Portugal is such a likeable country. They’re kind of like Canada, beautiful scenery, a reputation for being popular, friendly, noncontroversial and a great place to visit. Portugal punches above its weight in soccer (or football), global explorers, the production of cork, rose wine and stunning coastlines. Plus they are the home of port which is so good it is sometimes too likeable. From the outside looking in Portugal is on … Continue reading →
Ah, the Costa del Sol. Home to long sandy beaches, hot sun and cold beers, the Costa del Sol on the south coast of Spain conjures up images of lazy days avoiding cold winters, idyllic beaches and a cheap and easy Spanish lifestyle. Well, that may have been true back in the 1960’s and 70’s before millions of European and British tourists discovered this beautiful coastline and Spanish developers turned … Continue reading →
Here’s some fun facts about Spain. This country is the overwhelmingly largest producer of olives in the world with over 300 million olive trees, most of them producing their valuable crop in the southern province of Andalusia. Each olive tree can produce hundreds of kilos of olives each year and have a lifespan that can outlast 20 generations of growers. Roughly 92% of the harvested olives are used to produce … Continue reading →
The Iberian Peninsula is the southern-most landmass of Europe, made up mainly of Spain and Portugal. Julie and I had plans to spend the last portion of our Schengen visas in these two countries and we forged our way across southern France with good intentions. We were slowed down by two distractions – the first planned, the second definitely not planned. And in all of that Julie spent a night … Continue reading →
The Dolomites are the dramatic mountain range that runs across northern Italy and form part of the broader Alps. They are famous for their tall grey cliffs, jagged skylines and dramatic walking trails. Julie and I had had a big dose of the familiar mountains in the Austrian Tirol but the Dolomites were new territory for us and since we were in the neighbourhood, more or less, we had to … Continue reading →
Julie and I have some history with Austria. In our first years together we lived and worked and travelled in Europe, spending substantial time in a small village in the Austrian Tirol called Ellmau. Julie spent a winter there, improving her German, waiting on tables, skiing with me when I came to town on business. We named our daughter Anna, partly because it was a popular Austrian name. We loved … Continue reading →
So here’s a question for you. Julie and I visited the Eastern European country of Czechoslovakia many years ago, including its two largest cities, Prague and Bratislava. In 1993 Czechoslovakia broke into two different countries, The Czech Republic with its capital Prague and Slovakia with its capital Bratislava. As Julie and I crossed the border from Poland into Slovakia were we going to a new country or a country we … Continue reading →
How much dark and depressing eastern European history can a person take? Seriously, over the last hundred years or so the people of countries like Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, just to mention a few, have been invaded, subjugated, divided, raped and pillaged, cities flattened, minorities rounded up and killed, entire economies absolutely decimated. It might be the Bolsheviks, the Nazis or the Communists, depending on the moment … Continue reading →
Hang on, what’s going on here? We’ve left Tramp in the Vilnius airport car park and we’re checking into flights to another country? Not an island like Cuba or the Galapagos, just another neighbouring country? What’s happened? Well, it’s all about visas. Visas can be a pain for travellers but these days most countries don’t require visas, especially for good old honest Aussies. We had dramas with getting the Russian … Continue reading →
The Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – do not immediately come to mind when most people think of countries in Europe. And the Baltic states only became independent from Russia in 1991 so they are relatively new to the family of nations. Full disclosure, for the longest time I had trouble keeping the Baltics and the Balkans separated. But after crossing over from Russia and exploring Lahemaa National … Continue reading →
I’ve said it before – Julie and I love maps. We use every sort of possible map to help us along our way – large map books, some fold-up maps, local maps from Tourist Information Centres, Karen – our ever-reliable GPS, Google Maps, a great app called maps.me and anything else we can get our hands on. I also use an online tool called Tripline to help record and share … Continue reading →
As we left one of Moscow’s numerous ring roads and headed out of town Karen, the voice of our GPS and constant travel companion, said “Head straight for 608 kilometres”. Yes, exactly. Russia is a huge country and we were visiting only a small corner of it but still the dimensions of this place were immense. We followed a road westward out of the country’s capital with a plan to … Continue reading →
As a traveller there can be few greater thrills than standing in the middle of Red Square in central Moscow, the glittering domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral at one end, Lenin’s Mausoleum nearby and the massive walls of the Kremlin as a backdrop. It is an awe-inspiring, if not slightly chilling experience, the reward greater for having arrived here as part of a long overland journey. Julie and I shook … Continue reading →
