Fort Myers

We have been sunning ourselves down on the Gulf Coast in Fort Myers. I think you need a fortress to get away from the election hype. Although both candidates have laid out their plans, their adverts are still knocking one another. It looks at the moment if Obama has it in his hands to lose, but only time will tell.

Its very nice and relaxing down on the beach at the fort. Nice beaches all the way down to Naples. We had lunch on the dock in the old fisherman's area - called Tin City, I think. We lounged around, watched the sunsets and wandered back to the cocktail bar for drinks and appetizers. Pretty relaxing - I was relaxed as a newt.

Visited the Calusa nature centre - rescued birds and animals and a planetarium. OK but pretty basic, next to no visitors. I don't know if they can keep going at $9 per adult and only 20 visitors per day. Perhaps they do better in the summer. The planetarium was very relaxing, I missed most of the moons of Jupiter as I was staring at the back of my eyelids. I wonder if I could get a planetarium projected onto my bedroom ceiling. Must be better for you than all them tablets!

Linda likes to lecture everyone in the family about the risks of tanning. Guess who got burnt on the last day? I just could not bite my tongue(who me?), so I was in the doghouse.

We seem to be getting to grips with some of the financial crisis in some shape or form, I guess someone's making money out of it. I don't really understand all the figures, but I read that about 2% are in foreclosure, lets say that's some 3-4 million homes worth, at a guess 600 to $800 billions. Is this enough to make banks in every country (except Iran) in trouble. I know other countries have bad home loan debt, but nothing like the level of the US. It doesn't feel like it to me, yet all the banks are rushing to grab tax payers money. It smells fishy to me.

I suspect we are about to run into a retail crash in the US as well. There are already loads of retail outlets in the shape of malls, yet massive new malls continue to be built. I can just see the Mall company board meetings - "We are having a downturn - spending is dropping off - malls have so few people in them. What shall we do? I know, lets build more malls" Where will it all end? Tumbleweed malls. I guess. Still, the government can buy all of these with tax dollars and house foreclosed families. Sounds like "Dawn of the Dead" with CEO's and bankers playing the parts of the zombies.

Election Special

We have finished the world trip but we are back in the US for winter. We've been here for a month nearly now and we are worn out. The TV is so, so frustrating. Everytime you switch on, the presidential election is on. You used to get some relief with the adverts, but not now. The two candidates have taken all the advertising space as well. I don't really understand it - in one camp you have Army Camp O'Bama ( he may be Irish with a name like that) and in the other you have Keith Richardson ( I know he was moving, but when he said Washington, I thought that was somewhere up in the north of England). I attach pictures so you know who I mean.

This is O'Bama


This is Keith
Anyway, Keith says you can't trust O'Bama, or anyone with a name like Army Camp and he's much too young. Keith seems to have a nice lady in tow, Sarah, I think her name is. Keith told me she is his running mate. I've never seen Keith go running anywhere, so I don't know about a running mate. I wonder if Lynda know anything about her. Dark horse, that Keith. She's quite pretty, better than John Prescott anyway. Maybe Sarah has some Red Indian blood and Running Mate is her surname.


Sarah Running Mate

I don't know what's going on at all. Someone's fixed the petrol prices, but the stock prices are all shit. Perhaps they're selling stock to buy petrol.

I am fed up with Orlando & Kissimmee, and me and the old dear are on our way to Fort Myers for a break. It will be good to get behind the ramparts with all this election nonsense going on.

Speak soon, your correspondent in Florida

Wally

Final Review - Its a wind up!

We have been back home for a couple of weeks, trying to get settled in and have had time to reflect and ponder. Its difficult to write a review after so long but here are some bullets about the whole deal.
1. Would we do it again - Definitely, we are thinking of a different route next time, perhaps China, Pacific Islands, South America, Africa
2. Where did we like best - Difficult, this is how I can best put it
#Rajahstan in India was fantastic, the places we visited were great but the historic train made it so easy. It might be harder driving around.
#Preferred Aus to NZ
#Liked E coast Aus better than W coast Aus, really enjoyed the run up the coast and swimming on the Gt Barrier
#Melbourne more than Sydney
#Uluru, Ayers Rock overrated
#There is no wild life in Australia
#Kiwis don't exist
#Pacific islands are nicer than Carribbean
#Take less clothes & more money
3. Would you do things differently next time. - If we went the same countries, we would go to Kerula in India, more far east countries, miss out W Aus, make sure you are in NZ S Island when the weather is good, tour whole NZ in one go.
4. Hotels - pre-booking first nights stay on arrival and then booking as we went worked well, no real problems. Look for deals direct with hotels, I got some better deals than were available with agents on Internet.
5. Tripadvisor was good but read between lines and who is writing - what is good for a teenage backpacker may not be good fro a silver surfer.
6. Car Hire - watch out for the rip off insurance coverage provided by hire companies to get rid of excesses. You can get it for one third the cost with reputable insurers, book before you hire.
Hope you found this enjoyable/useful - I certainly enjoyed writing it. If you want any advice Email me on wally_spooner@blueyonder.co.uk

USA: Orlando Florida

Well, we are here in the villa in Florida and our lifestyle has changed. We are no longer traipsing about, instead lying in bed 'till 10:00, swimming in the pool, lounging around, going to parties and catching up with our US pals. Well, someone has to do it! The flight from San Diego was pretty good with South West, leaving on time and arriving early at MCO. We flew over Texas, which at the time was experiencing some Tornado activity. I don't know if this disturbed the air at altitude, but even flying at 39,000 was pretty bumpy at times - you know the sudden little drops that make you grab the arm rest and squeal like a girl. Great aerial sunset.

