tbutler

Take it easy on Jim.Grove guys. Yes his answer was a little bit flip but I can assure you that when this forum started there was a core of posters who were very friendly, often teasing and sometimes poking fun of one another. This developed into a friendly back and forth between people who were posting good information and also just once in a while making good natured fun of each other. I've never met some of these people but I think I know them pretty well. I enjoyed that early give and take. Welcome newbies and encourage them, they are the life of the organization. Now, all that said, I just ran a report on Quicken. I keep track of every expense for our motor home as well as all family finances. I was amazed, the costs for everything, insurance, fuel, repairs, maintenance, etc. was just a little over a $1.15 per mile. That figure covers almost 11 years of our ownership, starting with a new coach. Maintenance or service was 38% of the total, fuel was 33% of the total, insurance was 8%, registration was 2% and parking and tolls amounted to 0.5% of the cost. That leaves 18% which covers expenses for everything from registration for RV rallies, memberships in organizations, add-ons and modifications like the bra we put on the coach before our trip to Alaska, the sun screens for every window in the coach or the automatic fire extinguisher we added to the engine compartment. It includes the replacement of our refrigerator with a household fridge several years ago. That also includes the cost of outfitting the toad for four wheel down towing with the motor home. Finally there is an expense that I categorize separately and that amounts to about $0.40 per mile traveled and that is the fees we paid for campgrounds. This isn't really a cost of maintaining the coach but if you travel you have to stay somewhere and that is our figure for our travels. We park at Wal-Mart or other non-campground location occasionally and stay with friends and relatives on their property occasionally as well. That does not include the purchase cost which would add another $2.00 per mile at our present mileage. The more you drive it, the lower that last cost will be. I do some maintenance myself, washing and cleaning, making small repairs like replacing cabinet latches, hinges and drawer slide supports. I've done a few modifications including the changeover from the old tube TV's to flat screens. I change light bulbs and flush the water system and hot water myself. I take the engines temperature and have it stick out its tongue and say ah (check the oil). All mechanical work including oil changes, etc. for the engine and the generator are done at a Cummins shop. And the other factor, this is a well used motor home. We lived full time in it from November 2003 until October 2010. If you are part time or just an occasional user, there are costs that will occur without traveling at all. You have at least an annual oil change no matter how many miles you have driven. Tires age out even if you don't drive the coach a mile. I suspect that the less you use the coach, the higher the per mile cost. Thank you for asking the question, I had never taken a good look at the total cost of ownership and operation of the motor home. I was surprised and pleasantly so. I would have guessed the numbers to be somewhat, maybe even much higher.

How much of an adventurer are you? This looks like a very interesting route. I've never been on it before so I'd go just to see what is there. There are towns with names like Stuttgart (got to be good German food there), Midway (halfway across Kansas I'd guess), McDonald (will Ronald be there?), Bird City (Is that Larry Bird?), Joes (as in Eat at ...), and just before you return to I-70 there is Last Chance. I'm sure they have gas stations, all those combines and tractors use fuel of some kind. My guess is that you might be surprised by the RV Parks or maybe city or county parks with hookups. I've taken a number of these US Highways across the plains and always found them interesting. I don't worry about campgrounds, we are self contained and can manage with just a parking place somewhere quiet. Once in a while we find a campground, other times we just settle on a parking spot that looks interesting. Along the way there may be historical markers that will give you insight into the early times of pioneers in the area. Exploring these less traveled areas is real fun if you enjoy even the small gems in life. I just checked the Allstays Camp and RV app on my iphone, There are a number of Loves service stations along that route. There is a Wal-Mart near Hiawatha, KS. Stallbaumer RV Park and Campground in Seneca Kansas has 30/50 amp electric, full hookups, etc. Wal-Mart near Marysville, Washington City Campground in Washington, KS has 20/30 amp electric and water, Rocky Pond City Park in Belleville, KS has a dump, Kandys RV Park and Campground in Belleville has 50A electric, water, internet, more, Sunset Park Campground in Smith Center, KS has pull throughs, electric and water, Phillipsburg City Park Campground has 14 sites with water/electric 20A, Prairie Dog State Park at Norton has Water and Electric 30A, Terrace Gardens RV Park in Oberlin, KS has full hookups 20/30/50A, Atwood Lions Park Campground in Atwood, KS full hookups 20/30/50A. Interestingly, I don't find any listings in Colorado so I guess you'll have to make a run for it when you hit the KS CO border! I just re-read you post and I'm going backwards, from Missouri to Colorado. Just start reading at the end of the last paragraph and read backwards! Enjoy.

After five weeks at home we packed the motor home and set out to touch base with our families. The motor home fix-it list needs some attention so we'll try to get some of those items taken care of on this trip as well. Ten years of sun and wind have taken their toll on the awnings on the windows. The fabric is fraying and seams are disintegrating. My plan was to have them replaced locally on our way out of town. I contacted our local RV repair shop, listed as a dealer on the Carefree of Colorado web site. I gave them the appropriate information but never got to talk to the parts department. After several days expecting a return call, I called again. This time I talked to the parts department and they said that our awnings had been discontinued. I asked some questions about alternates and prices. When the information wasn't forthcoming I decided to stop by the shop and talk to them personally. When I arrived the parts man was off taking care of personal business. I talked to the office assistant that I had called the first time. In the course of our discussion I found that the part number I gave them didn't match the part number the parts department had researched with Carefree of Colorado. The office assistant had the correct numbers but the transfer to the parts department had been fumbled somehow. She called Carefree of Colorado and gave them the correct part number. Viola! They did have that item in the inventory. I could get exact replacements. So they were ordered. I told them I wanted the shop to do the replacement and I also needed a state inspection. Both were scheduled for the day we were leaving town. A week passed and I called to find out the status of the replacement awning fabric. After checking with Carfree, the assistant called me back to tell me they hadn't been shipped yet. She said they wouldn't arrive in time to be installed before we had to leave. I gave her my daughters address as a shipping address. My daughter e-mailed me that they arrived there the day we left town. I guess I'll install them myself. By the way, the motor home passed the Texas State Vehicle Inspection. I've dealt with this repair shop before and had positive experiences. The shop foreman retired last year, the office assistant moved up to manager and a new assistant was hired. It is summer in the Rio Grande Valley and the shop was looking pretty idle, a few RV's in the shop but not the time of year when they are usually busy. Most RV's flee north in the spring, taking their owners with them. I didn't see the new manager until I came in for the inspection. I never saw the parts man. The office assistant seemed to be doing most of the work. Will I continue to count on this shop for parts and repair work? Maybe once more just to see if it really is that bad or was this just a fluke?