The stern-looking lady in the ill-fitting uniform at the Passport Control window took one look at Tramp’s registration papers, then a look at my Australian passport, scowled her face, shook her head and said ‘Nyet’. Hmm, not a good start to our Russian adventure, you might say. But after a little translation from the Russian guy behind me in the line who spoke some English she softened up a bit, … Continue reading →
The Sami people are amazing. These indigenous people from northern Scandinavia and north-western Russia, probably numbering about 140,000 or so, have lived for thousands of years in some of the harshest conditions on earth. Known as being semi-nomadic and famous for herding reindeer across these northern spaces in search of seasonal food, the Sami today have their own language, flag, national anthem and land. And it is this land in … Continue reading →
One of the great joys of travel is to observe, learn, experience and enjoy new places, new people and new cultures. From these experiences we make observations, generalisations, even conclusions about the people and places we visit. We compare what we see with other travel experiences and with what we’re familiar with back home. Its human nature, its part of the fun. So apart from the drop-dead beauty of this … Continue reading →
Julie and I were sitting in the sunshine having a sandwich at a café in the main square of Tromso. The fjord’s blue waters lapped against the docks nearby, snow-patched mountains surrounded us as background, short-sleeved Norwegians and rugged-up tourists were going about their business on this beautiful blue-sky day. The disconnect in this scene is that we were at 69.39 degrees north latitude, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) above … Continue reading →
To be honest, Julie and I didn’t know too much about the cod liver oil industry. I mean, unless you are a cod fisherman, who does? But we were smack dab in the middle of Europe’s largest cod fishing area and surrounded by cod drying in the warm Norwegian sunshine. The Lofoten Islands are a string of interconnected islands shooting off the coast of northern Norway north of the Arctic … Continue reading →
By some reckoning the Arctic Highway in Norway, also known as the E6, runs from Trondheim in the central region of the country for about 2,000 kilometres to the Russian border at Kirkenes. Spending most of its time high above the Arctic Circle across remote and sometimes inhospitable land it is an engineering feat, an economic necessity and a traveller’s dream. After exploring the magnificent Norwegian Fjords in the south … Continue reading →
Monty Python has a lot to answer for. Their offbeat British humour from the 1970’s brought many new phrases into the English lexicon, including the poor Norwegian Blue parrot that was ‘pining for the fjords’. We’re in much finer health than that bird and our attention in Norway had now turned towards the magnificent fjords that crease its shoreline and create one of the most spectacular geographic and geologic settings … Continue reading →
Julie and I have been fascinated by the Vikings for a long time and especially since we visited their original North American settlement in Newfoundland Canada and learned more about their amazing exploits across the north Atlantic over 1,000 years ago. As part of our travels around Scandinavia we wanted to dive into the whole Viking thing in more detail and the perfect place to start was the cool Swedish … Continue reading →
Once upon a time, a long long time ago, I was a young lad working in Europe and Julie was a blond Aussie chick travelling on holidays. Our paths crossed, our hearts fluttered and the rest, as they say, is history. We’ve been back many times since and years ago even took our kids on a big drive-along European tour. Europe holds a special place in our family history but … Continue reading →
It’s a great life on the road, that’s for sure, but it’s also wonderful to go home to our family and friends after being away for many months, catch up on what everyone’s doing, hear their stories and share some of our own. There’s many hugs to share, excited voices, laughs all around, all great fun we had been looking forward to and really loved. And of course, there’s the … Continue reading →
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I love spreadsheets. Spreadsheets hold all sorts of fascinating information, data, statistics, trends, averages, records, really cool stuff. I keep a very detailed spreadsheet on our travels, recording our movements in long columns and rows which add to our photos, blogs and memories that we’ve collected along the way. Here’s a snapshot of some of the data from the second leg of our … Continue reading →
Julie and I are pretty keen on maps. We’ve collected a large range of foldable paper maps, we’ve had map books, downloaded maps to our phones and used online services like Google Maps and Maps.me. Maps are fun, both for planning our journey and tracking our journey. Now that we’ve finished South America our map of this continent has a nice line across it showing where we’ve been but also … Continue reading →
