Conquering Australia’s Highest Peaks

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I don’t often get a chance to do a hike longer than two days, so when the Easter long weekend rolled around, I jumped at the opportunity for a three day hike and to get further out of Sydney than regular weekends allow. My plan was to spend the long weekend in Kosciuszko National Park hiking to the top of the highest peaks in Australia. I aimed to climb 20 peaks in total, with the primary aim being to conquer the top 16 peaks. “Why 16?” You may ask. Well, I started planning to do the top 10, but the … Continue reading →

The Great North Walk – Pt 2

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Great North Walk Part 2: Cowan to Somersby 55.4km Day 1: Cowan Station to Rifle Range Firetrail 31.5km Day 2: Rifle Range Firetrail to Somersby Store 23.9km Two and a half months after our first section hike of The Great North Walk, my Brother Will and I were back at Cowan Station (apparently pronounced Cow-an and not Co-wan like we had been saying), ready to undertake our second section. After crossing the train line and highway we descended through Ku-rin-gai Chase National Park towards Jerusalem Bay. Still haunted by the sweltering heat of the last hike, we were almost excited … Continue reading →

Blue Gum Forest

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Govetts Leap Lookout to Victoria Falls Lookout Via The Blue Gum Forest Day 1: 10.56km – Govetts Leap Lookout to Acacia Flats campground via Evans Lookout Day 2: 12.46km – Acacia Flats to Victoria Falls lookout via The Blue Gum Forest. A group hike has been a hot topic of conversation at recent family events and eventually we managed to find a weekend that the majority of those interested were available. Our party consisted of eight hikers made up from my brothers, cousins and cousin’s partners. Within the group, there were various levels of hiking experience so we tried to … Continue reading →

The Great North Walk – Pt 1

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Part 1- North Ryde Station to Cowan Station Day 1: 36.44km – North Ryde Station to Berowra Creek Campsite Day 2: 15.63km – Berowra Creek Campsite to Cowan Station If you want to get to Newcastle from Sydney, you have a few options. You could fly there, you could get the train, you could of course drive, or you could walk along the 250km long Great North Walk. The Great North Walk (GNW) connects the two cities by weaving through both city centres, their surrounding suburbs and multiple beautiful National Parks. It can be thru-hiked in one go, camping along … Continue reading →

Amongst The Treats

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While in Takayama, Janelle and I immersed ourselves into the heavenly local cuisine and it was the only time that I’ve thought I should be writing a food blog rather than a travel blog. However, I don’t have Instagram and I hate it when people take photos of their food (I die a little inside every time I do it), so I’ll never be a food blogger. I also didn’t want to clog up my main blogs with me salivating over food, but it is impossible to go to Japan and not talk about the food, so for a one … Continue reading →

Japan Pt 2

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Takayama was next on our trip and I could just tell as the train weaved its way through the forested mountains, following dramatic ravines with flowing rivers and passing small villages dusted in snow that I would absolutely hate it there. It turns out, I was completely right. Takayama is just awful and you definitely shouldn’t look for me there if you suspect that I’ve faked my death. The Miyagawa morning markets are set up by the Miyagawa river and we browsed the stores in a lightly falling fluffy snow while purchasing and eating some delicious treats. While the snow … Continue reading →

Japan Pt 1

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In 2013 Janelle and I went to Japan on our first international holiday together after being together dating for only six months. Travel can be a test for all relationships but fortunately, it turned out we travel really well together and it helped that we both fell in love with Japan. Ever since, I’ve told anyone who’ll listen that Japan has been my favourite country to travel to. It is a technological wonderland full of rich culture, architecture and wonderfully friendly people. It has an extensive history, diverse from the castles and katanas of their feudal past all the way … Continue reading →

The Capertee/Wolgan Valley Divide

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Neighbouring The Wolgan Valley is the equally breathtaking Capertee Valley and dividing the two valleys is a ridge of escarpment known as the Capertee/Wolgan divide. In 2015, Dad took Will and I on a mostly off trail hike along the divide and ever since we have talked about how great it would be to return for an overnight hike which would give us more time to explore the area. We have made it back one other time with the rest of the family and explored some new areas but the overnighter was still calling us, but with Mum and Dad … Continue reading →

Newnes to Annie Rowan Creek

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The only road through the Wolgan Valley loosely follows the Wolgan River which is responsible for carving out the captivating valley that I call my backyard. However, where the road terminates at the now campground once shale oil mining town of Newnes, the river continues on until it merges with other rivers to become the Hawkesbury before flowing into the Tasman sea at Broken Bay. In theory, one could follow the river the entire way, but on this hike my Brother Will and I would just be doing a small section of it. We were aiming for a tributary called … Continue reading →

Mt Solitary and Kedumba Valley Loop

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The Three Sisters in Katoomba is one of the most visited places in the Blue Mountains. Swarms of tourists flock daily to Echo Point to see the unusual rock formation and for many, this may sadly be all they see of the Blue Mountains. While the Three Sisters may be the main attraction of the lookout at Echo Point, the view also spans south out into the Kedumba Valley whose prominent feature is Mt Solitary — a lone mesa like island plateau broken off from the main escarpment. Last year some time, I stopped in at Echo Point to see … Continue reading →