You are correct, there are books out there. One that inspired us to go full time in 2001 is so out of date with many aspects of technology and banking, etc. still has good information on handling mail and planning travel, etc. So books can be helpful but your list is up-to-date and well stated, concise. Nice posting, thanks.

I used the engine compressor for years. I finally gave up, got a small compressor on sale for less than $100 at Lowe's. It goes to 150 pounds and is much faster putting air into tires in the 110 to 120 PSI range. Besides, using the 6 cylinder diesel to do the job is a lot less efficient (0 MPG) unless you are going to warm up the engine anyway. I keep the small compressor in the basement, plugged in with the hose stored right next to it. When I turn it on, I can put the compartment door down and it hardly allows any noise outside the coach. Louise even sleeps though the process, something she doesn't do when I start the engine.

The south end of Padre Island (the town is known as South Padre Island,SPI) is a typical ocean-side resort. There is a KOA there and also a county park which many campsites. The park is Isla Blanca Park and it is near the beach. You can walk from the campground to the beach in 5 minutes or less. You can look up information on Isla Blanca Park on RV Park Reviews. Across the causeway is the mainland and the town of Port Isabel. From there you can go to Brownsville or anywhere else in the southern tip of Texas. It's a great place to be but the interior is running about 100 degrees daily at the present time. I'd stay at the beach, should be perfect - wear sunscreen! Enjoy.

We installed a Whirlpool Model ED2GVEXVD in May of 2011. I wrote up the process with photos in this forum, Replacing a Norcold Refrigerator. There is a good question and answer session that follows the initial article. We run with our inverter on all the time and thus the refrigerator is always on. We seldom boondock for extended periods but when we have running the generator for a while in the morning and/or evening will work to keep our standard four battery bank charged. In answer to the question of a direct replacement, I've never heard or read of one that fits right into the same hole in the wall. Ours required cutting the opening down about 6 inches. The hole in the outside wall should be blocked or closed off to prevent cold/warm air as well as insects from entering the coach. The Norcold refrigerator forms a tight seal with the inside wall of the coach. The replacement refrigerator does not seal the inside wall. Even if you put padding or insulation around the sides to form a seal, the bottom of our refrigerator is not sealed and would allow outside air and bugs passage into the interior of the coach. I put a wood panel over the roof opening and constructed a cover for the inside of the exterior removable panel on the coach so I can still remove that panel to access the plug in and for cleaning purposes. As to how the refrigerator looks, I was more concerned with having cold food and solid ice cream than looks but I'm very happy with the looks as well. I have all the ice I want through the door along with cold water. I never have to defrost this refrigerator and as said by others, I sleep better knowing that this refrigerator is much less likely to go up in flames.

I agree with StellarsJay's comment, the shadows are useful if you can see shadows. Howde's comment on the use of GPS and quick lane changes is spot on. I've never used the back-up camera for this purpose. I can see the side of my coach in the right hand mirror (just the edge), when the distance beyond the coach to the vehicle I just passed is equal to the length of my coach or greater, then I am clear to pull back in after passing. I have two comments on passing. On two lane roads, I try to pass only those vehicles that are traveling seriously slower than I am. I lay back a fair distance and wait for my chance. If I can get a good clear distance ahead I'll accelerate in my lane building up speed watching for new oncoming traffic. Then, when I am approaching the vehicle I want to pass I will take the passing lane and continue accelerating on past that vehicle. This allows me to quickly clear the vehicle I am passing and minimizes my time in the passing lane. On three lane or more urban highways, I drive the second lane from the right and try to keep up with traffic. This keeps the entry/exit lane open for that traffic and I don't have to be constantly changing lanes to pass slower entering or exiting traffic. When I pass those slower vehicles I will stay in the center lane. This is good driving practice and if you watch the big trucks, it is also the way they drive in urban traffic. When the GPS indicates a coming turn then I'll move to the turn lane which is usually a single lane change. On occasion when a truck comes up behind me I'll look for a clear space in the right hand lane and pull over to allow them to pass me then move back into the center lane when space permits. If this works right, you really don't do all the risky lane changes of a standard passing movement very often.

