Flavours of Hong Kong

It was December, 2018, and Hong Kong was chilly and damp. I saw the city as a futuristic London; the British colonisation influenced the double decker buses, and fusions of architecture, old and new, crammed together in narrow streets teaming with diverse culture, but the double decker trams, and wide highways cutting through the skyscrapers, more lights than Piccadilly Circus, made it like London 2.0. Of course, Hong Kong certainly has its own identity, with its idyllic location, surrounded by sea and mountains; it is stunning to look at from a distance. But when you’re in the heart of it all, dwarfed by buildings, traffic noise filling your head while you try to navigate the 7.4 million people around you, it’s the glowing lanterns of restaurants and food stands, and the rich smells of Chinese cooking that remind you where you are, warming your cockles in the cold December chaos.

Breakfast

We were hosted by a friend, Cecilia, who lived in a typical tiny flat in Kowloon City. The first meal of our visit was brunch, so Cecilia took us to a small cafe around the corner from her place to try Hong Kong style breakfast.

Congee – a Chinese porridge made with white rice. We tried it with and without beef, (I preferred it without) it was fairly bland and savoury, unlike Western oat porridge. We also tried Cheung Fun – Cantonese steamed rice noodle rolls, with seafood or pork, and on the side we had some egg rolls and stir fried noodles. It was a heavy breakfast for me, and Cecilia admitted that she would usually have fruit and toast, and save this kind of breakfast for special occasions!

Symphony of Lights

A short ferry ride across to Hong Kong Island brings you into the shopping district and tourism hub. We rode the double decker tram around the city, which was all lit up and filled with crowds. Christmas was in the air, and once again I was reminded of the dark, winter afternoons in London, Christmas shopping in Oxford Street. It was on Hong Kong Island that Cecilia introduced us to a sweet treat from a roadside food stand – Put Chai Ko.

Put Chai Ko is a traditional Cantonese desert, popular in Hong Kong. A starchy rice pudding with sweet red beans, it is sugary and creamy with the texture of soft Turkish Delight.

Every evening after sunset, Hong Kong Island puts on a musical light display, which you can view from across the water, at the Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront. Thousands of people flock here every evening to see the Symphony of Lights, and it’s free to watch, so it’s a great way to end a big day of maxing out your credit card in the shopping district!

To top the evening off, Cecilia took us to a Taiwanese Craft Pub where we met a friend of her’s. Hong Kong’s multi-cultural history means that it’s taken the best bits from its influences over the years, and the pub scene is roaring. There are many craft beer pubs and tap rooms scattered all over Hong Kong, and there is such a diverse amount of different beers from different places, it’s hard to be disappointed. I was too busy ordering tasting paddles with every beer on the menu to take any photos!

Lunch

Cecilia wanted to show us an authentic food hall for lunch, where groups of people go for casual banquet style dining. This can be a business lunch, or just an outing with family or friends, where dishes are shared around the table, rather than ordering a meal per person.

We had some classic steamed shrimp Dim Sum, crispy, crumbly taro nests, and of course Cecilia had to get us a Millennium Egg to try! The egg isn’t really 1000 years old, but it can take weeks to months to complete the curing process. It came with plenty of pickled ginger, which helps disguise the strong flavour of the egg, which had turned to salty jelly. Millennium Eggs are safe to eat, and surprisingly, don’t taste too bad! We finished with something scrumptious – fluffy steamed custard buns.

*Millennium Egg / Shrimp Dim Sum / Taro Nests / Steamed Custard Buns*

Victoria Peak

If there is one thing I could say is a ‘must do’ in Hong Kong, it would be to climb Victoria Peak. There are so many national parks in Hong Kong to explore, that it can become overwhelming trying to figure out the best way to use a short amount of time. So, go simple! Victoria Peak is easily accessible, and is probably one of the most trodden paths in Hong Kong. At 552m, it’s Hong Kong Island’s highest hill, and the views at the top are a beautiful showcase of the contrasting landscapes.

As you climb the paved footpath of the ‘circular walk’ you get glimpses through the bushes unveiling views on either side. Victoria Harbour towers up from below and the mainland districts frame the mountains beyond, while country parks and oceans on the other side give you two totally different views.

Sunset is a popular and busy time to go up Victoria Peak, but as the sun sets the ocean on fire in one direction, the skies and mountains over the city are painted with ever changing pastels, reflected in the shining buildings, and as the colours fade the lights come on.

I was surprised to find a tower at the top of the peak, with a cafe inside, open ’til late, and a bus and tram station underneath! Public transport was welcoming, now the sun had set and taken all its warmth with it, but the queue was insane. Once we made our way back down to the city on a busy bus, (which took twice as long as walking) we’d built up quite the appetite.

Dinner

Cecilia took us to a Szechuan restaurant for dinner. Szechuan cuisine is popular due to its bold flavours, with liberal use of garlic and chilli, which is warming when you’re cold, tired and hungry. We had a slow roasted duck and rice claypot, with Chinese kale and fried noodle crackers on the side. During my time in Asia, claypots turned out to be some of my favourite dishes, old fashioned and wholesome with varying spices. The meal was served with real Chrysanthemum tea, which was beautiful and florally refreshing.

*Noodle Crackers / Duck Claypot / Chrysanthemum Tea*

Herbal tea is drunk regularly in Chinese culture, as an accompaniment with meals, for general health, or a pick-me-up when you’re feeling run down. Chinese tea shops are all around the city, usually a stand or window with various cauldrons filled with steaming herbal teas lined up on display. You can choose your tea according to your ailments, or simply by flavour, and they either serve it in a little plastic bowl for you to drink there, or in a takeaway cup. Cecilia took us to one of these windows, and we tasted a medicinal tea for general colds & hangovers.

Night Cap

An evening in Hong Kong wasn’t complete without a trip to the local supermarket to pick out a beer to take back to Cecilia’s. The supermarkets are similar to British supermarkets, in that you can purchase alcohol from them, and the range is quite extensive. I chose to try a TsingTao Stout, which is a classic dark beer with bold flavours, and the next night I got a Hong Kong Amber Ale, which was delightfully malty. It was the perfect end to the day, before falling asleep to the subtle city sounds in the streets below.

May 9

Volunteering with Elephants – Chiang Mai, Thailand

A scorching sun rolls skyward into the haze as we leave our hostel (and its resident mosquitoes) in the "Haiya" subdistrict of Chiang Mai city. It's 8:30 am, on an October Saturday in 2018. The 12 seater shuttle bus we board is clammy, and stuffed with tourists, our mutual excitement is thick in the air. We chug north bound for an hour, finally stopping at the edge of the jungle, in a village in San Pa Yang.

One by one, we step out of the mini van onto the dusty driveway, and there they are, beautiful, gentle giants. A few of the elephants come plodding quickly over to our van, swinging their trunks as they come - they know our arrival means feeding time!

Meet The Elephants

When I was there in October 2018, there were 6 elephants living at the park, all female, with a lot of history between them.

Bella – 20 years old

The park’s longest member, Bella had been living there for 4 years. She’d been rescued from a show where she’d play ball games like golf and football, and performed dances and tricks like sitting on chairs. This resulted in her left leg being damaged. A happy retirement was the safest option for Bella, over a complicated procedure that could cause more unnecessary trauma and be extremely costly. Bella could still walk on her leg, but the disfigurement caused her to limp, which put stress on her spine and shoulders. There are plenty of shaded areas built in the park, like this one, where Bella could rest at her will.

Bella had a calm and mothering nature, and was the adoptive mother of Lanna, one of the park’s baby elephants. Bella sadly passed away in June 2021.

Jao-nang – 31 years old

Born in 1987, Jao-nang is a beautiful elephant in the prime of her life. She was rescued from 20 years in the riding industry for tourism. At the time I was there in October 2018, she was 6 months pregnant, after entering a breeding program with one of E.R.P’s sister park’s bulls. Jao-nang had her baby in 2020, that’s right, elephant pregnancies last 18-22 months!

Jao-ying – 36 years old

Born in 1982, Jao-ying was the park’s oldest elephant, but she isn’t old at all, as an average Asian elephant’s life span is 60-80 years.
She worked for 20 years in the logging industry, before being sold for riding, and was rescued by E.R.P in 2016.

Lanna – 3 years old

A clear favourite among tourists, Lanna is sociable, curious, and a fast learner. She was born at the Elephant Retirement Park in 2015, and when she was 2, her mother was moved to a sister park in the south for further breeding. Her and Bella developed a mother-daughter like connection.

Ping & Tong – 2 years old

These cheeky twin sisters moved into E.R.P in 2018 from a nearby camp who did not have the means to support two calfs. They are bright and playful, and have been known to be quite naughty!

The Staff

The Elephant Retirement Park is not only home to elephants. It is also home to the mahouts and their families, who live onsite, close to the elephants at all times. These mahouts have a close bond and special understanding with the elephants – they do not ride them, or control them using sticks or chains; they oversee the safety of everyone. The staff onsite all help out with gathering food for the animals, cooking, cleaning and maintenance at the park, building new additions to the park, and also helping out in the local community.

And then of course there are the volunteers. Pictured are Meli, Simon and me.

Alex was our fantastic host, he managed the park and all the volunteering tasks for us. He looked after us well, and once the working part of the day was done, he loved taking us out for dinner, showing us the sights, and introducing us to his friends. He showed us how to party once or twice too!

First thing first – we needed to meet the elephants! Simon and I arrived with a half-day tour group, so we got to experience the tour and get a good introduction to the park and its residents. The elephants knew the schedule by heart, and yep, it was feeding time!

The food store was stocked chock-a-block with bananas, sugar cane, and banana leaves. Each of us was given a tote bag to fill, and a couple of people were given bottles of milk for the babies. As we emerged from the food store, the elephants were waiting, holding their trunks out! At first, they took anything we gave them, often trying a cheeky trunk dip in our bags, (we were instructed to keep the tote bags firmly under our arms, as they would try and take the whole thing) but it wasn’t long before they started rejecting sugar cane, throwing it on the floor and asking for bananas instead!

Once all the food was gone, we were taken further down into the park, towards the mud bath and pool, and that’s where the real fun began! Elephants like to roll in mud, or throw it over themselves with their trunks. Mud baths help cool them down, and protect them from common ticks. The mahouts started a mud fight, and we all ended up throwing clumps of wet mud at each other, laughing, slipping and sliding, so by the end of it everyone and everything was a monochrome of mud!

Time for a wash! The elephants had already wandered off to the pool, seemingly rolling their eyes at the silly humans, and we followed, splashing water with little plastic dishes we were given to wash the elephants.

*One of the Mahout huts next to the elephant pool*

Once everyone was washed, dried and fed, the mini-bus was ready to leave, and it was time to wave off the half-day tour group, and get settled in our dorm. The room was a cosy twin, right in the heart of the sanctuary, with a big ceiling fan, and geckos on the windows to eat the mosquitoes.

Aruni’s Flowers

Peace. Simon and I finally find a moment to sit down on the communal veranda and breathe in our surroundings with a Chang beer from the vending machine. Afternoon sunshine paints the trees with licks of gold. Through the gentle breeze, we hear a little "hello!" and a small girl appears from the mezzanine deck, an inquisitive grin on her face, and she repeats, "hello!" Quite confidently, she pulls up a chair beside me, produces a drawing book, and the three of us proceed to draw and colour flowers together! She's the daughter of a mahout, and is home from school for the weekend. She's learning English, and is able to tell us her name is Aruni, and she's four years old.

I had an unfortunate accident on my first evening, through no fault but my own, and I can only sing the praises of Alex and the others who helped. I managed to cut open my cheek, just under my eye, on some very large barbed wire – elephant sized, you might say. Alex quickly sourced some “Lemon Bush Grass” from his herb garden, he chewed it into a pulp and told me to press it on the cut for about 3 minutes. Amazingly it stopped the bleeding, and bought time for Aruni’s mum to find the first aid kit. She washed it with iodine and redressed it every day for a week, refusing to let me look at the damage! I still have a small scar, barely visible now, and a surprisingly fond memory to go with it!

A Day in the Life of a Volunteer

A typical day at the Elephant Retirement Park on the volunteer program looked something like this:

6:30am	Clean the elephants’ night enclosures
7:30am	Gather elephant food: typically cutting down banana trees in the park’s nearby plantations
8:30am	Breakfast
9:30am	Elephant care / Community volunteering
12:30pm	Lunch
1:30pm	Park maintenance and upkeep
2:30pm	Hottest part of the day – time to rest
6pm	Feed the elephants
6:30pm	Dinner – cooking with Alex or going to village for food with the locals

Early Morning Duties

Each morning we’d rise with the sun, waking with the soft trumpets of the nearby elephants, singing for their breakfast. Pulling on our baggy work clothes, we’d step outside into the rising sun, and into our one-size-fits-all wellington boots. It’s a refined look, one that I embraced, with my scarred cheek and borrowed wicker hat… There was a coffee station in the common area outside, and some mornings the mahouts and workers would gather there before the sky was lit, and we would sip quietly until work began.

It is essential for the night enclosures to be cleaned every morning. At 6:30am we’d go around with a giant basket, filling it with elephant dung (really heavy, like grassy, brown bowling balls!) We’d sweep all the old leaves and bits of food away, hose down the floors, and clean and refill the water trough – often with the help of Lanna!

Then the Utility Truck would start up, the mahouts would beckon “come, come,” and we’d all jump into the open trailer of the Ute. Rumbling along the narrow, uneven road, skirting the jungle, with wind buffering our ears, we made our way to one of the park’s nearby banana tree plantations to harvest food for the elephants.

On arrival, it was straight to work. The mahouts showed us that banana trees grow back super quickly, producing baby green shoots straight out of the stump, which makes them a perfect renewable food source for the elephants. We were told to leave any trees with bananas growing on them, and any young trees, watching for snakes and spiders all the while. The mahouts taught us how to use a machete to cut the tall trees down – a two-handed swing, angled into the lower part of the trunk. They made it look extremely easy, felling trees in a single swipe, while I seemed to be hacking away ungracefully for hours! But I got my trees, and we carried them back to the Ute, loading them in and climbing on top of our loot for the journey home for breakfast.

Community Volunteering

Everyday was different after breakfast. Somedays we’d help around the park, or go to another location to help out in the local farming scene. These are some of the tasks we took part in:

Unloading Deliveries

A large delivery of Sugar Cane arrived on the back of a ute, and we had to strip all the leaves, and bind it in bunches with bamboo ties to pack into the food store.

Elephant Healthcare

We learned how to make vitamin balls for the elephants, by crushing dried papaya and salt crystals in a pestle and mortar. We then squished the pulp together, placing deworming tablets and essential vitamins inside, and rolled them into balls, ready to feed the elephants.

I was tasked with treating a tick wound on Bella’s cheek. Ticks are a common problem for elephants, and can leave big wounds, vulnerable to infection. I took a giant cotton tip, dipped in iodine, and Bella and I had a little bonding session over our matching cheek wounds!

Elephants eat for up to 16 hours a day, but they have an inefficient digestive system, and are prone to digestive issues, so it’s essential their diet is balanced and full of fibre. We used an old shredding machine to make a fibrous mulch, with sugar cane, papaya, banana, salt water, and medicinal herbs. Bella was our taste tester; she took a mouthful with her trunk, and then threw the next trunkful on the floor and flapped her ears! I’m still unsure whether that meant she hated it or loved it!

