Big Island Saga

Leaving at 5am for our early flight to the Big Island we were blessed with a break in the rain, the clear skies meant the view from the plane was amazing, we saw volcanic fields on Maui and the green mountains of Molokai. We were on a trip to visit Hawaii's active volcano, that's Catherine, Dylan, Ellen and I. We had returned the rental car, a Buick, and taken a shuttle bus to the Island Air terminal where we waited for our delayed flight. We received individual security checks as a result of our overseas passports. American airline security is nothing if not predictable.

On landing at Hilo airport we discovered to our dismay that the bags were still in Honolulu. In a comical debacle involving clearly uninterested staff, we were informed that replacement necessities such as toothbrushes and toilet paper could be supplied, but that there was no guarantee of the bags being delivered within 24 hours. We managed to get an agreement to expedite the bags via Aloha Airlines, and took our leave to get supplies. After six frustrating hours we saw our stuff delivered through the little bays with the black rubber curtains. It felt good to have a towel and clean underwear. We were off! Signposts read, Volcano: 29 miles.

At Ellen's suggestion we booked a cabin in Volcanoes National Park so that we could be near to the action. As soon as we arrived we saw the huge caldera of Kilauea and the steam rising from its vents. Looking across the harsh blackened land was akin to seeing Mordor from Lord of the Rings, except tour parties snaked through the hanging cliffs and blistered earth, taking photo's and feeling the heat through their sneakers. After parking the car we trekked to a lava tube which measured about 15 feet across and 100 yards long. Formed by historic lava flows that cooled underground, the lava tube was a stark reminder of how powerful, and recent, Kilauea's eruptions have been.

At about 5pm we set off from our basic cabin towards Chain of Craters road, which snakes through the old lava fields down the Southern flank of Kilauea towards the site of the most recent volcanic activity. Here a part of the Eastern Rift Zone is spewing lava into the ocean. The eruption occurs inside the volcano and travels underground, occassionaly breaking the surface during peak flows, appearing at the shore about a mile from the carpark where we alighted with our torches and rain jackets. Throughout most of the journey we had been able to see the billowing stream of cloud gushing from the ocean edge where the magma hits it. Like the smoke from a burned-out car this mix of steam and hydrochloric acid wafts in the wind, towering above the land appearng to feed the cloudy sky above.

Thankfully it was dry, and the sun still shone while we trekked across the solidified lava. Black and sinuous like a spill of molasses across the road, here is a lava flow which engulfed the road and destroyed homes just a few decades ago. Now thousands of visitors appear every day to see the spectacle. Reaching a promontory opposite the spill, just as the sun set, we could see the red and yellow glow of the magma and the rolling billowing steam of the scorched ocean. We didn't go any farther out. Recently a bench of new land created by the flows collapsed, sending about 50 acres of solidified lava plunging into the sea. The water nearby is not only superheated, but is a strongly acidic solution of sulphur and chlorine. Although it was tempting to approach the flows, we contented our selves with watching and using a telescope provided by the Parks Dept to see close up the roiling, boiling creation of new land in Hawaii. This process spans thousands of centuries, an act of creativity that formed each of Hawaii's islands. The process is ongoing, with a new island being built on the sea floor several miles from the coast of the Big Island. One day, it too will emerge from beneath the waves.

Less than 24 hours in Sydney

Australia is four hours from New Zealand by aeroplane. It's significantly further North and therefore warmer, and was populated by man significantly earlier, by approximately 40,000 years. Australia boasts a developed mammalian fauna, resulting in fewer flightless birds than New Zealand, the Emu is an obvious example of what's left. Animals in Australia are generally big, and occasionally scary. It was the colony of fruit bats living in downtown Sydney that impressed me the most.

I stayed in a good clean hostel called the Blue Parrot located in Kings Cross. By some brand of morphic resonance this part of town is seedy, full of bars and sex shops, with more than its fair share of tramps and drug dealers. I arrived on a Saturday morning and after checking in I stepped out to see some of the city. I walked to the ferry port and took a boat across the harbour to Manly. It is good to see the city from the water because you get an idea of the scale of development, and appreciate how and why the early settlers chose the area.

Farewell to Wellington

I leave tomorrow morning for Australia, and on Sunday I fly to Hawaii to be with Ellen. Life in New Zealand has been excellent. I am on holiday, I am staying with Ellen's family, and it's summer. This has been the best start to a year one could possibly ask for, and flying to Hawaii is only going to improve upon things, so I'll be a jammy bastard then eh? Wellington is a great city for visitors. Full of intriguing shops and monuments, the National Museum is here too, and the centre of town boasts some great bars and cafes.