One of the questions that came up was whether we had our motor home in Australia. This is something that one might consider for an extended trip but it isn’t really feasible. There are numerous problems, the first is that the campgrounds aren’t set-up for our motor homes. The power cords we use don’t fit anything here. Current is 220V but the plug is unlike anything we use in the US. They don’t have sewer connections similar to ours, they use one inch hoses for grey water and toilets are a special kind, a small canister which holds toilet wastes. The canister is removed from the vehicle and emptied into specific dump locations. Grey water drains into sumps in some campgrounds but it is quite common to drain grey water onto the ground near the rear of your campsite. Even in campgrounds where sumps are provided for grey water people will drain to the ground if their hose isn’t long enough to reach the sumps. Utilities are not located like our in the US where the electric, water and sewer are all in one place. One electrical post has four or more outlets and would be located on the common corner of four lots in most cases. The four lots being two facing one street and two facing another street. The lots vary in size but most are fairly small. Our 40 foot motor home would not fit on most of these lots. So there are many reasons why a US motor home would be a problem when traveling in Australia and I haven’t even addressed the possible problems with driving on the left side of the road with the driver’s seat on the left side of the vehicle. With a US built vehicle, the driver position when driving on the left side of the road would put the driver on the edge of the road, not in the center of the roadway. Passing vehicles are on the right side of the car which is the far side from the driver in US vehicles. Then there are the roads. The campervan we are driving feels like a very large vehicle on many of the narrow roads here. There are trucks and large busses which travel these roads but I would not feel comfortable driving anything larger than what we have now. Also, campgrounds trim their trees for campers like ours to drag their way through the low hanging limbs and large leaves. We have seen a few large motor homes. When we started our travels in New Zealand we stopped at a rest area. As we were standing there looking at the scenery a 1990 Safari pulled in. We took pictures and the owner came over to talk to us. We told him we were amazed at seeing a US motor home in New Zealand. He said he had purchased it in the US and shipped it to New Zealand. This particular chassis was easy to move the steering wheel to the right side of the vehicle. He had the electric cord modified and a few other changes made. We asked how he felt about driving on the roads and he said he didn't travel much. He has a few places he goes to and they have a special lot for him. The only other big rig we saw is in the picture with this posting. We saw it at Exmouth in Western Australia. It had two of the Australian 220V power cords which look like a normal extension cord. We didn't visit with the owner of this rig. The final nail in the coffin as far as I’m concerned is the price of fuel. We are getting around 15 miles per gallon (in US terms) with the campervan. Fuel prices in Australia have been about $1.55 to $2.45 per liter. So here is the conversion to US terms. It takes 3.785 liters to make one gallon. Multiplying the above dollar figures times 3.785 gives us $5.87 to $9.27 per gallon. These figures are in Australian Dollars which are worth about $0.92 US at today’s exchange rate. Multiplying 0.92 times these figures gives us $5.40 to $8.53 in US Dollars for a gallon of diesel. The prices are lowest in cities and highest when you get way out into the outback, especially on highways to nowhere, those roads that are one way in and one way out. For most of the outback, we’re paying between $1.80 and $2.10 for a liter of diesel. Unfortunately, there is a whole lot of outback in Australia. Needless to say I’ve left a few dollars at Shell, CalTex and BP stations around the country. There are a few other fuel companies but these are generally the least expensive. Frequently there is only one station, no choice at many of the roadhouses in the outback. If the tank is empty, you pay the price and say thank you! With two weeks to go, we have driven about 15,000 kilometers or 10,000 miles in Australia. Most people here camp in trailers pulled by an SUV or small truck. They frequently attach a tent or screened apparatus to the side of the trailer to give them plenty of protected outdoor area. Camping trailers are almost always pull-behind trailers. We’ve seen just a few fifth wheel trailers. It is not uncommon in the outback to see camping trailers which are built for high clearance being pulled behind a beefy four wheel drive SUV which is used for the many dirt and gravel roads which penetrate the outback. The roads we are traveling which are paved are often the only road in an area with all other roads being dirt or gravel. If you really want to get away from it all in Australia it is easy, most of Australia is away from it all but you need a four wheel drive to explore this area. The alternative for us is to take tours which will haul us into those areas for day trips.

I have no experience with your particular model of motorhome. I would assume that the shade is spring loaded. Did you feel tension when you pulled it down. If not, it could be a broken spring. If there is tension but it won't release, you can try different methods of pulling down and then releasing, gently one time, rapidly another, pull down and let it snap back. If none of that works, I would take it down and take it to a shade/blinds shop to see if it can be repaired or if it will have to be replaced. Our side shade is mounted with four screws into the cabinet above, an easy job to take it down. I have had one problem with our shade. The bottom of the cabinet has a soft puffy ceiling style lining which will rub against the roller of the shade which impedes its retraction. I have installed some nylon washers on each of the four screws between the cabinet/ceiling material and the shade mounting hardware. This gives it additional space so the roller is free to move. No more problems.

Here is another question. In a recently posted picture the ground looked rather dry, not the lush green paradise that many imagine for New Zealand. Let me assure you there are many places that are lush and green. The North Island and indeed much of New Zealand has experienced a rather dry summer. They are quite a bit behind their normal rainfall. So farming areas are dry. The moist rainforests, protected by shade from trees holds moisture better and tree roots help the forest absorb almost every drop of water that falls there. Right down the road from the picture of the farm on the shore is a forest preserve. The picture with this posting shows that green forest, it makes quite a contrast. There is a rainy season as well. It varies in different parts of the world but winter and spring here will be wetter than the summer or fall. I mentioned in a previous post that this is hurricane season in the southern hemisphere. Hurricanes and tropical storms will deliver large amounts of precipitation this time of year but they are hit and miss and everyone pretty much is rooting for a miss on that rain. Louise and I had compared some of the places we were seeing with what we are used to seeing in California during fall visits when the hills are a golden brown color. Some areas here look like that right now. There is some irrigation here but not too much. We have seen only a few of the large sprinkling systems that are common throughout the prairie in the US.