Deep Cleaning

The enclosure area had a concrete floor, which had become covered in moss over time, making it dangerously slippery for the elephants. We spent two mornings scrubbing it clean with caustic soda, with Alex’s help, and were rewarded with pancakes from the village later!

Working in Rice Fields

One morning after breakfast, we piled into the trailer and Alex drove us to the nearby village “Ban Iek”. The jungle thinned out, and we crossed a bridge lined with Thai flags, until we saw dozens of people all working in the rice fields, on a green back drop of mountains.

We were each given a bunch of long bamboo ties, and shown how to gather the pre-cut rice bundles and tie them efficiently, though I’m not sure we were very efficient or helpful to the cause! Everyone was friendly and good humoured, keen to help teach us, and laughing at us every time we got a boot stuck in the thick, wet mud! They taught us to stomp down on the rice stalks and use them as a foundation to stop ourselves sinking.

Another day, Alex brought us to another beautiful location, an independent rice farm, where we helped a couple cut the rice from their fields, using traditional long scythes. It was very hot work, but between the 5 of us, we got the job done.

Harvesting Corn

Landscaping the Park

The Elephant Retirement Park is a constant work in progress, and one of the things they were raising money for was extending the food store. We helped in levelling the ground by hand, preparing it for laying foundations. We also planted herbs and shrubs, for decoration & to expand their renewable resources onsite.

Elephant Walkies

The elephants know, just like dogs when it's time for walkies. They lift up their trunks and frolic up the driveway to the front gates. The first part of the walk follows the dusty road, so we surround the elephants & make ourselves visible to any traffic. We are reminded that you mustn't stand behind an elephant as they don't have good peripheral vision, and if you startle them you'll suffer a hefty kick or a whip from their wiry tail.

The road leads into the jungle. The woodland is immediately thick and humid - the elephants know the way, and help themselves to the vegetation. There are farmers who live on the outskirts of the jungle, their crops backing onto the footpath where the elephants walk. The mahouts have their work cut out, trying to distract the elephants from the fields of corn, but they are intelligent creatures, and of course, they never forget. The mahouts break off an ear of corn to try and entice the elephants away from the crops, but the distraction doesn't last for long, and there's a five minute pandemonium with a group of naughty, stubborn elephants. Despite the fact it's a public path, Alex tells us it's a worry for them, and is a growing difficulty all over Thailand, since humans are occupying more and more space, encroaching on the elephants' wild habitat. The farmers here have already complained, and if there are more complaints they run the risk of turning it into private land, taking away a lot of freedom for the elephants here.

The jungle path grows wilder and less inhabited, with banana trees dotted around that the elephants love to munch. The path winds upwards and comes out on the high banks of an enormous river, with cascades the colour of chocolate tumbling down from the jungle beyond. Usually the elephants will swim in the river, but heavy rain has made it full and roaring, and so the elephants stay clear of it, seeking out bananas instead.

Continuing, the path loops, re-entering the sanctuary through the back. We see some impressive bugs - dung beetles, butterflies, and a giant spider strung up in the tall grasses. I spend a lot of the walk dodging the cheeky twins, Ping & Tong, who keep trying to make me into an elephant sandwich! We come to a stream, which Bella decides she wants to drink from, and when an elephant decides something, you can't argue with her! She slurps water through her trunk like a giant bendy straw, framed by ancient trees and bamboo.

Time to Relax

After a big day of learning and working hard, it was a luxury to have a hot shower, kick back on the veranda under the heat of the mid-afternoon sun, and crack open a can of Chang beer from the vending machine.

The Temple in the Mountains

One particularly warm afternoon, Simon, Meli and I had just sat down, when Alex said, “Let’s go, I want to take you to the temple!” We quickly made sure we were dressed respectfully, (covering our knees and shoulders) and we piled into the trailer, beers in hand. It was about a 40 minute drive, climbing narrow mountain roads, winding through old villages, beneath the deafening hum of cicadas. Panoramic views and waterfalls passed by on each hairpin bend, until we reached the mountain-top village. A pack of stray dogs chased us through the enormous entrance archway into the precinct, and as we passed, a local monk in an orange robe shouted, “where are you from?” Meli, Simon and I all responded with our respective countries, and then Alex shouted “Thailand!” from the driver’s window, making the monk laugh.

*Wat Phra Phutthabat Si Roi* – *Ubosot (Ordination Hall)*

“Wat Phra Phutthabat Si Roi” is dedicated to the four sacred footprints of Buddha, and is said to be a perfect example of a Thai temple. We visited the ‘Ubosot’ or Ordination Hall, (place of mass worship and ritual ceremonies.) The architecture is incredible, with multiple tiers, smothered in jewels, and guarded by enormous, shimmering basilisks at every corner. It was very quiet, just the cicadas in the distance; the forest swaying gently, and a rainbow streaked the sky behind as we pulled up, adding to the atmosphere.

Inside was just as impressive, everywhere you looked, a thousand more intricate details. There were golden carvings on each of the windows of Buddhist figures, and Alex had brought us here to show us one in particular…

Nalagiri the Elephant

Nalagiri was a fierce elephant, deliberately angered & used as a weapon by jealous people. He was sent to kill the Buddha but when the elephant charged, he was stopped in his tracks by the Buddha’s belief in kindness and ability to suffuse all beings. Nalagiri the elephant lowered his trunk and fell at the Buddha’s feet, released of his anger. Alex told us of a later chapter he described as “Buddhist Lent”, when the Buddha spent three months in the jungle. Nalagiri remembered him, and stayed by his side during the Buddha’s exile. After three months the Buddha returned to his temple, and Nalagiri died of a broken heart.

Alex was filled with emotion; the importance of protecting elephants ran so deep and that resonated with us. He showed us how to ring the gong, and said a prayer before we went on our way.

Evenings of Leisure

Aside from making sure the elephants had enough food at dusk, the evenings were all about socialising, eating, drinking and having fun! Some nights Alex would take us to the market to buy ingredients for dinner, and then we’d all cook together back at the park kitchen.

We learned how to cook traditional home dishes: fried black fish, garlic & onion salad, tomato, chilli & fish sauce soup, and rice noodles, using a pestle & mortar and a wok. We toasted our dinner with a tot of Hong Thong Whiskey! Also pictured is a classic Pad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Beef) which we had for lunch.

Other nights we had Pad Thai with the locals in the village, or street food banana pancakes. We were introduced to Alex’s friends and spent an evening drinking Leo & Chang beers in a local bar, with dried fish and chicken feet snacks! We even went to a party with an exquisite buffet, dancing ladies, many drinks, and a strange raffle where everyone won cuddly plush elephants!

Party Food

Fruit carving is an ancient Thai tradition, which was once performed exclusively for Royalty, nowadays they can be carved for any special occasion. Other treats are fried banana, Pad Thai, and coconut, sugar & rice starch sweets, served on banana leaves.

Tour Guide for a Day

At the end of our E.R.P experience, myself, Meli and Simon led the half-day tour! We spent the morning touching up on our elephant knowledge, ready for the tour bus to arrive at 8:30 am. We did an introduction, talking about the park and its efforts in protecting elephants, held a little Q&A session, and then took the guests to meet and feed the elephants. We got the group chopping sugar cane with machetes, (demonstrated by one of the real tour guides) fed it to the elephants, then took the guests down to meet Bella who was chilling under the shade. There were a lot more questions about Bella, her injury, and her mothering instincts towards Lanna, which I really enjoyed as I felt I’d bonded well with Bella. It felt terrifying and awesome all at once; we were supervised the whole time, and the staff jumped in whenever we needed help. Then we all went to the mud bath and pool for a play with the elephants.

Leaving was hard. We’d been like a family for a short time, and after going round the park to feed each elephant a pumpkin as a parting gift, Alex blessed us and our families with good luck in Thai. We rode the stuffy mini van back to Chiang Mai old city, feeling a little bit sad, like I’d acquired a lifetime of new knowledge and fond memories, but it was all over in the blink of an eye. Someday, I will visit the elephants again.

www.elephantretirementpark.com

In Loving Memory of Bella

May 3

Great Barrier Reef – Lady Musgrave Island

A real desert island, complete with a tropical lagoon and reef oasis, sits around 95km off the coast of Bundaberg in Queensland. Lady Musgrave Island. Part of the Bunker Group, this is the southernmost section of the famous Great Barrier Reef and plays host to a magical menagerie of sea life.

Ok, David Attenborough voice aside, this was my favourite Great Barrier Reef experience so far. Taylor and I booked the ‘Lady Musgrave Experience’ Day Tour for late February, and I was not disappointed! Between January and March is turtle hatching season, and many mother turtles are still laying their eggs through February. The tour did get cancelled on the day I’d booked it for due to dangerous offshore wind conditions (went to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery instead – never a bad thing!) The tour was easily rescheduled for the following day, at no extra cost, and went ahead as planned.

6:45am: Checked in at Bundaberg Port Marina
7:00am: Boarded the “Reef Empress” ready for departure

The morning was warm, full of promise, with the first blue sky we’d seen in days. All passengers were assigned to a group as we boarded the boat; Turtles, Clownfish and Dolphins – we were Dolphins. This was simply for the rotation of activities once we reached the island. The crossing was a rough 2 hours, the majority of passengers needed paper bags, clutching their heads and holding on for dear life. We took our ginger tablets and sat watching the crew running around cleaning patches on the floor and disposing of used paper bags. They were incredible, remaining upbeat and cheerful the whole time.

2 hours later, we pulled into a big semi-circular reef lagoon, with the gold and green island in the centre. Firstly, I need to talk about the colour of the sea. You couldn’t even paint it. It was blue, yes, a light, bright blue with stripes of turquoise and green wherever the reef lay below, but it was iridescent, backlit if you will, shining like fluorescent light!

Anyway, we stepped off the boat onto the enormous three-storey pontoon, (with an underwater viewing room below deck, and glamping style beds on the top deck for the overnight experience) and the first thing I saw as I gazed out across the reef was a turtle! It was just floating on the surface about 20 metres away, its shell all clean and beautiful.

The Glass-Bottomed Boat

After a brief snorkeling run-through, the 3 groups broke off. The Dolphin group were on the glass-bottomed boat first. Our guide was Tyson, and he floated us over the different types of coral: staghorn, brain, boulder, plated, finger…. As he was explaining that the white tips on the coral is actually regrowth, not bleaching, a Brown Booby Bird swooped low next to the boat, majestically stealing our attention.

Next, Tyson steered us over a ‘turtle cleaning station’, a part of the reef where little fish nibble all the algae off the turtles’ shells. We could see the silhouettes of 4 turtles being cleaned far beneath the surface, and as we drifted over, one swam right up to the glass, giving us all a clear glimpse of its beautiful pristine shell, before popping its head up right beside the boat! Tyson said that was the closest he’d ever seen a wild green turtle and was pretty stoked himself!

*Green Turtle under the Glass Bottomed Boat*

Lady Musgrave Island

We pulled up on Lady Musgrave Island, where another guide, Jordan, met us for a walk around Capricornia Cays National Park. The sand is white, broken coral, with flecks of pink, and is so sharp you are advised to wear footwear at all times. One of the deadliest creatures of the ocean can be found on this beach – Cone Snails, which might look like a pretty, pink shell to collect, but the creature has a tiny barb that it fires through an opening in its shell, which has the ability to kill a person in half an hour. It wouldn’t be Australia if something wasn’t trying to kill you…

Behind the beach is a dense canopy of green Pisonian Grandis trees, and then you notice the birds. I’m not sure if the noise or the smell hits you first, but when you notice the sheer amount of little black sea birds nesting in the trees, you really get a sense of the wildness of this island. They have no predators here, and they’re everywhere, diving, swooping, pooping, screaming, and they appear to wear little white hats, hence their name: White Capped Noddy Terns. They inhabit the Pisonian forest, and are part of an intense circle of life, see, the island is basically a pile of coral; the birds nest in the trees, and their poop helps fertilise the trees. The trees also produce these sticky, sappy traps, which capture some of the Terns in a slow and sticky death, essentially using the birds as plant food. Gnarly.

*A White Capped Noddy Tern Chick in its nest*

But aside from the stench, the forest was beautiful to walk through. I also spotted a couple of Buff Banded Rail birds scratching about on the ground, and some tiny Capricorn Silver Eyes darting about the branches. We came out on the other side of the island, onto the beach, where sun bleached logs litter the coral sand.

*A Bridled Tern rests on a log; a White Capped Noddy Tern flies overhead*

Then came a turtle, just a dark shape in the shallow water, moving closer to the beach. Then came another, and another! They didn’t leave the water, but one came so close to the shore that Jordan identified that it wasn’t big enough to be of nesting age (30), so she must have just been curious! We strolled back around the island along the beach, and hopped back on the glass-bottomed boat, back to the Pontoon for lunch.

Bridled Terns, Greater Crested Terns, Sooty Oyster Catchers, Pied Oyster Catchers & Seagulls
Turtle Swimming up to the Beach

Snorkelling on the Reef

Finally it was our turn to snorkel, the part I’d been looking forward to all day. After a quick lunch of salads and cold meats, we quickly got our gear on and jumped in the reef lagoon. The first thing you see are little groups of little black and white fish, swimming for a close up of your funny goggles. As you get closer to the coral shelf, schools of tiny blue fish shimmer like a glittery curtain as they dart back and forth in unison.

*Whitley’s Sergeant Fish around purple coral*

Parrot Fish have beaks that enable them to feed on the coral.

They come in a huge array of colours, you can see the orange one’s teeth-like beak.

The coral is beautiful here, splashes of colours somehow pop under the water. I was so engrossed in watching interesting fish appearing from the reef that the turtles caught me off guard! Taylor caught my eye, signalling to me under the water, and pointing ahead; there it was, appearing out of the murkiness, coming towards us, so majestic, as though flying beneath the waves. This Green Turtle was about the size of a grown man’s torso. Her tail was barely visible, showing she was female, and she swam right underneath us. I turned and followed her for a short while, before she dived into the depths of the reef.

The second turtle was skimming along a shallow shelf of reef at my eye level, flapping her flippers, and surfacing a few metres away. I popped my head up too and saw her floating on the surface!

After an hour of solid snorkelling, we sat on the edge of the pontoon sipping on a Gin Mule, dangling our feet in the ocean. On the boat ride back, we saw an Olive Sea Snake wriggle by in the waves, and several dolphins.

Facts of the Day:

The Great Barrier Reef is roughly the same size as Japan.
You can’t visit the adjacent Fairfax Islands because they were used for target practice by the Australian Military in the 1940s, and there is likely to be live ammunition still scattered on the islands.
Without the birds, there would be no trees on Lady Musgrave Island, and without the trees there would be no birds. Without either of these, the island would be a bank of dead coral, and may have been washed or eroded away.
Corals are actually living invertebrates related to jellyfish and anemones.
Coral relies on its resident algae to survive. Photosynthesis in the algae creates food for the coral.
Some corals actually catch small fish and plankton to feed on.
The tiny white tips you see on the coral reef is not bleaching; it is in fact regrowth.
The colour you see on coral is actually produced by the algae as a form of sun protection. The deeper the coral, the less colour it will have, as it will have less sun exposure.
Coral Bleaching is caused by rising temperatures and pollution that kills the coral’s algae. When the algae is gone, the coral dies.