The zoo in San Diego was pretty cool, we learnt that gorillas like to eat their own shit. That big silver back was relaxing in the sun doing just that, straight ATM. The polar bear in the picture was huge, probably 10 foot tall and quite a showman, he dived in to the pool and commenced to play in the water, savaging some canvas sacks and stuffing them into a little underwater cave, then blowing air bubbles into the cave and retrieving them from the top to play with them again. He came out of the pool to have a pee, there's training for you that some adults could do with, went over to a sandspot, peed and dug it over like a domestic cat.

The wildlife is pretty active here at the villa - the 'gator has been patrolling back and forth across the lake and growling at night when the Disney fireworks show starts, I guess he is a bit lonesome being the only one in the lake. The birds are in action also, the grackles and mocking birds all have their young and are busy showing them how to get a square meal. Unfortunatly so ar the raptors. A hawk came down, caught one of the young mocking birds and set about eating it in the tree near the pool. Not for long, - the grackles are so aggressive and mobbed the hawk in the tree, until it took off and then chased it, pecking at it in flight until it had left the lake area.

Went to Phil's 60th at the Gaylord Palms, very very nice. It is as the Yanks would say, an upscale buffet with food on mediterranean themes set in an "open air" restauarant in the enclosed atrium of the gaylord. The Gaylord is some place - under the atrium it has a swamp, complete with alligators and big catfish - a lagoon complete with dock, ship, fishing pier and more fish - a pirates castle with treasure - Neptunes grotto and nice planted gardens, plus all the usual swimming pools, spas, shops restaurants etc etc

Played some golf - rubbish after the long lay off, but did manage to win a Srixon hat off the nice lady promoting junior golf at the 5th. This round was golf with food thrown in dogs at the 9th, beer and lunch when we finished - all for $38. Getting ready for the flight back to blighty and end of the World Trip

San Diego

The move from Fiji to San Diego was not good. We thought we were doing the smart thing switching to the cab. Sami turned up for the 1 hour trip to the airport on time, so far so good. We set out, on what sounded suspiciously like 3 out of 4 cylinders so that most vehicles passed us. It got worse - darkness fell and Sami slowed down and drove down the middle of the white centre line. He said it was because the plentiful roadside, grazing cows might jump out on us. Fair enough, I thought, he'll follow the next truck that overtakes us at 40mph and we'll be on our way. Not so, 40mph was too much. It got darker an Sami slowed down. Next we picked up a hitch-hiker and Sami said 4 eyes on the road were better than 2. It then dawned on me that Sami's eyes may not be too good and this was reinforced when he said he had diabetes and when the hitch-hiker got out we slowed down still more. Linda was now pretty anxious judging by her grip on the seat back and the clench of her jaw. I guess the Delhi cab wasn't so bad after all. Anyway, we finally made the airport in 2 hours again. It didn't end there, we arrived at LAX. The jumbo parked after endless taxiing where we disembarked onto the tarmac to get on to buses, I ask you 450 people on buses. We then drove all the way back to the terminal to join the lovely US customs & border security queues. This was small beer for us after the Fiji experience. NIce run down the freeway to arrive in SD without problem.

We are staying on the corner of Balboa Park, which is the site of a major exhibition in 1915 and retains many of the buildings now as museums and theatres. It is set in the hills on the edge of a valley running into SD. We drove out to Sunset Cliffs on Point Loma for sundown. You will see from the picture that we didn't get a good rental car - I am not keen on red.

Can you name the plane behind the Union Jack?

The zoo was great, LInda got to see all the wildlife we missed in Aus; wobblies; koalas; funnel spiders; but no kiwis, we studied the nocturnal exhibit, but no kiwis. I think they are really extinct, but the NZ government are keeping it a secret because it their national emblem. Who would want to be in power and be blamed for not keeping the national emblem from becoming extinct. Linda had an encounter with a polar bear - that is some beast. Also really enjoyed the huge aviaries and the gorillas.



SD is home to the US Pacific Surface fleet, so we spent a lot of time in the navy lark. We spent the day touring the harbour and visiting the various naval museums. The Forrestal aircraft carrier is now a museum. That carrier has some history - from 1945 until 1990. How they keep launching and landing aircraft at 45 second intervals is some deal.

FIJI ; Heaven & Hell

Flew into Fiji last night. Good ANZ flight, super sunset, purple band on one side, fiery orange on the other as the sun went down. We were on an Airbus, funny that ANZ runs both Boeings & Airbuses.

