Rabaul - Page 3

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Details: Written by: Richard_McKie; Parent Category: Travel; Category: Australasia; Published: 04 July 2020; Hits: 12656

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Rabaul Papua New Guinea

Before reaching Rabaul everyone on board had to have their temperature taken to check for viruses - none was found. But then, perhaps some were asymptomatic.

At the dockside in Rabaul

Those who had booked tours, like us, were told to go to the theatre and wait; and wait; and wait. After a while it was clear that this would run through lunch so I went up to the Lido (self-serve restaurant on deck 9) and hurriedly made sandwiches rushing back in case our group had been called. Back in the theatre we ate them then waited some more. Finally the announcement came. We couldn't go ashore after all.

Two people had been medivaced from our ship - perhaps we have Covid-19. We all scoffed at their excessive caution and felt sorry for the locals.

A day in Rabaul.

All the locals in their vans and taxis and with goods for sale were sent away from this dangerous incubus (or is it incubator) in their midst. And a couple of people were meeting friends here - bad luck.

And we didn't get to see the Japanese tunnels. Wendy's dad had fought the Japanese in New Britain during World War 2 (see here) so this had been one of the factors in deciding to take this cruise.

Nor did we get to walk across the volcanic ash (that half buried the town in 1994 and again in 2014). But then it wasn't long ago that we did this on the Big Island in Hawaii (see here). So perhaps we can just imagine we did that.

Like Santorini, the bay upon which the town sits is the flooded caldera of a large volcano and a number of the surrounding hills are volcanic vents that from time to time erupt. But unlike Hawaii it's all quiet on the western front at the moment.

Rabaul Caldera - top right is the site of the latest eruption

After most of a day was gone, with no alternative to disporting ourselves onboard, we left at a leisurely 16 knots.

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Travel

USA - middle bits

In September and October 2017 Wendy and I took another trip to the United States where we wanted to see some of the 'middle bits'. Travel notes from earlier visits to the East coast and West Coast can also be found on this website.

For over six weeks we travelled through a dozen states and stayed for a night or more in 20 different cities, towns or locations. This involved six domestic flights for the longer legs; five car hires and many thousands of miles of driving on America's excellent National Highways and in between on many not so excellent local roads and streets.

We had decided to start in Chicago and 'head on down south' to New Orleans via: Tennessee; Georgia; Louisiana; and South Carolina. From there we would head west to: Texas; New Mexico; Arizona; Utah and Nevada; then to Los Angeles and home. That's only a dozen states - so there are still lots of 'middle bits' left to be seen.

During the trip, disaster, in the form of three hurricanes and a mass shooting, seemed to precede us by a couple of days.

The United States is a fascinating country that has so much history, culture and language in common with us that it's extremely accessible. So these notes have turned out to be long and could easily have been much longer.

Fiction, Recollections & News

His life in a can

A Short Story

"She’s put out a beer for me! That’s so thoughtful!"

He feels shamed, just when he was thinking she takes him for granted.

He’s been slaving away out here all morning in the sweltering heat, cutting-back this enormous bloody bougainvillea that she keeps nagging him about. It’s the Council's green waste pick-up tomorrow and he’s taken the day off, from the monotony of his daily commute, to a job that he has long since mastered, to get this done.

He’s bleeding where the thorns have torn at his shirtless torso. His sweat makes pink runnels in the grey dust that is thick on his office-pale skin. The scratches sting, as the salty rivulets reach them, and he’s not sure that he hasn’t had too much sun. He knows he’ll be sore in the office tomorrow.

Opinions and Philosophy

Electric Cars revisited (again)

Electric vehicles like: trams; trains; and electric: cars; vans; and busses; all assist in achieving better air quality in our cities. Yet, to the extent that the energy they consume is derived from our oldest energy source, fire: the potential toxic emissions and greenhouse gasses simply enter the atmosphere somewhere else.

Back in 2005 I calculated that in Australia, due to our burning coal, oil and sometimes rural waste and garbage, to generate electricity, grid-charged all-electric electric cars had a higher carbon footprint than conventional cars.

In 2019, with a lot of water under the bridge; more renewables in the mix; and much improved batteries; I thought it was worth a revisit. I ran the numbers, using more real-world data, including those published by car companies themselves. Yet I got the same result: In Australia, grid-charged all-electric cars produce more greenhouse gasses than many conventional cars for the same distance travelled.

Now, in the wake of COP26, (November 2021), with even more water under the bridge, the promotion of electric cars is back on the political agenda. Has anything changed?

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