Feb 4

Tongariro Alpine Crossing – New Zealand

The Tongariro Crossing had been on my bucket list for about 6 years, and finally, in January 2019, my opportunity arrived. Friends of mine, Simon & Mike, two brothers from back home, happened to be visiting New Zealand while I was staying with family there, and so we decided to take on the crossing together. According to my Strava app (which may or may not be accurate) it is about 14 miles (22km), with an elevation gain of about 2,762ft (850m), and crosses between 3 of New Zealand’s iconic active volcanoes. It is recommended that you fully plan the journey, with plenty of water, snacks, sun protection, good hiking shoes with support, and layers of clothing. Always check the weather, as whatever the weather is doing at ground level, it changes fast and will be at least 5 degrees colder at the crater.

A January Day, 2019

5:30am – Summer Bellbirds ‘pinged’ outside the Turangi motel, on the south side of Lake Taupo, as my hiking buddies and I awoke to make bacon sarnies. After breakfast, we packed up the car and set off beneath the grapefruit sky to Ketetahi Long Stay Car park, about half an hour’s drive from Turangi.

7:00am – We boarded the shuttle bus from Ketetahi Long Stay Car Park to Mangatepopo Hut – the opposite side of Tongariro National Park, to the start of the Tongariro Crossing.

^Prep & Conditions Board at the start of the track, Mangatepopo^

7:30am – 5°c, clear, light winds – As the sun hid behind the mountains before us, we checked all our gear, stretched our legs and used the facilities. We began hiking, gently climbing the grassy hillside, the sun making its glaring appearance over the crest and quickly raising the temperature to T-shirt weather. Through the sulphurous pumice fields, we hiked, where white daisies sprout from the rough, black earth.

The path led onto a boardwalk, which crossed the silty plains of strange moss, framed by dark, jagged rock. Mount Ngauruhoe – known for portraying Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings – loomed over the pathway, puffs of mist unfurling from its craters, casting its long, morning shadow over the landscape.

^Mount Ngauruhoe – the youngest & most active vent in the area – last erupted in 1977^

We began to climb; rock and man-made steps paving the lung-squashing incline. As we did, a panoramic view of the vast national park stretched out behind us.

Suddenly we were level and a giant plateau of sandy rock appeared before us, surrounded by an uneven black rim. We followed the trickle of hikers across the plateau, at the foot of impressive Ngauruhoe, and began to scale the lip on the other side.

^View back across the plateau & Mt. Ngauruhoe^

A fast, thick fog was moving over the summit, so we paused on the steep side of the lip for lunch. The air quickly became cool and dark, and it wasn’t long before we, and fellow hikers around us, had donned thermal jackets.

^The skiddy ascent to Red Crater / Mound of lucky stone stacks at the summit^

The route up is a treacherous combination of loose scree and sand, on both sides of the summit of Tongariro’s Red Crater, making footing impossible, and you have to kind of cross country ski your way over. At the top, a huge mound of rocks and pebbles marks the summit, built over the years by each hiker adding a stone. You feel like you’re on the edge of the world, especially when you can’t see through the dense fog!

^The Red Crater, formed around 3000 yrs ago, coloured due to oxidised iron in the rock – last erupted 1926, but Tongariro has many craters, some of which last erupted in 2012^

Skidding down the other side, the fog began to break, revealing the dramatic Red Crater. Clouds rushed over the landscape, thinning more and more until the brilliant Emerald Lakes shone through, patchy sunlight glistening on their surface.

This is it – the iconic view of the Tongariro Crossing. The national park is a stretch of green, far and wide, all the way to the horizon where it meets the blue, fluffy clouded sky. Mountains drop down to hills, rainforests, rivers and vast plains. On the edge of the foreground three emerald and blue lakes stand out from the grey, volcanic rock, regardless of the weather. Curls of steam rise from the rock all around, that rich, boiled egg smell filling your nostrils.

^Descent from the Red Crater / Steam rising from volcanic rock^

We continued across the next plain, looking back on the three iconic volcanoes lined up like a postcard; Tongariro – jagged and broken at the forefront, Ngauruhoe – the perfect volcano shape in the centre, and snowy Ruapehu peeping out from behind.

^Trio of Volcanoes – Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro^

The walk down to Ketetahi is a neverending zig-zag, through bushland and rock, which never seems to get closer to the end. Lake Taupo shines on the horizon below, before the path eventually drops into rainforest, and quickly descends down wooden steps, joining a cascading river down to Ketetahi.

2:00pm – 13°c, sunny – Once we reached the Ketetahi end of the Tongariro Crossing, it was another 20min walk along the dusty road to the Long Stay Carpark. The hike back to the car felt long, but far from disappointing! The landscape is marvellous, and there’s plenty of nature to see; we were three satisfied & very happy hikers. Our moving time was about 5 hours, all the photo stops and snack breaks made it much longer, but why rush through an experience like that?

^Reaching the end of the crossing at Ketetahi^

Our Tongariro adventure ended at the car park, where the car wouldn’t start, and the next adventure began – getting home!

^View across Lake Taupo to Tongariro National Park, from Taupo^

Jul 15

Kyoto – Sakura Season Highlights

~ Kyoto – a little history ~

Kyoto was once the Imperial capital city of Japan, for a thousand years, until 1869 when the Imperial court was transferred to Tokyo. The city suffered extensively from the Onin war in the mid 1400s, and wasn’t restored fully until the 1700s – the Edo era – when it flourished as one of Japan’s 3 major cities, along with Edo (now known as Tokyo) and Osaka.

Nowadays, Kyoto is famous for its Buddhist temples, Imperial palaces, Shinto shrines, Geisha culture, and its beautiful sakura spots in spring.

My experience of Kyoto and the nearby prefectures was broken up into hectic pieces, linked together by the inexpensive train network of the Kansai region. Every day was an adventure of finding the next resting place for the night. It was a unique and spectacular way of seeing the region, if not utterly exhausting, but there was always an ideal little camping spot at the end of the road eventually, which made the hard work worthwhile, and meant I got to explore places I would never have seen otherwise!

On the nights I actually stayed in the city, I used Air BnB, which proved very useful and great value for money.

Kyoto put out all the stops while I was there, and I was incredibly lucky to catch the city in its prime, with fantastic weather, at the height of sakura season.

~ Sakura Festival ~

Sakura is the Japanese name for cherry blossom, and Japan is obsessed with it! To the extent of flavouring their chocolate and candy with it, decorating their beer cans with cherry blossom, and having an annual festival, nation wide, dedicated to the dainty blossom. From around March, the weather forecast will include a cherry blossom forecast, and people flock from all over the world just to see the trees in bloom. With this, accommodation becomes high in demand, prices go up, and the public transport becomes very busy, so be prepared and book early!

Why? – The cherry blossom season symbolises the Buddhist concept of mono no aware – ‘the pathos of all things’, and celebrates the constant changing of everything, appreciating its fleeting beauty. There is a humble sadness in this concept, as it is meant to remind us that all beautiful things are passing, much like life itself.

~ Cycling through Sakura ~

On the first full day in Kyoto, Mic and I hired bicycles. Cycling is a simple and popular way of getting around the city, and there are cycle hire shops dotted around everywhere. We cycled beneath warm blue skies, towards the Kamo River, which runs north to south through the centre of the city. Busy footpaths follow either side of the river, lined with cherry blossoms, where men and women posed for photographs beneath the trees in their unique kimonos.

Crossing the river along one of its many busy bridges, we found a popular ‘sakura spot’ – located on Google Maps – an area where the blossoms are at their peak. Every corner you turn, you come across another cluster of pink canopy, with soft flurries falling down like snowflakes, and girls in beautiful kimonos everywhere.

Hiring bikes is usually a really efficient way of getting around the city and seeing the sights, (and a great excuse to indulge in the street foods without feeling guilty!) However, the deeper we got into the city, the harder it was to manoeuvre. The streets were so busy, with cars and pedestrians fighting for space, that even pushing our bicycles was near enough impossible. We finally reasoned with locking our bikes up and going to find lunch on foot.

Kamo River

~ Tofu ~

Yumi, a friend and colleague I met in Hakuba, is originally from Kyoto, and she advised that I must try a tofu dish while in Kyoto, as the city is locally known for its variety of tofu specialities. We found a tiny but busy restaurant just across from Gion Corner, and sure enough, it had a special tofu dish: ‘Mapo Tofu’ – a salty tofu soup, with chicken and gyoza on the side.

Mapo Tofu

~ Hanami in Mariyama Park ~

Following a dense crowd up the stone steps of the impressive entrance gate to Yasaka Shrine, we went into the gardens of Mariyama Park. Yasaka Shrine stands bold in the main courtyard, hordes of people gather around to ring the giant bell and pray, while the stage covered with hundreds of lanterns makes a wonderful photo opportunity.

Yasaka Shrine stage

A network of walkways lead through all manner of plant life, but most importantly, cherry blossom. Mariyama Park is a popular Hanami spot at this time of year, and the whole park was decorated with lanterns and picnic areas. Hanami means flower viewing, and this is associated with spending hours beneath the cherry blossom, feasting and drinking sake.

Lunch beneath the Sakura

Throughout the park, food stalls thrived in the sunshine, serving up traditional Japanese street food, from takoyaki, to crab sticks; okonomiyaki to mochi; and many sweet treats like fruit dipped in chocolate and sprinkles.

Hanami in Mariyama Park

~ Gion Corner ~

Retrieving our bikes, we cycled up to nearby Gion Corner, also known as Geisha Corner. This is a unique theatre, in which you can see seven traditional arts of the Geisha, including dance, comedy and music. You can also experience a genuine tea ceremony, and learn about the etiquette. The Yasaka Hall and surrounding buildings, is where the Maiko (Geisha in training) stay and learn to become a Geiko (Full Geisha), and the area surrounding the Yasaka Hall is quite closed off to the public for their safety and privacy.

Gion Corner

~ Imperial Gardens ~

The sky was pumping out sunshine, and we spent the afternoon cycling along the river, appreciating the colour and the cherry blossoms, coming to rest on its grassy banks to soak up the sun and watch the birds of prey swoop and dive over the water. On the way back through the city, we passed the Imperial Palace and its famous gardens. The palace was home to the Emperor and his family, until 1868 when he moved to Tokyo Imperial Palace.

The Imperial gardens are open to the public throughout the day, and the broad gravel paths stretch through vast lawns and tree groves. Most locals use the gardens as a serene shortcut through the city, and though at first it does appear to be nothing but a gravel path through a fairly plain park, don’t knock it too quickly! As we cycled around, wheels spinning out in the thick gravel, we began to notice hidden gems in the trees: little footpaths sneaking off between the bushes. Tiny water gardens with birds and ducks frollicking, and pretty little shrines in the woodland, so well hidden you would never guess they were there.

Shrine to Shinto God of Music, Imperial Gardens, Kyoto

~ Coffee & Curry ~

After a long and exhausting bike ride along the busy city streets, we deposited our bikes back at the hire shop, and followed a blackboard sign for coffee and curry into an alley way, lined with beautiful plants. The tiny homemade curry restaurant at the end of the alley was called Asipai, and was teamed up with Hibi Coffee, and together they made a truly unique and delicious dining experience to end our first busy day in Kyoto.

Hibi Flat White

~ Nijo Castle ~

By sheer coincidence, a very good friend from home happened to be visiting Kyoto with her parents at the time I was there, and so with both of us cramming a lot of touristing in to a short amount of time, I suggested we meet at Nijo Castle in the morning. This was on recommendation from ANOTHER friend from home, who’d been to the castle a few weeks before and said it was his favourite sight in the city. (Thank you, Simon, it was a great suggestion!)

There was quite a queue for the ticket booth on the street outside the castle entrance, but in true, organised Japanese fashion, the queue moved very quickly. Tickets were 600yen – £4 / $5US – which is ridiculously good value, when you consider you’d have to pay between £10 and £20 to visit any English Heritage castle! AND you get a nice little paper ticket to keep, with a picture of the castle on it, perfect for sticking in your travel journal! The simple things.

My friend, Abi, met us at the gates, and after doing all the hugging, jumping, giggling things girls do when they meet after a long period of time, we crossed the draw bridge into the castle grounds, pulling faces at the hordes of Koi in the moat below as we went.

The vast gardens are spread with ponds and trickling waterfalls, beautiful plants, and of course, thriving sakura. We breathed in the spring sunshine, catching up on lost time, and having a few ‘extended family’ photos beneath the cherry blossom.

Nijo Castle Gardens

The castle was built in 1679, and its large, wooden Keep was struck by lightning and burned down in 1750. A viewing platform stands in its place, overlooking the palace, and the surrounding gardens and moat.

View of Ninomaru Palace from the Keep, Nijo Castle

Ninomaru Palace stands in the centre of the castle grounds, beyond the spectacular Karamon Gate. The gate is smothered with intricate animal figures, and flowers in rich colours and gold leaf.

Karamon Gate

Inside the palace, you must remove your shoes and shuffle along the smoothed-through-time floorboards, which squeak and whistle with each step, giving them the name: “The Nightingale Corridors.” The palace rooms are vast tatami rooms, with authentic floors woven from rice straw. Murals cover the walls depicting tigers, leopards and cranes. No one in Japan had seen a tiger in that period, so the paintings are impressions inspired by sketches and hides imported from China. Thus, the tiger paintings have a certain mythical, Eastern-dragon look about their faces. Be sure to look up as you walk the labyrinth of corridors, as even the ceilings are decorated with individually painted flowers and delicate metal fixtures.

No direct light is allowed in the palace, therefore all the blinds are drawn, and photography is banned, to help preserve the colours and richness of the ancient rooms.

Walking around the beautiful grounds some more, enjoying the warm sunshine and the array of flora, we came across a courtyard market; gazebos and stalls selling all kinds of gifts and souvenirs. A man waved us over, offering a taste of lemon sake, which tasted nicer than any sake I’d tried before, so we went away with a bottle to share later!

~ Nishiki Market ~

Bidding farewell to Abi and her family, as they had a tour booked, Mic and I headed south from the castle to find the place famous for street food – Nishiki Market. On the way, we passed some street entertainment drawing a small crowd on a sunny street corner. Everyone was dancing, while a three-piece jazz band played, led by a clarinetist, backed by a jazz guitar and a double bass.

Walking through the busy shopping streets of downtown Kyoto, we followed Google maps to Nishiki Market, joining the hustle and bustle beneath the long strip of stained glass canopy, purchasing and nibbling as we shuffled along in the dense crowd.

We tried salmon sashimi, smoked duck, grilled lemon salmon, sushi, and some peculiar potato balls that had a particularly bouncy texture! Finishing with a refreshing craft beer, we browsed the array of questionable foods, among baby octopus on sticks, loose tentacles, cuttle fish, and some funky looking vegetables – snozzcumber comes to mind – I later learned these were called Bitter Melon.

Treats from Nishiki Market

Nishiki Market can get horribly busy, with crowds packing into the narrow space for their fix of delicacies, so be prepared to get hot and sticky! The Japanese are generally a polite and reserved culture, but they are also used to the busy, overpopulated cities, and will happily glide through the crowds. The tourists, however, are likely to get pushy.

Nishiki Market

~ Fushimi-Inari Shrine – The Walk of a Thousand Gates ~

Fushimi-Inari, or ‘The Walk of a Thousand Gates’ actually has around 10,000 gates! The total hike can take 2-3 hours, climbing through a tunnel of torii gates to the summit of Mt. Inari-san, at 233m high.

