Time For Reflection

Our next day in Honolulu had an entirely different focus.

We visited the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor.

As well as the actual memorial there are extensive displays in the interactive galleries. These include many stories from both military and civilian personnel with direct experience of the attacks.

The water in the harbor is remarkably shallow and some of the wreckage of the USS Arizona remains visible.

We had purchased day passes which also gave us access to the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum as well as the battleship, USS Missouri.

The land-based Submarine Museum was interesting but a highlight was an actual walkthrough of the vessel.

The stretchers immediately above the torpedoes is intriguing but I guess someone has to be on duty at all times.

The exterior of the submarine.

Our final stop for the day was the USS Missouri. This was the site of the Japanese surrender which signalled to end of World War II. As well as World War II, the USS Missouri saw active service in both the Korean War and the first Gulf War before being retired to become a floating museum in 1992. It was the last battleship in the world.

There is also an aircraft museum, however, time was against us so we decided to give it a miss. We spent about 6 hours at Pearl Harbor and felt that it was very interesting and worthwhile despite being emotionally draining.

Hike to Makapu’u

Today we ventured a bit further afield. Specifically, we hiked the Makapu’u Lighthouse trail. It was quite an expedition as it took 3 buses to get to the general vicinity of the start of the trail but we still had to walk about 1.6km from the nearest bus stop to where the trail begins. The entire length of the trail is asphalt so there are no trip hazards. However, it is a steady upwards climb for the whole walk which a is 3.2km round trip. There is virtually no shade and there are no bathroom facilities.

We climbed almost 200m from sea level where we exited the bus to the lookout at the top of Makapu’u.

The lighthouse is completely inaccessible but this is a view of it from the lookout.

This shows the small settlement where we alighted from the bus and began our upward trek.

We were hopeful of seeing some humpback whales but were out of luck today.

It was a wild and windy day as evidenced by my great hairstyle.

The First Day

Due to crossing the International Date Line we managed to arrive in Honolulu almost 12 hours before we left Melbourne. In reality, the flight was about 9.5 hours and we arrived early on Sunday morning local time.

We were able to check in to our accommodation in the morning and arrived there about 10.30am after having organised to purchase our transport cards for the local buses and buying a couple of grocery items.

We had some sleep on the flight but were tired and this reminded me of why we generally try to arrive at our overseas destinations in the mid-late afternoon. Despite our fatigue, I was determined not to sleep extensively in the afternoon so after a shower we headed out and about to get a feel for where things were. We saw some of the high-rise apartments and tourist shopping spots at Waikiki which only served to remind us of why we had chosen an Air BnB studio apartment with a local family some miles out of town.

This was our view of Waikiki as we were walking to the bus stop.

Looking back the other way provides a view of the mountains and some of the lush garden vegetation in Manoa Valley where we are staying.

Another view of a couple of houses and the mountain backdrop. This was taken while we were waiting for the bus.

More for 2024

Way back in 2019, in the days before any of us had heard of Covid19, we were contemplating our next overseas trip and considering visiting Denmark, Sweden and Norway during the summer of 2020.

However, after 2 overseas trips in 2019 (Mauritius then Scotland, Spain and Portugal later in the year) we decided to take a break in 2020. That proved to be an incredibly fortuitous decision as it was just a few months later that Covid19 played havoc with people’s travel plans for 2020.

We have now decided that we are ready to head to Scandinavia in June 2024 and have booked our return flights.

Once again, this is all uncharted territory so we will be doing plenty of reading and research as we plan an itinerary for 30 nights beginning and ending in Copenhagen. Excited to explore the cities, forests and fjords.

Plans for 2024

It must be time to resurrect this blog as we begin to make plans for our first overseas trip since 2019.

A relatively short adventure for 2 weeks will see us in totally unfamiliar territory as we head to Hawaii and California.

