Travel

Since getting married in London in 1969, we have visited 27 countries together. Highlights have been Antarctica, South Korea and Cappadocia. From London we had an "East Only" Qantas ticket but we could get off anywhere as long as we kept going east to Australia. We are "adventurous" tourists not "adventure" tourists. Unfortunately all my pre-digital photos were 35mm slides. Many have deteriorated over the last 50 years so there are some gaps in this photo record. Enjoy.

Antarctica

We took a small ship the Sea Spirit (90 passengers) from Ushuaia at the bottom of Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula, a sea trip across Drakes Passage of about 800km or two days sailing. This can be a very rough trip with 12m swells which is about 6 times a normal house ceiling. Antarctica is shaped like a stingray with the long Antarctic Peninsula, extending up towards Ushuaia . Antarctica is huge. With the ice and snow it is twice the size of Australia but when you get away from the coast with its prolific wildlife there is absolutely nothing except ice and snow no water nothing! The remoteness is daunting. Visitors need $100k extraction insurance in case of emergency.

Asia South Korea \ China \ Japan (twice) \ Thailand.

South Korea

Seoul is only 8okm from the North Korean border (which we visited. See top image). What must it do to your head living so close to a nuclear armed weird dictatorship fixed in the 1950s? All the historic buildings were destroyed during the Korean war and have been replicated with a vaguely Hollywood feel. The National War Museum has one whole gallery geared to childrens' entertainment including jumping castles. Unimaginable in the Australian War Memorial. There is a Toilet Theme Park and a house built like a toilet!

China

We visited 5 Chinese cities on a 12 day tour. The people were friendly and took no notice of us when individually in the street. I thought they might have taken us for Americans. The primary school children clearly learn English because they were always asking "Where are you from?". I tried to learn some Mandarin but it is a phonetic language so I used my phone translator on local advice instead. Our hotel was running a conference on China's Belt and Road initiative so the government shut down a large shopping centre next door for security reasons (??). Wonder how Westfield would have reacted? In another Beijing shopping centre we had a chance meeting with Jude's niece "L" from Tweed Heads who was on a school excursion in China. Extraordinary! The city of Zhengzhou is the site of the Peoples' Liberation Army Hacker School. We didn't get a tour.

Japan

We visited Japan twice on our way to Europe. On the first trip we flew Japan Airlines business class. The food was to die for.

Tokyo / Ueno

We stayed in Ueno which is located in the northeast of central Tokyo, sitting roughly 4 to 5 kilometres north-north-east of Tokyo Station as such it is a good location for getting around particularly as it is close the Tokyo circle train line.

Tokyo / Nerima City

Our son was an exchange student in Nerima City in Tokyo for 12 months. The host father was a Buddhist priest. In Japanese culture the Buddhists do the funerals so the house was actually a 1000sq metre funeral home. This was no begging bowl Buddhist. The son studying to take over the family business drove a Porsche. The elderly grandmother had recently died so our son ended up with his own granny flat in Tokyo for the duration. The Buddhist cemetery from above looks like a car park (last pic).

Tokyo / City

Tokyo is a massive, fast-paced metropolis blending ultra-modern skyscrapers with ancient temples, high-tech train systems, and rich food culture and a population of about 16m people. The people are very polite and there is no pushing and shoving unlike some places in Asia. I made a mistake in taking my own (French) wine to a restaurant. The owner was embarrassingly apologetic so I left a tip to cover corkage. We did a tour of the Emperor's Palace but he did not invite us for tea.

Nikko

Nikko is a mountain city a couple of hours north of Tokyo. We went by train and accidentally got on the all stops coming back. It was interesting to see all the school kids going home. It was a refuge for the Shoguns to escape the summer heat and humidity of Tokyo. As Katoomba is to Sydney, Nikko is to Tokyo. It has a large number of exceptional buildings and is a must for anyone visiting Tokyo. Note the famous three wise monkeys facade carving.

Kyoto

Kyoto served as the imperial capital of Japan for over a thousand years from 794 to 1868. Home to roughly 20 percent of Japan’s designated National Treasures and historic districts tied to the origins of tea ceremonies, geisha culture, and traditional theatre. We travelled there by Shinkansen (bullet train). The return journey to Tokyo was much more problematic after an "incident".

Himedji Castle

The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 structures with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle has never been captured. The castle was first built in 1333 and later completely rebuilt in 1601-1609. The first Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. These time frames very hard for Australians to comprehend.

Kyoto Parade

These earnest people are moving a god from one shrine to another (as you do). Note the floats are all on wheels.

