Home sweet home

Mission complete - back in Roleystone and very nice it is too!
Returning gave us another taste of what more seasoned travelers would be used to - the flights that don't go to plan!
We started off well - away from our hotel and onto the Underground in good time around 8:00 on Friday - expected overcrowding on the train didn't eventuate - Londoners must start work later than us.
Checked in at Heathrow around 10:00, sat out the customary Heathrow wait until the gate is allocated and then onto the plane. The Q 747 done out in the aboriginal motifs looked good from the departure lounge!
All fine for the scheduled 12:05 takeoff, then the dreaded Captain's announcement "Ladies and Gentlemen - we have a small technical problem - shouldn't take too long to fix".
Seems that a computer board monitoring the fuel level in one of the tanks (at the rear - see later) had a glitch.
What do you always do when your computer doesn't work - yep - turn it off and turn it on again. They tried that but it still wouldn't play (it actually meant powering down and then powering up the whole plane!).
Next step is put in a new board - wait for new board - instal new board - no joy.
Ah - new board is a different version and needs upgraded software - wait for new software - load new software - no joy.
Oh well - we can fly to Singapore without that tank - we'll just pump the fuel into available space in other tanks (those things must have a lot of big tanks!).
While we're at it - we're obviously going to have the flog the old girl hard to make up time so we'll put in some more fuel as well.
Oops - having moved all that fuel, plus extra, up front - our centre of gravity is now too far forward to take off - have to remove some cargo pallets - wait for ground crew to come back - spare ground crew hard to find at Heathrow.
Four hours later, we're ready to go - well, ready to join the long queue of aircraft waiting to take off......
Needless to say, adding four hours sitting in a hot, stuffy plane on the ground with the prospect of a thirteen hour flight ahead was testing the patience of crew and passengers but everyone behaved themselves. Did not envy the several families with small children on board! The cabin staff really earned their money on that trip before it even started.
They did put the pedal down as promised but we were still two and half hours late into Singapore and part of a large contingent who missed their connection to Perth.

The renowned Singapore efficiency swung into action - we were all labelled, re-allocated seats on the evening flight, swept through immigration and customs, bussed to the Orchard hotel (very nice!), given a room (very, very nice!)and lunch (very, very, very nice!), time for a shower and a couple of hours kip, bussed back to the airport and swept through to the departure lounge to join what proved to be a routine flight.
Through Immigration, Customs, Quarantine at Perth International - not as daunting as we recalled from the last foray overseas but we still seem to take it much more seriously than Norway and the UK. Passport with the chip was much slicker here tho'.
Taxi and home by 02:00 on Sunday.
Great to find the dog and house in good shape, thanks to Georgia, our house sitter.
Total of 35 hours from hotel to home, with a 7 hour time shift thrown in, and very little sleep. Not surprisingly, we're feeling a little tatty!
Will leave the overall reflections on the trip until the mind clears a bit.....

Oh my aching feet!

Our last full day in London was forecast to be wet, wet, wet. So it was fortunate that we'd planned a largely indoor day.

Our hotel is conveniently located midway between the British Library and the British Museum - how convenient is that! First stop was the British Library.Thee architecture is a very stark and modern but it is impressive, and huge. There are a number of displays with assorted themes. One of these features highlights from the Library's collections. These include Scott's diary from his quest for the South Pole, originals of Beatles music and lyrics, and the Magna Carta. There was also an amazing science fiction display, very popular with holidaying children and their parents. Another display featured Mervyn Peake - a 20th century writer - I'd not heard of him before but I'm a little wiser now. There is also a philatelic collection - very cleverly displayed in a small space on slide-out display panels. Stamps from most countries are included. While we were having a restorative cup of tea we watched a staff member retrieving and returning books (all looking impressively old) from the compactus we could see from the cafe. The BL's compactuses are much better looking than the ones in Sue's library.

In the afternoon we went in the opposite direction, to the Museum. This is a very imposing older style building, with an amazing number of galleries - over 90 in all. It was impossible to see everything so we focussed firstly on the Australian Season Walkabout display. This has 5 separate displays in different parts of the museum - a bark shield brought from Botany Bay By Captain Cook, a painted log coffin from Arnhem Land, a water container made of seaweed from Tasmania, a Sidney Nolan painting (part of a large display of Australian art including many by Aboriginal artists), and a garden of Australian plants including grass trees, casuarinas, bottle brushes, everlastings and lots more. We also saw an amazing collection of ancient Egyptian sculptures, all incredibly old. Another collection was of ancient Greek sculptures and carvings including a collection of items from the Parthenon.