Yes, we’ve been to Uruguay. One of the least visited countries in South America, wedged between its two big brash neighbours Argentina and Brazil, small in size and low in profile, Uruguay is often confused with Paraguay and missed on most geography tests. Its capital, Montevideo, lies literally in the shadow of Buenos Aires on the opposite bank of the huge Rio de la Plata and has a modest historical, … Continue reading →
Our guidebook called Peninsula Valdes on Argentina’s mid-Atlantic coast “…one of the world’s great nature preserves.” We’ve learned guide books are sometimes prone to hyperbole but we couldn’t pass up this gem on our drive up National Route 3 towards Buenos Aires. And the promise of seeing animals we had rarely or never seen before made the opportunity a must do. That is how we found ourselves camped in the … Continue reading →
Julie and I had spent nine months travelling south since we left Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s shores of the Arctic Ocean. Since that time we had passed through Alaska, Canada and the continental United States, through Mexico and Central America, shipped Tramp to South America and driven the entire length of the continent to arrive at the end of the road, the southernmost point you can drive on the continent. … Continue reading →
A casual look at a map of southern Chile tells you the obvious – there aren’t many roads down here. The severe mountains, glaciers, fjords, inland waterways, rivers and extreme weather make roads a luxury. After more than a week in northern Chile we had jumped over into Argentina to take the memorable Ruta National 40 bypass of the roadless section of Chile. Now we were crossing back into the … Continue reading →
Ruta National 40 is said to be loneliest road in Argentina. On a broader scale it would rival some of those in outback Australia or perhaps Alaska as the loneliest road in the world. Stretching the entire length of Argentina, itself the 8th largest country in the world, Ruta National 40 runs through endless tracks of desert scrub and loneliness, much of it gravel with very few turns and even … Continue reading →
Chile is one of the oddest shaped countries in the world. It dominates the western shore of South America, never more than a few hundred miles in width. The Andes mountains run down its eastern border with Argentina and its southern section features so many fjords, lakes and mountains it is largely roadless. The primary feature of northern Chile is the Atacama Desert, said to be the driest in the … Continue reading →
After 16 great days in Peru we finally made our way to the border near Lake Titicaca and passed into Bolivia. The full border crossing took only about 40 minutes, very fast, and there were only two lame attempts by Bolivian officials to extract a bribe from me. We climbed up and over a 4,200 metre pass and then took a ferry, which was really more like a barge, across … Continue reading →
One of the joys of travel are the surprises, big and small, that occur every day when you are visiting new places. And Peru, probably more than any other country we’ve been to, has been full of surprises. For instance, who knew that the principal tree in Peru, even up to 4,000 metres, is the good ol’ Aussie gum tree. We also didn’t know that the Peruvian coast is one … Continue reading →
Our little four-seater Cessna 172, probably as old as us, banked low and steeply to the right above the Peruvian desert, our stomachs following close behind. Javier, our co-pilot, pointed out the window and said, ‘Can you see the monkey?’ And sure enough, 200 metres below us, scrawled out in the sun-baked desert rocks was a cute little monkey with an exaggerated curled tail. The monkey had followed aerial sightings … Continue reading →
Peru is unquestionably most famous for the ancient Inca capital of Machu Picchu, and with good reason, but beyond that Peru is associated with the dramatic Andes mountains that run down its spine and provide some of the most spectacular mountains in the world. People come from all over to trek, climb, raft, backpack, drive, photograph and admire the Peruvian Andes. We had spent a few days exploring northern Peru … Continue reading →
Ecuador had shown itself as a fascinating and easy place to visit based on our first ten days in the country. We had enjoyed the wide four lane divided highways of the north after the horror roads of Colombia, the traditional markets of Otavalu, the novelty of crossing the equator by road and then the magnificence of the Galapagos Islands. But now we were heading south again, heading towards Peru, … Continue reading →
Life on board the Archipell 1 was pretty relaxed. Our cabins were very comfortably furnished, if a bit small, and the common area where we ate and socialised was quite roomy for our small group. But the most popular spot on the ship was the open observation deck, partly covered to provide protection from the equatorial sun, a place to take in the views, look for wildlife, watch the sunset … Continue reading →
We boarded an old rickety public bus, windows slid open for ventilation on a mega-humid day, and left the remote airport of Baltra for the main town of Puerto Ayora. The road crossed the rough desert scrub, nothing special, when suddenly the driver slammed on his brakes and the old bus reluctantly skidded to a stop. What on earth could have caused the driver to take such drastic action in … Continue reading →