Catching the train to Fushimi station in the South East quarter of main Kyoto, there was no need to find directions, as we just joined the crowd of people moving up the hill.

Entrance to the Main Precinct

Beneath one of the impressive entrance torii gates, you will notice that this shrine is guarded not by dragon-dogs, but by foxes. The fox is the messenger of the God Inari, for whom this shrine exists, and Inari is the God of rice harvest and commerce. The fox often holds a key between its teeth, representing its guarding of the rice store.

Inari’s Messenger – the Fox

Through the main precinct and around the subshrines and gardens, we noticed the crowd thickening as we climbed the stone steps into the trees, and found the entrance to the inner shrine. The first enormous torii gate is breath taking, framed by trees, and backed by another torii, and another, and on and on as far as you can see.

This part of the shrine gets particularly busy, with crowds fighting for that perfect selfie. But get used to it; this is the theme for the next hour or so, as the torii gates transform in shape and size as you climb further up the mount. In fact, we noticed that the further you climb, the less people there are, so save your perfect selfie for somewhere near the top!

The walkway climbs through beautiful Japanese woodland, with birds fluttering and tweeting above, where sunlight streams through bamboo and sakura, spring flowers bloom, and the red gates cast lines of orange along the ground. There are ponds and streams, and shrines upon shrines in the network of torii gates, which shrink and change, keeping the hike fresh on the eyes. Japanese girls celebrating the Sakura Festival in their best kimonos, were climbing the never ending stone stairs in wooden flip-flops, creating an ambient ‘clopping’ sound.

A girl in a kimono looks on quietly at the rush of tourists

Towards the top, you are treated to a grand view of Kyoto, stretching beyond towards Osaka, and then you are just a few more steps away from the main shrine at the top. Signs forbid photography on the stone steps entering the Kami-no-Yashiro shrine, which stands atop the 233m summit of Mt. Inari-san. Miniature replicas of the red torii gates are stacked all around the shrine, filling all available space, and candles dance in the breeze. There is a quiet stillness here, high above the city, surrounded by nature, a perfect opportunity for a moment of zen!

Kami-no-Yashiro Shrine

Continuing in the direction we were travelling, we began the long descent down the other side of the mount. I can’t glaze over the fact it was rather strenuous on the knees, but the magical scenery was enough of a distraction. Woodland grottos filled with shrines, and waterfalls for Shinto worshippers to bathe and pray in, while the paths of torii gates forked in multiple directions through the trees. There are maps at the road-forks if you should need them, but generally you can just follow the crowd all the way down to the exit.

~ Kiyomizudera Temple ~

The final thing on my bucket list for the day, was another recommendation from my Japanese friend, Yumi. This is her favourite temple in Kyoto, and I was keen to see what the fuss was about. With just over an hour before sunset, we hopped on the train, for about 10 minutes northbound from Fushimi station. It was quite a long walk from the train station to the back entrance of Kiyomizudera Temple, (as we wanted to avoid catching a bus in the intense city traffic), and we found ourselves walking through an endless hilltop cemetery, with shrines and temples dotted on either side. Unfortunately, a bypasser kindly warned us that the back entrance to the temple was now closed, and we’d have to walk around to the front, and we passed on the message to others walking in hope of getting to the temple.

Kyoto Cemetery

Once we finally reached Kiyomizudera Temple, the sun was beginning to set, and they’d begun the ‘night time viewing’, for which you have to pay an entry fee. It was at this point we realised we’d crammed far too much into one day, and with throbbing feet and tired eyes, we decided we didn’t have the energy to get our money’s worth!

Dragons guard the entrance to Kiyomizudera Temple

So, with the setting sun twinkling through the sakura, and illuminating the temple’s red and gold exterior, we took a moment to appreciate the view, (after all it was stunning) and made our way back down the hill, across the city to our accommodation, to drink our well earned lemon sake we’d almost forgotten about!

Homeward Bound after Walking 30km around Kyoto

~ Arashiyama and the Bamboo Forest ~

About a 30 minute train ride out of Kyoto is Arashiyama, where you can see snow monkeys, go hiking in the mountains, boating on the river, and walk through the famous bamboo forest. In hindsight, I would have liked to have spent a lot more time in Arashiyama, as every corner we turned there was another wonder to explore. As is the theme with this trip, there were hordes of people in Arashiyama, mostly heading for the bamboo grove, but if you switch off from the tourists and their selfie sticks, and just look up and around you, it is possible to fully appreciate the vast nature and serenity of the bamboo forest. Listen carefully to the gentle knocking and creaking of the wood, as it sways and rustles in the breeze, catching the sunlight through its sprouting canopy.

Sagano Bamboo Grove, Arashiyama

The forest leads into a huge park, where you might encounter a snow monkey or two if you’re lucky. The park climbs into the hillside, giving a spectacular view down into the gorge and the mountains beyond.

Õi River, Arashiyama

Following the steps down through the gardens, we came out on the river bank, which was dotted with fancy cafes and restaurants, while punting tour boats floated along the turquoise water.

Punting on the River, Arashiyama

Strolling back through the town, I browsed the traditional kimono style clothes shops, marvelling at the array of rich and unique fabrics. Before getting back to the station, we went to a street vendor and tried some matcha ice cream – a Japanese favourite – bitter sweet green tea flavoured.

Matcha Ice Cream

Our time in Kyoto was up, and it was time to join our friends in Osaka. It was exhausting, but Kyoto was easily my favourite city. Maybe it was the Sakura festival, the glorious weather, and the fact everything was buzzing, but if you can get past the crowds, I’d fully recommend visiting at this time of year.

If I can give any kind of advice, it would be don’t rush to see everything! Kyoto is huge, and there is so much to see, I don’t know how you are supposed to choose. But with over 1600 temples and 400 shrines, you’ll find it difficult to miss out!

Jun 29

Nakasendo Trail pt.3 – Journey through the Heart of Japan

~ Breakfast in Tsumago ~

I awoke with the birds at sunrise, beneath the warm yellow canvas of the tent, somewhere in the woodland surrounding the ancient Japanese post town of Tsumago. It had been the first night camping so far that I hadn’t woken up shivering in the night, and the quietness of the castle ruins was unreal underneath the clear stars, surrounded by mountains.

Mic, my travel partner, had a noticeable spring in his step as we began to pack up camp, and we both felt fresh and excited to complete the final (and most historical) leg of the Nakasendo Trail. Ensuring we’d left no mess or litter in the ancient countryside, we made our way into Tsumago-juku for breakfast.

Tsumago-juku was just as bustling in the early morning, with fresh tourists and hikers just arriving off the first shuttle bus from Nagiso station, bright eyed and ready to sight see. We went to a tea house, taking off our shoes at the door, and sitting down crossed-legged on the tatami mat floor next to the fire. The lady who lived there brought two strong coffees, placing them on the little table, before scurrying off back to her living room, from which we could hear the radio.

Traditional Japanese Tea Room

Suddenly, the radio program was intersected by a loud instructive voice, which was also echoing outside in the street. Mic and I looked at each other, concern crossing my mind and his face, but we couldn’t understand the words (and even if we did speak fluent Japanese, I think we’d have struggled through the fuzz and crackle), and there was no reaction from the residents.

I remembered hearing something similar in the mornings when I was living in Hakuba – at the time I put it down to the local train station, but in hindsight, it was probably too far away to hear, and I’m not sure they even made announcements. I read about the “5pm Bell”: a nickname for what is formally known as Sichoson bosai gyosei musen hoso, which is just as much of a mouthful in English – “Local government disaster administration wireless broadcast!” This is a daily test of an emergency broadcasting system, which is blasted out of old-fashioned loud speakers attached to poles in the streets, at the same time everyday. It was introduced in the late 1960s, following a deadly earthquake, and has run like clockwork ever since, with each town having it’s own broadcast, tune and time schedule. Although this is an efficient safety measure in a land of earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and potential Korean missiles, it still sends shivers down my spine, as it reminded me that for such a beautiful, kind-natured culture, it has such a dark and harrowing history, and still has so much to fear. I find it quite boggling that a country that excels in advanced technology, still uses old fashioned, traditional methods, and will continue to until they stop working. It is like something out of a futuristic, sci-fi apocalypse war movie!

Mochi Skewer (or Dango) – sweet snack made of rice starch

With this revelation, we drank our coffee, paid the lady, and went to the next shop to sit in its little ornamental garden in the morning sun, and eat beef skewers and mochi while watching the koi swim around in a pretty fish pond.

~ The Original Nakasendo ~

Leaving Tsumago-juku on the Nakasendo

The Kanji symbols for Nakasendo literally translate as 中 = central; 山 = mountain; 道 = route. Following the roaring river out of Tsumago, we passed through more Edo style villages, fully inhabited, with pretty gardens making use of the water flow in many creative and useful ways. Some had little fish farms in their gardens, and there were quirky, homemade water features incorporating the ancient stream, along with more original, wooden water wheels.

Original Nakasendo Way

Climbing into the mountains towards the river’s source, we began the ascent up the original cobbled path into the forest. Part way up the incredibly steep incline, we came across an Ishibotoke – a ‘rest-in-peace pagoda’ dedicated to the black cattle that used to carry the merchants’ heavy loads up the steep hills of the Nakasendo. And here we were lugging our own heavy packs!

~ Bear Bells ~

First Bear Bell

Every few hundred metres you come across a bell at the side of the path – these are bear bells – you are supposed to ring them to scare off any nearby bears… (apparently there are brown bears, and black grizzly bears in Japan, and all reliable sources confirm this… but I’m still skeptical!) I counted 12 bear bells between Tsumago and Magome, which are fun to ring loudly and deafen your fellow hikers!

~ Odaki & Medaki Waterfalls ~

Odaki Waterfall

On the border between Nagano and Gifu, a little road takes you down towards the roaring sound of the Odaki and Medaki waterfalls. Legend has it that the larger, more impressive fall is male, and the serene and modest one is female. It is said that travellers in the Edo era would bathe in the falls for good fortune before continuing their journey to the next post town. This was a beautiful place to pause and take in the nature, especially as we were lucky enough to get a moment without any other tourists. The light beams through the woodland, while birds twitter somewhere above, to the sound of rushing, bubbling water, trickling over rocks and swirling into the river.

Medaki Waterfall

Soon we came to an ancient rest house, with a 200 year old weeping cherry blossom beside it. As I stood admiring the beautiful drooping blooms, an old man wearing traditional robes and a rice farmer’s hat invited us into his traditional house, which was open to the public. He was giving out free Ocha tea for tourists hiking the Nakasendo.

We welcomed the break, and the opportunity to get out of the scorching valley sun for ten minutes, and sat down enjoying the refreshment, chatting with some fellow English and Aussie travellers who were doing the route in the opposite direction. They warned us of a big climb to come, and they weren’t lying!

Pouring Ocha in the Traditional Rest House

The hike up to the ridge continues along the original cobbles, which are rugged and warn, and don’t necessarily make the trek any easier on your feet. The path follows through thick, ancient woodland, with enormous trees, some of them protected and even worshipped. The river still flows down in the opposite direction beside the path, babbling rockery and green moss bringing music and colour to the scene.

Following the River

~ Magome-juku ~

Following the long road winding down from the ridge, we finally reached the iconic post town of Magome-juku, with its dramatic mountain backdrop. The little winding street etches down the hill; paved with wooden buildings either side, trees and flowers decorating the edges, and between houses, you can look down over crops and rice paddies, Mt. Ena looming impressively over the scenery. To me, Magome appeared slightly more modern than Tsumago, which could be due to its location – closer to the main highway, and only a short drive from Nakatsugawa, therefore easily accessible and closer to modern civilization.

Magome-juku

We followed our noses towards a tantalising smell coming out of a busy restaurant. The board outside boasted of ‘Chef’s Special Hot Curry Soba’, and we were sold! Taking our shoes off (gladly, and a little self-consciously) we sat down on the tatami mats and ordered two well-earned beers, and Mic finally got his Soba noodles!

Mt. Ena

After basking in the sun and making use of the local wifi -researching where to camp and browsing the local shops, we bought a couple of deliciously malty, local dark beers – Kisoji Beer – and cracked them open for our final hike of the day. There was a river with an onsen complex down in the valley, about an hour away on foot. The walk was pleasant, following along the Old Nakasendo, which has been converted into the main highway, carving through the stunning Ena-Yama mountains, the evening heat reaching 24 degrees celsius. We came to the small village of Misaka on the Ochiai River, about a 20 minute drive from Nakatsugawa, where we set up camp on the river bank, and spent our evening relaxing in the onsen of the nearby ‘Kua Resort Yuzawa’ complex.

~ The Shinkansen Bullet Train ~

The following morning was bright and warm once again, and we were able to catch the free shuttle bus from the ‘Kua Resort Yuzawa’ complex to Nakatsugawa Station. From here we caught a train to Nagoya: Chubu region’s largest city, where the sun was unbearable, and we realised it was time to change out of our winter attire for good, and dig out the summer clothes from the bottom of our backpacks!

Shinkansen Ticket – Nagoya

Nagoya station is an underground network of ticket machines and passages leading to various platforms. Mic and I joked about catching the Shinkansen – the Japanese Bullet Train – and then both realised there was nothing actually stopping us! But where to? We knew we wanted to head for Kyoto, and it was the cheapest and quickest route from Nagoya, so we went to the nearest ticket machine and bought two tickets. Only, they weren’t complete tickets. We couldn’t get through the barrier; the train was going to leave without us! So, to prevent a terrible Harry Potter parody, Mic went straight to the ticket office to sort it out.

If you are buying a ticket for the Shinkansen, and aren’t machine savvy, I’d recommend cutting out the moment of panic, and going straight to the ticket office, as they are usually English speaking and very helpful.

Notably, the Shinkansen is definitely the more luxurious way to travel, with our short trip costing 6,000yen each – that’s £42 at the current exchange rate.

At 200mph, the Japanese Bullet Train pushes you into the back of your seat, and blurs your eyes as it accelerates across the country. It is incredibly smooth for something so fast, and the journey from Nagoya to Kyoto only takes 30 minutes. That’s 84 miles, the equivalent to a 2 hour drive, past towns and mountains and the south side of Lake Biwa.

We were soon arriving in Kyoto, at the end of the Nakasendo, where Gerry, Cam and Zac were already staying. After quickly finding a very reasonable Air BnB, it was time to reunite with our friends and compare our stories of tough climbs and freezing nights in tents, before falling asleep in a comfortable bed above the warm glow of down town Kyoto.

Jun 17

Nakasendo Trail pt.2 – Walking the Way of the Water Wheels

Have you ever woken up with a layer of ice on the inside of your tent? It had been another below-freezing night on the Yabuhara river bank, deep in the Kiso Valley in the heart of Japan, and even our sleeping bags were a tad frosty. But we’d slept, and after completing the first leg of the Nakasendo Trail the day before, I don’t think anything would have prevented sleep. The ‘samui’ (cold) nights we’d experienced while camping so far weren’t letting up, but at least the day temperatures were reaching the high-teens.