Living it up in London

With Annabel's help we made it to London with only one U turn, but once we reached Heathrow the fun started. We were trying to get to the Europcar returns office - after we'd gone through a tunnel in both directions twice we decided that poor Annabel wasn't coping (neither were we) so managed to exit onto Bath Road, turn onto Sipson Road, do a U turn near the Holiday Inn where we'd stayed earlier, and get to Europcar. Then we took the shuttle bus to T3. found our way onto the Underground (we were so proud of ourselves!) and travelled to Russell Square station. From here it was an easy walk to the Harlingford Hotel. We left our bags and went off to find some lunch in the cafe in Russell Square.
Next stage was a train trip to Hyde Park Corner. From here we walked through Green Park and St James Park as well as joining the mass of tourists milling around Buckingham Palace. Yes, it's impressive, and the guards with their bearskin hats are amazing. One thing we've discovered is that the Brits do like their memorials, both war and other events such as the Bali bombing in 2002. We couldn't walk past 10 Downing St as it was cordoned off and guarded by police with guns. We thought it would be a good idea to walk across Westminster Bridge but so did far too many other people, and the assorted buskers and other entertainers on the footpaths. We walked up to Trafalgar Square (very impressive monument here) and then to Leicester Square station for the trip back to our hotel. We were just in time to experience the joys of the Underground at peak hour. Lost count of all the toes we trod on as we attempted to, and eventually succeeded in, our exit at Russell Square - apologies to all the affected Londoners!

Collegiate life in Cambridge

We made it to Cambridge relatively easily - when you program Annabel for 'shortest route' things can get interesting. Saw some wildlife on the way - first a squirrel scampered across the road in front of us and then later we passed 2 (white) swans posing beside the road. The Premier Inn, our home for the night. was in a new area of Cambridge - must be the first time we've seen modern buildings for a while.
We successfully negotiated the bus service into Cambridge (driving and parking was an option best consigned to the 'impossible' category) and signed up for a city bus tour. This has an audio commentary delivered via earphones to each seat - very nifty - so by the end we were full bottles on all aspects of college life in Cambridge and then some (we've since forgotten a lot of it). Did you know that if you want to go to university in Cambridge you must first apply to and be accepted by a college before you then apply for university?
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a dinner in the restaurant and then buckled down to packing our cases. You do get lazy when you are living out of a suitcase AND a car and we were due to return the hire car the next day. Eventually we pulled the zips closed on the motley collection of stuff in each case, and went to bed.

Onward to Oxford

We farewelled Ann, Brian, Jackie and Paul (Gail and Haydn had left the previous day) and set off for Oxford via the M4 and then the A420. Trip was easy but finding our way around Oxford, when we got there, wasn't so simple. Annabel didn't recognise the address of the hotel so eventually we found a parking space (it wasn't easy either) and rang the hotel to ask for directions.

We checked in and admired the decor - the Malmaison is a former gaol - and after a restorative cup of tea went to the Tourist Information Centre. Here we found an Oxford guide that included a self-guided walking tour so we set off on our trek. Oxford is full of old buildings! Probably the most impressive college is Christ Church - has its own gardens through which tourists can walk. We found the Bodleian Library - beautiful old building - and then, further on, the New Bodleian (1939). We also found Blackwells book shop.

A weekend in Wales

Annabel took us to Brian and Ann's home in Gower, near Swansea, and we received a warm welcome. Gail and Haydn, and Jackie and Paul turned up soon after, for our Vavilov reunion weekend. They all look just the same as they did nearly 4 years ago when we met them on the Antarctic trip - not a day older, of course. There was much chatter before Brian (aka the Mountain Goat) decided we should all go for a walk. We piled into 2 cars and went down to the coast for a walk along the cliffs and then back via a golf course. On the way we saw the ruins of a Norman castle. It's so hard to comprehend the age of some of the places we've seen in the UK.
We enjoyed a lovely dinner, cooked jointly by Brian and Ann - beef bourginon with peas and mashed spuds, followed by strawberries and cream, and then (yes, there's more) a yummy cheese platter.

