Travel – Active Stuff

“Mountains are not Stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” ― Anatoli Boukreev

Mountains. I love them and I hate them. It’s always been this way. When I’m there, I hate it. The struggle. I never find it easy. Never! It doesn’t matter what I do to prepare. For whatever reason, I always find it difficult. No matter how fit I tend to be. Yet I keep going back. I think it’s the […]

Climbing Mountains

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” – Jack Kerouac It’s been a while since I’ve been climbing mountains.  I miss it. Having said that, this particular hike was gruelling!   Hiking the Trolltunga involves a 1,000m ascent (3,000 ft), and took us about […]

Glacial Lakes

This is a, well basically, out of focus panorama of a glacial lake we encountered while hiking the Besseggen Ridge in Norway. I’d dreamed of hiking it for years. It was harder than I thought – I felt like I was rock climbing up a cliff at some points! It was worth the effort though

Half Dome Satisfaction

This is Andrew on our way back from climbing the Half Dome.  It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, and the views from the top were stunning.  It rained torrentially that afternoon which caused a huge rock fall.  I was soaking wet and freezing cold by the time we got back to camp.

Torres del Paine

This is the path to Mirador Cuernos in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile. It’s one of the most scenic places I’ve ever visited. It’s also one of the windiest! The wind in Torres del Paine is crazy!  Gusts would appear from nowhere, knocking us down like demons.  We could hardly stand up, let alone walk, at some […]

Hiking up Tunupa Volcano

This is a guy in our group making his way up Tunupa Volcano. Tunupa is a dormant volcano that lies above the salt flats in Bolivia. This part’s about 5,000m up. It started to get pretty steep at this point. I was exhausted and hadn’t been well for a few days. I probably shouldn’t have done it but I’m glad […]

Norwegian Dreams in Lustrafjord

The weather wasn’t great when we were in Norway.  But we had a few hours here and there when the sun was shining.  This photo was taken between the quaint village of Skjolden and Solvorn.  It was the day after we had finished hiking the Besseggen Ridge and I was pretty tired still! Lustrafjord is the innermost arm of the […]

How to Get to the Top of Kilimanjaro

Walking up Kilimanjaro is not cheap. It costs thousands of dollars. Want to spend all that money and time training only to walk down the mountain with your tail between your legs? That would be embarrassing, and depressing! Yet it happens to thousands of people every year. So how do you get to the top of Kilimanjaro? Maximise your chances […]

How to See the Gorillas in Rwanda

Seeing mountain gorillas in Rwanda in the wild is one of the most memorable experiences you can have. Here’s how you can do it: Where do you need to go? You can see gorillas in their natural environment in Rwanda and Uganda. Parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo are a possibility, but the political situation is volatile at the moment. Best time to […]

W Trek – Accommodation and Camping

There are several accommodation options on the W Trek. Refugios Refugios are basically expensive up market hostels at Glaciar Grey, Paine Grande, Los Cuernos, El Chileno, and near Hosteria Las Torres (where there are two, Refugio Torre Central and a smaller one called Refugio Torre Norte). In refugios you stay in dorm rooms with between 6-9 beds in each room with shared bathroom […]