I’ve had several commenters ask questions so I’ll take a little time to answer one of them here. This was written in February and I’m posting it now that our trip has ended. Regarding the nature of the night sky here in New Zealand. First let me say that you don’t have to go far outside the large cities to experience some of the best dark skies you can imagine. The population is spread thin outside the major cities. One in three people live in Auckland and 85% of New Zealanders live in cities or towns so that leaves just 15% for the rural countryside. On the South Island the population is spread really thin with much of the area being mountainous. The Milky Way stands out brilliantly from most everywhere on both the islands. This alone can confuse the casual visitor. There are few places in the US where you can see as many stars in the sky as you will here in New Zealand. That is simply because it is almost impossible to get far from centers of population in the US and we have a love of light at night. So we light up the night sky to an extent that hides many stars. See The Globe at Night website for more information about light pollution in the US. In major cities you will only see a handful of stars, the brightest planets, our Moon and Sun. Fill the sky with stars and it’s hard to pick out the familiar groupings you may know. Now, as far as recognizing constellations, there are three challenges to be met. The first is that when you look to the south you are seeing stars that an inhabitant of the northern hemisphere never gets to see until they cross the equator. This is one of the great treats of crossing the equator. The whole of the south circumpolar region is completely new. It would be like someone from New Zealand coming to the northern hemisphere and seeing the north circumpolar stars, the Big Dipper or Ursa Major and Little Dipper or Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Perseus, Andromeda, and Draco would all just look like a jumble of stars until they picked up a star chart and began to pick out the patterns of those constellations. The second challenge is that the portion of the sky that we are familiar with is all upside down. As we look at the sky in the northern hemisphere, the projection of Earth’s equator onto the sky would form an arc from east to west and at its highest point will be south of the zenith (the zenith is the spot straight above your head projected onto the sky). Everyone has their own personal zenith and it changes as we move about the planet. The equator is south of our zenith in the northern hemisphere. The further north you are, the further to the south the equator will be. Take the constellation Orion as an example. Earth’s equator passes right through the belt of Orion. When we look at Orion from the northern hemisphere, the star Betelgeuse forms one shoulder and is well above (to the north of) the equator. The star Rigel forms one knee and is well below (to the south of) the equator, thus Orion seems to be standing upright with his head toward our zenith (our head) and his feet toward the southern horizon in line with our feet. Now imagine seeing Orion from the southern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, your zenith is south of the equator. When you look to Orion, you are facing north. In the northern hemisphere you were facing south. This causes a left right reversal. So now, Betelgeuse is upside down and the star Betelgeuse is to your right instead of the left as we are used to seeing it from the northern hemisphere. That means that every constellation we see will be left-right reversed. And this is the third challenge to recognizing the constellations which are familiar to us. So the entire sky is now rich with stars, upside down and backwards (left-right reversed) and there is a whole cast of new characters around the South Pole that you only see from the southern hemisphere. Even for a seasoned observer of the sky, this presents challenges. The casual observer may want to enlist the help of a guide! Or, you could just stand on your head and wear sunglasses to observe the stars! Watching the sun during the day presents the same problems. When the sun rises in the east for us in the northern hemisphere we watch it move across the southern sky and it sets in the west. As we do this we are facing south and the sun seems to move from left (east) to right (west). In the southern hemisphere, it will rise in the east, move across the northern horizon and set in the west. Facing north, the sun will move from right (east) to left (west). So the sun seems to move across the sky in the opposite direction because we are turned around. This also applies to the motion of the stars at night. I have been an avid observer of the sky for many years and figuring all this out has been an interesting challenge.

Thanks for the heads-up, this is our usual route back to south Texas each fall. We'll plan a different route this fall.

We had a KVH TracVision SL on our motorhome when we purchased it new in November 2003. We were experiencing problems with it and replaced it with another KVH (used) in 2008 and when that failed we got a KVH in 2010 because it was cheaper to buy a new model on Amazon than it was to ship the old one back and pay for analysis and repair. That will be our last one... When this one fails, we'll go to one of the newer type without the dome. Just a personal choice, the dome looks nice but isn't that functional. We can get things analyzed in the field but for big repairs it is pull-it-off and ship-it-back to the factory! Add their charge for repair to the shipping and it makes it economically unfeasible to repair the unit. You can go to a local dealer and get them to query and analyze the on-board computer. We had this done on the original model and it was fixed but eventually gave out and became unusable.

Check your owners manual before disconnecting. There is usually a list of things that should be shut off using their own switches before you pull the cable off the batteries. Likewise, these will have to be turned on after you reconnect the cable on the new batteries.

Suva is the capital city of Fiji. It is located on the southeast side of Viti Levu, the largest island in the Fiji Islands. Our cruise started when we departed the western side of the island from Lautoka. Suva is the largest city in Fiji. Within view of our ship at the dock we can see the downtown area of Suva. There is a huge bus station. Most of the inhabitants don’t own automobiles so they depend heavily on public transportation. There are three large sheds, each with a half dozen parking spots for the city busses. A constant flow of busses into and out of this area indicates the thriving nature of this city. Located right next to the bus depot is a huge vegetable market. We walked through the market marveling at the amazing variety of food displayed for sale. There were vendors with tables full of fruits and vegetables. Many vendors simply had a cloth spread on the pavement with their wares displayed for sale there. Leaving the market we walked toward the larger buildings. We browsed our way through several shops and stores. This would be our last shopping stop in Fiji and the last for the cruise. We picked up a final few Fiji souvenirs at a shop which featured goods made by local artists. Louise found a shop that sold Indian garb. After selecting a few scarves for our granddaughters she tried on a sari and fell in love with it. She picked out accessories to complete the ensemble and then wore it for the evening meal and entertainment. The overnight cruise returned us to our starting point in Lautoka where we disembarked at 9:00 a.m. We had reserved a hotel, the Gateway Hotel in Nadi, for the night which would allow us to adjust for any schedule changes in the cruise schedule. Nadi is the location of the international airport and the Gateway Hotel was right across the road from the airport. The Gateway turned out to be a delightful surprise. The hotel was really nice with excellent rooms and beautiful grounds. The staff welcomed us and checked us into our room well before normal check-in time. They also knew our flight would not be leaving until late the next day and extended our check-out time to noon. We enjoyed meals and relaxing at the hotel. The extended check-out time gave us time in the room the next morning to do our final packing for our trip back to the US. On Sunday evening, June 15 we boarded a Fiji Airlines flight to Los Angeles. After flying through the night and crossing the International Date Line, we arrived in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 15, approximately 7 hours before we left Nadi, Fiji. In Los Angeles we now had a seven hour wait for our flight back to Houston and on to McAllen, Texas. We finally arrived in McAllen at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, June 16 and took a taxi to our house at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg. We were back home for the first time since leaving for New Zealand, Australia and Fiji on January 29, 2014. It had been one fantastic vacation.