Frosty Lodgings

~ Breakfast of Champions ~

After thawing out the tent in the rising heat of the morning sun, my travel companion Mic and I washed and drank from the river, packed our backpacks and set off to the nearby Yabuhara train station. Breakfast was a great and unexpected find. I’d remembered seeing a sign in a window for fresh bakes the night before, (Japan has really mastered the art of delicious pastries) and we headed back there on the off-chance it was open. It was, but when we stepped inside, it seemed to be a craft shop, selling unique, handmade trinkets, but no food. We were just about to leave, when I noticed it was connected to what looked like a community centre, where a group of ladies were sitting around a large table doing an origami workshop. They all cheerfully called, “Konnichiwa” as we edged in, spotting a stand at the side of the room, covered in fresh breads and pastries, and also coffee! We paid and took our bag of loot, and our coffee in paper cups, the origami ladies waving goodbye as we left, and ate the lot while waiting for our train.

Breakfast of Champions

~ Nagiso ~

A 50min train ride through pictoresque scenery; window seats; a kindle in Mic’s lap, a notebook in mine, we enjoyed the opportunity of soft chairs, prior to embarking on the second leg of our hike, from Nagiso to Tsumago-juku.

Nagiso was another sleepy little town, a little more equipped for passing hikers and tourists, with a handful of little shops and cafes by the station, their keepers perched outside on fold up chairs, watching the world go by. This is the base for most tourist companies running shuttles between Tsumago and Magome – the two most touristic Post Towns on the Nakasendo Trail, which book-end the last remaining original part of the ancient road. It is also a starting point to the old Nakasendo Pass, which follows closely where the original road would have led to Tsumago – this is what we were doing.

~ Nakasendo ~

We bought lunch in a local grocery store, repacked our backpacks, ensuring the weight was evenly distributed, and began the trek. The Nakasendo Pass to Tsumago begins just metres away from Nagiso station, and ascends beside the river, past a mini shrine on the left, and an old steam engine on the right. Blue skies added enhanced colour to our beautiful surroundings, with the river and gorge fading off into the distance behind us, and the temperature was rising, so we were soon changing into our shorts.

This part of the trail joins up with a country lane, passing through rural residential areas. The incline is small compared to the Torii Pass between Narai and Yabuhara, and the scenery is less dramatic, more serene, with pretty farmland and hills. We passed hillside shrines, which reminded me of the tiny worship houses built into the Catalonian mountains of Spain, and small villages with the authentic Edo era wooden houses, and wooden water wheels turning.

A Working Water Wheel

Every now and then, between the farms and old villages, we’d pass a great big modern new-build, with lots of land and fancy cars parked on the drive, in contrast to the ancient history etched into the landscape. A few cherry and plum blossoms were already in full bloom, dappling pink sunlight on the grass below, and teasing at what the following few weeks in Japan had to offer.

Early Cherry Blossoms

~ Tsumago-jo Castle ~

We reached a fork in the road; the right leading up hill to Tsumago-jo Castle remains, the left leading to Tsumago-juku. Leaving our backpacks trustingly against the sign post, we took the right-hand fork, up a steep incline, passing through dense bamboo forest, from which a wooden bridge once connected the castle grounds, and is now filled with earth. The sound of the birds twittering and echoing through the bamboo was incredible, and Mic was forced to patiently endure my excitement about being in my first bamboo forest! Not another human in sight; just endless bamboo, quietly creaking and making the light fresh and green.

Filled-in-bridge curving round the bamboo forest

We passed the place where the ‘Hori-Kiri’ (moat) once was, and up through the woodland past the ‘Obi Kuru Wa’ (defensive stone wall). The top of the mount was a large, circular plateau, with big rune stones strewn about, commemorating the wooden, Edo era castle that once stood there. It offered 360degree mountain views, leading our eyes down through the valley, with Tsumago-juku ahead. Behind us lay the Central Alps, snow peaks bright in the afternoon sun.

Kiso Valley & Central Alps, from Tsumago-jo ruins

Back down to the road, we collected our backpacks and descended to the little post town of Tsumago-juku – soon to be my favourite place on the Nakasendo Trail.

~ Tsumago-juku ~

Entering Tsumago-juku

Turning the corner leading down along the narrow road, following the stream on the left, and the classic Edo era wooden houses along the right, the view zigzags down the valley before you.

Tsumago Water Wheel

A wooden water wheel turns, splashing the stream part way down, while miniature ornamental gardens decorate the courtyards, with flora and forna filling each available space between. The green mountains surrounding the post town create a lush frame for the picture-perfect foreground.

Ornamental Courtyard

Tsumago was the 42nd of 69 post towns on the original Nakasendo between Kyoto and Tokyo, and is now one of the best preserved Edo era post towns, and a popular tourist destination. You can reach Tsumago by travelling to Nagiso on the Chuo Main Line railway, and catching one of the shuttle buses, or hiking the old Nakasendo. Ironically, it was the building of this railway line that caused Tsumago to fall into poverty, until it was revamped for tourism in the 1970s. I think the best thing about this town is that even though it thrives purely on tourism, none of it is staged. Tsumago is fully inhabited, and therefore completely authentic, as the locals you meet selling their goods actually do live there, and make their living by making and selling traditional products to travellers, just as they would have in the Edo era.

Tsumago-juku

There are lots of Ryokan guest houses in Tsumago, where you can get the full experience, with tatami mat rooms, onsens, and traditional meals. You can also get your luggage shuttled between towns, so you can enjoy a leisurely hike, but if like us, you enjoy a challenge and want to save a bit of money, I’d fully recommend going off the grid!

Tsumago-juku

A beautiful afternoon was spent wandering up and down, exploring the shops with different foods, coffee and tea houses, groceries stores, souvenirs, and of course, bottle shops filled with expensive sake. Beside the last house at the very end of the town, where the road continues onwards along the Nakasendo towards Magome, there is a life-size straw horse, apparently a symbol for good fortune, which is the first thing you’d see if you’re walking to Tsumago from Magome, as most people do.

Straw Horse for Good Fortune

Another little statue we began to notice outside a lot of buildings was the Tanuki – a sort of raccoon – wearing a straw hat and a dappy smile. They seemed to be outside all the ryokans and restaurants, so we guessed they were a symbol of hospitality, and once you notice them, you realise they’re everywhere! On some research I’ve discovered that they were originally Chinese evil spirits; shape shifters and tricksters. The Japanese, with their imaginative compassion, adapted this folklore, and the Tanuki is seen as benevolent and cheeky: a welcoming and wealth-bringing icon.

Tanuki

With the evening sun turning the wooden houses red, and the shadows growing long on the ground, our stomachs were beginning to rumble. Once again, there was no place in Tsumago to pitch a tent, and a last minute ryokan would have cost the earth, so we decided to back track a little way. We passed an old chap wearing a woven hat, and selling something from authentic bamboo steamers with delicious aromas coming out. Steamed buns! We purchased six with different fillings, which he wrapped in bamboo paper and bid us farewell with a smile, and we hiked back up towards Tsumago-jo ruins.

Traveller’s Supper

~ Camping in the Castle Ruins ~

The sun was setting, painting the valley with vivid colour, and we ate our steamed buns while they were still hot and delicious – my favourite had a walnut filling; Mic’s was eggplant. We pitched the tent on some nearby scrubland with valley views – previous campers had used this spot, and their was a ready-made fire pit. The sun set, and the flames rose, and the temperature didn’t drop! Finally, spring breathed in the night sky, and it was going to be the first comfortable night’s sleep in a long time.

Jun 13

Nakasendo Trail pt.1 – ‘Samui’ in Ancient Japan

Work had come to an end. The snow was melting, and the ski lift queues had disappeared. The season was over, and it was time to leave Jimmy’s House in Hakuba, with all its inhabitants the winter had collected. Moving out was sad, saying goodbye to the family of strangers I’d adopted over the last 4 months, all going separate ways; but it wouldn’t be bye for good.

The Nakasendo Trail is the ancient road between Tokyo and Kyoto, which was used by Samurai and merchants in the Edo era, between the 1600s and 1800s. Small parts of the old road still remain intact, and are open to tourists to hike and experience all year round. Mic (also from Jimmy’s House) and I both desired to backpack the trail, so we set off on our adventure at the end of the snow season in mid-March…

~ Camping in Matsumoto ~

Road to Matsumoto

Somewhere on a hill near Minami-Matsumoto Station, across a vast stretch of paddies and crops, we set up camp. Our view was of the Matsumoto suburbs across the valley, to the dramatic mountains on the other side. Mic and I had left Jimmy’s House, catching the 12:30pm train from Kamishiro station to Matsumoto, with fellow housemates, Gerry, Cam and Zac somewhere closely behind. (Zac had recommended the camping spot, and the three of them were to meet us there on their bicycles, commencing their own bike-packing journey.) We’d walked for around 45 minutes in the warm sunshine through a network of rice fields until we reached the foot of the mount. Passing two shrines, and some of the first cherry blossoms of the season, we climbed the steep, snowy path to the plateau, which was to be our home for the next two nights.

Room with a View

As dusk began to creep at the edges of the horizon, and our camp set up, we gave up waiting for the three boys, assuming they’d found somewhere else for the night, and we walked in twilight to the nearest 7eleven convenience store for dinner. An hour later, we traipsed back up the hill to our tent, finding ourselves following three tyre tracks in the snow! “Bikes! Three of them!” Mic exclaimed, and as we climbed, torch light beamed down the hill, and we heard Zac, Cam and Gerry cheering.

Our tents floated on the snow, lit from within like wish lanterns, with the stars strewn across the clear sky competing with the lights from the city below. Sitting around Mic’s campfire, spinning yarns and trying to keep warm, one by one we turned in, and endured our first freezing cold night, sleeping on the snow.

That was the coldest I have ever been in memory. We’d somehow convinced ourselves that snow was an insulator, but alas. It was anything but! The boys were all up at dawn, having given up on sleep; Zac, Gerry and Cam preparing for an early departure on their bikes. Meanwhile I was still huddled in a ball in my sleeping bag, with some deluded belief I’d stop shivering and fall asleep soon. Though they were the worst two nights, the mornings that followed were beautiful.

The sun rose behind the trees, slowly spreading a thawing warmth over us. I sat in the tent, packing and readying for the day ahead, while Mic did his yoga stuff outside on a patch of grass. Two birds of prey circled above us, calling to eachother, gliding and diving gracefully against a sapphire sky. The town clocks chimed from somewhere below, as the sun melted the snow, and all felt peaceful. This is a very tranquil, happy place in my memory.

First Camp

~ Matsumoto Castle ~

Standing bold between water and mountain, Matsumoto-jo is a premier historic castle, dating back to 1594, and is a Japanese national treasure. You can walk around the castle’s moat for free, passing beneath the impressive defensive gate, and through the park with a pictoresque red bridge that arches over the vibrant green moat. As with many important buidings, hundreds of Koi swim around in the waters, multi-coloured, enormous and gawping. As well as sharing their name with a Japanese synonym for ‘affection’, Koi are an important symbol of strength. In Japanese folklore, the little Koi in the Golden River wanted to swim in the Blue River, beyond the Great Waterfall. Any fish that showed the courage to swim upstream into the waterfall, grew wings and was transformed into a dragon by the gods.

Matsumoto-jō

We wandered through the sunny city and met with another Jimmy’s Housemate – Jake, who took us to an onsen before dinner.

~ Japanese Onsen ~

These luxurious public bath houses are definitely something you should try at least once! I have to admit, it took me ages to go to my first onsen, because I was nervous. After all, you have to be naked! Men and Women are separated in public onsens: women enter through the red veil, and men enter through the blue. When I finally went to my local onsen in Hakuba Goryu, I had the whole place to myself, which is great if you’re feeling uncomfortable about waltzing about in a public space with no clothes on, but it meant I had no one to follow and learn the etiquette from. So, when I strolled into the onsen in Matsumoto with my towel wrapped around my torso, with at least 20 Japanese women – who had clearly left their towels in the locker room – pretending not to look at me, I felt very Gaijin! Quickly stuffing my towel on a nearby shelf and submerging myself up to my neck in the hot water, I subtly watched the other women. They were simply relaxing, washing, quietly chatting and laughing among themselves, totally naked and totally comfortable, not judging another soul, and I quickly realised I had nothing to worry about. I thoroughly enjoyed the array of different spas, including a jet stream massage seat, and multiple outdoor spas. Relaxing in an outdoor lounger, submerged in warm water beneath a beautiful magnolia tree, I watched dusk fade the sky, breathing a cool breeze on my face.

~ Yakitori and Beer with Jake ~

I met with Jake and Mic in the lobby, and we headed across to a nearby Yakitori resaurant. Yaki means grilled, and tori means bird, but Yakitori can cover just about any meat or vegetable that can be skewered and grilled. We ordered everything on the menu and washed it down with a mug of Asahi, raising our glasses to ‘Kampai’ (cheers) to good food and good times.

~ A Train to the Middle of Nowhere ~

Our second morning in our tranquil camping spot was severely interrupted… I’m going to be totally honest here – if you’re a fellow traveller, and you’re planning on free camping, that’s great! We searched the web on free camping in Japan before embarking, and it is accepted, provided you are respectful and discreet. But, DO NOT LIGHT A FIRE, unless you are in a place with a designated fire pit, or you could be fined up to 30,000yen. We learnt this the hard way. Now we know.

Leaving Matsumoto on the sunny March morning, trudging through rapidly melting snow, we caught the train on the Chuo Mainline Railway to Kiso-Hirasawa. It felt like we were back in the Hakuba Valley, where the tracks cut round mountain bases and through evergreen trees, passing occassional communities of a few houses in the woods.

A cold wind blew, though the sky was deceivingly blue. There wasn’t a soul in sight as we got off the train, yens at the ready to pay at the ticket booth in the station, but there was no one there! The tiny village of Kiso-Hirasawa was deserted too, and we found a small park nestled between houses, to sit and enjoy our 7eleven sandwiches out of the wind. The village had a narrow street lined with old Japanese buildings – which were all closed for lunch – Mic likened it to Nizawa Onsen: another ski town, famous for its hot springs. The street eventually met with the main road, adjacent to the Kiso river.

We walked along the highway to the next town – Narai – which took around 30 minutes, and while the walk was rather dull, with trucks passing at high speed and our backpacks cutting into our shoulders, the traditional Post Town was worth it on arrival!

Evening in Narai-juku

Narai (Narai-juku) is the midpoint of the Nakasendo highway, which connected Tokyo and Kyoto in the Edo era. It is also the northern most Post Town, and still resembles it’s authentic purpose from that period.

~ An Unplanned Detour ~

I really wanted to stay and emerse myself in the ancient Japanese culture, but most places were already closed, and with no space to camp, and no available accommodation, we were forced to move on for the night. The man at the Narai tourist information centre was very helpful, firstly telling us we were crazy for wanting to camp because it was “samui” (cold), and secondly recommending a nearby Chinese restaurant where we could eat before our journey. Mic found a guesthouse two stops away on the train, and although it was a little more than our desired budget, we knew we’d thank ourselves for it later. …Or would we?

Darkness had fallen fast and heavy by the time we’d had dinner, and we caught the train to Harano. “It’s about an hour’s walk from Harano station,” Mic said, consulting Google Maps on his phone. Rubbing my sore shoulders, I smiled and nodded. “No problem!”

More than two hours later, we more or less collapsed through the lobby. The guesthouse was nestled in mountain peaks, at the top of a very long, very steep, very dark winding road. We’d hiked it in the pitch black of night, with just the aid of my head torch, passing nothing but ominous woodland, a few uninhabited houses, and what sounded like mountain rivers and rapids in the dark. Both of us ached; my shoulders and hips were bruised from my backpack, and I was very concerned about the rest of my backpacking plans. It felt like the longest two hours of my life, and there were moments when I didn’t know if I’d ever make it to the guesthouse.

