While the trip was in 1978, this is being written in 1997, which is a long way to dig back for memories, but I will do my best. Parts of the trip are just like it happened yesterday and parts are a bit fuzzy. When I get stuck I will give VE3AJ (VE3EEW) a call and test his
memory.
A DX vacation, especially when you have not taken one before is a whole new experience. Travel arrangements could be made locally, and Air New Zealand had an office in Calgary so when push came to shove we could always call them. One of the most difficult decisions is to decide on equipment and antennas. The main consideration was who had a radio that could be called portable, and in most cases portable meant one as big as a present day base station, except it had a handle. Laurie, VE3BCD came to the rescue with his Kenwood TS820 and John, VE3HTM with the external VFO so we could operate split.
The TS820 was too big to go as carry on luggage, so we built a wooden suitcase of 1/4 inch plywood large enough to hold the TS820 in its original shipping carton and the external VFO. We figured if it made it from Japan to Canada in the carton and we added a suitcase it should be a piece of cake getting it in one piece to the Pacific. The Atlas 210X along with the High Gain tape dipole, soldering gun, wire, insulators, tape etc packed into two brief cases which was carry on luggage. The TH3JR and 18AVT vertical, 30 foot collapsible mast, coax, wire and spare pieces we packed into a plywood shipping carton. The carton was sent by air freight to Rarotonga to wait for our arrival. We did not know what was available on the island so we packed everything we thought we might need. Clothes were the easiest part, my suitcase weighed 18 pounds. Since we were going to New Zealand first and they used the same power as Rarotonga our schedule called for us to hit a hardware store so we could get the materials to make up patch cords. Both radios were supposed to operate on 240 Volt, 50 Cycle, we just needed the proper plug ins.
We left Thunder Bay on January 9, 1978 early in the AM on Northwest Airlines to Duluth, Minneapolis, changed planes and then onto Los Angeles. When we left Thunder Bay it was 35 degrees below Fahrenheit, when we got to Los Angeles it was 65 degrees. We were scheduled for an 10 hour lay over in what turned out to be a very crowded international wing of the airport. At least at that time there was lockers in the airport so you could check your bags. It is amazing sometimes how small the world is, as we were walking along I thought I saw someone I knew. And I did, it was a Captain, who worked for the same company as me, and his wife doing like we were doing, wandering around killing time. Their flight home was delayed, so we had lunch together, which helped to break up the long wait.
We left Los Angeles early in the evening, arriving Hawaii about 1:00 AM local time. Imagine going from minus 35 to plus 72 with high humidity. Our stop was only 90 minutes and then on to New Zealand, arriving at 9:00 AM local time. I have seen some high thunder clouds when flying over North America but nothing like the Pacific. We were at 35,000 to 37,000 and they looked twice the height we were. Boy, were we starting to drag. We had just spent 37 hours on the road, sleeping in air line seats, made for people who were if not skinnier, shorter than me. Ian, ZL1BCG met us in Auckland and directed us to our motel. We said thanks a lot and hit the pillow for about three hours. This put us back in the groove. We arranged for a rental car, and a map and went out to catch up with Ian and his wife. They were helpful in setting up a tour for us around the North Island. Our first experience at driving on the wrong side of the road, with floor shift using the wrong hand to shift with.
The motels were neat, you would check in for the evening and they would ask what time you would like breakfast and what you would like. Breakfast was served in your room. The room had a fridge, which had milk, sorry no bubbly, so you could make a cup of tea when it pleased you. In Auckland the restaurants were just starting to open early in the morning and stay open all day. At the motel where we first stayed, they had a breakfast time, a lunch time and a dinner time. In between it was closed. It was the first time I tried oysters, my Dad used to love them on the half shell, but they did not turn me on. As people told me later, New Zealand was the last place for a beginner to try oysters. They are very strong tasting, and, sure they are supposed to slide down, so you don't really get the full effect but tell your taste buds and stomach that. Needless to say, I made the first one, but not the second. During our three days of driving around the North Island we would stop for lunch at small shops along the way. It was quite something to see steak and eggs on the luncheon menu. The sandwiches were also different from home, being made from very thin sliced bread, they looked like someone sat on them before you got them, tasted fine though.
We spent three days touring New Zealand. The island was a blend of tropical and temperate climates. You would drive through a valley and see lush tropical growth and when you left the valley you would see grass and trees similar to parts of Canada. New Zealand when we were there was very much agricultural orientated, with sheep farms number one on the list. We had the opportunity to watch some sheep dog trials while making our tour. It was really fascinating to see the handler working the sheep dog with a combination of hand and whistle signals. The dog was amazing, anticipating where the sheep wanted to go and directing them to and through the various obstacles on the course. You would think to yourself, watching the trials, who is the smartest of the two? A smart person would not ask the question! The real challenge to touring the island is the New Zealand drivers. They believe they are allowed to pass anywhere, corners, hills, solid white line etc, kind of nerve wracking. You learn to drive defensively in a very short time.