Julie and I booked and paid for a special splurge – five days in the remote Ecuadorian islands of the Galapagos, made famous by Charles Darwin and the island’s huge tortoises. Our challenge, and it was a big one, was to drive through the spectacular but painfully slow mountains of Colombia to the capital of Ecuador, Quito, where our flights were leaving from, whether we’re on them or not. Could … Continue reading →
The Vega Zeta is a 10,000 ton container ship built in 2006 and registered in Liberia. It has probably carried a lot of valuable cargo in the past but none more so than it’s recent voyage from Panama with the mighty Tramp onboard. But nothing is as it seems and in Colombia everything is much slower and more complicated than it needs to be. And so it was for us … Continue reading →
Cartagena is a fabulous city, its old town within the city walls with narrow streets, gorgeous churches, shaded plazas, lively atmosphere and colourful history is absolutely world class. But after eight days of waiting for Tramp to arrive from Panama and the prospect of another five days before we could rescue him from the ship Julie and I decided to pull the plug on Cartagena and explore further afield. We … Continue reading →
We stayed in a very good $40 hotel on our last night in Panama which was also our last night in Central America. The hotel offered a bit of luxury we didn’t have in Tramp but we worried about him sitting on a wharf down in the port of Colon waiting to be moved onto a tray and lifted by crane onto our ship the Vega Zeta. From there he … Continue reading →
Julie and I just finished 65 days, more than nine weeks, travelling around Mexico and Central America. We went into this leg of our Follow the Sun journey with a little apprehension – after all, Mexico is said to be a dangerous place to visit and some of those small Central American countries have a very sordid past. Dirty toilets, undrinkable water, corrupt policemen, con artists everywhere, who needs it? … Continue reading →
For most people when they hear the word Panama the first thing they think of is canal. And the second thing they think of is…well…good question. Panama hats, perhaps? Julie and I had come to Panama for much more than just the canal, although we were looking forward to that. For us Panama marked the end of our Central American adventure and also one of the most expensive, risky and … Continue reading →
It was in the jungle-clad mountains of Costa Rica we were first introduced to the saying of Pura Vida, or pure life. Pura Vida seems to sum up how Costa Ricans view their country and themselves. The saying is on every T-shirt and coffee mug you see and is spoken by people as part of any conversation. We heard locals say it to each other as a form of casual … Continue reading →
The last couple of weeks have been stinking hot, most days staying in the high 90’sF/high 30’sC all day, and sometimes higher. When its that hot, and when that jungle humidity is up to boot, its hard to do too much during the day. Thank goodness for our very good little fans in Tramp to help us sleep at night. So we had no problems when it started to rain … Continue reading →
Camping in a huge truck stop squeezed between monster transport trucks with a pet pig and toilets featuring an old plastic curtain across the front was not the best start to our Nicaraguan experience. Like most Central American countries, Nicaragua has had some serious problems in the past and many played out in bold font through the international press. But these days Nic, as its sometimes referred to, has a … Continue reading →
Every Central American country has had its challenges in the last 50 years and some are doing better at overcoming them than others. Unfortunately one country – Honduras – has been in the international press these last couple of months due to a recent disputed presidential election which has led to widespread protests and rioting, sometimes ending in violence. Julie and I had already decided for expediency sake we were … Continue reading →
Julie and I have camped in some amazing places over the years, stark deserts, sandy beaches, high mountain tops and much more but lately we’ve been hanging out in secure car parks of hotels and restaurants, a marina and a hostel. Whatever works is what we say. But our first night in El Salvador was a new experience. After a painful two-hour border-crossing process to get our import permit for … Continue reading →
What did we know about Guatemala before hitting the border? Well, actually, not that much. Northern Guatemala hosts the world-renowned Mayan ruin of Tikal, which was our first port of call, but otherwise the country has a fairly grim reputation and for many years was a complete no-go zone. We knew the situation had improved from those bad days but despite the excitement of hitting a new country there was … Continue reading →
Belize is famous for its barrier reef, tropical weather, beautiful long beaches and layback Caribbean lifestyle. The tropical weather – that is, almost constant rain, was stopping us from visiting the reef but we still wanted to see what life was like at a Belizean beachside community. So our goal for the day was the southern beaches around the sandy town of Placencia but to get there we had to … Continue reading →