After two days at sea we arrived at Savusavu, Fiji. The city of Savusavu is located on Vanua Levu, one of two large islands in the island nation of Fiji. There are dozens of other islands in the group of islands that make up Fiji. At Savusavu, we had a tour to Wiasali Rainforest Reserve. Billed as a strenuous hike, this lived up to its billing. There were 15 people on this shore excursion. Eleven members of our group fit into a van and the remainder of us rode to the reserve by taxi. Louise and I had the first taxi, the remaining two people had the last taxi. We arrived before the van which had stopped to fuel up on the way to the reserve. The rainforest reserve was about a 40 minute ride from the town of Savusavu where our ship was anchored offshore. Once the rest of the group arrived we were welcomed by our guide. The official language of Fiji is French and our guide was partially fluent in English. He had some difficulty translating names of plants into English. As we started down the trail we were going down into a deep valley in the rainforest. Our guide walked ahead of us pointing out orchids, palms and other plants along the trail. Unfortunately the trail was a narrow single file trail. That meant that the group was strung out for some distance. Louise and I were the second and third people in line and if we walked quickly we could hear what he was saying to the first person behind him. We asked him to stop repeatedly so others in the group could hear what he was saying but it was no use, he wanted to keep going. We tried asking questions which would allow the group to catch up and that worked sometimes. We saw a number of different kinds of orchids on the walk and heard a Barking Pigeon but never saw it. Actually I may have seen it flying but at a distance it is hard to get enough details from a flying bird to truly identify the bird to its species. The bird I saw was a pigeon and was the correct color but never having seen one before and not having a guide book to consult, I can’t claim to have seen a Barking Pigeon. Hearing it was enough to be able to say that this bird had an appropriate name, it really did sound like a barking animal. Reaching the bottom of the valley we paused for a few minutes along a small stream and enjoyed the view and the cool air near the water. Our guide lifted a long leaf submerged in the water and stirred up a crawdad-like animal in a pool in the stream. Then we began our climb back to the top of the hill. The trail was a loop trail so this was new territory. The trail was as steep as the trail down with many steps, some normal size and others being twice as high as a normal step even a few that were larger. They were at least constructed steps and we weren’t climbing up rock steps which can have uneven surfaces and be a challenge to find the best place to step on each step. Since we were trying to keep up with our guide we didn’t have much time to look around as we climbed the hill. Again we managed to stop him with a few questions. Louise and I decided that we would think seriously about just doing these explorations on our own. This particular shore activity was fairly pricey and we could have easily hired a cab and taken our time exploring rather than getting the trip that we did. So we put that in our memories. We aren’t the kind of people who like tours. I like having the freedom of not being on a schedule and having to rush through things. Likewise I like to be able to pause and look at things that interest me, take some pictures and then continue on the trail. When we returned to the town we had some time to walk around and explore some shops and vendor booths before we returned to the ship. The theme for the night was dressing as Fijians so we both got a good warm shower and put on our finest souvenir Polynesian clothes for dinner. We skipped the show for the evening and went to our room for some rest after a stressful day on shore.

We had two sea days on our way from Noumea, New Caledonia to Fiji. Both Louise and I enjoy the enforced relaxation of the sea days. There is plenty to do on the ship not the least of which is to just relax. Louise enjoys playing cards and I enjoy relaxing in the sun or shade of the upper decks. Our stateroom is on the lowest passenger level located mid-ship which is our preferred location. Being both low and in the center of the ship, we experience less movement than almost anyone else on the ship. Louise experiences motion sickness and this was a special concern on this trip. We are on the Pacific Ocean which can be anything but pacific. The Paul Gauguin is a small ship for a cruise ship. I equate ship size with stability and minimal motion. The Paul Gauguin surprises us because it is more stable than we expected but the Pacific Ocean is performing as expected, it has at times been a rough ride. Despite being on the lowest passenger deck, our stateroom is quite comfortable. It is larger and more luxurious than any stateroom we’ve had before. We have a full bathtub, good counter space in the bathroom and a regular European style toilet. There are two closets plus drawer space for clothes and plenty of other cabinet space for our belongings. What looks like a window in the photo is actually two portholes just above the waterline so we have a good look at the sea any time we want! We have a fridge stocked with soft drinks and beer. All meals are included in the tour package as well as all drinks including the minibar in the room. Room service is also included, no charge. Three restaurants operate during meal hours. There is no buffet open all day long. This is fine with us, snacks are available at any of the bars. The food has been excellent and the service is fantastic. As with most cruise ships there are plenty of on-board activities, performances, games, bars and casino. The entertainment has a decidedly Pacific Island twist with both the on-board band and the performers being from the area. Louise formed a bond with the group of bridge players the first day at sea and they play on sea days regularly. We've met no end of friendly people on board. Most of the passengers are from the US or Canada with a few from Britain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

Noumea is the capital of New Caledonia. It is the largest city in these islands and has many multi story buildings in the business district and also condominiums and apartments in buildings up to ten stories high. Located on the island of New Caledonia is a large port with shipping facilities as well as docks for cruise ships. We were within walking distance of the city center. Within sight of our ship was the major portion of population and in the opposite direction a large nickel smelting operation. Nickel mining is the heart of the economy of New Caledonia. We had two days in port in Noumea. During our stay we took two guided tours on the island. The first was a tour of the botanical garden and bird sanctuary. We were driven by bus to the garden and then toured on foot with a guide. French is the first language of the people here but many including our guide also speak English. We were introduced to a number of trees common on the islands and also saw many of the birds which are common here as well. Other than the waterfowl, the birds were all caged. Louise and I took our binoculars which we found to be very helpful in observing the birds, even those in the cages. Tropical birds have such wonderful colors we enjoyed being able to see them as best we could. The binoculars help by gathering more light which makes the colors more vivid. Even birds in the shadows show nice color in the binoculars. Of course they also help us see more detail that would be missed without magnification. The first evening in port in Noumea we were entertained by a local group performing native songs and dances in the theater on board the ship. A troupe of five women and four men entertained us for about 40 minutes. They had two guitars and three ukuleles, all other instruments were made of materials used by the indigenous people. It was a high energy performance with men dancing for one number and then women dancing for the next. Our second tour was the following morning. We were taken by bus to a park on the Dumbea River just a few miles outside Noumea. There we were given instruction on kayaking before launching our kayaks for a trip upstream. With about 10 kayaks in the group, we were a small enough group to see and hear our guide throughout the trip. The Dumbea River is a source of drinking water for the city of Noumea and is known for its wildlife. At our put in point, the river is near enough to sea level to be partly salt water but as we move upstream it is all freshwater. After about an hour working our way upstream, we stopped. Those who wanted could swim, we and another couple chose to continue kayaking on upstream for a short distance. This allowed us to get away from the large group and move more quietly. We saw several flocks of birds and some ducks on this part of the trip. We were back at the ship by lunchtime. Having developed a good apatite during the morning, food was welcome. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the ship. At 6:00 p.m. we left port sailing for our next stop in the Fiji Islands.