Kyoto Ryokan (Japanese "motel")

We wanted to try the real Japanese experience. The expensive meal was special and stunning. The floor was surprisingly comfortable.

Mountain Fire Festival

We went up into the nearby mountains from Kyoto by tiny mountain train to Karama village with thousands of others to a fire festival. How these pyromaniacs didn't burn the place down and us with them was a mystery. Unbelievable overcrowding on the train.

Mt Fuji and Hakone

The famous volcanic zone near Mt. Fuji is Hakone (specifically featuring the Ōwakudani volcanic valley), and the entire area is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. We took a very long day tour from Tokyo to do this one. It involved a commuter train ride across Tokyo during the rush hour. The famous passenger pushers are not there to cram passengers in but to stop people on the badly overcrowded trains putting their fingers in the door channels as the doors close.

Japanese Culture

A metaphysical question. Can a fridge contain nothing? Note the geisha costumery.

Final Tokyo Hotel

We finally arrived back in Tokyo at night after a stressful ride from Kyoto by Shinkansen (bullet train). Trains had been cancelled because of an "incident". At one stage when stopped two old ladies passed us on bicycles and our train could do 200kph. The problem was caused by the difficulty of clearing trains through stations after the system was interrupted.

Europe Holland \ France \ Germany \ Austria

Holland

Amsterdam is still my favourite world city with its unique canals and maritime history. No pics unfortunately.

France

Germany

East Berlin

We visited East Berlin through Check Point Charley (first slide). It was disconcerting to see East German border guards using mirrors on wheels searching for people underneath departing vehicles. Some parts of the subway transited East Berlin. There were guards with sub machine guns on the East Berlin platforms despite the fact that the trains did not stop. It convinced me of the futility of Communism. The wall came down in November 1989, 20 years after our visit.

Munich

I ticked off another item on my bucket list by visiting the Oktoberfest. They drink excellent beer in large steins. I much prefer their beer to Australian beer which has much higher carbonation. We went to Hitler's Eagle's Nest near Berchtesgaden in southeast Germany and the Dachau Concentration Camp in Munich.

Austria

We hitched from Munich to Austria with an American couple from Salt Lake City in a Kombi van. In Salzburg ("salz" in German means "salt") we had to wear special costumes (first pic) and slide down 30m wooden slippery slides underground to visit the remains of the salt mines. I ticked another item off my bucket list when I went up for a two seat glider joy ride. I stupidly asked the pilot who was sitting behind me "Can you stall this thing?"....."Ach! I will show you". Next thing the nose drops and we are falling straight down toward the cows in the fields. He pulled it out of the dive but I didn't ask any more stupid questions. Glider are surprisingly noisy due to wind noise like a car. The Kombi is paused at the Arlberg Pass which connects Austria and Switzerland.

Switzerland

We ascended in a cable car up a youth hostel in the tiny mountain village of Gimmelwald at an elevation of about 1400m. It is near huge mountains including the Eiger. It was breathtaking.....and we had the place to ourselves!

UK & Ireland UK \ Ireland \ Scotland

Wedding

We were married in London in 1969 and had an amazing honeymoon in Paris in spring.

London

I spent about 4 months in London having been married in Earl's Court. I got myself an interesting job with BP in the world wide aviation fuel sales section. They gave me the task of forecasting refueller personnel needs at Frankfurt airport into the future. We also travelled about quite a bit but most of these slides have deteriorated over nearly 60 years.

Ireland

The Irish Republic (South) 1994

We went orienteering in the Republic of Ireland in1994 near Cork before moving onto the Scottish highlands for more embarrassment.

Northern Island 2011

We did a broad circular road trip from Kilkenny to Belfast via Derry in 2011 to attend our daughter's Civil Union (marriage) in Belfast City Hall. One Sunday morning in Belfast we walked down the Catholic Falls Rd through the "Peace Wall" and back down the Protestant Shankill Rd. After the ceremony the guests gathered near The Giant's causeway in the far north. Our daughter and partner subsequently adopted a little boy (3 yo) from Belfast.

We had a very special dinner on the way with several young farmers at our daughter-in-law's sister's farm near Durrow a former horse stud. Real "Pride and Prejudice" stuff. The farm is only 2km from Attanagh where my great grandfather and 7 children left for Brisbane in 1870. We took a tour of the murals from "The Troubles" in Derry which was very moving.

Scottish Highlands 1994

We went to the World Veterans' Orienteering Championships (as tourists) in the highlands near Aviemore in the Spey River valley near Inverness. Judy had picked up a tick in Ireland which was not responsive to my attempts to kill it with whiskey. I asked the St Johns' Ambulance first aid people for help at the event and their response was "What kind of tick is it?"...."An Irish tick".....They went into a huddle and then announced "We can only deal with Scottish ticks". They then all fell about laughing.