The worst feeling of dread, and fear of letting us both down, was quickly turned into the best feeling of relief, and hope yet. A hot bath, and soft, white linen, fresh on an actual bed with an actual mattress, and a cosy wall lamp mounted above. My head hit the pillow and I was gone.

Morning came, bringing fresh sunshine into the room through the white curtains. We made the most of the included breakfast, realising as we stared out the dining room window, that we were quite literally somewhere in the mountains. A young shiba-inu who’d barked at us the night before, was sunbathing on the porch, and the kind hotel owner agreed to drive us back down the mountain to the train station.

Sunbathing Shiba-inu

We drove for at least 20 minutes, past peaks and ridges and enormous dams; rivers cascading down into the valley. Our host pointed out a huge, white-capped mountain peak – Mt. Ontake – the second tallest active volcano in Japan, at 3067m. He told us we were in the Central Alps, and we would have had quite a long walk ahead of us to get back on track!

Back at Harano station, we soaked in the warm, valley sun, and gazed up at the mountains we’d hiked the night before, in awe of ourselves! Had it been light when we arrived and we’d known that was where we were going, I don’t think either of us would have even attempted it! The train took us back to Narai, and we continued where we left off.

~ Narai- juku ~

Exploring Narai-juku

The little Post Town was thriving in the morning sun. All the little wooden shops were open, and tourists were bustling up and down the narrow street, checking out the authentic goods for sale. You can buy lots of traditional, hand crafted lacquerware in the Kiso valley, as that is the region’s oldest trade, and you’ll see it displayed in almost every shop you pass in Narai, as well as homemade flavoured rice crackers, perfect energy snacks for hiking.

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Narai Bridge

We checked out the arch bridge, inspired by a Japanese drum, and built out of 300yr old Cypress trees, and walked the length of the town, passing six ancient water fountains. We originally thought these fountains were linked to hidden shrines, but on further research, discovered that they are the original water fountains that supplied water to travellers and villagers in the Edo era, and are still very much used today.

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Traditional Water Fountain

Finding a tiny coffee shop along the street, with a door shorter than me, and flowers in baskets decorating the exterior, we decided to go in. We enjoyed some fresh drip coffee and marvelled at the miniature architecture inside the old building.

After purchasing some rice crackers for the road, we headed to the far end of Narai-juku, following signs for the Torii Pass.

~ Torii Pass ~

The Torii Pass crosses the mountains between Narai and Yabuhara – the next Post Town on the Nakasendo Trail – and is a steep ascent. It is most popular to do the route in the other direction, as it is slightly more downhill, but it made sense for us to do it backwards from our starting point in the Nagano Prefecture.

Leaving from Narai-juku late morning, we hiked up the stone-cobbled path, ascending into evergreen woodland, and crossing a gully with a river flowing down it. There was compacted snow on the path from the get go, so with our heavy packs on our backs, (Mic and I had swapped for the day, as his was a slightly better fit, even though they weighed the same) and careful footing, we were slow-going.

Start of the Torii Pass

Despite the snowy alpine altitude on the cusp between winter and spring, the sun beat down through the trees and we were in shorts and singlets in no time! We passed some Japanese locals who laughed at us, exclaiming that word again, “samui” (cold) while in their thermal fleeces, but in our defence, they weren’t carrying 18kilos on their backs, and they were going down hill! Another couple of hikers passed by, telling us to keep our eyes open for snow monkeys, as they’d just seen some crossing the gorge.

Old Rest House

Passing an original rest house – an old wooden structure like a bus shelter – we paused for a drink before continuing up the strenuous footpath. We turned a corner, and sure enough, there was a snow monkey, clinging to an overhanging branch right beside us, looking right at us before fleeing. Then I started noticing them everywhere, flying down the banks by the dozen, scampering over logs across the river to the other side, screaming to each other, babies in tow. Mic wasn’t as lucky – he wasn’t wearing his glasses.

Climbing the Torii Pass

The path zig-zagged higher and steeper yet into the reaches of the mountain, snow and ice underfoot, up to the ridge where the road forked and began to descend to Yabuhara. From the path, we saw a big, stone torii gate, standing atop a mound covered in cedar trees. Climbing the stone steps up, we discovered an ancient, sacred Shinto shrine, overlooking Mt. Ontake volcano in the distance. There is a collection of ancient structures, surrounded by stone figures of samurai and monks, each figurine scattered with silver yen, and silhouetted against the golden mountain backdrop, in the light falling through the cedar trees.

Ancient Monk Statue

The path curved downwards, past postcard views of the Kiso Valley, along treacherous puddles of ice and frozen moss, until it flattened out into a cobbled woodland path, eventually widening into a road that meets up with the highway at Yabuhara. We’d successfully completed the first leg of our Nakasendo journey.

~ Yabuhara ~

Evening was approaching early as the sun threatened to disappear behind a peak, leaving us in the shadow of the mountains. Our backpacks were heavy, our bodies tired, and ducking down a steep, narrow residential road, Mic and I could almost taste dinner on our tongues, following the Westernized signposts for Yabuhara Post Town. Mic had already spotted a sign for a soba noodle restaurant, written in English, and was hungrily saying that he could smash a bowl of noodles!

We arrived at the top end of Yabuhara’s main street, to find it deserted, and the soba restaurant closed. “That’s alright, we’ll find something else!”

Yabuhara Post Town, like Narai, is a narrow, winding street lined with old wooden buildings. However, unlike Narai, it was more residential, with genuine houses, grocery shops, a clothes shop, a few barbers and a bottle shop. Everything was closed. We decided it was because it wasn’t 5pm yet, and usually restaurants open then for dinner, so we set off to find a camping spot.

Second Camp

We scoped out an ideal patch on the river bank, and as we pitched our tent, a local dog walker stopped to ask if we were camping there. Mic and I looked at each other nervously, “Hai,” (yes) we responded, and tried to ask if it was alright: “Kyampu OK?” The dog walker wafted the question away with his hand, “Yes, yes, OK, OK!” making an ‘OK’ symbol with his hand. Phew! But then he laughed and shook his head, “samui!” (cold). We all laughed, and he wished us good luck and continued with his walk.

He wasn’t lying. The sun was setting and the temperature was dropping rapidly. Stomachs growling, we walked the length of Yabuhara – we hadn’t eaten since our hotel breakfast in the mountains – even the traditional guest houses were closed. Concern growing, we came across a man who’d just stumbled out of a doorway leading upstairs to the sound of people laughing and singing. “Sumimasen!” (excuse me) Mic said, grabbing his attention, and asking him where we could find dinner. The man doubled over, laughing, shaking his head. “No dinner! No shop!” he said, and then, pointing up the stairs, “Drink! Come, come!” he insisted, and with a shrug, we followed him up into a little bar.

~ Dinner with the Locals ~

Five senior men sat in a line at the bar, each with their own entire bottle of Suntory whisky. The bar lady welcomed us, introducing herself as Mayumi, and the men all budged up so we could sit down between them. Mayumi poured us a glass of whisky each, donated kindly by the man I’d sat next to, and gave us both half a banana. She asked if we liked Yakisoba, and 15 minutes later, she produced two large bowls of noodles, filled with vegetables, seafood, pork, and delicious flavours, and watched with a warm, satisfied smile as we tucked in. I felt like a lost orphan in a story who’d just been taken in by a sweet grandmother!

The evening went on in swigs of whisky, with several phonecalls to wives, telling them to set up the spare beds for a couple of Gaijins they’d just found, repeating that word “samui” over again – too cold to camp. Then the microphones came out, and suddenly it was a karaoke bar! The old chap next to me did a Frank Sinatra duet with Mic, while I clacked some castanets, stifling my histerics!

As the hour grew late, Mic and I put on our jackets and asked Mayumi-chan what we owed. She looked at the chaps, and they all agreed, nothing! A gift from them! Shaking hands and saying “Arigato Gozaimas” (thank you very much) many times, we bid farewell to our new friends, overwhelmed by their limitless kindness, and made our way back to the river for another chilly night. At least there was no snow.

Dinner with the Locals

… To Be Continued …

May 13

Okinawa, Japan – A Series of ‘Not Ideal’ Events

Okinawa is the last place I visited in Japan before flying back to the UK, and therefore the freshest to write about, which is why I have chosen it as my first Japan blog.

It is the biggest and most populated of the Ryukyu Islands, half way between mainland Japan and Taiwan in the East China Sea, and is home to Japan’s most critical American military base. Okinawa is quite different to mainland Japan, and wasn’t altogether what I expected…

I was travelling from Osaka city with two companions from the previous season, Taylor and Mic, and after several weeks of backpacking, all three of us were ready to sit on a sunny beach on a tropical island and relax. We’d planned our routes and times thoroughly, and were feeling pretty confident. Here, it is probably important to note that Osaka has two international airports, and they are nowhere near each other. Kansai Airport is where you’d likely catch a flight to Okinawa from, while Osaka International is the one Google Maps will default to, if you’re not quite specific enough… We went to the wrong airport.

A hair raising, hour-long taxi ride later, (worth more than the cost of our flight), we arrived at the RIGHT airport, about 3 minutes too late. The budget airline were able to put us on the next available flight, which was roughly nine hours later. So our first day in sunny Okinawa was spent in Kansai Airport’s domestic terminal. Not ideal.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong with our flight. The runway staff finished loading the luggage hold, stood in a line beside the plane, and bowed in unison, waving us off in true Japanese fashion as we taxied to take-off. Our flight took about 2 hours, with stunning in-flight views of the sunset, before descending over the twilit islands of Ryukyu. Our plan was to catch the bus into Naha city, near to where our pre-booked Air bnb was located. However, we’d arrived nearly 10 hours later than expected, and the island’s public transport isn’t very forgiving… We’d missed the last bus to Naha by minutes, and had already spent half a week’s budget on taxis that day, so, with a heavy sigh and some uncertain giggling, we adjusted our backpacks and began the two hour trek beneath the stars into the city.

At least it wasn’t raining. In fact, the temperature was noticeably warmer than mainland Japan, and despite the heavy luggage and worn out bodies, the walk was quite pleasant. We eventually reached our Air bnb, (via a supermarket for some instant noodles) and after a fairly disappointing shower, and an even more disappointing “instant” dinner, (which required the miniature kettle to be refilled three times), it was time to call it a day. Taylor went to close the sliding doors dividing the rooms, and found that only one door moved, sliding uselessly in the middle of the large door frame. He peered through the wide open gap, and let out a slightly maniacal laugh.

“That’s not ideal,” Mic said.

~ Kokusaidori Street ~

Morning came with the sound of birds twittering in the trees, and the shush of traffic a couple of blocks away. There was a bit of blue in the sky, and it was bright and warm. We drank the free coffee provided by the Air bnb, and took off down the road to the main international strip, about 10 minutes away on foot.

Kokusaidori Street – noise; both visual and audio – sales men and women attempt to catch your attention at every shop entrance, ornamental dragons in multi-coloured pairs line the displays in all shapes and sizes. Novelty toys, mugs, T-shirts, and generic holiday paraphernalia fill your peripherals as far as the eye can see. Enormous jars of habu sake, (rattle snakes drowned in Japanese liquor) stand in stacks, going for 400,000 yen a pop, the snakes inside hissing silently at by-passers. Fiberglass fronted restaurants boast of rare delicacies; puffa fish gawp out from tanks. We even saw a very small tank outside a seafood restaurant, with a live turtle in it – I quickly walked on and tried not to ask too many questions.

Following the street up, we turned off beneath the canopied Heiwa dori Street, through a network of arcades and alleys lined with street sellers, leading into the wonders of Makishi Market, where Okinawa’s strangest delicacies can be found. We stumbled upon the seafood hall by meer accident, filled with stalls and restaurants of all kinds. A grid of long tables laid out like an enormous canteen, played host to hungry punters, while lobster, squid, fresh fish, shellfish, everything you could imagine, was served on platters shaped like small boats!

At the intersection marking the end of Kokusaidori Street, we discovered an underground food hall in the basement level of the Ryubo building. We browsed the deli counters, bakeries, fish mongers, and enjoyed a varied lunch, accompanied by special blend coffee, and topped off with some delicious Japanese beer from the world craft beer counter. Happily satisfied after a good feed, we headed back outside, eyes directed at the sky in hope of beach weather! Unfortunately it was windy and grey, (though we had no idea what was in store for us) so we continued to browse Kokusaidori street, soaking up the bustling atmosphere with a local ‘Orion’ beer in hand from one of the many Lawson’s convenience stores.

~ Shisa Dogs ~

These goofy looking statues are everywhere, bearing similarities to Chinese Dragons, they are somewhere between a lion and a dog, and these are the little trinkets that fill every souvenir shop. Shisa Dogs are a Ryukyuan tradition from Okinawan folklore, believed to protect places from evil, and are often seen on rooftops, or guarding the entrance to most buildings. They always come in pairs; the right-hand Shisa Dog has its mouth open to ward off evil spirits, while the left-hand one’s mouth is closed to keep good spirits in. Often the pairs have cheeky facial expressions, and are depicted to be cheerful and amusing, sometimes painted in vibrant colours, reminding me of Disney’s ‘Stitch.’ The Shisa Dogs were one of my favourite things about Okinawa, giving the place a little touch of character.

~ Naha Beach ~

Advertised up and down the main strip as one of Naha’s hot-spots, it was quite amusing how unspectacular it was when we arrived! However, despite the small radius of beach, surrounded by concrete walls, and the noisy highway bridge crossing the water, the sand is clean and white, and the water is crystal clear. A sectioned off lido protects swimmers from box jellyfish, and a lifeguard patrols the beach. Trees fill the park behind, where dozens of stray cats frolic in the grass, prowling on picnics. The facilities also include toilets, showers, and even a hire shop for all your seaside needs, from parasols to inflatable tyres. Apart from sunshine, what more can you really ask for?

For dinner we found a pub serving Taco Rice – an Okinawan dish coining taco filling, and Japanese rice. Finished with a big dollop of salsa, it is a blander version of chilli con carne; a sort of Japanese/American compromise, washed down with a refreshing glass of Orion.

The night took us to a penthouse bar, where we couldn’t figure out what language to order our drinks in. With the only other customers being American, and the bar girl responding to my broken Japanese in English, I felt like a proper tourist! The boys smashed out a game of Foos ball, I destroyed a game of jenga way too early on, and we all found out the hard way that you should never strawpedo Guinness!

~ The American Village ~

It’s super easy to hire a car, as long as you have your international driver’s license, passport, and a better sense of direction than us. We went to the airport on the monorail – which loops Naha city on a regular basis throughout the day time – to find the best selection of car hire. After walking around the terminal, looking in all the wrong places, we couldn’t for the life of us find a car hire desk! Of course, it was really easy, slap bang in the middle, impossible to miss, and once we got there, we simply picked our price range, chose our insurance policy, and hopped on a shuttle to the depot. After a quick exchange of details and money, we were given our car – a little white cube on wheels. These little Japanese cars don’t have much of a kick, and the top speed limit in Okinawa is 60kmph, which makes driving very economical and cheap. As there are no trains around the island, and buses can be irregular and expensive, hiring a car is definitely the best value for money.