New Caledonia is a French colonial possession. The entire country remains under the control of the French. There is a pending election scheduled for 2018 which could result in the independence of the country. The Iles de Pins (French for Isle of Pines) was named by Captain Cook who was impressed by the tall pine trees on this island. Our ship, the m/s Paul Gauguin which operates out of Tahiti is a small cruise ship, 320 passengers plus a crew of about 200. Its small size and shallow draft allows it to get close to smaller islands and into smaller ports than some of the very large ships. At the Isle of Pines we anchored off shore and were transported to the dock by tenders. The island wraps around a large bay and this reduces the surf. There were no problems operating the tenders here. The island is relatively small and we didn’t schedule a tour here but did spend the day walking the beach and looking for local birds. We saw several interesting birds but having no bird book, we couldn’t put a name on any of them, only make a guess about the genus of the bird. We did note their markings in hopes of learning more about them when we have internet to do a thorough search. All of the trees were interesting but the pines were quite spectacular. Tall and straight, they tower over the rest of the forest. I imagine that they were more abundant when Captain Cook saw them. Today they are widely scattered among the smaller trees. The beach on this island was made of a very fine sand, almost a powder. It likely wasn’t the usual quartz that makes up most sand but I didn’t have the means to examine it more closely. It was very soft and pleasant to walk on this beach. There were some small pieces of pumice floating in the surf and being lighter than water they accumulated at the top of the beach in a zone of pebbles. The vegetation is very dense with trees forming a solid canopy even over the roads. The Isle of Pines is sometimes described as the island closest to paradise and I would agree with that description. It was the most beautiful island we have seen on this trip. On part of our walk we were on a narrow neck of land which had ocean on both sides. Just a few feet of sea level rise will divide the island into two separate islands. We saw several resorts on our walk. They welcomed us to walk the beach and to visit their restaurants but restricted other facilities to their guests only. Certainly a friendly an attitude as one could expect. Once again we spent a little time shopping at several stands near the dock. They had a nice selection of clothing and souvenirs. Louise found a nice wrap for informal wear and several small brass geckos. New Caledonia currency is the Pacific French Franc (XPF) which is pegged to the Euro. The exchange rate for us was 86 francs to the US dollar. That makes a franc worth just a little more than a penny. So prices were in the 1500 franc range which sounds like a lot of money but really isn’t. This is the first island we’ve encountered on this cruise where these small tourist shops accept credit cards.

By evening on Wednesday the seas had calmed somewhat and the ride to our next stop is much gentler than the previous days ride. Our route took us further west and south. The day was cool with light winds. The captain informed us that we were cruising at a relaxed 7 knots, down from the 12 knots of previous days. We had plenty of time to reach our next island paradise, Lifou, part of the Loyalty Island group. On Lifou, we toured a botanical garden and vanilla farm. The botanical garden tour was interesting with many plants we had never seen before. Some looked similar to those we know from the US but many others were completely new. There were flowers of many colors and a few interesting birds as well. The vanilla farming was new to us. Vanilla plants were introduced here in the late 1800’s. Unfortunately, the island has no insects which are capable of fertilizing the flowers. Wisely, the farmers have declined to introduce any new insects to the island to fertilize the flowers. Farmers here have to do the fertilization by hand, one flower at a time. This limits the size of a crop to the quantity that can be hand fertilized by the workers on any particular farm. The total production of vanilla beans from Lifou are consumed within New Caledonia. Sugar cane farming is important in the islands and it is used for rum which consumes much of the vanilla production. Following the visit to the botanical garden and vanilla farm we were taken to the Cliffs of Jokin, a scenic area along the northern shore of the island. The road to this area was single lane. We never met another vehicle but had that happened, one vehicle would have to pull aside into the brush for the other vehicle to pass. The cliffs themselves provided a high overlook on the lagoon below. The waters were a beautiful blue green with a clarity that allows looking at the bottom of the lagoon. The island is an uplifted coral atoll and the cliffs are ancient coral reef. We walked down 200 to the lagoon which gave us a good view of the cliff face. It is quite a beautiful area with the dark cliffs, some shallow caves and a small island near the base of the cliffs. We lingered here before returning to our bus. Once we returned to the dock area we spent some time browsing the market area set up for tourists. There was a dancing group performing at the market. With bamboo columns pounding on ground for drums and ankle bracelets of shells they danced and sang. The group consisted of two young girls, the older was the song leader. Her role was to start each song with the others chiming in after a note or two. There was on adult woman and three young men. The young men sang and danced. Their faces were painted and unlike the smiling girls, they were serious, striking a variety of threatening poses. Two older women worked out front of the dancers, quickly weaving palm leaves into baskets. We picked out a sundress for Louise and a shirt for me. We wore them to dinner that evening. Since retiring I have adopted tropical wear for my formal attire and the shirt certainly fits the bill. Louise in her sundress becomes a bird of paradise, everyone noticed how beautiful she was wearing the bright dress covered with hibiscus.