The next day Brian took us on another walk, this time to Worms Head. The Head is a small peninsula, fully accessible only at low tide. You can walk right out to the end if you have time (and the legs) to do so but it's hard going. The track goes down and down and down to a rocky stretch, very uneven underfoot, that you follow towards a high point. We staggered up the side of the high point and then detoured to look at the seals that were sprawled across the rocks below us. They posed obligingly, and one of them swam around in the water for us. We didn't go any further (up and over the high point, then another low rocky stretch to the promontory at the end) as we'd left Ann, Paul and Jackie behind, so we turned around and reconvened at the Worms Head Hotel. Being a Saturday, it was a popular location. We enjoyed a drink, and Sue was introducted to a Crabbie - an alcoholic ginger beer. Maybe a bit sweet for some, but she enjoyed it! Don't suppose you can get this in Oz? Then it started to rain so we returned to Brian and Ann's place for lunch. After a nanna nap we all dressed up (as much as you can when you are on holiday) before the maxi taxi came to collect us for our dinner in Mumbles (yes, that is a real place name). We admired the view from the waterfront and then went to Patricks for our dinner. Very nice. Back home, no one was interested in sleeping, so Jack put on a slideshow of our Arctic photos. Ann and Brian and Jackie and Paul have all done the trip we did, so for them it was a reminder of their experiences. Gail and Haydn haven't been to the Arctic yet, but Gail has plans - she'll work long enough to save up money for the trip, and then she'll retire.

Weather the next day was rather doubtful - intermittent rain - so we decided to visit the Museum of Welsh Life near Cardiff, rather than go to the Brecon Beacons National Park. I think our legs were a bit sore after the previous day, too. The Museum was fantastic, and it helped having Ann and Brian to give us some more background on Welsh culture and history. Probably the best exhibit was a row of cottages with attached gardens - each cottage was furnished according to specific times in Welsh history - 1805, 1855, 1895, 1925, 1955 and 1985 - and the gardens showed how people at these times used them - ranging from pig sties and vegetables, to flower gardens. We enjoyed a barbecue dinner - BBQs are not just an Aussie tradition.

Which pub has the best steak and ale pie?

Jack is on a mission to find which pub does the best steak and ale pie. So far he's tried:
- Three Magpies near our hotel in Heathrow;
- Trengilly Wartha Inn near Constantine;
- Dunstan Arms House in Burnham-On-Sea.
Watch this space for more contenders.

Well, we can give you the results. As of 18/8/11 the winner is - Three Magpies.
We finally had the opportunity to have an English pub meal tonight, and this pub, Norfolk Arms, didn't offer steak and ale pies! The food was very nice, mind you - lamb and pistachio roulade, and Icelandic cod with salad nicoise - so we are feeling satisfyingly full.

We'll just have to come back to the UK sometime.

Back on track at last

We left London yesterday morning, having programmed our TomTom (well, it's Phil and Viv's actually) for a destination. We have christened it Annabel for the duration of our time in the UK. Despite Annabel's best efforts we were soon off track and heading back to London on the motorway. We executed a long and devious U turn to get back on track.
Our first stop was Stonehenge. We'd been warned that it was very 'touristy' but it's actually not bad. Yes, the stones are fenced off but that does discourage vandalism and souvenir hunters. The audio guides and the parking were included in the entry fee so by the time we'd done the full circuit we were much better informed. Did you know that Thomas Hardy used Stonehenge as the setting for Tess's last night of freedom in 'Tess and the Durbervilles'?
Next stop was the town of Totnes near Plymouth. This was where Sue's Giles forebears lived before coming to South Australia in the 1860s. The town was literally seething with people making the most of the summer break and finding a park was a challenge, but we succeeded. Did a half hour tour of the town and then travelled on to the night's accommodation. Annabel couldn't find the address so we got as near as we could (town of Constantine) then rang for directions. We traversed some of the narrowest roads we've ever seen - pretty scary when you are used to the wide open spaces of Australia - and finally arrived at the Trengilly Wartha Inn. And it was worth the effort. Enjoyed a yummy dinner, went for a walk, talked to a young couple staying there with Lulu the dog (the English do like their dogs) and then retired to bed.
Enjoyed a yummy award-wining breakfast and then set off for Lands End - and managed this with only one U turn. Yes, Lands End is 'touristy' but we didn't go into the entertainment park - we opted for a walk along the cliff tops. Didn't make it to the 'real' Lands End (not enough time) but we were close.
Then we told Annabel we wanted to go to Burnham-On-Sea and she took us there, patiently coping with our deviations to enjoy some of the scenic countryside. In fact she took us effortlessly to Knights Rest, our B&B for the night. Hugh, the owner, recommended the Dunstan Arms House pub for dinner so we did a scenic walk there - only a short walk thanks to the rain and wind - and enjoyed another yummy meal. Did you know that Burnham has Britain's shortest pier?