The Customs official reached into a large box she had on the counter and with a big smile handed Julie a rainbow-coloured frosted cupcake. How often does that happen when you are passing into a new country? Well, Belize is very unique in this part of the world, English speaking, layback, more Caribbean than Central American, more black than Latino, much less stress. Never mind they confiscated some fruit and … Continue reading →
We got off our plane in Cancun from Havana and passed through Customs and Immigration, a little anxious about what we would find out in the carpark. We had left Tramp in as safe a position as possible and hoped he would not be the victim of any foul play while we were living it up in Cuba. But there he was, safe and sound, wagging his tail when he … Continue reading →
Raynol was a handsome young guy with his cool top knot hair style and easy-going manner who didn’t speak a single word of English but drove a bright yellow modern car which doubled as a taxi. We met him on the streets of Havana and negotiated a price for him to chauffeur us down to Trinidad on the south coast of the island and back to the airport over a … Continue reading →
The buildings all around us seemed to be crumbling before our very eyes as we explored these narrow streets, no street lights, only the occasional ancient car rumbling by. But many people were walking about, sitting on their front door step, kids playing in the street, sounds of TVs and music in Spanish playing in back rooms. There was certainly the sense of hardship and poverty but also one of … Continue reading →
When most people think of the Yucatan Peninsula their first thought is probably of the famous resort town of Cancun, hot winter sun, beautiful beaches, cold cervezas and an escape from the snowy North American winters. As an afterthought some people might also say something like, “I think the Yucatan also has some amazing old Mayan ruins in the jungle”. Well, indeed they do and our priority was to hit … Continue reading →
The term Mesoamerica is packed with history, culture, architecture, religion and language in a region stretching from central Mexico through most of Central America. It is one of six areas of the world where ancient civilisation arose independently and its two most famous societies were the Aztecs of central Mexico and the Mayans of the Yucatan Peninsula. On a cold frosty morning we walked from our campsite to visit one … Continue reading →
Mazatlan felt very familiar and comfortable for us as we drove off our ferry from Baja and started our trek across central Mexico. We were in the Mexican travel groove and parked Tramp so we could explore the old historical centre of this large seaport city. The large ornate cathedral sparkled in the warm sunshine, the nearby market was abuzz with locals buying and selling their wares and the old … Continue reading →
Our plan was to catch the overnight ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan to start our journey on the Mexican ‘mainland’. We had survived Christmas, Julie’s birthday and New Year’s Eve all in Baja and had enjoyed every moment but we had one more important place to visit before catching the ferry. A good friend of ours had spent many seasons in one of the world’s most recognisable kite boarding … Continue reading →
Travel takes you to amazing places but it also runs over special days, such as Christmas which we recently enjoyed in Mulege, and now Julie’s birthday. We woke up on Ligui Beach in Loreto Bay National Park on Julie’s special day and I promised her a gorgeous sunrise over the ocean, a long beautiful drive across the desert, a hotel in the large town of La Paz and margaritas before … Continue reading →
Julie and I have always treated Christmas in a very traditional manner – family and friends, the tree, decorations, presents, too much food, bad music. Christmas is always a lot of work but its also a lot of fun, especially when the kids are young and the festivities span from the school to the office to the backyard barbie. So what’s happened this year? We’re in central Baja Mexico in … Continue reading →
The US and Canada were easy to travel through, relaxed, safe, familiar, convenient. But that was now all behind us as we crossed the Mexican border at Tijuana, the most crossed border in the world, and passed over into another world full of adventure, new places to explore, new experiences, new rewards. We were immediately tested with our entire truck X-rayed and we had to negotiate the border complex to … Continue reading →
One of my favourite travelling songs is the old Willie Nelson tune with the singalong chorus ‘On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again’. Julie and I could finally sing that song again after about an eight week hiatus from Tramp and our Follow the Sun adventure. During that time we had a beautiful little grand daughter (Abby rules!), we reunited with friends and family … Continue reading →
We spent nine glorious months exploring the vast continent of North America and every day discovered many beautiful places while enjoying an endless stream of adventures. But our growing family drew us home, back to our base camp in Sydney where we reveled in the joy and love of our new granddaughter – beautiful little Abby.
