessed by fantastic clear sunny but refreshingly breezy weather. We are reading about rain and floods in the UK!
Kate

Geothermal wonderland

We've stayed in a few good Youth Hostels, all with great facilities, and giving you a chance to have a chat with other hostellers if you wish. Our day in the Northland area gave me a chance to have a swim and a run on a sandy beach in fairly warm weather. It was chucking it down with rain for our big drive south to Rotorua. Roturua is the geothermal region - we had a walk out to Sulphur Point where there is steam venting out of the ground strange bubblings and strange smells. Interestingly it is a great area for birds - they don't seem to mind getting acid feet although it can remove the skin on their webbed feet!  

Our big day our from Rotorua was to visit a massive touristy geothermal area which included a geiser which they get going for the tourists with a bag of soap powder. Also there are amazing pools of coloured minerals, deep holes in the ground containing bubbling mud pools, spooky steaming vents everywhere and strange landscapes. Magic!

Wildlife in NZ

We've seen many more birds here - quite a few are English birds which have been introduced, but we've enjoyed getting to recognise the Parson Bird - black with a white neck ruff, the Fantail - which is a bit like a Bluetit but it fits about fanning out its huge tail and catching flies in mid air, the Pied Stilt - which is a bit like an Avocet.
Loads of interesting trees, notably tree ferns which are new to me - very primeval looking.

Western Samoa and New Zealand

Phew! Got away from the tropical climate - no more dripping with sweat all day and all night!
We had two nights in Western Samoa - quite a contrast form American Samoa - much busier- more roads, more businesses, more markets, more people being purposeful. The first day we wandered around Apia (the main town) and found a good snorkelling beach - brightly coloured fish a foot long and a massive black sea slug on the bottom. The second day we visited the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum which was an elegant wooden villa in beautiful grounds.
Flew to New Zealand - hired a car and spent a night with friends we met in AS - they have a beautiful home, immaculate gardens and smallholding producing year round beef, veg and fruit.
Today we took a drive round the north part of NZ and now at a Youth Hostel in Whangerei - just been admiring the yachts in the marina - a bit of a culture shock!

photo Mount Alava

on Mount Alava overlooking Pago Pago harbor

David's teaching is done

Thankfully Kate is much fitter now since her nasty bout flu and to prove it, yesterday we did a major hike to the top of Mount Lava which gave excellent views of Pago Pago harbour. Kate has been home getting a bit stir-crazy and counting the days until we leave on November 11 - tomorrow. Meanwhile, for the last few weeks I have continued to teach as usual and trying to time things so as to cover all I wanted to before the last day which was Friday - today is Sunday. I was able to wrap things up nicely and leave notes for my replacement WorldTeach person who we have just learned will be arriving in a couple of weeks.

In the last couple of days, students finally learned my age - their guesses ranged from 28 to 75 but their average guess turned out to quite accurate and only three years on the low side - disappointing since I hoped it would be at least 10 years on the low side. On my last day I got the students to each write me a farewell letter and all the letters were positive even from my least-favourite students. So I think Ive done some good. In the afternoon there was a school assembly and I got an excellent send-off. Though perhaps a bit undignified because I was made to dress in a lava lava - like a sarong -  and had to dance a little in front of the whole school. But my impromptu very short speech went down well by all accounts - I said that I would miss them and that Ive always been a coolcat now Im a Wildcat.As one of my students wrote - once a wildcat always a wildcat.

Wildcats is the name of our football team and after a miraculous game last week when we did very well to beat another school 22-21 for an exceedingly rare victory, normal service was resumed when we played Kates team yesterday and lost 68-0. Kate and I would have watched this game if the weather had been bad but fortunately the weather was fine and we enjoyed our hike up Mount Alava - only about 1600 feet but still quite enough of a work out.Pictures to follow when I get to it. David

Changing Gear

On Monday I went into school to sort out a few things. I was pleased to meet the teacher who is replacing me - in fact they are juggling around the classes, so he is not teaching the classes I taught. He had done some cover for me while I was off with flu. I was hoping that the school might be able to give me some tasks to do over the two weeks before we leave, but the only option was to do cover for absent teachers, and I thought this would be too stressful so I did not take it up.
So this week I've had to get used to being better, but being at home. I like being busy, so I've got a routine for the day - starting off with a long walk while it is not too hot - then doing various hobbies including a drawing session in the afternoon - I'm doing one exotic flower from the garden each day.
Today Saturday we had a day out to the small island at the East side - it's a long bus ride then a small boat ferry across. We walked all round the island, along jungly tracks, ending at a cove on the far side which really felt like the end of the world. Flat lava rocks with massive waves - some frigate birds sailing overhead - and a colony of large swifts swooping off the cliffs. The rock pools had turquoise water and we could see quite big stripy fish. On the way back we had a view of the central lake - the island is volcanic - it is a crater lake. Usually the jungle is so thick that it is difficult to see anything, quite easy to get lost - but as the whole island is only a mile or so wide you have to end up somewhere before too long.

Transition time

This week I have been convalescing after the flu. I got all my mid term exams marked and entered all my grades, which felt like quite an achievement.  I was very pleased to hear that my school has managed to find a local teacher to replace me - with a bit of juggling around of the classes. This teacher starts on Monday, so I do not need to do any more teaching before we leave. This is a great relief. 

Now I can concentrate on building up my strength, catching up on some reading and enjoying keeping up with the BBC World News - a great lifeline.

We are busy planning our trip to Western Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. We will keep up with the blog as we go, so watch this space!

Kate 

Leaving Samoa

David and I have resigned from our teaching placements here. I have been finding the work very stressful and it has been affecting my health.
We finish teaching on November 9 and fly out on November 12. We plan to go to Western Samoa for a couple of days, then on to New Zealand for two weeks, then a week in Australia before flying home via China (just for 4 hours layover). We will be back in the UK just before Christmas.
Kate

Kate off sick

I have had flu this week, I had to leave school on Monday morning as it hit me like a wall. Got a taxi home and have been laid up ever since. What I should have been doing was my Mid Term Exams with my classes. My Head of Department has been very good in making sure my classes all got a cover teacher, so they all got it done, which is great. I'm now trailing through the marking very, very slowly. At least it gives me a bit of a hobby. I am missing Radio 4.

Columbus day hike from Blunt Point, photos

from Blunt Point, Pago Pago

views over Pago Pago harbor

handy ropes provided for the steep bits

quite dense forest