London calling

Have had a testing couple of days getting from stage 1 to stage 2 of our trip.
Exited Longyearbyen on SAS as planned - nice man at the check-in said he'd check our baggage through to Heathrow even tho' we were transferring to BA at Oslo (see later).
Pilot even did the right thing flying down the fjord at 1500 feet until we reached the coast.
Reached Tromso in northern Norway - had to go through a very confusing customs process as Svalbard is administered by Norway but is not strictly part of it and is tax-free.
On to Oslo where we managed to make a real hash of getting onto our BA flight to Heathrow - ended up OK but we went through immigration prematurely, had to get that cancelled, eventually got it sorted. Seemed our luggage could be transferred through but not our bodies!
Arrived at Heathrow to find that Sue's case had survived the process but not Jack's - identical cases with identical labelling!
Consistent with our track record so far, we find London in the midst of rioting, looting and other mayhem. Thankfully some distance from Heathrow.
Have lost a day camped in London but have retrieved the case this morning and should be on the road tomorrow morning.

Vavilov boat trip summary

Tuesday 26 Jul
Embarked on the Akademic Sergio Vavilov after much juggling of ship and zodiacs as the harbour was full of floating ice - eventually the previous occupant left the dock and we got on with dry feet and dignity intact. Sailed into the evening sun.
Wednesday 27 Jul
Morning taken up with lifeboat drills and other procedurial matters. Afternoon found us at Ny Alesund - northern most settlement in Svalbard. Now used as a scientific research base but has a long history of involvement in mining (coal), whaling and exploration.
Thursday 28 Jul
Morning trip was a zodiac cruise in Holmiabukta. Signs of polar bear on land but no sighting. Lots of bird life. Into Raudfjorden and the first venture in kayaking for Jack. A seal popped up nearby for a look. The evening gave us our first polar bear sighting but it was too busy resting to show any interest in / for us.
Friday 29 Jul
Into Liedefjord and another polar bear - mother and cub visible from a long distance. Zodiacs and kayaks eventually deployed much closer and bear and 2 cubs eventually obliged with a stroll around their hill. Much excitement and camera action.
Moved onto Andoyane Islands (which is a bird sanctuary) in the afternoon. Then in the evening, moved again to Moffan Island which is a walrus sanctuary and we saw our first tusks (but from some distance). We had also crossed 80 degrees N so there was a suitable celebration of our great achievement (which seems a bit silly when you're standing on a large, ice-strengthened ship!).
Saturday 30 Jul
Further north to Sjuoyane (Seven) Islands and another zodiac cruise - some history at a trapper's hut and lots of spectacular ice floating around.
Onward to the north east to find the edge of the sea ice and when we did, a huge bonus. A polar bear lounging around on the ice - so the Captain pointed the ship into the ice and we crept in to see if we could get a good look at him (as it turned out).

When we got closer the bear decided the smell of all the meat hanging over the rails was too interesting and he got up and sauntered over to the side of the ship to check US out! Really amazing to see one so close in the wild. Beautiful animal and very agile for such a heavy beast - nimbly stepping from one ice floe to the next. Eventually he decided we weren't accessible and we parted company. Camera shutters were allowed to cool down and terrabytes of photos downloaded (megabucks of camera gear on board - some of the lenses look like bazookas).
Sunday 31 Jul
More exploration of the sea ice, checking to see if we could get around Nordaustlandet Northeast Land) but to no avail. Stopped for a zodiac cruise and kayak in the sea ice covered by a thick blanket of fog. Eery but spectacular experience.
Turned back to check out the passage between Spitsbergen and Noraustlandet and we were able to get through (after a couple of days of cruising).
Monday 01 Aug
Into the Hinlopensretet and stopped at Alkefjellet - huge basalt cliffs housing a huge number of bird nests. Zodiac and kayaks deployed to check them out from close quarters. Amazing amount of activity and noise.

Onwards to Torellneset, a rather bleak spit of ground up glacial moraine jutting into the sea but the chosen resting place a large group of very large (in some cases) walrus - all males. They were mainly in one seething mass of blubber with a lot of grunting and shoving - a few peeled off to feed in the nearby sea. Massive tusks but they didn't seem to inflict any damage on each other. Suspect it's a different story at mating time when the girls return.
Tuesday 02 Aug
Adjacent to Brasvellbreen (one of the world's largest icecaps). Another zodiac and kayak exploration of the sea ice - some gorgeous colours.