Heading north, we joined the highway out of the city. The landscape rose and fell, every inch littered with white and grey tower blocks, as though several boxes of starwars lego had been emptied across the land. As we approached the American Village, fast food restaurants began to pop up by the dozen alongside the highway; McDonalds, KFC, Dominoes, Denny’s, and so on and so forth. Pulling up in the village, it was like stepping out into one of those replica towns at Disney World – each building with a brightly painted facade, and palm trees spaced neatly between perfect paving slabs.

Making a bee line for coffee, we entered an arcade of cafes and restaurants along the waterfront promenade. We were welcomed at the door and shown to our seats in American fashion, by a smiley, English speaking waitress, where we enjoyed perfectly rosetta’d lattes, watching the moody weather roll in off the East China Sea, and quietly wondering whether we were supposed to leave a tip, or if like the rest of Japan, it was considered rude…

The village is a jumble of American style burger shops, cafes, and tack shops selling American souvenirs. There is a ferris wheel on top of a building filled with arcades and novelty shops. White sand bays surround the village, where we dipped our feet in the warm water beneath an ominous black sky.

Driving out of the American Village, we passed ‘Round One’ – a chain of indoor arcades and sports activities. An entire level is packed with arcade machines, pinging and popping and singing, lights flashing, enormous cuddly Pokémon willing you to defeat the impossible and win them! We decided to stick with the day’s American theme, and played ten pin bowling. Not until we’d begun our game did we realise we were supposed to hire bowling shoes from a vending machine. Yes, a vending machine! Oh well, that saved a thousand yen – Gaijin card well played… Oops!

~ Island Hopping ~

There are tonnes of little islands off the coast of Okinawa that you can take day trips to via ferry or plane, and they are said to be stunning. Unfortunately, we were on a budget, and the weather forecast was looking a bit temperamental – the ferries are known to stop running if there are any signs of bad weather. So for fear of being trapped on a desert island in a storm with no money, (and the way our luck was going, the chances were high) we made a mutual decision to go and explore some closer islands, accessible by bridge.

We headed north-west, the sun behind us, and eventually came to countryside! The concrete jungle fizzled out, and we could see the sparkling ocean ahead, our hopes alive for finally getting our tropical island swim! We even stopped at a Lawson’s and got a picnic for our glorious beach day, and could already smell the salty air and sun cream in anticipation.

Crossing our first bridge onto the tiny Yabuchi Island in the Uruma district, the road narrowed into a winding dirt track, leading seemingly to a dead end. Parking up, we continued on foot, and just through the trees we found the entrance to Janeh Cave. 6500 year old arrow heads made of shell were excavated here in 1960, along with claw-shaped pottery. These finds suggested that sea routes between Southern China and the islands were extensive much earlier than first thought.

We entered the cave, stalactites looming down on us; fossils jutting out of the rock. You can see gaping squares in the ground, strewn with tarpaulin, where archaeologists have scarred the ancient rock. Deeper into the cave and the temperature dropped. Cool moisture clung to my skin, and that eerie feeling came over that makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. We tried to hold our ground, egging each other on to peek around the next pitch-black corner, but it got too narrow; the shadows too surreal, and so we went back to the light.

Pretty coves surround Yabuchi island, with volcanic rock formations jutting out the edges of the turquoise sea, where bridges stretch off in different directions. Though it was beautiful, the spikey rock made the water inaccessible.

Then, all of a sudden, it was raining. Fine, wet rain, which had the three of us sheltering under an arch of rock, rolling our eyes. Certainly not ideal. We ran back to the car, and searching for a rainbow as the sun burned through again, we made our way to the next island.

A long bridge takes you to Henza island, which is mostly industrial land, belonging to the Idetsu oil company. Henza leads on to Miyagi and Ikei, which are home to many tourist beaches, the first being Tonnaha Beach, in the north-most cove of Miyagi Island. A track leads down to a seawall, beyond which is more white sand and clear sea, decorated with coral and picturesque rocks. We watched hermit crabs scurry about on the sand, playing peek-a-boo from their colourful shells. An oil rig sits off-shore of Tonnaha Beach, obscuring the silhouette of Okinawa main island across the sea in the distance.

Another bridge and another beach – Ikei Beach – which we had to access through a building. A lady came out and welcomed us, asking for 500 yen per person to enter the beach… many of the tourist beaches in Okinawa are pay-on-entry; a concept we couldn’t get our heads around, growing up with the freedom of having beaches on our doorsteps. The sky wasn’t making any promises, and it was beginning to drizzle, so onwards we went! Every beach on Ikei Island was asking for money just to enter, and with the weather on the turn again, and most of our picnic already eaten, Mic suggested finding a seaside coffee shop and watching the rain.

On our drive around the islands, we saw many impressive tombs, unlike the burial sites in mainland Japan. Often randomly placed, like on the edge of a crop field, or next to a convenience store, they are grand and haunting. ‘Haka’ tombs are unique to Okinawa, though their origins have been traced back to ancient Southern China; designed to be like houses for the departed, sometimes we’d see an enormous cluster of tombs, where an entire family is laid to rest, little offerings like bundles of herbs or flowers laid down at their doors.

The final island – Hamahiga – linked off the south of Henza Island, had so much potential, had we been there a month or two later. The coffee shop we’d aimed for was still closed for the down season, and the only other people we saw were a group of workmen, who all stopped and waved enthusiastically as though they hadn’t seen anyone for days either! At the end of the island we came across a salt factory, with a beautiful hidden bay beyond. We even considered going for a swim in the rain, but agreed that we’d only be doing it for the sake of it, so, feeling quite fed up, we hopped back in the car and drove back towards Lawson’s for a cold coffee out of the chiller and wifi.

Then the monsoon came. It hammered the windscreen so we could no longer hear the music. The wipers flailed manically, but couldn’t clear the view. Traffic had slowed down significantly, the road spray preventing anyone from seeing the vehicle in front, or the road for that matter. Tyre-deep flash floods appeared from nowhere, and all vision was a wet, monochrome blur. Beach day was cancelled.

We took ourselves back to Naha, where we waited for the rain to ease off before going to a local ramen restaurant for dinner, but by the time we’d finished eating, the storm was back with a vengeance. Floor-length skirts and flip-flops in ankle-deep water is definitely not ideal, I was trying to say beneath the drumming on my umbrella, while cars splashed by causing mini tsunamis. It was time to go back to the apartment and drink wine, while the crack of forked lightning echoed across the night sky outside.

~ Zanpa Beach & Maeda Point ~

Morning began late, with a heavy head from a glass too-many of wine, but the sun was shining fresh after last night’s storm, and I was feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. We were on the road to Cape Zanpa, and Maeda Point – I volunteered not to drive, so Mic took the wheel while Taylor and I kept ourselves quiet with a cheeky McDonalds, like two happy children. We passed The American Village around halfway, and continued up the coast, past large American bases; their big, white bungalows fenced in with barbed wire. At first, we continued past Zanpa Beach, assuming it was another pay-to-enter resort, and found ourselves in the neighbouring bay, looking at an array of coral reef formations, like the foundations of ancient building remains.

Mic made the journey across the reef to test the water, and in the meantime, Taylor and I sussed out Zanpa Beach, realising that we could access it easily without any sign of having to pay. So there we went. The grasslands above the beach were laden with public BBQs, probably thriving with off-duty military men and their families in the summer months. The beach itself hosted a number of water activities – you could hire paddle boards, kayaks, jet skis; have a go at tubing or even try one of their jet packs. It had a swimming lido, as most tourist beaches do, to protect from dangerous jelly fish, and the lifeguard sat on his plinth, observing under blue skies. It seemed too good to be true – the sun was gleaming down; the sand was hot and the sea was cool. Towels laid out ready, the three of us ran into the ocean, (you can almost hear the slow-running music playing in the background) and we swam and floated about, while fish darted about our legs. Drying in the sun, I laid on my towel, hangover washed away by the ocean, and finally felt like I was on holiday. It was ideal!

Once dry and crispy from the sun, we got back in the car and made a point of going to Maeda Point… (sorry). Cape Maeda was exactly what we’d been looking for, with quirky little coffee shops and authentic restaurants. There were little beach-town houses rather than tower blocks, and pretty, natural bays with no expensive resorts or lines of parasols. Following Mic’s satnav instructions, I drove along a track to a car park, where we got out and followed a line of scuba divers down the footpath to Maeda Point. A viewing podium leered on the edge of the cliff, protected by two Shisa Dogs, looking out onto a most stunning cove, smothered in reef.

Below, groups of divers and snorkelers explored the sea life at the water-logged entrance to the renown Blue Cave. I think the three of us could have stayed there all day, but the hire car had to be back at the depot by 5pm, so we made our way reluctantly back to the city.

Dinner was a treat. It was Taylor’s last night in Japan, and he chose Okinawan seafood down in Heiwa dori Street market. We went for some of the tamer dishes on the menu, (as opposed to boiled fish eyes and tuna gizzards) which were freshly and expertly prepared to order within the shop. I was pleasantly surprised, tasting the rubbery squid tentacle, salmon sashimi, and tasty tempura tuna, and we ended up getting seconds of the delicious grilled tuna! That was definitely worth making our wallets lighter.

The remainder of my time in Okinawa was mostly reserved for packing, and after bidding Taylor farewell, we prepared for our individual onward journeys. Mic and I shared a last meal on the island, at one of the Okinawan restaurants along Kokusaidori Street, where we tasted some classic local produce. It is very similar to Japanese food, but with an island twist – egg and tofu with bitter melon – a kind of peppery celery that looks like a snozzcumber, but adds a lot of flavour and crunch to a dish. We had Okinawan dry soba, which was enriched with chicken and vegetables, and a side of pork fat potatoes.

Despite many ‘not ideal’ moments, Okinawa was an enjoyable experience – certainly different, and quite amusing in hindsight! If I found myself there again, I would hire a car from start to end, and consider staying in a few different locations, leaving space to go to some of the other off-shore islands… And stock up on Orion beer for when the monsoons roll in!

Jan 3

Sailing to Smokehouse Bay

Gunpowder, Treason & Plot

It’s the night of November the 5^th. Bonfires line the beach like beacons from Hastings to Napier, and we laugh and drink under a drizzling, red sky. Finn hands out fireworks to his new companions, and the brave ones shoot them upwards, like young wizards defending their school. In two days, we are to set sail on Finn’s boat from Napier to Aotea – The Great Barrier Island, and then on to Auckland.

Finn is a local Napier boy, who has sailed hard to get where he is today at the age of 22. His friend Kyle is American, an experienced sailor, and the two met working as sailing instructors in the Caribbean. My first impression of Kyle was that he kind of resembles Leonardo DiCaprio, but I pushed aside any Titanic references circling my head. That makes up the 30% of our crew who can actually sail!

Then there’s us – the couch-surfers. Dani is a bright and bubbly chick from München; Fabian is a food passionate from Stuttgart; Luca is the quiet one from Köln, and Simon is an artistic dude from Bavaria. Then there’s me, the Pom.

Napier Harbour Moonrise

The Dulcinea

The Dulcinea is a 44ft Steel Ketch yacht with 2 masts. She has three sails: Jib – front; Main – middle, and Mizzen – rear. She sits just 2m below the surface, and her led-weighted bottom makes her a ‘Knock over’, meaning no matter how much she keels she is near impossible to capsize. The Dulcinea was custom built in California in 1986, and was sailed across the Pacific to New Zealand by Finn in 2013. She can sleep up to 10 people, but 7 is cosy enough.

‘Night Sailing’ – one from my sketchbook

Bananas On Board
7^th November

Today we set sail, leaving Napier midmorning after the boys went for a HUGE shop. Before we left, we ate all the bananas that had been brought on board, because it’s bad luck to sail with bananas. Kyle told us that when shipwrecks were discovered, bananas were the only things they could salvage, floating around amongst the debris, so the general consensus became that bananas were bad luck. Also, they were known to bring cockroaches and rats on board, spreading famine.

As we prepared to leave the harbour, we met a character on one of the neighbouring houseboats. He is an old Maori fella, who has lived on his little boat for years. The fascinating thing is, he is blind. Kyle heard him calling out to us, “Is that Finn and his crew? You off today?” The old man got chatting about the goings on in the harbour – the other boats being washed and maintained and who’s boat was where. He knew everything just by the sound, and he moved around the harbour as though he could see perfectly well.

We are heading N.E, destination East Cape. We’ve seen gannets and dolphins already, cruising alongside the boat as we passed their feeding spot. The sea is rolling, but the weather seems to be holding so far, with sunny spells and a light wind.

Dolphin Offshore Napier

Mid-afternoon. It is quite rough, half the crew are seasick. We had to navigate shallow, rocky waters between Mahia Peninsula and Portland Is. The swell was huge, making the enormous waves vertical. The boys are spewing alternately off each side as the sails pop and the boom swings. Dani and I seem to be fairing pretty well, enjoying the ride, if not a little sunburnt. Albatross have been following us most the way; spectacular birds that swoop and run along the surface of the waves. Fabian is particularly taken by them. He’s been at the bow for hours, watching and photographing them.

A long 8 hours of sailing and we’ve finally dropped anchor in a small, sheltered bay between Mahia and Gisborne. Fabian has cooked rice and mince with veggies and the guys are having a few beers and playing cards. Finn’s teaching the crew how to play a card game called Presidents and Arseholes – a bit of a sailing tradition for him – and they keep yelling ‘SCUM’ at one another. The Germans are pretty good, naturally. Tonight the moon is like a burning nectarine rising from the horizon.

Rolling on the Swell

Tolaga Bay

After a late start yesterday, waking up to the likes of Six60 and Katchafire, and a breakfast of scrambled eggs, we sailed past Gisborne and up towards the East Cape. The sea was still fairly lively, and the bitter south wind blew so we were able to sail at a fair speed. The boys were much better after a night’s sleep. We all settled on deck, Dani engrossed in her journal, while Luca, Simon, Fabian and I discussed such things as the pronunciation of the German ‘Z’, and I learnt things like, “Wie spät ist es?” and “Das Boot ist am Ozean.”

Kyle opened a packet of dry ramen (instant noodles) and started breaking it apart and crunching on it, to which Luca’s gaze was transfixed. Shortly after, Luca had a packet of ramen and was emptying the sachets of flavouring over the raw slab, lamenting at what a good idea it is!

We anchored at Tolaga Bay around 6:30pm and got the BBQ fired up. A beer by sunset and steaks on the barbie, Tolaga Bay pier silhouetted in the silver sunlight.

Tolaga Bay Pier

It was a rougher night than the last, but it’s something to get used to, as we’ll be sailing through tonight. This morning we arose early, everything stiff and aching, but 5 minutes on deck, calmer waters, cuppa tea in hand and the smell of bacon coming up from below, and everything felt bliss again. The occasional dolphin or albatross passes by, but mostly there’s just shimmering ripples and sunshine.

We made our way around the East Cape by mid-afternoon today, sailing between the lighthouse and the island. It looked pretty incredible from the sea, with dusky layers of landscape framing the skyline.

East Cape Lighthouse

The engine’s sprung an oil leak, so we’ve been plain sailing while Finn fixes it. As we passed the East Cape lighthouse the wind died completely so the boat was just sitting, slowly turning with the current. Fabian jumped on the ropes, pulling the Jib sail round to find the wind. He made some difference, but for the first 10 minutes we were just going round in circles with Luca yelling, “Turn right! Turn right!” Eventually, Finn’s head popped up and directed Fabian, telling him to sail straight out east, or the wind would make us stall if we tried to sail directly into it, and soon enough, Fabian was sailing successfully!

