Stanley - Thursday
The word antipodes means opposite. So in terms of geography, it means the place opposite you on the planet. So, if you dig a very deep hole from where you are standing, through the centre of the earth, where you pop out would be the antipodes of where you are.
When I grew up, I thought the word antipodes referred to Australia and New Zealand. In fact, that is what the Brits mean by the word. However, it is only vaguely correct as the antipodes of London is south of New Zealand. In fact, no place in England has land as its antipodes. Conversely, it is an interesting fact that the antipodes of every place in Australia is wet. That's amazing because Australia is a huge place.
As far as I can determine there are only two towns with airports that are the antipodes of each other, namely Ibn Battouta Airport in Tangier, Morocco, and Whangarei Aerodrome, New Zealand. That would be a 20,000 kilometre flight.
I always thought that the antipodes of Cape Town is in the state of Hawaii. Wrong again! It is is north of Hawaii, also in the ocean. I'm pleased I was wrong because I recently set off on an antipodean journey from Cape Town. Thank goodness the pilot ignored my request to go to the antipodes and set me down in Kona on Big Island instead - after a journey of 22,000 kilometres.
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| Start digging in London |
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| The antipodes? Whoops! Wet! |
So here I am on the island of Hawaii (known as Big Island), not to be confused with the state of Hawaii. The island is about the size of the state of Connecticut and is extremely varied in terms of climate - from rain forest to semi-arid. It is also home to a number of volcanoes, including Kilauea that erupted last April, destroying 700 homes and changing the landscape for ever. The island grew by about 400 hectares (nearly a square mile).
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| Lava is everywhere |
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| My view |
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| Another view |
The area around Kona, where I am staying with friends, is well known for its coffee. We visited a coffee farm today and was struck by the similarities between the growing and preparation of coffee beans and the growing and production of grapes.
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| Coffee bushes |
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| Coffee beans drying |
But what has struck me most in the day that I've been here are the flowers - not surprising since Cape Town is not at all tropical.
Here are some of the things I saw.
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| Apple bananas with hanging flower |
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| We were told this is a Bella donna - deadly nightshade. Is it? I'm not sure. |
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| One big avocado |
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| Orchid |
Of course there are things in the ocean too.
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| Sea urchin - too nervous to see if it's edible (an uni) |
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| Underwater flower |
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| Sea cucumber - ugh |
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| Sea cucumber - ugh, ugh |
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| Sea cucumbers |
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| Who knows what this is. |
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| Turtle |
And some birds.
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| Red-crested cardinal (photo - Mark Grabe) |
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| Saffron finch |
And the end of day 1!
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| (photo - Mark Grabe) |