Continue reading →One of the proudest moments of my life was walking our daughter Anna down the aisle on her big day with her beau Carl. That was more than four years ago and a lot has happened since then, all for the good. Julie and I were in North Carolina back in May when Anna told us the big news that she and Carl were expecting a baby, the best news … Continue reading →
Julie and I have been caught between our old-fashioned love for large fold-out paper maps and the newfangled way of navigating via GPS and talking devices. Both methods of moving from A to B have merit and each has their strengths and weaknesses. We’ve adopted a blended strategy of using legacy maps to plot our bigger, broader and longer-term journey while sometimes using our GPS, which we call Karen, to … Continue reading →
Don’t you love spreadsheets? A good spreadsheet reveals all sorts of interesting information, some of it even useful, and a wealth of new knowledge that is almost always ignored or forgotten. And when a spreadsheet can produce meaningful statistics, even better. Well, I’m into spreadsheets, big time, and have kept a detailed spreadsheet of the first leg of our Follow the Sun journey. Here’s a few facts and figures that … Continue reading →
I used to say that the last three days of any holiday are the toughest because your mind starts thinking about getting home, what has to be done next, getting back to school or work, whatever the next chapter has in store. We’re certainly suffering a bit of that because we are looking forward to returning to Sydney before the grand arrival of our first grandchild (yeah!) but all the … Continue reading →
There’s an old cowboy saying for when a horse knows he’s heading home he’ll single-mindedly do anything to get there as quickly as possible – he is barn shy. Well, leaving Canada meant we were now taking a fairly direct route back to our North American home base in California and we were getting a little barn shy to get there ourselves.
Continue reading →The Rocky Mountains are probably the geographic centrepiece of the entire North American continent. Running north-south from the far reaches of British Colombia and Alberta almost to the Mexican border, the Rockies define the western stretches of this landmass, create their own weather, influence where and how people live and provide a magnificent magnet for any traveller. And perhaps the best of the Rockies, with apologies to Colorado, are found … Continue reading →
The leafy trees are turning yellow, the temperature is dropping, the skies are always grey, businesses are closing, this must be northern Canada in late September. Our adventure in Alaska is sadly behind us and our aim is to start heading seriously south over the next couple of weeks but we still have many things we want to see along the way and to enjoy more Canadian hospitality, if not … Continue reading →
We have spent more than seven weeks in Alaska and driven over 5,500 miles, full of adventure, exploration, discovery, wonder, joy and yes, some frustration with extended car troubles. But all good things must come to an end, preferably before winter sets in, and we reluctantly made our way south towards Canada. But Canada and Alaska are intricately linked geographically and with such few roads in the region we planned … Continue reading →
Locals are a great source of information for what to see and where to go. We try to talk to as many as we can, asking questions about things to do, places to visit, local weather conditions, how long have they been there, etc. On a few occasions we were told by Alaskans the best drive in Alaska was the drive down to the deep water port of Valdez. And … Continue reading →
After ten agonising days in Fairbanks we were finally handed the keys to Tramp and with almost childhood zeal we climbed onboard and hit the road again. Tramp’s extensive surgery to his rear end was more painful for us than for him but the Chevy dealer did the right thing and covered all our costs during Tramp’s convalescence. The whole experience taught us how totally reliant we were on our … Continue reading →
We headed south and east toward the Wrangell St. Elias National Park and the remote town of McCarthy. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, very little traffic, we were looking for bears and moose, as usual. Then a loud clunk, grind, scrape and clang came from the back end of Tramp. We slammed to a stop, jumped out and peered underneath – the rear axle and differential were smoking and … Continue reading →
We’ve been feeling lately like we’re part of Game of Thrones. It is late August and summer is over in Alaska, winter is coming, and everyone is making final preparations before the long dark cold winter sets in. In our case it isn’t so much life and death as just lousy weather, low grey clouds every day, drizzle or rain most of the time, winds blowing, temperatures dropping to chilly … Continue reading →
The Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska is a paradise for those seeking soft adventure and anyone who wants to get close to northern nature. We had already aced the whole bear thing down in remote Katmai National Park and were now headed for Kenai Fjords National Park and the port town of Seward to explore everything it had to offer. And we started with a perfect 10 campsite on the … Continue reading →
We spent 19 fabulous days in northern Alaska, highlighted by world renowned Denali National Park, a day of scenic flights and exploration in Gates of the Arctic National Park, the epic drive up the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Ocean and a week in Fairbanks waiting for repairs for the third member of our team, Tramp. Now we were heading south to the waterways, islands, glaciers and hidden secrets of … Continue reading →
In 1968 oil was discovered off the shores of northern Alaska. It was cold and inhospitable land, the oil was prohibitively expensive to pump out and transport to civilisation. Then the oil crisis emerged in the early 1970’s and America was thirsty for its own oil rather than depend on countries in the Middle East. Suddenly the untapped oil up in Prudhoe Bay was a bargain and they built an … Continue reading →
Way up in northern Alaska, far above the Arctic Circle, away from any roads, away from any other towns, away from any navigable rivers, smack dab in the middle of one of the most remote national parks in the American parks system is a small native Alaskan village surviving primarily on subsistence living and generations of tradition. The community’s name is Anaktuvuk Pass and on a recent sunny day Julie … Continue reading →
When I was a young man and exploring the world vicariously via National Geographic, intriguing maps and endless travel books I always thought that Fairbanks was the type of place I would like to live. The northern most major town of the continent, near the tallest mountains, starting point for explorers heading into the cold Arctic, big enough to provide all the essentials, it seemed like my perfect town. Unfortunately … Continue reading →
The world renowned Denali National Park is the centrepiece for outdoors Alaska. It contains the continent’s highest mountain, braided rivers, uncountable glaciers and magnificent remote country touched only by its bears, moose, caribou, wolves, Dall sheep and many other northern animals. It is by any standard an American treasure. In planning this trip over the years our visit to Denali was one of the most anticipated sites. And we finally … Continue reading →
Ever since Julie was a teenager she has wanted to go to Alaska. It was wild and remote and adventurous, had amazing wild animals and was romanticised through movies and documentaries. She read Michener, London and other authors who painted a tantalising picture. I think on the first day I met her she said, “I want to go to Alaska”. It was a challenge I was prepared to accept but … Continue reading →
The old cry for adventure was ‘North to Alaska!’ but when you are in Inuvik, Northwest Territories near the Arctic Ocean you have to go south to Alaska. In fact, from Inuvik you have to go south to go anywhere. Inuvik, population 3,500, is on the banks of the Mackenzie Delta and only about 100 kms (60 miles) from the Arctic Ocean. It has a large First Nation population and … Continue reading →
There are two lines drawn on the map which they say delineates where during a specific period in the summer the sun never sets on the horizon and in a specific period in the winter the sun never rises above the horizon. There are two such lines – one in the south marking the Antarctic Circle and one in the north marking the Arctic Circle. Such is the remoteness of … Continue reading →
The Yukon Territory is often defined by one key historical event – the discovery of gold near the Klondike River in 1898. This gold rush, and the thousands of ill-prepared prospectors who were part of the boom and bust of this region, helped develop the Yukon in terms of towns, transport links and (brief) prosperity. It later became a key player in the US building the Alaska Highway which lies … Continue reading →
Playschool taught all children to love bears. They are cute and cuddly, don’t say much, just nod their head and wave their big flannel paws. But if you are bush camping in northern Canada bears take on a whole new meaning, especially when you see them so regularly on the side of the road you stop taking photos…and then you pull into an open area off the road and set … Continue reading →
Yellowknife is a very cool name for a town but in this case it is also the thriving capital of the Northwest Territories. With 20,000 people, half of the territory’s population, this really was the big smoke. To get there we travelled along the northwest arm of the Great Slave Lake and passed through a few First Nation communities that had seen better days. The road was under constant repair … Continue reading →