Although geographically it's as far from England as it's possible to get without leaving the planet, New Zealand is a piece of home. The food tastes better, the skies are bluer, most things are a lot cheaper, and the streets are less crowded; however this former colony smacks of its European ancestry at every turn. That is except for the Maori ofcourse, but some of that culture has mixed sufficiently with the colonist's way of life so as to smooth its pointier edges, and it adds magic to the place, much like the Celtic resurgence does in Cornwall, Wales, Scotland or Ireland. Funnily enough it is something of a cliche to say that New Zealand resembles all of these places, which it does, much more than the rolling hills of England. New Zealand is rough cut, fresh, and wild-looking. I think that the strength of the Maori under domination by the British, and their continuing struggle for equal representation, has and will maintain New Zealand in this vibrant natural spirit.

Today I am planning to spend the afternoon at the Basin Reserve cricket ground for the first day of teh Second Test between NZ and the West Indies. It should be a fine day. It is also St Patrick's Day so I will have a look at what the Wellingtonians do to celebrate, and I think I have guessed already.

I would like to give a warm thankyou to John, Joy and Louise for having me to stay.

Postscript

At lunch the Basin Reserve cricket ground is open to the public for games:

Pete at the OSCARS

When Ellen's brother Svend invited me to join him at an OSCAR party celebrating the nomination of King Kong for The Visual Effects Award, I was pretty excited. Svend works as a contractor for WETA Digital, who produced the spectacular graphics for both King Kong and Lord of the Rings, and who are now working on further movie projects including the third X-Men movie. I thought to myself, this was going to be a party to remember!

World time meant that the ceremony in Los Angeles began at 2pm local time in Wellington so we were on to our first round of courtesy beers just after lunch time. The party was held in a temporary building on the waterfront, with a bar and lounge seats, a huge TV screen and attractive internal decor of wood inlaid with paua shell. The guests were a varied bunch. I was surprised to meet many Americans contracted at WETA, as well as a few Brits. The age was predominantly young, and everyone had turned up in relatively casual dress. No tuxedos or bow-ties in sight though, and I was vaguely disappointed by the lack of effort shown in some quarters.

King Kong won three OSCARS including the award for visual effects which means Svend is the first person in my life to have won an OSCAR. Well done Svend, you rock. The party went on with various canapes and more drinks until about 6pm. In fact it may have gone on longer but we left, so it probably died down after that. Afterwards Svend and I went to the Paramount Cinema and watched Asphalt by Joe May. It's a 1929 German silent film and I really enjoyed it - a fitting end to the greatest day in Hollywood's calendar.

P.S>
Bristol's own Nick Park from Aardman Animation was awarded the OSCAR for Best Animated Feature Film. Go Bristles!!!!

Time to tune in to . . .

It is exciting to think that Ellen is a succesful radio presenter in Hawaii, even more so given the effort she has put in to her show, and the difficulty of getting her foot in the door of college radio there. Her regular 3am timeslot has not deterred her, neither have the various training and induction hoops through which she has had to jump in order to progress. Hawaiian listeners have begun to take notice, and on the eve of her move from the 3am timeslot to a more critical time, Ellen has published a website with recorded shows and playlists from her recent performances. International times for her show are currently:

London - Sunday 2pm

New York - Sunday 8am

Tokyo - Sunday 10pm

Copenhagen - Sunday 2pm

Auckland - Monday 2am

KTUH is college radio at the University of Hawaii and is available on FM and also over the internet - which means international listeners can easily tune in. The show is a mixture of New Zealand and International music tied to the theme of Lo-Fidelity production techniques. Regular artists on the show include The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, The Cocteau Twins and The National. Ellen has also produced some draft publicity designs for the radio station and I'm looking forward to seeing these as bumper stickers in the coming months, although it'll have to wait for the powers-that-be to approve them first. Adding media design and broadcasting to her already impressive portfolio, one wonders whether Ellen is in fact planning to take over the world, as it does seem increasingly feasible. The website address where you can view her handiwork is http://www.ktuh.org/lo-fi/index.htm and the recorded shows are available there too. To listen in to her show live you need to go to the KTUH website at http://www.ktuh.org/ and click on listen live.