Tag Archives: Hiking

January 18, 2013 · 8:44 pm

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: BEYOND – hmm, tricky…!

It's all go at Tyangboche Monastery, Nepal. But wait, what's that I see through the break in the cloud?

It’s all go at Tyangboche Monastery, Nepal. But wait, what’s that I see through the break in the cloud?



I didn’t find this an easy Weekly Photo Challenge. Usually I’m trying to focus my camera on the main subject, consciously avoiding distractions in the background.

Then I thought of this…

After a solid day’s walking we were pleased to emerge at Nepal’s Tyangboche Monastery, just under 4000 metres high.

It was Trekker Town, crowded with yaks and mules, Sherpas and Germans. The gongs and vuvuzela-like horns from the monks provided the soundtrack. The bakery provided real coffee. Tenzing Norgay, Sir Edmund Hillary’s fellow climber, was born in the Kumjung region and studied at this monastery.

All very interesting. Then suddenly the clouds parted, and there was Mount Everest beyond.

Need I say that the trek itself was one of the best I’ve ever done. To read more about it, CLICK HERE.

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December 14, 2012 · 8:12 pm

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: DELICATE – my life of crime

A shame I had to break the law to get a delicate photo like this.

A delicate photo and a delicate tale to go with it…

I was rather pleased with this photo. It was a shame I had to break the law to take it.

To read the kiss-and-tell, cards-on-the-table, warts-and-all story of how Shifty and I risked hefty fines, serious lectures from the judge and delicate parts of our anatomy to bring you this little sample of Blue Mountains magic, CLICK HERE.

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November 8, 2012 · 9:48 pm

GET PAID TO WALK AND EAT IN ITALY

Walking in the Dolomites. Nice work if you can get it.

Does this sound like a job for you?

You go to Italy twice a year, in spring and autumn to avoid the main tourist season. On each trip you spend a week or two walking through attractive countryside with a jolly group of like-minded people, staying in boutique hotels, eating the best local food and sampling the local vintages.

You get paid to do this.

Simon Tancred and a cafe that bears his name, plus a bit.

At the end of the walk you say arrivederci to your friends and for a few weeks you head off on your own into unknown regions, researching some history and looking for new footpaths, food and lodgings. And deducting your expenses from your tax.

Lots of us aspire to converting our love of travel into a paying job or business.

Simon Tancred seems to have it nicely worked out. Continue reading →

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July 27, 2012 · 6:38 am

100 FREE THINGS TO DO IN AUSTRALIA – (my ‘done that’ count: 51)

Phillip Island, Victoria. Just looking costs nothing.

Thanks to Leo who contacted me with the Tourism Australia list of 100 things people can do for free in our country.

I was delighted with all the ‘hits’ and the comments on my previous blog post about Tourism Australia’s latest glamorous ad, apparently catering to the glamorous potential visitor.

We skinflint locals know that there are plenty of things to do DownUnder that won’t cost anything but the time and trouble (okay, a bit of transport money too) you take to get there.

I love lists, so of course I picked through Tourism Australia’s top 100 freebees, ticking off the ones I’d done. I scored 51.

Here are my top 10 ‘been there, done that’ Australia for tightwads experiences, in no particular order: Continue reading →

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July 5, 2012 · 5:17 am

PERTISAU, ACHENSEE – pretty as the pictures

Pointy church, pointy mountains.



We thought we were finished with hiking when we arrived in Pertisau, but there was one more adventure left. The 10km walk along the Achensee to catch the ferry at Achenkirch sounded like a very tame event after the dangers we had passed, but there were some surprises.

 Continue reading →

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July 3, 2012 · 2:08 pm

KARWENDEL, AUSTRIA Stage 2 – We won’t die wandering

A little mountain mist adds magic and mystery.

We have few regrets about the decision to abandon our hike over the high Karwendel cols. It was simply too hard and too dangerous for most of us, and the weather was looking threatening.

We can choose another route, though the fear when we leave the peaks and cols is that we’ll spend a few dull days walking through the valleys, sharing tame, flat roads with the cars.

This is Austria, however. There are far more interesting hiking trails than tame roads. The route from the village of Scharnitz to the tourist town Pertisau is not life-threatening but still spectacular and challenging – an excellent five day trek, in other words. Continue reading →

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