After three days it was off to Rarotonga for the start of the DX part of the trip. We never had any problem carrying all of our radio gear into New Zealand and the same held true for Rarotonga. We did not mention it and they did not ask. We arrived on a bright sunny afternoon and was met by Rarotongan amateur, who helped us clear through customs and on to our accommodations. The landlady had not opened up the cottage so we took off for the Rarotongan, a new motel still under construction, for supper. Everything was new including the staff. They had not, as yet, learned the infamous trick of staring off into space practiced by waiters and waitresses world wide. In fact, the service was so good you had the feeling they were hovering over you. A nice place to eat, and close to our accommodations, so we had lunch there quite often.
The next day was antenna time, setting up a beam and wire antennas in 85 degree humid weather in not really an enjoyable chore. The sun was hot and just about straight overhead at noon. It was a good thing we had made sure to bring everything we needed, at that time there were no hardware stores on the island. Getting on air was really an experience, all of a sudden you were very popular, with huge Japanese pile ups especially on ten metres. One of the daily problems we had was with power. At supper time when everyone on the island was using power to cook supper the voltage would drop from 240 volts to 165 volts. We were fine until it got to 185 and then the TS820 (the Atlas 210X never did work as it did not like 50 cycles) would not stay on frequency. We worked Tuati, ZK1MA on Manahiki, just as the power was hitting 185 volts, if we had missed him that night we would not have been able to work him again, it was our one and only chance. Saying hello to VR6TC, Tom Christian on Pitcairn was a real thrill, working ZK1MA on Manahiki was exciting but the real fun was the pile ups and of course talking back home and telling them how rough it was. Bob Fontaine, VE3JAY contacted us from our home stations so we could have ZK1 in the logs. He did a real yeoman like job of keeping in contact with us. On one of our first evenings on the air we were on 20 metres working a JA pile up, listening up, and did not realize we were wiping out the Pacific/Caribbean 20 metre DX net. Pretty casual fellows, they just moved the net up in frequency and continued on, no screaming, hollering or carriers. We had a few early morning contacts to Europe, but the bands never really opened up. Alan Cresswell, ZK1DR, who we met and visited with said he had European pile ups that were uncontrollable, and had in fact left in the middle of a pile up to go to the airport to pick someone up and the pile up was still going when he got back.
We enjoyed the hospitality of Alan, ZK1DR and his wife Colleen along with their family during our stay. They would come over to our place to swim as there was no beach on front of their house. Alan worked for the New Zealand government operating a geophysical and propagation research station on the island. They visited with us in Canada, but that is another story. We also met, for tea and biscuits, Stewart Kingan, ZK1AA who was the main relay station in the late 1940's for the Thor Heyerdahl Kon-Tiki Expedition. He was well known in DX circles and his impressive station was being used as a communication centre for on air university courses via satellite. The satellite antenna was a home brew helical. A very interesting person with whom we had the opportunity to chat a few times. Visiting and going into the main village was easy and quick as everything was in easy driving range on the island. Being only 4 miles by 8 miles, the coastal road around the island was only 23 miles long. Driving at night was fun as there were no such thing as street lights as you went through the various small villages. On a dark moonless night, when you could barely see your hand in front of your face, you really had to tiptoe along. The road was the main thoroughfare for walking, riding bicycles and motor scooters.
Our accommodation was a 2 room bungalow, with bathroom and shower about 200 feet back from the beach. The windows were slats of glass rather than solid with no screens. The larger living area had a small kitchenette on one side. We of course set up the radio on the kitchen table and always had to eat around it You always had to clean up right after cooking and especially when your were cutting bread. Leave any crumbs and the ants would form a line. We had the usual tropical cockroaches, about an inch to an inch equipped with feelers longer than they were. They would hide around the top of the cement brick walls and if you looked their way they would duck out of sight. They did not seem very strong, when you took a swing at them even when you thought you missed they keeled over. We would then brush the body into the corner and the ants would clean up the carcass and all you had to do was sweep up the shell. Boy, you did not stand on any ant hills there. The ants were quite small, but of the fire ant variety and if they ran up your pant leg you did some rather fancy dance steps getting rid of them. Geckoes, small lizards lived in the bungalow, but they were harmless and took care of any mosquitoes that were around. Alan had one that sometime lived inside his radio, he called it the assistant operator. There was not much in the way of vermin but what was there was a good size. One night about midnight I was sitting working the radio when a spider ran by my sandaled feet. Including the legs it was about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. That sure wakes you up. It disappeared somewhere and we never saw it again. There were scorpions on the island but none near where we were staying. We had heard about the Centipedes, but did not see one until our last night. It was about six inches long with large pincers, and it bite is supposed to toxic enough to make you quite ill. People generally get bit by them when they are sleeping. The Centipede crawls in between the sheets to get the warmth from your body, and during your sleep when you roll over on it, bingo, it bites you. It ran through the main room and under Bills' bed. We were standing by with a push broom and caught it in the middle going up the wall behind the bed. It looked mighty mean as it was caught on the broom with the pincers opening and closing looking for something to bite.. We dropped it on the steps and the ants took over.