Mediterranean Italy \ Greece \ Turkey

Italy

Cinque Terra

An amazingly picturesque place near Genoa in the north of Italy. There are a series of steep tough walking trails connecting the 5 villages which we walked, sustained by delicious lunches.

Rome & Pisa

Unfortunately most of my slides from Italy have been lost. When we were there in 1969 you could still walk up the inside of the tower. Note the people on the top. It messed with your senses as the steps were alternately up and down on each revolution.

Greece & Crete

Again most of my 35mm slides from Greece, the Greek Islands and Crete in 1969 have been lost. We were fascinated by the myth of the Minotaur and bull jumping on Crete. I have had to borrow some pics from the Internet.

Crete

Unearthing the tragic sacrifice of Australia’s lost platoon

Eighty-five years ago, 274 Australians gave their lives in the defence of Greece. One action during the Battle of Crete at Rethymno on 27 May 1941, reminds us of their heroism. Killed: 274 soldiers. Wounded: 507 soldiers. Prisoners of War: 3,102 soldiers captured or left behind.

Turkey

Istanbul

Amazing doesn't really apply to Istanbul. It has been the meeting point between east and west for centuries. It was the centre of the Byzantine Empire for centuries. Constantinople is still the "Rome" of the Greek Orthodox Christian church and the Dardanelles are Russia's outlet to the Mediterranean.

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is an ancient land more or less in the centre of Turkey or about a one hour flight from Istanbul. It was a religious refuge for Christians fleeing the Roman Empire. It has primitive cave dwellings and underground escape caves and strange suggestive eroded structures. I could imagine Roman legions tramping through these valleys. The area is not at all tourist oriented. There are no walking maps to buy. We had to hire a guide to explore the area.

Americas

North America \ South America \ Antarctica (see top) \ India

North America

Canada

Rock Mountaineer train \ Banff \ Lake Louise \ Ice Field Park Way \

We travelled Gold Class on the Rocky Mountaineer train from Vancouver to Banff where our daughter once had an art residency. It took two days. Because this area is so stunning we splashed out $900 for a lake view room for one night at Lake Louise! The Ice Field Parkway is also stunning. This is normally about a one hour trip to from Banff to Jasper but we took an all day tourist trip because the area is so interesting. Jasper to Prince Rupert was another two day train trip north to the Canada \ Alaska border to catch an Alaska Marine Highway ferry up the inside Passage off the west coast of Alaska. The Canadian V Rail train north was rather different to the Rocky Mountaineer Gold Class.

Vancouver, Whistler & The Rocky Mountaineer

Banff, Lake Louise and the Ice Field Parkway

Jasper to Prince Rupert via the V Rail train

North America

Alaska

I was a little disappointed with Alaska as I was hoping for a frontier experience. The huge cruise ships in Skagway and the large number of tourist coaches in Talkeetna were a shock. We got over this by taking light plane flights. From Juneau to Haines and Haines to Glacier Bay and thence back to Juneau. Float planes are a major means of transport in Alaska due to the large number of lakes. Juneau airport has a parallel water runway.

Inside Passage Prince Rupert / Wrangell / Petersburg / Juneau / Sitka / Haines / Skagway / Glacier Bay / Juneau

Most of our travelling on the west coast of Alaska was via the Alaska Marine Highway – a vehicle ferry system spanning 3,500 miles of coastline with service to over 30 communities – is an essential part of Alaska’s transportation system as there are no roads to many destinations. Juneau the capital of Alaska has no road access (see map).

Wrangell

We travelled up the Stikine River by jet boat. We had to wear full body harnesses in case we hit a sand bank and stopped suddenly.

St Petersburg

From Wrangell. Must be the shortest plane flight anywhere?

St Petersburg / Juneau / Sitka

Sitka / Juneau / Haines

We flew from Juneau to Haines by light plane as we could not make the ferry timetables work for us.

Haines

The historic U.S. Army installation in Haines, Alaska, was established in 1904 as Fort William H. Seward(later renamed Chilkoot Barracks in 1922). It was the only active U.S. military base in Alaska until prior to World War II and was deactivated in 1946.

While walking through some woods for a picnic we met some Alaskan locals one of whom was carrying the biggest hand gun I have ever seen. I asked him why he was carrying it and he said "in case of bears!". Then he asked what we were carrying for lunch. "Smoked fish". He said if you see a bear, put it on the ground and walk backwards very slowly.

