Category: Travels for Fun
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JOSEPH’S GUARDIAN ANGEL
Day 24. Tbilisi. Getting sick while on holidays isn’t much fun. But falling ill in a foreign land where you are language challenged is downright terrifying. So when Joseph started vomiting last night I had a far bit of cause for concern. Joseph’s body started revolting around 11 pm and he made hourly dashes to the toilet all night to spew. I suspected food poisoning but I knew I had eaten exactly the same food as Joe that day and I felt fine. In the morning, I messaged Hans in Switzerland…
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THE TREK TO USHGULI
Joseph, Hans and I embarked on a five-day trek from Mestia to Ushguli. The trek winds through Georgia’s stunning Svaneti region, revealing snow-capped peaks, medieval stone towers and remote mountain villages. Each day we discovered breathtaking alpine views, lush valleys, and rich cultural encounters, culminating in Ushguli, Europe’s highest inhabited village and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Within the first hour of our trek we met school teachers, Matt and Alba, who walked at our same pace and joined us for the entire journey. Day 1: Mestia to Chvabiani Distance: About…
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ACCLIMATING IN MESTIA
DAY 11. Tbilisi to Mestia. We enlisted our friend, Kaxa, to drive us from Tbilisi to Mestia, which lies deep in the Caucasus Mountains. The drive from Tbilisi to Zugdidi passed through agricultural land and forests but things got really exciting once we drove out of Zugdidi and started heading up to the mountains. The road follows the Enguri River and at first passes small landholdings with agriculturally rich gardens. It then passes through incredibly rugged conifer and mixed deciduous forests. Initially I asked Kaxa to stop for photos but I…
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EXPLORING TBILISI … AGAIN
Joseph and I traveled to Georgia from 7 July to 1 August 2017 for a father/son adventure featuring some trekking in the Svaneti region in the Caucasus and exploring Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Batumi. This is Part 3. Return to Tbilisi DAY 7. Tbilisi. After a few days in the northern town of Kazbegi, we returned to Tbilisi for the weekend before setting out for Svaneti, a region deep in the Caucasus. I wanted to stretch my legs at dusk and climbed up Narikala Hill to get a view of the city…
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THE JOURNEY TO THE RUSSIAN BORDER
Joseph and I traveled to Georgia from 7 July to 1 August 2017 for a father/son adventure featuring some trekking in the Svaneti region in the Caucasus and exploring Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Batumi. This is Part 2. The journey to the Russian border DAY 5. Tbilisi to Kazbegi. Mike introduces a guest to the ‘Mike and Joe Go to Georgia’ show. If you could only hear Khakha in our crappy audio you would hear about fascinating city of Mtskheta and the sixth century (we got it wrong in the video) Jvari…
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EXPLORING TBILISI
Joseph and I traveled to Georgia from 7 July to 1 August 2017 for a father/son adventure featuring some trekking in the Svaneti region in the Caucasus and exploring Tbilisi, Kazbegi and Batumi This is Part 1. Tbilisi. DAY 1. Departure from Adelaide. The beginning. Joseph and I depart on our long awaited father/son adventure and I bid adieu to my home of 22 years. Farewell Adelaide. DAY 2. Doha to Tbilisi. We arrive in Georgia … but not the Georgia you’re thinking of. DAY 3. Tbilisi. Joe and I discover…
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THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Last Sunday morning, I felt like getting out in the woods and stretching the old legs with a good long bushwalk. The Cleland Conservation Park is just five minutes from our home and offers endless kilometres of quite challenging hiking trails. But as I drove past the Crafers bus stop and started driving up to Mt Lofty I was concerned that I was going to have plenty of company on the trails. Lots of people were getting off the bus carrying hiking sticks and water bottles and starting the trek up…
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CUSCO: THE FORGOTTEN JOURNAL
Our son, Xander, has left on a grand South America adventure which will take him to Brazil, Argentina and Peru. One of the highlights of the trip will be a seven-day trek along the Inca Trail. I told Xander about my own experiences in Cusco and Machu Picchu when I was about his age. And I told him my biggest regret: I didn’t keep a journal. So before he departed, I advised him to take plenty of pictures and write it all down so 30 years later he can relive those…
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ABOARD THE DELPHIN IN THE AMAZON
While a grad student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I took a course on tropical agriculture and studied under the great Amazonia scholar Dr William Deneven. I was mesmerised by his tales of the Amazon. And so was my classmate, Oliver Coomes, who decided to write his PhD dissertation on the riverine peasants – the ribereños – of a tributary of the Peruvian Amazon known as the Rio Tahuayo. When class wrapped up for the summer Oliver got ready to leave for a year of research in the Amazon. I told…
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