The doors of our bungalow would only lock from the outside. One morning I woke up early hearing some activity in the other room. There was a young girl, mentally disadvantaged, going through our groceries and eating the bananas. I woke up Bill and said he had company. Bill escorted her outside and we went back to sleep. Next morning, rather early she was back, to clean up the rest of the bananas. Fortunately that was the last time we saw her. Traffic on Rarotonga started early with scooters, the main form of transportation, starting to go by at 6:00 AM. While we were in Rarotonga the supply ship was late arriving and the island starting running out of daily necessities, flour being one of the items. Bread them became in short supply. The store in the main town ran out so we had to shop at the small bakeries around the island. I would get up at 6:00 AM and hit the road down to the bakery. You had to get there early or their small supply would be scooped up. Then even their flour ran out so Air New Zealand was flying in sliced bread. If you wanted to be a welcome guest at Alan and Colleens' all you had to do when you were visiting for tea was to bring a loaf of sliced New Zealand bread.
What can I say about the time on the island, except to say the radio was a lot of fun, the weather was just dandy, the food was good, especially when we ate out and we had a chance to meet and make some new friends. Towards the end on our visit, we went out for supper to a small restaurant called the Via Mai Steakhouse and their specialty was steak, of course, and the desert was banana fritters with ice cream. This was served in a restaurant whose walls were made of bamboo and the roof was thatched. No air conditioning, just the breezes blowing through the walls and open windows. A young couple from Vancouver, who we met on our first evening at the Via Mai, was celebrating their final evening on the island. After a year of touring, with three months spent on Rarotonga, they were returning home. They were looking forward to getting home but would miss the island and its people. The place grows on some people. The island is a popular vacation destination for Australians.
We left Rarotonga to fly home via Tahiti, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. We were late getting into Tahiti and the motel we were staying at, The Royal Tahitian, (we had to turn off the air conditioning in the room, after living in a hot humid climate for four weeks with no air conditioning it was just to cold) had closed their dining room for the night. Sitting in the bar contemplating where could get a late supper, we struck up a conversation with the air crew (not the pilots) of the Air New Zealand flight we arrived on. They were arranging for submarine sandwiches and graciously included us. Bill and I wined and dined with the Purser and Assistant Purser, with the Purser bidding us a good night about midnight, I am not sure when we wrapped it up. On boarding in the AM we were greeted with champaign and orange juice, got a selection of first class goodies and a cockpit tour even though we were flying cheap seats. On long flights at that time the cabin crew was allowed to invite passengers for a cockpit tour. It lets them impress the passengers and gives the flight crew a break from the routine. When Bill mentioned to the Captain we were radio amateurs, he inquired as to frequencies. Bill told him 14.200 MHZ in the 20 metre band would work out okay. Fine he said, reaching up to change the frequency and when the antenna tuner on that fine Collins radio lit up green, he said go ahead. Bill had his opportunity to be VE3EEW Aeronautical Mobile. After working a couple stations from 35,000 feet in the middle of the Pacific Bill turned the mike back to the Captain. You don't need a heck of a lot of power or antenna at 35,000 feet.
Arrival at Los Angeles started to put us back in the real world, going through customs is normally pretty routine, but Bill must of fit the profile. When the customs saw someone with a deep tan, moustache and goatee, his eyes lit up. He promptly started going through Bill's luggage piece by piece, parcel by parcel, shaving kit etc. I was standing behind him and thought, here we go I am next. The room by that time was fairly empty of passengers. A customs agent walked over and said "you look kind of lonely there, anything to declare?" I said "no, just coming back from the Pacific and returning to Canada". He said "fine" stamped my card and away I went.
Thunder Bay was an experience, we landed acclimatized to 85 degrees into a world covered with snow and much colder than the last four weeks. The guys met us at the airport, customs in Canada was a breeze, they had heavy jackets for us and then off to the Airlane for coffee prior to going home. We said we would surely love to make the trip again, and we did, but that is another story...... 30
73, have a good day, VA3GD