The plan is as follows:

Fly from Melbourne to Honolulu
3 nights in Honolulu
Fly to San Francisco
5 nights in San Francisco
Train (Coast Starlight) to Santa Barbara
Overnight in Santa Barbara
Train (Pacific Surfliner) to San Diego
2 nights in San Diego
Fly to Honolulu
3 nights in Honolulu
Fly to Melbourne

Undara and Onward

This will be my final post for our north Queensland adventure.

As previously mentioned, we arrived at our overnight accommodation at Undara Experience by mid-afternoon. Then it was off on a guided tour of the lava tubes.

Looking back to the entrance of one the caves formed from a collapsed tube.

The images of the interior really do not them justice.

The next morning we were back at Mt Surprise bright and early and ready to rejoin the Savannahlander for the final day back to Cairns and the end of our tour.

We experienced a diverse range of landscapes and vegetation as well as coming face to face with some of the locals.

Watercourse soon after leaving Mt Surprise.

The train stopped for a photo opportunity with the surrounding geology.

A local – black-headed python.

A stop at Almaden for lunch at the Railway Hotel.

The train slowed to allow these guys to make their way off the tracks.

As we crossed the Great Dividing Range and made our way closer to the coast the landscape changed significantly. We stopped at the Barron Falls.

The UNESCO World Heritage Wet Tropics virgin rainforest is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. In fact, we were told that 1 hectare of this rainforest contains more biodiversity than the entirety of Europe and the UK. It is so important that we protect these special places.

The bridge over the Stoney Creek Falls was a highlight as we made our descent to the outer suburbs of Cairns.

Back on the Tracks

The next stage of our tour was on the Savannahlander train which runs between Cairns and Forsayth. Our first day was from Forsayth to Mt Surprise where we transferred to a small coach to reach our overnight destination at the Undara Experience, adjacent to Undara Volcanic National Park.

All aboard.

A morning tea stop.

Local flora – Grevillea Decora.

Lunch was at Einsleigh and the spectacular Copperfield Gorge.

Undara Lava Tubes will be another post.

Cruising Cobbold Gorge

We spent 2 nights at Forsayth, another former mining town, where the current population is 56. While there is not a great deal there, it is the nearest town to the spectacular Cobbold Gorge 45km away.

Our tour included a full day at Cobbold Gorge.

Our first stop was the stunning infinity pool which overlooks the lagoon.

The Eastern Great Egret didn’t hang around for long.

After lunch it was off to the gorge.

Some reflections.

A walk to the top and a glass bridge.

Then it was time to make our way back to the bottom of the gorge and a cruise in the electric flat-bottomed boats. These silent boats allow for easy viewing of the the wildlife with minimal disturbance.

Silently cruising through the majestic gorge.

A final view of the glass bridge high above us.

The Train and Beyond

As I mentioned in my previous post, we left Normanton via the Gulflander train to Croydon.

Prior to boarding at Normanton.

In the past the Gulflander delivered mail to various properties along the route. Now there is only one property that receives its mail this way.

The last mailbox.

After lunch in Croydon we boarded our bus to Forsayth where we were staying for the next 2 nights.

We stopped en route at the Cumberland Chimney which is all that remains of the Cumberland Battery and the thriving gold-mining town which was once here.

The man-made lagoon is a haven for local birdlife.

North to Normanton

In the past most of my blog posts have been relatively contemporaneous. However, this time we are now at home after a short break in north Queensland.

We flew to Cairns where we spent 2 nights relaxing before the real adventure began. It is 41 years since I last visited the area so there was plenty to see.

The first day of our tour was a long one and we made an early start to catch the bus from Cairns to Normanton – a distance of well over 700km. Normanton is located about 35km south of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

We spent 2 nights there and on our free day we joined forces with another couple from the tour, hired a vehicle and drove to Karumba which is located on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The drive is much more than 35km as the road skirts around the meandering mouth of the Norman River.

Here we are with the Gulf of Carpentaria in the background. We kept away from the water’s edge as you never know what is lurking.

We also checked out this life-sized replica of the largest saltwater crocodile ever killed.

The Normanton railway station is beautifully restored and was the point of our departure the next morning on the Gulflander train to Croydon. More about that in the next post.