No sooner back on the ship when we had another polar bear sighting - this time a mother and 2 cubs. Again the ship crept in through the ice and again we got quite close. The family had just a had a seal meal (visible evidence on the ice flow) and they were neither curious nor concerned about us. After a long period of watching them tidy up after their meal and a bit of frolicking about, mum settled down behind a snow bank to give the cubs a feed from the milk bar and we backed away with suitable deference. Another amazing experience of polar bear life in the wild.
Wednesday 03 Aug
Overnight across the open sea to Freemansundet, a narrow passage between Barentsoya and Edgeoya in the SE part of Svalbard. In the morning, a landing at Barentsoya to check out a glacial plain (as in ex glacial) and the hardy plants that live there. Evidence of reindeer but only the most active walkers (us not included) got far enough inland to sight them.
Later in the afternoon at Diskobukta (Duck Bay), another landing and a walk up a canyon featuring a large number of nesting kittiwakes and a single, unconcerned arctic fox who obligingly posed for all and sundry.
Thursday 04 Aug
Overnight a long sea voyage, with the only real swell that we've experienced (but nothing like the Antarctic), to bring us to Hornsund on the southwest corner of Spitsbergen. By late afternoon, we were ready to jump into zodiacs and kayaks for more ice exploring. The kayakers were given a bit of unexpected excitement when a large chunk of ice rolled over nearby, causing some quite large waves.
The another polar bear sighting - near the water on one side of the fjord we were in. It seemed to be just taking a stroll and unlikely to cause us any concern, but then decided to swim across the fjord between the zodiacs and the kayaks. While there seemed to be a safe distance for all concerned, polar bears are surprising quick swimmers and safety is always a high priority for the staff. The kayakers were now well practised at exiting into their zodiac (always on standby in case of difficulty) but were later regaled by their fellow passengers with tales of how expeditiously this particular one occurred!
A number of hardy souls left the ship in the evening for an overnight camping experience (not including your correspondents!). They were rewarded with a close up view of a pod of Beluga whales cruising past their campsite around midnight.
The supporting staff took shifts maintaining a guard against inquisitive (or hungry) polar bears, a precaution reinforced by an unfortunate incident not that far to the north near Longyearbyen (where we started) the following day - a group of young Brits was attacked and one killed by a hungry polar bear (later destroyed unfortunately).
All of our ventures on land (and in the kayaks) have the staff members carrying rifles and flare guns to ward off such eventualities. It's an incongruous but necessary precaution in this beautiful place. At this time of year, the bears generally move north with the ice (and associated seals) but some miss it and are left without their main food source. They get quite hungry and have to scrounge for whatever they can get, even turning vegetarian! Obviously they also become more dangerous around humans.
Friday 05 Aug
Landed at Isbjornhamma in Hornsund on some rough and hilly glacial scree to venture to a nesting site for Little Auks but there were few to be seen - all out feeding presumably.
Up to the eastern of Hornsund for another zodiac and kayak cruise in calmer waters near a huge glacier. This one quite active, calving off several chunks of ice which stir up the water at he base, in turn stirring up the fish and the very noisy and numerous flock of kittiwakes which were feeding on them.
Saturday 06 Aug
We had moved overnight to Bellsund to the north and stopped in Van Keulenfjord. Another landing and kayaking adventure with calm waters and lovely scenery (we must be coming to the end as the spectacular scenery is becoming a bit passe).
In the afternoon, a repeat in another part of Bellsund but the wind had come up and the kayaking was much tougher. However, it was the 10th outing - a new record for the staff leader and we were keen to go. Jack eventually tired and tried to return to the zodiac but the waves caused his bow to get trapped under the front of the zodiac and he was tipped into water when he tried to back out. The first dunking of the trip and the water was seriously cold! Thankfully we were kitted out in full immersion suits. The kayakers all returned to the ship to warm Jack up but then decided, in a gesture of solidarity, that they would all have a "polar plunge" so everyone jumped into the water (Jack for a sceond time). This was done one at a time and they were retrieved very quickly but the cold still comes as a shock!
Sunday 07 Aug
Moved again back to the fjord near Longyearbyen - the last excursion ashore and the last paddle - lots of reindeer and birds. The afternoon was spent cruising around the fjord while all the final housekeeping stuff was done on board. The Captain's dinner (same as the others but with speeches!) was the last occasion.
Monday 08 Aug
Docked, breakfast and disembarked. Into Longyearbyen until our afternoon flight to Oslo and then to Heathrow for the next stage.