This is the cruise that started the whole trip to New Zealand and Australia. We signed on for the cruise and later decided to make it part of a longer trip. Now with our exploration of New Zealand and Australia behind us we are exploring another part of the world. Our cruise started in Fiji on Saturday, May 31 in Lautoka, Fiji. Leaving Lautoka at sunset we sail for a day and a half to the island nation of Vanuatu. Once known as the New Hebrides Islands, this group of many islands is sparsely inhabited with many small villages on each island. We visited three islands starting in the north at the island of Ambrym and traveling south to Efate and then Tanna. At Ambrym we were stationed offshore near a small village. Known as the Black Island for its practice of black magic and its black sandy beaches, Ambrym has a population of 8000 on an island about 20 miles in length. There are two volcanoes on the island and we were planning to visit one of those volcanoes in a driving tour and hike to the volcano rim. That tour was canceled so we missed our chance to visit the island. There was one tour that did go ashore for a welcoming ceremony which included a native dance which features custom made masks. Those who were on the tour said it was quite an impressive ceremony. At the island group known as Efate, we put in at Port Vila, the capital of these islands. These islands are like a state in Vanuatu. This is a commercial center for the islands and has shops and stores that you would expect in a poor nation. We signed up for a tour that included a visit to the Hawksbill Turtle Sanctuary on Tranquility Island. We were driven in vans through the city to a small harbor and transported by small boat to a larger sailboat. From there we were transported across Havana Harbor to Tranquility Island. On the way across Havana Harbor we are told that the harbor hosted many Allied warships during WW II, serving as a servicing and replenishment base for those ships. The harbor was named for the British warship, of the same name. During our visit to the Hawksbill Turtle Sanctuary we learn about their mission to prevent the extinction of these beautiful turtles from this part of the Pacific Ocean. We were served a barbeque featuring local fruits, vegetables, breads and meat. Following lunch those who wanted could snorkel the reef just offshore of the island. We took the boat ride to the reef and spent a half hour snorkeling an amazing reef. It wasn’t huge but it sported an amazing array of coral and a wide variety of reef fish. Tanna was our third and last island in the Vanuatu islands. As we continue south the weather gets cooler. This is after all the southern hemisphere and we are weeks away from the beginning of winter. The voyage from Port Vila to Tanna had been a rough ride with the ship rolling constantly. At Tanna we were not in port but were stationed off shore with service to the shore on tenders. We had signed on for a beach day with tender transportation to the beach. That tour was canceled due to rough seas. Operation of the tenders for the remaining tours was very slow due to the high swell. Even with two tenders running it took until noon to get everyone who had a scheduled tour to the shore. Shortly after noon one of the tenders broke down so the entire effort was shifted to getting everyone on board. We spent the day relaxing on board the ship.

May 29, Thursday, we bid farewell to Australia. After three months our Australian adventure comes to a close. A van to the airport, check in with the airlines and proceed through security and we’re on our way. Of course it just doesn’t happen that quickly. We awoke at 5:00 a.m. to catch a shuttle at 5:30 to the airport. By the time we’ve checked our baggage, it is 6:30. We’re given an exit card to complete to clear customs and immigration as we leave Australia. We stopped for breakfast and this gives us a table and time to complete the questions on the card. Louise picked up several books (3 to be exact) because you just can’t find books everywhere anymore and it is a long flight to our next stop in Auckland, New Zealand. Five hours later we were in New Zealand. It really wasn’t five hours in the air, there is a two hour time change between New Zealand and Australia. The country has a wonderfully familiar look. We were here four months ago! Our hotel was near the airport and we got a shuttle to take us to the hotel. A nice room with a Jacuzzi greeted us and we both got our money’s worth from that Jacuzzi! Our night was short again, we were up before 7:00 a.m. to be ready for the airport shuttle at 7:30. Grab the bags and run – that’s our motto. We got cards to clear customs and immigration in New Zealand and then on the plane we got arrival cards for Fiji. The flight to Fiji is a short hop, 2 hours and 30 minutes straight to the north of Auckland. We arrive shortly after 2:00 in the afternoon. Transport to our hotel in Lautoka just 20 miles away is quickly arranged. We are sharing a van with another couple and their two children. They are from New Zealand on a winter vacation to Fiji. The ride to Lautoka is an awakening. We are in a genuine third world country. For all its romantic image, the nation of Fiji is a very poor country. Poverty is evident everywhere. Our hotel, the Tanoa Waterfront Hotel is a quality hotel and our room is very nice. The food at the restaurant is excellent. After two early mornings we slept in late. Check out is 11:00 a.m. and we have three or four hours after that until our cruise boards. We got lunch and then relaxed in the lobby until time to get a cab to the docks for our cruise. It is a five minute ride to the dock and then a half hour wait with the rest of the arriving crowd until we are able to board.