Arived Nadi airport, Fiji 6:55, 3 planes had arrived, 3 immigration staff on duty, 2 customs lines operating, coach transfer over single carriageway, poorly maintained roads, police road blocks, every village has speed bumps, arrived hotel 10:45 - Result hell!

Resort runs on Fiji time (relaxed so time goes slow), resort is in lagoon with barrier reef 150m off shore, shaded by coconut palms, everyone friendly & welcoming, corner room with balcony overlooking the lagoon, food, drinks ice cream smashing - Result heaven! ......Bula. Really laid back and unwinding now, spent day on the lounger catching up with my books. About to spend hour on the balcony with Johnny Walker as sun goes down.

Lin owes me at least 100 spider removals. She had a salamander visit her in the shower, I heard the sqealing and rescued LIn (salamander?) Hero and in good books now. Lets see what it's worth.

2 man ( how sexist!) Kayak paddle with Lin over the barrier reef, Lin loved it. I snorkelled out as well, lots of fish, wrasse, angels, discos and I also saw a sea snake, about 45cm long, blackish and yellow bands. Jack can identify.

Dinner out on the Island, looked like we are in a boxing ring, but taking all into account, if Carling did dinners, this would probably be the best dinner this holiday - scenery, on the barrier reef looking back to the beach, singing waiters, smashing Mahi Mahi, fish swimming next to our table begging for food, great all round.

The people here are all realy nice, it's such a lovely island, I would return if in the vicinity. Getting ready to return to the hell of the airport, but we've ditched the coach for a cab! Just heard someones blown up the court house at our next destination, San Diego.

NZ: Christchurch

What are PROVIDORES, anything to do with steve? Well, we are back in NZ, now in Christchurch. We had a late flight last night and arrived at our motel at 1:30am. The flight was pretty bumpy, sudden big drops, eliciting screams from some passengers. The Super Shuttle to the motel worked well again. The Tuscana Lodge Motor Inn is very nice.

Our last place in Victoria was in Lorne, a nice motel overlooking the bay with Cockatoos on the balcony for breakfast. We finally found some kangaroos, apparently they all live on the golf courses. There are none on the land. They must be single figure handicap players, all the time they spend there! Some are better looking than some OFGM members I know.

Our final drive up the Great Ocean Drive was very nice from Lorne up to Geelong, it runs alongside the sea, lots of nice bays, hills on the landside, for most of the run. The road winds a bit, so progress is slow, with speed limits of 80kph or less for most of the way. A bit slower for us, with me looking out of the window, and Linda squeaking in protest at my late turns when I looked back at the road. Popped into Eddy's family restaurant for a massive stuffed Pita lunch in Geelong. F1 boat racing was running in the harbour - cool!

Been wandering around Christchurch, a small CBD on the Avon river, compact with nice restaurants and bars. The botanic garden looks great in its autumnal dressing. We drove out to Littleton on the first afternoon. Te whole of the peninsula down to Akaroa is volcanic with the harbours set in the craters and the crater walls forming a beautiful backdrop - except I had to drive over them, the roads are OK, but few crash barriers, similar to alpine roads you see on the Tour de France. It would have been Ok but my vertigo keeps jumping up at me. Never mind, I just closed my eyes.

Had another Alpine T-de-F over to Akaroa. Not far-to-go and the vertigo was a bit better. There is an interesting segue, as Akaroa is a an old French colony, well nearly anyway! A French whaling captain bought the whole peninsular from the Maoris, sailed back home and brought out settlers. In the meantime, dear old Albion negotiated a better deal for the whole of NZ and by the time they came back it was British, with a British warship, Britomart here. Ces't la vie. Anyway they decided to stay and Akaroa is a little bit of France in NZ. I bought a tank of essence there!. Its a lovely little town, well worth a days visit. Meeting with the old neighbours tonight for dinner.

Met Jan & Mick at their hotel for dinner, finally got to bed at 1:30am. Good evening, we laid in a bit but they had to be up at 5:00am for an early flight. We heard from them that the flight had technical problems and didn't go on time. We last saw tem in '87, they havn't really changed at all.





Spent the day at Hanmer Springs, a spa town in the foothills of the west coast mountains. We went to Thrill Seekers Canyon, a centre on the river that runs, rafting, jet boats, bungy, clay shooting, paintball, various driving things. We went on the jet boat. It was about 30km down the gorge. Pretty spectacular, 600hp, 60mph jobbies that need about 6inches of water once they are up on the plane. They skid right into the rocks and spin 360's, run up rapids - super! Linda was really brave, she had to go over a narrow unmade path on the side of the canyon to get in the boat. She gets the award of the CDM for that.



Winter has turned up here, snow is on its way the glaciers were closed to air traffic and it has rained all down the west coast for a couple of days. There are lovely autumn colours all around. Visitied Kakoura, an old whaing town that does whale watching in the summer. Pretty cold, there today, just wandered around took in the sights and whaling cottage. Raining back in Christchurch. Never mind, now going back to summer in Fiji and San Diego!