On a warm Tasmanian summer day, we headed out to the Hartz Mountain National Park with our friends. The park is located in South East Tasmania, eighty kilometres South of Hobart. It offers many nice walks but the one we really wanted to tackle was the Hartz Peak hike. The Hartz Peak hike is 3.7 kilometres one way and is classified as a grade four hike. There is a...
The Tasman Peninsula is a popular part of Tasmania known primarily for its main attraction, the Port Arthur Historic Site. Of course, while you absolutely must visit Port Arthur, you shouldn’t stop there! There are so many things to do on this small peninsula that you’ll want to spend at least a few days enjoying the sights. Here are the top 10 things you shouldn’t...
Cape Hauy is located on the Tasman Peninsula, just over an hours drive from Hobart. It is the last cape on the “Three Capes Track”, one of Tasmania’s newest walking tracks. If you don’t have time to hike the whole of the Three Capes Track (which takes four days), hiking Cape Hauy is a great alternative. This sign marks the start of the hike. Fortescue Bay The...
There are so many great places to visit in Japan that it’s hard to see them all in one go. But if you’re visiting either Kyoto or Osaka, a great side trip is to the city of Nara. Nara is less than an hour away by train from either of those places and is a beautiful place to visit. You may have heard of Nara before; two things make it very popular, the wild...
Kyoto is another great city to visit while in Japan. Japan’s former imperial capital has a population just shy of one and a half million people, making it much smaller and quieter than Tokyo. The main reason to visit Kyoto is to soak up its fascinating culture and history. Kyoto is also the best place in Japan to go temple hopping. Why? Because it has over sixteen...
If there was one thing I knew for sure as a little girl, it was that my honeymoon would be in Bora Bora. Maybe it had something to do with being French, as most French people consider French Polynesia a distant paradise. With its stunning, crystal clear waters, beautiful beaches, palm trees and iconic overwater bungalows, it sure looks like paradise on earth. But it...
If you want to escape the crowds of Tokyo, another popular outing is a day trip to Kamakura. Kamakura has so many temples that it is also known as the Kyoto of East Japan. From Tokyo, it takes between one to one and a half hours by train to reach Kamakura, depending on which train line you use and your point of departure. We were staying in Shinjuku and simply hopped...
During our week long stay in Tokyo the bustling capital of Japan, we took a day trip to the popular town of Hakone. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous Mt Fuji. Because leaving Japan without seeing Mt Fuji would be a real shame. We’d seen so many amazing photos of this imposing mountain that we couldn’t wait to finally set eyes on it for ourselves. From...
The day after visiting Toulouse, “The Pink City”, we made our way across to Albi, “The Red City”. Albi is set on the banks of the Tarn river, about forty minutes drive from Toulouse. Its episcopal old town, located right in the middle of Albi became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010. The episcopal old town is built almost entirely from Languedoc-style red bricks...
As 2016 is coming to an end (already!) it’s time to reflect on what a great year it has been for us. We’ve been really lucky this year, managing to explore some really amazing places and ticking quite a few items off our bucket list. We visited two other states in Australia and six other countries, which made it a very busy year indeed! With all of that travel under...