Ain't No Mountain High Enough...

I’ve been a bit slack with the blog posts over the past couple of months – and I’d like to think (ok, my excuse is) that I’ve been climbing a few personal mountains lately; new job, moving house etc. They’ve been sucking up my travel blog time like a black hole.

It's all down hill from here

Anyway, that clichéd analogy got me thinking about the mountains I actually have climbed. I don’t fancy myself as a hiker so it’s not a long list, but I do intend to add to it in the future. I thought I’d share it with you because, lets face it, there’s nothing like feeling as though you want to quit at the bottom of a climb, and surprising yourself when you get to the top!

Little Mount Peel, South Canterbury, New Zealand

Firstly, I’d like to point the ‘little’ in Little Mount Peel ain’t so small. It must be something about New Zealanders living in a country with so many mountains that made then want to call this monster ’Little’ Mount Peel. The peak actually has an older sibling, Mount Peel, which is actually is bigger. Fair enough.

Little Mount Peel, New Zealand

Little Mount Peel is located around 1.5 hours drive from Christchurch, on New Zealand’s South Island Peel Forest Park. If your fitness is ok you’ll probably get up and back in about three hours. We did the walk in summer, so it was pretty steamy while walking through the dense scrub at the bottom, but take a jacket; the higher you go the lower the temperature gets. The track can be pretty rugged and muddy in places, especially if there’s been recent rain, so wear comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty.

The track is steep in places, and you may need to stop for the occasional breather if you aren’t used to climbing, but the view is SO worth it.

Murree Hills, Punjab Province, Pakistan

I was lucky enough to visit Pakistan when I was a teenager in 1997. It was a somewhat different country back then, but even at that stage I appreciated how lucky I was to visit such an exotic, and sometimes, scary place.



Murree Hills, Pakistan

 The view from the Murree Hills over the disputed Kashmiri border still remains one of the most exotic views I’ve ever seen in my life. The hills were dark green and almost mystical looking, with low cloud swirling the peaks. Ok, I didn’t actually climb the mountains with my legs, most of it was done from the relative safety of the 4WD with my uncle, aunt and cousins, but there was some walking. With the travel sickness and the 4WD winding round and round the misty, mountain road, I still felt like I climbed the damn thing.

Mount Warning, northern New South Wales, Australia

Located about 40 minutes drive from the Gold Coast, Mount Warning is a great climb, with a good track and rainforest view. The mountain is also known as Wollumbin (meaning cloud catcher), and has great cultural and traditional significance to indigenous Australians.

Mount Warning

Due to the often warm and humid climate of northern New South Wales, the ideal time to climb Mount Warning is early in the morning or during the winter months. It’s also a bit of a gamble as to the view you’ll see when you get to the top. Even if it’s a clear sunny day, Mount Warning can often attract low cloud, hence the indigenous name, over its peak. Mostly, you’ll get great views, even on the way up, but it’s good to keep in mind your end result is completely reliant on the whims of nature.

The last part of the climb is rock face, and all you have to assist you up the top is a chain. It’s not as primitive as it sounds, but you have to be pretty mobile to finish the climb comfortably.

Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales, Australia

I climbed Mount Kosuiszko as a teenager too, so I probably remember it being easier than it was, although you don’t need to be a professional athlete to complete this hike and still be able to walk the next day.



Kosuiszko National Park

I did the climb during spring so the track was conveniently free of snow, (in winter it’s one of Australia’s best ski slopes) and we followed a nature boardwalk virtually all the way to the top. The view rivals any I’ve ever seen in terms of absolute 360-degree views of Australia’s beautiful Snowy Mountains landscape. It’s also relatively easy on the way back down, which means you’ll still have lots of energy left to explore the tiny ski village of Thredbo.

On my to do list I have the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea and Machu Picchu in Peru.


Have you done any of these? I’d love to hear about it if you have. What’s on your mountain list?

Wishful Wednesday Travel Photo

Travel photos from where I'd rather be...

Lake Ophua (South Island), New Zealand

Hello world, it's Queensland. I'm open for business.

Tounge Bay, Hill Inlet and Whitehaven Beach - Whitsundays
(Photo: Tourism Queensland)

It has been a long time between blog posts for me, I’ll admit. Some of it has been the usual pre-Christmas craziness and the post-holiday laziness – but the rest is because the state I live in, Queensland, Australia, has been inundated by devastating, mind-blowing flooding.

I consider myself very lucky because; firstly, I live at least an hour’s drive from the state’s capital - Brisbane - where some very damaging and widespread flooding occurred, and almost two hours from the regional areas struck by incredible flash flooding (you may have seen those pictures on the news). Secondly, my house wasn’t flooded. But many, many were. It has been an awful and life-changing experience for hundreds of thousands of people.

