The Tongariro Alpine Crossing on New Zealand’s north island has a reputation as one of the most dangerous hikes in the country. On a good day it’s a hard slog across 20km of rock and scree taking you up onto the desolate but spectacular plateau that forms the base of Mt Ngauruhoe.
Despite the spectacular views on offer around Mt Howitt it’s clear from the map that early European explorers had a rough time surveying the region.
Our first day on the bikes took us up the west coast from Negombo to Puttallam. It was a busy stretch of road and we were still a few days away from getting comfortable with the traffic so progress was slow.
In a lagoon north of Mullaitivu is a gold-painted ‘victory monument’. It presides over the area where the ‘Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam’ (LTTE) made their last stand against the Sri Lankan army in 2009.
It’s hard to know when to visit Sri Lanka. December to April is officially the dry season but the weather conditions are somewhat complex with various monsoon seasons affecting different parts of the island at different times.
One out of every five fish caught on planet earth is sold at Tsukiji fish market. Every day more than 2000 tons of fish pass through the market in Tokyo’s Chūō district.
Right in the center of the biggest city in the world an experiment in agriculture is being conducted.
Earlier this year I tagged along with the Australian/International off-pissed ski team to the slopes of Myokokogen. Matt chose Myoko because the guidebook gave it four and half snowflakes out of five in the ‘powder’ category. Also because our plan called for us to go from there to Kyoto and then onto Tokyo and we wanted to make sure our itinerary doubled as a tongue twister.
The old capital of Kyoto is home to about 1600 temples and countless smaller shrines.
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Tasmania’s southern coastline is one of the most wild and remote parts of Australia
Photos by Asmaa Waguih and Joey Lawrence of Kurdish fighters provide a face for a revolution that is quietly taking place behind the front lines of the war with ISIS.
The National Library of China holds an artifact that represents what must be the most ambitious attempt to control information in history.
Huashan is a mountain located about 120 kilometres east of Xi’an- China’s old capital. It’s home to some very dicey walking tracks, a really spectacular set of cable cars, a tea house perched on a cliff face and a photo studio with some genuine occupational health and safety issues.
The entry point for my brief tour of China was the southern Province of Sichuan-famed for its incredibly spicy food and baffling theatrical performances. I flew into the capital Chengdu at the start of October and explored the city between bouts of rain before venturing out into the nearby mountains.
When I first decided to visit Ton Sai ten or so years ago I discovered getting there was a little tricky.
On South Africa’s western cape we visited the coastal towns of Kalkbaai, Hermanus and Gaansbai.
In South Africa, the saying goes, ‘wildlife must pay its way’. It’s not enough to be endangered you have to generate revenue to be conserved.
Sani Pass is a stretch of road on the border of South Africa and Lesotho. The stretch of road between the South African border post and the summit is one of the most treacherous roads I’ve ever come across.
