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Category: Hiking and Kayaking

A Walk in the Black Forest

A Walk in the Black Forest

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The Black Forest. The name conjures images of dark, mysterious mountain woods, inhabited by wild animals and supernatural creatures straight from the pages of classic fairytales. It had been a while since I’d been camping and hiking, and since I was in the neighbourhood, I thought I’d spend some time exploring this place of legends. After picking up the hiking map I needed from Stuttgart city centre, I headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of planning. Have wanderkarte…

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Paddling Matka Canyon

Paddling Matka Canyon

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Out and About Around Skopje, Part II I woke up grumpy. That irritated, stressed, annoyed grumpiness that manifests in sudden outbursts of anger and swearing. Where everything seems to go wrong and everything is against you. After an irritating breakfast, a stressful time packing my bag, and an annoying walk down the stairs and out to the car, I headed off towards Matka Canyon. The traffic shit me. The navigation map pissed me off. Oh it was going to be…

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Climbing Mount Vodno

Climbing Mount Vodno

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Out and About Around Skopje, Part I Although North Macedonia’s capital Skopje has a population of over 600,000, you can still find some peace and quiet close to the city. Two natural attractions are right on the doorstep: Mount Vodno and Matka Canyon. And if you choose to visit them in the middle of winter, you pretty much get them to yourself. I did, and I did. The 1066 metre high snow-covered Mount Vodno lies to the south-west of Skopje,…

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Climbing Mt Hoverla

Climbing Mt Hoverla

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Ukraine’s Highest Peak After my visit to Pervomaisk, I was keen on seeing the Ukrainain high country, and in particular climbing Mt Hoverla. The 2061 metre peak is part of the Carpathian Mountain Ranges, which span eight countries over their 1500 kilometre length. It was a 10 hour drive from Pervomaisk to Vorokhta, my destination near Mt Hoverla, so I decided to take it easy and stop half-way. Having been unable to book any accommodation for my overnight stop online,…

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Seven Rila Lakes, Bulgaria

Seven Rila Lakes, Bulgaria

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TREKKING THE TARNS After a few dramas travelling from Plovdiv to the small town of Sapareva Banya, I was pleased to plonk my bags down in my accommodation for the night. Plovdiv to Sapareva Banya isn’t so far as the Bulgarian hooded crow flies, however the direct bus I had planned to catch turned out not to exist, so it was a two train and one bus dogleg via Sofia instead. I arrived just on dusk, and was a little…

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Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum

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‘The car has Jordan plates on it, and by law as a visitor you are only supposed to drive a vehicle with tourist plates. So if the police stop you, tell them you work for the Australian Embassy.’ It was really a matter of ‘when’ the police stop you in Jordan rather than ‘if’, so after this advice from the manager of the hire car joint I left with some trepidation. I was out of luck trying to hire a…

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Climbing La Concha, Marbella, Spain

Climbing La Concha, Marbella, Spain

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Sailing into Marbella, it’s hard to miss the towering presence of La Concha. The mountain which looms over the town is so-named because it looks like a sea shell, even though it doesn’t. Our first day in Marbella was rainy, and the clouds sat low over La Concha. However the second day dawned bright so I set off to climb the peak. I caught the bus north out of town, which wound it’s way up past the little hillside village…

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Hiking the Archduke’s Trail

Hiking the Archduke’s Trail

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Back on the Hoof II Unfavourable winds for our passage to the coast of Spain meant another week in Mallorca, so I took the opportunity to get out for second hike in the Tramuntana Mountains. I had read that the ‘Archduke’s Trail’ was well worth a look, so I decided to check it out. The Archduke in question is Luis Salvador; an Austrian bloke who spent a lot of time in Mallorca in the late 1800s. Now Luis was a…

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Hiking the Dry Stone Route, Mallorca, Spain

Hiking the Dry Stone Route, Mallorca, Spain

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Back on the hoof Part I I hadn’t done an overnight hike since leaving New Zealand, and a weeks’ stopover in Mallorca seemed like a great opportunity to get out for a walk. I did a little research, and came across the Ruta de Pedra en Sec – ‘The Dry Stone Route’. In the olden days, olden day Mallorcans built a network of cobbled pathways that linked remote communities in the rugged Serra de Tramuntana mountains. Today’s Dry Stone Route…

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Swallows and Amazons

Swallows and Amazons

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Urupukapuka is the largest island in New Zealand’s aptly named Bay of Islands. During a recent kayak trip (see Paddling the Bay) I had the opportunity to explore Urupukapuka, and climbed the grassy walking track to the Island’s highest point. I was rewarded with an amazing view over the area’s myriad bays and coves, peninsulas and isthmi. Whilst taking in the spectacular scene, the phrase ‘Swallows and Amazons‘ suddenly popped into my head. I stood on the hilltop. Swallows and…

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