But this post is not about the tragedy of the flooding – it is about what you (as an avid traveller/blogger/ordinary person/friend who does me a favour and reads my blog) can do to help. Please come and visit Queensland. Help the Queensland tourism industry (which contributes $9.2 billion to the state's economy) get back on its feet.

 

Unfortunately there is a lot of out of date information still out there at the moment; even Google's 'Crisis Response' page has not been updated and still says that millions of people are being threatened by flooding.

The majority of popular tourist destinations in Queensland (the Gold Coast, The Sunshine Coast, Airlie Beach, Cairns, Port Douglas, Agnes Waters, Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef, just to name a few) have not been affected by flooding AT ALL. They remain a fantastic place to spend your hard earned holiday leave. All Queensland airports, except Rockhampton, are open and working as normal. The main highway from Brisbane to Cairns is open. You can get further details about the areas that are not affected by flooding at all from Tourim Queensland here.

For anyone who hasn’t visited Australia before, or doesn’t know the state of Queensland, the above map may help. You can see a lot of the northern tourist destinations I mentioned above are hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometres away from the recent flood affected areas.

Yes, I’m biased. Queensland, and Australia, is my home, as well as a great place to travel. But if you’ve ever watched shocking news footage of a devastating natural disaster and wondered what you can do – here is a chance.

Pass this on to anyone and everyone you know who might be planning a holiday soon. Visit Queensland – the tourism industry is open for business!

Now, I’m not saying anything new; almost everyone in the online travel community within Australia is encouraging travellers to spend their precious dollars in Queensland. So many people cant be wrong, right?

There’s even a dedicated Facebook page full of ideas for your next Queensland holiday.

You can also follow the official Tourism Queensland blog

Airlines are even having sales, doing their bit to raise awareness. Domestic Australian airline Virgin Blue is having a sale to destinations in Queensland, where some flights are up to 50% off. Check out the Queensland Shines Sale.

And finally – there are so many people doing it tough in the wake of this incredible destruction. They won’t be having a holiday anytime soon. Please, if you can, donate to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal – the Queensland Government’s official flood appeal fund.

Wishful Wednesday Travel Photo

Brrr...Central Park in winter, New York City

Backyard Travel: Australia

I’ve recently had a bit of a financial reality check, which as a traveller, is not much fun.

It’s that time in my life when I’m thinking about making some of those grown-up decisions, like getting a mortgage. This unfortunately means I may have to cut down on my expensive international travel addiction, and try to stick to one a year (or less – yikes!).

As much as I break out into a cold sweat at the thought – I’ve realised I’m lucky to live in a beautiful country full of travel adventure options. I think because my country is an island I’ve developed an obsession with ‘overseas’ travel’ when in fact, there’s plenty to see at home too.

So it’s about time I appreciate the amazing Australian places I’ve been lucky enough to visit…and to start a bit of a domestic travel wish list!

Coolangatta, Gold Coast

I am actually lucky enough to call the Gold Coast home, but before I lived in this beautiful coastal city, I visited my favourite part – Coolangatta – every year.

Not only does it still have a friendly, small-town-feel to the area surrounding some of the world’s most amazing surf breaks (Snapper Rocks to name just one), it's also five minutes from an international airport and has some of the most amazing beach views anywhere in Australia.

You can spend a day at the beach without having to fight for a square of sand, a common problem at so many other world-class beaches, and accommodation and dining isn’t overpriced. And if you’re a surfing fan, make the trip in the Australia summer to catch the Quicksilver Pro, the first stop on the ASP world surfing tour.

The Murray River, Victoria

Australia’s longest river may look less than exotic to many visitors; I think it could be the brown, muddy water, but it really is an amazing river to travel down.

Wishful Wednesday Travel Photo

Suburban street - Lisbon, Portugal

Five reasons to visit New Zealand

I was lucky enough to spend last weekend in New Zealand for a wedding. It was a lightning-quick trip and it got me to re-evaluate my ideas about travelling there.

The view from the flight into Christchurch

I’ve now had the pleasure of visiting New Zealand three times because I fell in love with a Kiwi. I have to admit, and the traveller in me is not proud of this, that before meeting the boy, I wasn’t in a hurry to visit the Land of the Long White Cloud.

I know this may seem crazy to anyone who lives half the globe away from New Zealand – but as an Aussie, who lives just across The Ditch, I must confess I took New Zealand for granted. It wasn’t on my top five list of places to go next.

But Aotearoa, I must confess to you, I judged you too hastily. You are a magnificent country to visit and travel.

Here are my Top Five reasons why...

1. Nature untouched

New Zealand is a place where nature almost seems untouched by humans. Whether it's Milford Sound at the bottom of the South Island, Stewart Island or Matamata on the North Island, where the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was famously filmed, you won’t be disappointed. As well as hitting the big touristy places, some of the lesser-travelled areas like the picturesque farming land of South Canterbury or the hot springs of Hanmer, are well worth travelling off the main highway for.