Road Testing Ms New Boots
We do not really have many mountains in Australia, it is a very old country and they have mostly been warn away. While Brisbane is surrounded by ‘mountains’ they are…
The Routeburn Track, stunning variety in just a few days
The Routeburn Track is a stunning hike in Fjordland on the South Island of New Zealand. The mix of alpine and rainforest with some great views is superb. I had done this walk a few years ago and consider it one of the best walks I’ve done anywhere in the world; the availability of huts all made for a perfect pick for Masako’s first multi-day hike outside Japan (and its superb hut system).
So it was off to Queenstown with DOCS hut bookings in hand.
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Springbrook After the Floods
It hadn’t been a great few weeks, having to say goodbye to a doggie, Sakura, she was 16 years old and had a good life - but it was sad.…
Climbing Mount Ngungun
The destination this weekend was a very small mountain in the Glasshouse Mountains, one of the people coming wasn’t keen on walks that are too long. Mount Ngungun is the…
A Birthday walk at O’Reilly’s
A couple of weeks ago it was my Mother's birthday, she loves birds and mentioned she hadn't been to O'Reilly's for a long time, perfect time a trip down South.…
Hiking to the Steamers – Ship’s Stern
It has been quite a few months since I'd done any overnight hiking (the bike had been winning), but a local meetup group had a walk in an area that…
Looking West from Lizard Point
Lizard Point
Lizard Point is a pretty steep, muddy walk rewarding you with great views of Main Range.
Somerset Trail – D’Aguilar National Park
Somehow we had completely missed that the May Day long weekend was coming and there was an extra day available on the weekend – a great find to make! A…
Climbing Yarigatake, one of Japan’s ‘best’ hikes.
First day back in the Japanese Alps, it was a pretty serious day with a lot of up in a short time; tomorrow will be far, far worse. My goal is Yarigatake, at 3384m the fifth highest mountain in Japan; often considered one of the best climbs in the Hida Mountains.
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Mount Mitsutoge, a view of Fuji.
Mitsutoge-Yama is one of the closest mountains to Mount Fuji and has fantastic views of it, the lakes, the Minami Alps, Yatsu-Ga-Take and pretty much everything else in the area.
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This old waterwheel was beautiful
Hiking The Magome-Tsumago Trail in in the rain
The Magome-Tsumago trail in the Kiso Valley is an original postal route in the Nagano Provence, the towns have been maintained in a mostly original state. Walking through the path passes through some beautiful forest, some original cobblestones and a bit of bitumen to remind you of modern times.
The day I walked from Magome to Tsumago was a rainy, cold day – it is easy to imagine what it was like to travel the hundreds of kilometres on foot as people once did.
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Enzansō
A lesson learnt this trip, don’t come to Japan in June, Tokyo is extremely hot and wet but most of the mountains are still covered in snow and not able to be climbed.
I wanted to go back into the Northern Alps but pretty much every route I investigated I eventually reached someone in the area and they told me that the route is still closed. It was in one of those research sessions that I came across the Otame-Ginza route from Nagano.