Skagway

Skagway was the gate way for the Yukon gold rush (into Canada). We travelled to Skagway from Haines by fast catamaran for the day rather than staying in touristy Skagway. There were four massive cruise ships in Skagway Harbour when we arrived. There was nobody around at 9:00am but by 12 noon the place was packed! They had been having their breakfasts on the ships. So much for a frontier experience! The original prospectors had to climb the extremely steep Chilkoot Trail (35km) but later a railway was built up to the Canadian border. Note the supplies that the prospectors must carry which was mandated by the Canadian government because they did not want to have to supply the miners.

Haines to Glacier Bay

There was no ferry to Glacier Bay so we had to fly by light plane again. The pilot gave us the option of flying around the coast or going up and over the glaciers. No guessing which we choose. An utterly spectacular and out-world experience.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay in Alaska is a 3.2-million-acre wilderness known for one of the fastest documented glacial retreats in history. It features over 1,000 glaciers. When James Cook sailed past here in May 1778 the bay was permanently frozen but is now accessible to large cruise ships. The last pic is a grizzly bear feeding on the carcass of a stranded whale. Note the intrepid campers. Bush walking with bears is a whole other experience!

Glacier Bay to Juneau

We flew back again to Juneau by light plane.

South America

South America is a huge continent so we could only visit Argentina, Chile and Patagonia with a "side trip" to Antarctica (see above) in one trip.

Argentina

The politics, economy and exchange rate in Argentina were a shock after good old stable Australia. We had to take $1000US each in cash in small bills for our tour guide to "facilitate" our journey. Much stress was involved in trying to change our other $US in a coffee shop at half the official rate.

Buenos Aries

Called "The Paris of the South" Buenos Aries had a vague decayed feel compounded by a poor economy.

el Calafate (central Argentina)

We flew from Buenos Aries to el Calafate for the start of our 1000km off road walking tour bus trip to Ushuia at southernmost tip of South America, nicknamed the “End of the World.”

We visited The Perito Moreno Glacier a massive, advancing ice formation located in Los Glaciares National Park, about 80 km west of El Calafate. Measuring 30 km long and rising up to 74 meters above Lake Argentino, it is world-famous for dramatic ice-calving events.

Patagonia

Patagonia is very windy, flat and boring. It is a lot like the Nullabor Plain in Australia. The AVERAGE daily wind speed is 60kph. My handkerchief once blew out of my pocket and flew 50m. At one stage a bus roof hatch was blown open. They have a big problem with bush fires because the vegetation is not fire adapted unlike Australia and takes a very long time to recover.

The winds were ferocious and we camped in leaky tents for two nights. It was awful. The tour company doesn't do this any more. We later stayed at a proper hostel which was heaven.

Off Road Bus Walking Trip

We took a 1000km walking tour from el Calafarte to Ushuia with a bunch of New Zealanders doing side day walks. We had to cross the Straits of Magellan which bisects the bottom of South America. There was a long line of trucks waiting to catch the ferry across but we went to the front of the queue. Probably where our $US cash contributions came in handy.

Chile

We crossed in and out of Chile as we went south. Much time wasting and arguments at border crossings about our vehicle as you are not allowed to import vehicles into Chile.

Indo Pacific

India\ Australia \ New Zealand \ New Caledonia

India 1969

I had stopped in Delhi on the way to London to get married and went to Agra by hire car. On the way back we had very little money so we went 3rd class on the train. In under employed India it took half a day to buy a ticket. At lunch one of the Indians on the bus tour of Agra claimed the curry was too hot and the manager accused him of having western tastes. When we got back to Delhi that night the platform was covered in sleeping people. Unfortunately, most of my 35mm slides from New Delhi and Agra have been lost.

Pacific

Australia

Australia is a great country except it is a very long way from anywhere except New Zealand. We have to endure 20+ hour flights to Europe which are extremely uncomfortable and boring. As a sporting nation of less than 30m people, we punch well above our weight especially in swimming. I suspect our generally mild outdoor climate has a lot to do with this.

New Zealand

New Zealand is totally different to Australia, geologically, culturally and accent. They speak a form of Scottish English where a "bag of chips" becomes a "puttle of chups". Kiwis often pronounce the short e (as in get or pen) closer to an i sound (git or pin). They have an especially annoying habit of beating Australia at rugby with a population about the size of Sydney!

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a strange place, French but not really French but certainly tropically beautiful. A restaurant run by singing nuns was something different as was reef shark feeding.

Isle of Pines

Pirogues

As a sailor I was fascinated by these ancient Polynesian sailing vessels.