A week before 12 May 2010 Mac came up with the idea of scanning the photos from our OE 35 years ago - our albums are falling apart - and preserving them on a blog before they disintegrate altogether.
Around the same time I was talking to a friend about our various OE experiences (she was there around the same time as us), and about how different the world was then: no email, msm, Facebook, blogs, cell phones - and even landline calls were prohibitively expensive. It really was a matter of adventuring off into the world alone. For parents left at home it must have been a nightmare of worry, although I didn't realise that at the time. Snail mail was a term that didn't exist - it was surface mail (6-7 weeks) or airmail (1-2 weeks) and photos were very expensive to take and develop - and to post home. One of my vivid memories of leaving New Zealand on 12 May 1075 was of turning around to wave to my parents as we walked down the 'tunnel' to the departure lounge and seeing my father wiping tears from his eyes - and thinking, 'silly old fool'! Poor Dad.
Check out those booze prices! And cigarettes were 25c, yes CENTS for a packet of 20!!
Mac wasn't feeling so well after developing alcoholic poisoning from drinking too much Blue Nun at our farewell party (we felt very foolish when the doctor diagnosed this at a home visit - it's hard to believe there was a time when doctors visited people at home!) and he felt even worse when our flight was delayed due to an 'in-flight computer malfunction.'
It was a very long day (literally.) The worst part of the flight was the stop for fuel and immigration at Honolulu.
Honolulu International Airport
The airport was just a very large shed a long way from the plane, and we had to walk from the plane to the shed. There were no facilities and it was extremely hot. We managed to get in the slow queue and waited for 1 1/2 hours - we held the plane up for half an hour! I spent most of the time sitting on the concrete floor, shuffling forward from time to time. Still, because of the hold up, when we finally got through they piled us on a baggage cart and rushed us back to the plane.On reaching Los Angeles we were very tired but thankfully had no trouble with customs, and were collected by a courtesy car and driven to the Quality Inn.
Quality Inn, Los Angeles - Carol
After dinner Mac rang to confirm our reservation for the onward flight, only to be told that there was no such flight! I'm sure that these days Los Angeles airport is open all hours, but not then, and we could do nothing. Mac fell asleep straight away, but despite being exhausted, I lay awake for hours worrying about what we were going to do. The next day we went to the airport and eventually British Airways (the ones that had accepted a booking for a nonexistant flight) go us on a TWA flight, which proved an excellent service. So much for a bit of sightseeing around LA.
After our American experience, the British immigration and custom were wonderful. We had trouble finding customs, they were so casual, and although we had to wait to get through immigration, there werecarpet, chairs and pot plants. We were admitted for an 'indefinite period' - those were the days!
Remember what I said about communication back then? We sent a telegram to our friends in London, but it didn't arrive until the same time as we landed at Heathrow, England, so we had an hour and a half wait before Corynne and Bryan (ex-flatmates from NZ) arrived to collect us and take us home to their flat.
The rest of May was taken up with learning to find our way around London while organising bank accounts and such like. We learned about the bus system and the tube system (efficient but I never learned to like travelling underground.) We covered a lot of ground in our hunt for a camper van, and eventually found ourselves the proud owners of an iconic VW kombie camper van.
Our VW Kombie
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