Sailing by Moonlight

It’s been a long night with broken sleep. Finn and Kyle have been taking watch, swapping every 2 and half hours, while the bright moon lights up the ocean and the Southern Cross shines above. I’d be lying if I said it’s a tranquil experience – with music playing all night, waves slapping the boat about; sails flapping and banging and the motor roaring away down below. None the less, we’re growing accustomed to the rolling and roaring and sleep comes in dazed installments.

Sailing by Moonlight

We passed White Island at sunrise; a smoky lump on the horizon to the west, and we continue to sail N.W, straight to Great Barrier Island. We hope to reach there around 11pm tonight and make berth. It is warmer today, and we are 50 miles from land, completely surrounded by blue sea.

We have anchored at Red Mercury Island, just off the Coromandel Peninsula. We’re a bit sore, sleeping on benches and in corners like human Jenga. All our stuff is drenched as there is a crack in the hatch in the front of the boat – right above our bunk. But it’s an excuse to get the guitar out of its damp case. As the sun set, leaving scuds of brilliant red on the ‘Eye of Sauron’ horizon, we saw a couple of whales spraying up jets of water from their blowholes in the distance. Hopefully tonight we’ll hear some Morepork and Kiwi birds. A Morepork was flying around as we weighed anchor, and shortly after, something flew into the side of the boat in the darkness, letting out a terrible cry as it thudded! I hope it wasn’t the Morepork.

At night, just before bed, Kyle gets his best epiphanies. Cracking open another beer after a round of cards, we laugh, amused by his ramblings, half agreeing, if only we knew what he was talking about! Perhaps it’s just the remarks of a smoking capsicum.

Land Legs

Day 5 of sailing. We left our little cove on Red Mercury Island after sunrise. All groggy and bleary eyed after a wet and noisy night of creaking and leaking hatches. The weather improved heaps and we passed the tip of Coromandel. Finn and Dani counted about 60 various islands we’ve passed, and there are more to come.

Golden Seaspray

Luca has developed quite a love affair with raw ramen. We rarely see him without his hand in an open packet. It might be a serious addiction. I caught Simon playing the harmonica this morning when he thought no one could hear him. He was playing ‘Love Me Do’ by The Beatles, really beautifully. I then learnt that it is a ‘Mundharmonika’ in German, and ‘harmonika’ by itself means accordion.

After 4 or 5 hours of calm ocean bliss, Great Barrier Island is in our sights; its south coast straight ahead. Big green hills rolling up out of the sea, over a red-grey cliff, with little bays and coves everywhere, it’s another Jurassic Park.

We’ve sailed up around the west of the island, past Tryphena and into an inlet with yet more tiny islands. There were rocks of all shapes and sizes; some with big open caverns where the waves eroded the walls; some the shape of turtles. We passed miniature civilizations on the beach – just a wharf and a couple of boats tied up, no one around, and craypots dotted everywhere. Giant jellyfish with pink heads float by, tentacles like unravelling brains.

We turned starboard into a narrow harbour entrance to a hidden bay, sheltered by islands and headland all around. Smokehouse Bay.

Smokehouse Bay

This is Finn’s favourite spot in the whole world.The bay has been adapted by sailors over the years, who built a smoke house for their fish. As

The Bath House

time went on, they built a wood-burner powered bath house, complete with bars of soap and

Beach Tub

books to read, and even placed a set of mangles and washing lines along the shore to do their washing! There are homemade swings hanging from the Pohutukawa trees, and benches around a big fire pit. Even a long-drop loo nestles in the hill with a set of instructions on the door to keep it hygienic and natural.

Finn chopped some wood and got the wood-burner going and we took it in turns to shower, while sitting around the fire drinking beers. It was one of the best showers I’ve ever had. Straight from the spring in the cliffs, heated by woodfire, on a beach overlooking the coves of Great Barrier Island, in the middle of the Pacific. As I write, a Kereru has landed in the tree, a big clumsy pigeon, checking us out with his inquisitive sideways glance.

Seafood Seconds

We made way to Port Fitzroy this morning, setting anchor and hanging around until the wharf was free to fill up our water tank. We took the dinghy to shore and the boys got chips and burgers from a little shack in the port called ‘The Hub’. The side of the hut is tied to a Pohutukawa tree and the hatch is on a winch over a branch to open and close it.

The Hub – Port Fitzroy

We watched as the car ferry from Auckland pulled in after its 6 hour crossing, and three people in an inflatable dinghy driving continuously into the side of it to no avail, presumably trying to push the ferry into port!

A short walk up the hill takes you to the Port Fitzroy shop – a humble little grocery store with fresh produce in baskets that doubles up as a bottle shop.

We attempted to go on a short walk to a waterfall, but an endless line of felled trees blocked the path. After climbing over a few of them – most of the guys barefoot – we decided to turn back. There were silver ferns and Koru and skeletal leaves all over the path.

Cockling

We filled the boat’s tanks with fresh water, got some groceries, and then motored down to the estuary to a bay filled with cockles. Putting on our stubbies, we climbed into the dinghy (or falling off it and getting wet in Fabian’s case) and went ashore. Up to our knees and elbows in the sea, foraging in the wet sand under water and picking out handfuls of cockles, we collected heaps in a big bucket of seawater to keep them fresh. We brought them back to the boat, cooked them in a big pot, and ate them on the deck, dipping them in vinegar and water. They were surprisingly flavoursome, even without seasoning.

Mussel Bay Rainbow

We’ve anchored on the inside coast of Kaikoura Island, where mussel farms litter the sea, and we spent the afternoon fishing beneath a double rainbow, arcing across the bay with both ends dipped in the sea. We were spoilt with the amount of fish; it was actually easy, and we threw at least half of them back in. I caught two Snapper; the first was young, so we threw him back, but the second was a biggun.

Gutting the Snapper

We ended up with 5 Snapper and 1 Trevally, which Fabian gutted and scaled.

He diced up about a third of the fish, marinating it raw in lemon and chilli, and then wrapped the pieces in spinach leaves for a sashimi entrée. The raw fish was so fresh it didn’t even taste like fish. Next he prepared pan-seared Snapper and Trevally with veggies and rice, which was delicious.

Bath on the Beach

The weather had been on and off all morning, so our original plan to go on a hike was sabotaged. But Finn had gotten up early and caught a Kowhai fish, so after a quick stop at Port Fitzroy, we made way back to Smokehouse Bay. Fabian made some bread dough, which he put in the smokehouse to bake, and we still had some cockles left over, which we boiled in sugar water and smoked in the smokehouse. Finn basted his Kowhai in chilli, lime and brown sugar and smoked that too. The cockles were sweet and firm; the kowhai was rich and tender, it was all gone within seconds!

Kyle washed the teatowels with the mangle and hung them out to dry, and we whiled away the hours talking and sheltering from the rain showers. Simon had the urge to run into the sea, so we turned the taps on in the outside bath tub, and we ran splashing into the water. The water was around 17/18˚c, and almost felt warmer than the air. We swam around for a bit, and when we got out, the bath was hot and ready, so Simon, Fabian and I got into the hot water and soaked. Sharing a bath on the beach, surrounded by flax, quite an odd but delightful thing!

Later we cooked some beef steaks on the fire, and took the bread out of the smokehouse. The bread had cooked well, but let me tell you, it tasted like fire! Soon, a couple arrived from their boat and we sat nattering to one another while they took turns to shower.

After the feed, Finn and Fabian took the dinghy and a battered surfboard they found washed up on the beach, and attempted to wakeboard. After 3 attempts of face-planting the sea, Fabian had it, slowly skimming around the bay, low in the water and passing the on-looking yachts so slowly it was comical. Next, Finn tried, but Fabian kept driving the dinghy round in circles, so they gave up and Finn had a bath. I found a copper teapot and made tea on the fire, but Finn had run out of hot water, so we ended up marinating him in the tea. He got out and joined us by the fire before things got too close to Lord of the Flies!

Some of the flax leaves at Smokehouse Bay have been plaited traditionally, and I tried to mimic the patterns. Flax were anciently used for weaving bags for hunting and gathering, and their strong fibres mean they are good for ropes. We sat around the fire, sipping tea and making jokes until the cold nestled in. We washed our utensils, tidied up, collected our washing and went back to the boat, where Finn cooked mini cheeseburgers and the guys played cards until they got sleepy.

The night was noisy – the anchor seemed to be trying to break free, and the tarpaulin we’d used to stop the rain coming in the hatch was flapping and knocking, but eventually, sleep came.

Hirakimatā Hike

It was another late morning. After breakfast, we went to Bush’s Beach, where we took the dinghy to shore to go hiking. Finn stayed on board to do some maintenance, while the rest of us went to explore. Pulling up onto the little bay, we put on our hiking shoes and then realised the entrance to the track was blocked off by a red mesh fence and a sign saying, “WARNING – TRACK CLOSED”. We’d come this far, so we mutually agreed to jump the fence and see how far we could get. (Please do not follow this example!)

There were a few landslips as the track went up, through typical rainforest, silver ferns lining the path, and a river running down the gorge. We crossed the first two swing bridges, and came to where a third bridge should be. But it was gone, washed away down the river. The river had barely any water in it now, so we back-tracked, found a safe route down, and crossed the river by the rocks.

Collapsed Bridge – Bush’s Beach Reserve

On the other side, the path was demolished by a landslide, so we kept going until we were reunited with the path again. Eventually, we came to another bridge point with no bridge. Luckily the river was low, so again, we crossed it by foot pretty easily. Climbing higher and higher into the bush, the path suddenly disappeared off a sheer drop. A landslip had completely taken the path this time and there was no way around, so we turned back.

Simon and Dani made jokes, Kyle sang and yodelled while Luca snacked on ramen, and we detoured to a little pool in the river, where tiny waterfalls poured from. We all climbed a fallen tree that bridged over the pool, and Kyle jumped in. We hiked back down to the beach and went back to the boat.

This evening, Finn caught a Snapper in a Kaikoura Island cove, which we’re eating raw with soy sauce and wasabi.

Party at Smokehouse Bay

Around 7:30 am. The clouds cast a dull, grey coldness over the bay. Shorts and jumpers on, we all hop into the dinghy. Time to go cockling.

We foraged for some time until our bucket was brimming with cockles, Kyle humming ‘Silver bells & cockle shells’ all the while. A huge stingray lingered in the bay; a dark shadow darting about in the shallows.

Back to the boat with our loot, and we motored over to the mussel farm, where Finn fished. A young local boy was free diving from another boat, so Finn gave him $10 to dive down and get a bag of mussels. The kid brought an enormous bag up, and Kyle and Finn between them caught 7 Snapper! Now, with our seafood feast, we are heading back to Smokehouse Bay to prepare.

Chopping trees, starting the fires and getting the food ready; our hunting, gathering mission is well on its way to a party. Dani is quite the wood-chopper, with Luca helping with the kindling, and Fabian and Simon are washing and cracking the mussels ready to smoke. Fabian has filleted the Snapper, and I basted them in brown sugar, chilli and lime – Finn style. They’re also saving the egg sacks to try and make smoked caviar, which we have to guard from sneaky thieving seagulls.

With all the cooking underway, we take it in turns to shower, and gradually the other boaties come ashore. There’s Captain Bill and the golden oldies from The Caramba, who’ve been coming here for 30/40 years and are so proud to have a new generation following in their footsteps. Then there is Geoff from Plymouth; a little mole-like man with round glasses and a proper Plymouth accent. Him and his wife sail a lovely little green yacht, which he has kitted out for their every need. Then there are the youngsters, Grace, Phillip, Sam and Brad from Christchurch and Hamilton, and their parents, all aboard The Shasa; a big fancy power boat. Phillip’s dad, Mark, is extremely kind – he brought us a crate of beer for going to the trouble of fishing and cooking.

We’ve shared around the cockles, mussels and Snapper, along with crisps donated by the others, and Captain Bill has raised toast after toast for appreciating such a beautiful place. They gave the name ‘Smokehouse’ a whole new meaning inside the bath house, and everyone is more than merry. Dani was forced to have a ‘Western Wash’ (her head dunked in the sea to sober up.) It didn’t work.

Party at Smokehouse Bay

The party continued on the boats into the night – steak and beers on The Shasa, and Rum and music on The Dulcinea – sailors all chanting, “I’m on a Boat” by The Lonely Island, until we were so worn out, we crawled into our blankets and fell asleep.

Snorkelling and Scallops

A stunning morning greeted our heavy heads, and we began the day by jumping off the back of the boat into the cool, refreshing sea. Finn cooked egg fried rice with bacon for brunch, which hit the spot, and we shared the last cans of coke, waving as the other boats slowly awoke to enjoy the warm sun.

I steered the boat as we headed over to another bay on the north of Kaikoura Island. The wheel feels heavy, and I can imagine how much hard work it is to steer in real weather and waves.

Bringing up the Scallops

We anchored up and Finn got his scuba diving gear on, with a tank borrowed from Captain Bill, and went diving for scallops. Luca and Fabian went snorkelling too, while the rest of us were “ground control” – watching for bubbles to make sure Finn was still breathing!

He finally popped his head up, shouting and beckoning, so Kyle jetted over in the dinghy and brought back a huge bucket of scallops. Finn was so excited; he cracked one open right away and ate it raw, trying to persuade us to eat them too. Kyle suggested he’d come up to surface too quickly and the air had gone to his head.

Freshly Harvested Scallops

The Fishermen’s Feast

Back in the bay, Captain Bill came over to get his air tank, and sat on the deck with Finn and Fabian, showing them how to properly fillet the

Preparing the Feast

scallops. Fabian then prepared them with curry powder and made spaghetti with onions and herbs – “Great Barrier Bolognese.”

We took the food to Smokehouse Bay, where the old boys had already begun the feast. A few boats from a sailing club had got together with freshly caught Snapper and a washing-up bowl full of batter. They battered and cooked the fish in a cast iron pot hanging over the fire. The folks from The Caramba made a beautiful fish curry with Snapper and Porai they’d caught, and we all shared our feasts, complimenting each other.

Battered Fish Cooking over the Fire

One of the old boys explained how the Porai fish was always the one the Maori chief got first pick of, so it’s pretty special. We ate, trying everything, the other boaties being so generous and welcoming, offering us their food for our hungry young German boys! Fabian’s Great Barrier Bolognese went down a treat with everyone.

Full and content, we went back to the boat for an early night, leaving the party to unravel on the beach.

To The City

A gold leaf sunrise at Smokehouse Bay, raindrops decorating the glassy sea, everything washed in a shade of ochre yellow.

Sunrise at Smokehouse Bay

The final leg of the journey threw wind and rain at us, Finn and Kyle in all their waterproof gear, sailing hard into the weather while the waves smashed the boat from side to side. Meanwhile below, we played heavy music that seemed fitting to the weather outside. Dani braided bracelets while Simon & Luca drifted in and out of sleep, and Fabian successfully challenged himself to build a house of cards. The boys outside saw blue sharks and epic cloud-drifted scenes, washed with rain.

We all stood out on deck approaching Auckland, the grey city spiking the low cloud. Rain soaked us as we slowly came into civilization, cranes working fast to load cargo onto enormous ships; catamarans zooming back and forth, carrying passengers across the water; bank names labelling the skyline, and the sky city tower barely visible in the cloud. We berthed at the marina, and with feet back on (slightly damp) land, it was to The Swashbucklers Inn for a welcome pint.

Journey’s End