By Tuesday we had accomplished all our first priority activities for our stay in Sydney. The forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday was a chance of rain but the rain never materialized. We left the hotel and took a city bus downtown to Circular Key, the heart of the transportation hub in Sydney. The bus route terminates near the ferry terminal and the commuter train station. We went to the ferry terminal and located the Manly Fast Ferry, a ferry service for people traveling to and from destinations within the Sydney harbor to the south of Sydney. It is not a tour boat but we used it as one. At the ticket office, we inquire about the ferry. The lady at the window says I’ve got a ferry just for you. She motioned toward the boat at the dock behind her and said it was about to depart and we could purchase our tickets on board. We hustled down the dock to the ferry and were welcomed by a young man who directed us across the gangplank and promptly pulled it in behind us. The lady in the ticket booth was correct, we were the only passengers on the ferry as it left the dock. We took seats on the top deck, an open air deck, which facilitated photography. Leaving the dock we got a harbor view of the Sydney Opera House. This was the only way to see the front of this amazing building. Among the stops were the Sydney Zoo and a National Park on the site of an early 1900’s immigration station. Manly is a community near the mouth of the harbor. All along the route we see one harbor after another with dozens of boats moored in each one. Beautiful homes crowd the hills along the harbor. In Manly we see many condominiums with harbor views. Our ride was suggested to us by an exhibitor at Vivid Sydney. He said you haven’t really seen Sydney until you have seen it from the harbor. He was correct. The ride around the harbor was a completely different view of this thriving city. Sydney is a city built around a harbor and they love their harbor. The Manly Fast Ferry is only one of the ferries that operate here. The City of Sydney also has an extensive ferry line that serves all areas of the harbor. There is a constant flow of ferry traffic into the ferry terminal day and night. Sydney has almost one quarter of the entire population of Australia. With nearly 4 million people, there is a life to the city that is found only in the largest of cities in the US. Our hotel was about 3 miles from the center of downtown Sydney. Foot traffic is heavy from downtown all the way out to our hotel all day long and well into the night. It is not uncommon to wait at a cross walk with 20 other people facing another group of equal size on the other side of the intersection. At ten in the evening we were surrounded by other pedestrians and felt quite safe. Sydney has a very diverse population. Its proximity to the Orient accounts for a large percentage of people from that area. We also met many people who were recent immigrants from European countries. One thing that stood out in our experience was the completely peaceful nature of the crowds of people. We saw no rowdy behavior or violence. Graffiti was rare and people were friendly, willing to strike up a conversation with us, total strangers. I even had one young man ask me how to use his Sony digital camera to photograph the night lights of Sydney. Not being familiar with his camera I couldn’t offer him much help but tried to give him some idea what the numbers on his digital display meant. We rode a city bus back toward the hotel but got off a few blocks away to get dinner at the Three Wise Monkeys Bar, now a favorite of ours. Once again we got a seat at the window and enjoyed watching the passing parade on the sidewalks of Sydney.

Our third day in Sydney, Monday, May 26, is a big day. We start out with a second ride on the tour bus. We purchased a two-day ticket. There are two routes for the scenic drives, this one takes us south of the city to Bondi Beach and then back to the city. We remained in the urban area the whole trip but are away from the large buildings of city center. This trip was interesting as we traveled through many older parts of the city. Bondi Beach itself is a gorgeous wide beach with a nice surf. Across the road from the beach is a whole community built up around the beach. It is similar to many of the popular beaches in southern California. When we returned to town we got off the bus at The Australian Museum. From there we walked down toward the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We stopped to get ice cream at a little shop near the bridge. Then we were on to Bridge Climb Sydney. We had reserved a sunset climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. We would start our adventure at 3:05 in the afternoon and finish about 7:00 in the evening. Once we checked in, we were met by an employee who escorted us in and took us through signing the liability release form. Then we were given our bridge climb coveralls. We changed clothes, leaving behind all metal and all personal objects except eyeglasses and stud earrings. Then we passed through a magnetometer to ensure we had no metal objects in our possession. With the security check complete we met our guide, Nick, who would take us to the top of the bridge. Now we were outfitted with a safety belt with an interface to hook us into the safety cable that guided us along our walk. We received a radio receiver and headset so we could hear our guide. We also got a pack with a fleece sweater to wear if we needed an additional layer of clothes to keep warm. We were given a headband flashlight and finally a handkerchief and a hat. All of these things were hooked onto our coverall suit so that nothing was able to fall onto the bridge below us. The final preparation was to practice going up a ladder and down a ladder. Once all this was done we slid our safety harness line onto a safety cable and were out the door and onto the bridge. We exited the door and were already about 20 feet above the ground. Initially we walked on a catwalk well out onto the bridge. Then we began to climb, three step ladder-like sets of steps took us up another 20 meters or 60 feet. Emerging onto the top of the upper girders on the bridge, we were now on top of the bridge. Railings on either side of the three foot wide walkway give us an added sense of security. Looking around we can see onto the top of the roof of some of the tall buildings in the city! From here there we walk on top of the bridge girders. There are step platforms on the surface so we were are walking similar to the way you would walk up a widely spaced set of steps. The incline is steep at first then begins to level out near the top of the bridge. Along the way we stop and have pictures taken by our guide. At the top, 436 feet above the bay below, we all give a cheer. Everyone in our group makes it to the top without any problem. Our guide, Nick, has kept up a constant patter of information about the bridge, Sydney, Australia, and much more. His commentary gives us something else to think about than the height above the waters of the bay below. As we reach the top, the sun is setting in the west. Sunset colors in the sky reflect off the waters of the bay. Sidney bay is a labyrinth of water, islands and peninsulas. Standing atop the bridge we are able to see the patchwork of water highlighted by the skylight reflections. How I wish I had my camera. I would have taken hundreds of pictures! Soon it is time to begin our descent. We stop for one last round of pictures with the lighted city in the background. As we are about to leave the bridge Vivid Sydney lights up the Sydney Opera House and we can see it from the bridge. Then it is back down to Earth. We reverse the dressing procedure removing all our equipment and are out to the gift shop. We get our certificates with a picture of our group as part of the deal. We also purchase the set of pictures taken of us as we climbed the bridge. With that challenge behind us, we found a restaurant, the Waterfront Restaurant. We were able to get reservations for 8:30 which was an hour and a half from the time of the reservations. I was prepared. I had my tripod with me so I could photograph some of the Vivid light displays. I visited a number of the displays in the area and also spent time photographing the Opera House. Time arrived and we got a table right by the wall that separated the dining area from the dock area with the displays. We enjoyed our first real restaurant meal in Sydney spending an amazing amount of money for a simple meal, a bottle of wine and desert. We had wonderful service and enjoyed the evening. On the way home I continued photographing lighting displays including the Museum of Art which had the whole building covered with a constantly changing design. There were other buildings with displays, one had a forest that bloomed, leaves came out then the colors changed and the leaves fell off and finally took you back to the bare trees again. We talked with one exhibitor who told about how their group had developed their display. We had a nice conversation and picked up a suggestion for the next day.