The Northwest Territories is big, I mean bigger than can be imagined. We thought Texas was big, we thought Ontario was big but this was all before we crossed the 60th parallel and entered Mr. Big himself, the Northwest Territories. Reaching all the way to the Arctic Ocean and beyond, the NWT features the longest rivers, deepest lakes, largest national parks and biggest horse flies of Canada and seems to … Continue reading →
Alberta is a province blessed with the magnificence of the Rocky Mountains, endless fertile land and almost unlimited oil underground. Visitors flock to the province like no other and for good reason – Banff and Jaspar National Parks are among the best in the world. We had used their capital, Edmonton, as a fly-in, fly-out point to attend our nephew’s wedding in California but now we were back in the … Continue reading →
Julie and I love weddings. We love the celebration of a wedding but we also love the reunion of family and friends that every wedding represents. We have no problem travelling fair distances to attend a wedding – different state, different country, short haul, long haul, whatever it takes. And we usually try to tie in some sort of holiday or break with the wedding, whether it is in Bali, … Continue reading →
Well, yes, as it turns out I got it right first time. Bit of a fluke I think. For the annual school spelling bee it is the Canadian equivalent of Mississippi but without the repetition or the famous river. We entered Saskatchewan via its northern-most boundary road with Manitoba and then headed a bit further north, almost hitting the 55th parallel, before camping on the banks of one of the … Continue reading →
We found the herd of bison grazing in a large open meadow some distance from where we were standing. We watched them for a while and noticed they were slowly drifting towards a nearby dirt track. We positioned Tramp to intercept them and then quietly watched as they slowly moved across in front of us, one of them interested enough to come over and almost sniff Tramp. They were losing … Continue reading →
It is said Ontario contains all the fabulous features of Canada in one province. It has the national capital of Ottawa and Toronto – a cosmopolitan city to match any in the world, almost 40% of the country’s population, sharing borders with some of the Great Lakes, vast tracts of agriculture, boundless natural resources, a strong bi-lingual society and all of this in an endless space larger than Spain and … Continue reading →
Parlez-vous français? Well, if you’re asking us – je parle un peu. And we’re right in the middle of Quebec where a little French comes in very handy. The good people of Quebec (Quebecois pronounce it without mentioning the ‘u’) seem to be caught in two worlds. For the most part they are seriously passionate about their French heritage and their French language, which is fair enough. Most support the … Continue reading →
We were camping wild in the bush but we were not alone. Julie spotted him first, a large grey wolf appearing on the hillside near our camp, the bloody results of his hunting skills hanging from his mouth, staring at the strangers who had entered his domain. He disappeared for a moment but reappeared soon after, staring at us, sniffing the wind, trying to assess the situation and plot his … Continue reading →
The day was cold and drizzly, as we’ve come to expect, with low clouds blocking the mountain tops but the beautiful lakes and bubbling mountain streams still in full view. We were on a mission to visit Gros Morne National Park, internationally recognised for its unique geologic features and stunning scenery. The highlight of drive to the park was a young moose stepping out on the road just in front … Continue reading →
Our first view of The Rock, as Newfoundlanders affectionately call their island, was glorious. We were standing on the deck of our huge ferry as it pulled into the little harbour of Port aux Basques in the southwestern corner of this huge province. The early morning sun was shining brightly on the freshly painted little homes on the nearby hillside and the distant hills still featured larges patches of snow … Continue reading →
With Tramp’s new boots we headed north again, up the coast and across the causeway onto Cape Breton Island which covers the northern shores of the mainland and includes world renowned Cape Breton Highlands National Park. And an oddity for us, a city of the same name as our hometown -Sydney.
Continue reading →How many cities can claim to have a citadel? In particular one that protected its people for two centuries without ever firing a shot? Well, Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia can make that claim and we had a chance to explore this fortress on a hill overlooking the centre of town during our brief visit to the city. But Nova Scotia is really more about its famous coastline and … Continue reading →
