On my trip home from Tongariro at the beginning of February, I spent 24 hours in Wellington. What I thought might be a fairly staid small-town capital full of New Zealand bureaucrats turned out to be a great little city.
The Mustering Flat High Beam Society
Mustering Flat is an alpine plain in the Baw Baw National Park, an easy walk in from the St Gwinear car park north of Erica. It’s one of our favourite places to get away for a bushwalk. There’s a good campsite in the snow gums on the side of the plain, and we took a… Continue reading The Mustering Flat High Beam Society
Waihohonu to Whakapapa – Day 4 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit
The Waihohonu Traverse is the name of the stretch of track between Waihohonu Hut and Whakapapa Village. Yes, I know, Whakapapa sounds a bit rude, but it has a big chateau, so it’s really okay to say it out loud.
Mt St Leonard in the heat
Although it got to 37 degrees today, I went for a walk with Shewey and Janet up Mt St Leonard, a mountain in the Yarra Ranges near Healesville. Mt St Leonard is a little over 1,000 metres high, and the walk up ascends around 800 metres. On a hot day, that’s a good work out! … Continue reading Mt St Leonard in the heat
Oturere to Waihohonu – Day 3 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit
Day 3 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit (which I think was 31 Jan) was a much shorter day than the first two, of only a few hours’ walk. Now that we’d left the main Tongariro Crossing track behind, there were less people around, and everyone we met was out tramping for several days. Even then,… Continue reading Oturere to Waihohonu – Day 3 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit
Ketetahi to Oturere – Day 2 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit
Day 2 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit took us from Ketetahi Hut, and the very northern end of the Tongariro Cross, backwards to the top of the Devil’s Staircase, up to the summit of 2,287m Mt Ngauruhoe, then retracing our steps to the Emerald Lakes before dropping down to Oturere Hut.
Sculpture park, wine tasting, a picnic with the kookaburras and soaking in an onsen
Today’s trip took around 16 of us on a minibus to three wineries on the Mornington Peninsula, with some other assorted stops along the way. Well done Glen for organising and being tour-guide/announcer. Keeping with the Japanese theme, we finished at the Peninsula Hot Springs, a Japanese-style onsen next to the Moonah Links golf course at… Continue reading Sculpture park, wine tasting, a picnic with the kookaburras and soaking in an onsen
Lockley’s Pylon
I was in the Blue Mountains for a conference, and the Saturday afternoon was free time. Instead of taking the official “organised bushwalk” option, a group of us put together our own plan out to Lockley’s Pylon, borrowed a colleague’s car, and drove up Mt Hay Road out of town.
Mangatepopo to Ketetahi – Day 1 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit
The Tongariro Northern Circuit circles around Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe, right in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. It’s a three or four day tramp (Kiwese for hike), depending on how quickly you walk. The Tongariro Northern Circuit is an extension of the Tongariro Crossing, which is billed as being one… Continue reading Mangatepopo to Ketetahi – Day 1 on the Tongariro Northern Circuit
Namdaemun, Seoul
In 2001, I was lucky enough to have a few days in Seoul. I was in Japan for Eriko’s wedding, and whist she and Aa-san were on their honeymoon, I ducked across to South Korea for a look. I really liked Seoul – I found it an energetic and bustling city with interesting things to see as a… Continue reading Namdaemun, Seoul