Tag Archives: mountains

South Island: leftovers

by ladina

The last two weeks on New Zealand’s South Island consisted in a lot of driving and stopping on the way at famous sights. From the alpine scenery in Mount Cook National Park, we crossed the Alps to reach the West Coast with its famous Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers that are partly embedded in rainforest; only to arrive, a few hundred kilometers further north, at the marvelous beaches of Abel Tasman National Park. At the end of this road trip, I felt very tired for we changed our campsite every night and did not have time to relax properly. In this sense, I was relieved when we finally boarded the ferry to cross the Cook Strait and reach the North Island. But it also meant leaving this marvelous, diversified part of the world behind us…

Continue reading →

On the Milford Road

by ladina

Intrigued by the pictures of Milford Sound that haunted us from tourist guidebooks and postcards, we set out to discover New Zealand’s most famous fjord on our own. The Milford Road, probably one of the most spectacular highways I ever drove on and which leads — as the name suggests — to the sound, invited us to stop at many sites to absorb the beauty of nature. Once arrived at Milford Sound, a two-hour cruise took us through the fjord and out to the open sea. The crisp air, the morning sun and the misty clouds hanging in the green mountains composed a serenity that brought deep pleasure to my heart. The pictures only convey a small impression of the whole scenery, but being there, living it, proved me once again how precious traveling is, allowing you to feel those places.

Continue reading →

MBC / ABC

by jose

I trudged, step after step after step, as I had for the last four days. Even though we had left the backpack at the Machhapuchhre Basecamp, leaving me with my sole camera bag, and even though the seemingly neverending stairs had been replaced by a simple upward trail, every slowly negotiated step felt as if I were running for dear life. We were at four thousand meters.

There is something deeply serene in the exhaustion brought by physical exercise, something that every sportsperson has probably experienced. The need to draw air, to breathe as much as possible, surpasses every other at some point — even if you might have to manage it while deflecting a blow, or simply not show it. And you are left concentrating on making your body work, with no other thought in mind. Step after step after step.

The time takes another meaning. Instead of being carried by the rhythm of your problems, worries, desires, tasks, you turn to the delicious breeze cooling off your sweat, the chirping of the birds, the comforting regularity of your shoes hitting the stone. It could be seconds or hours before you look around you again, and it does not matter one bit. There is nothing else than you being a part of the world, no more and no less than anything, rightfully existing and breathing, and there is nothing else than the simple beauty of it all.

Continue reading →

Von Chomrong nach Bamboo

by ladina

Um 6 Uhr früh klingelt der Wecker und reisst uns aus dem wohligen Schlaf: Ein neuer Wandertag steht bevor. Die kühle Morgenluft und die noch vom Vortag verschwitzten Trekking-Kleider laden nicht gerade zum Aufstehen und Anziehen ein. Doch da müssen wir jeden Morgen durch, und so schälen wir uns, wenn auch mit einigen Seufzern — denn der Schlafsack ist doch sehr warm und kuschelig — aus dem Bett.

Continue reading →

Mount Bromo, Eastern Java

by ladina

2.30 am. The alarm clock harshly rings us back from a short but deep sleep. More mechanically acting than fully realising what we are doing, we put on our warmest clothes — four layers should be enough — and help ourselves to a few sips of warm ginger tea from our thermos flask. Over a handful of biscuits, the excitement of what lies ahead comes to our dull senses. We tie up our hiking shoes, switch on the headlamps and, now fully geared, silently leave our homestay.

Continue reading →

Mountain air

by ladina

After staying in dirty, noisy and overcrowded cities for more than two weeks, sweating unceasingly and depressing between grey, lifeless concrete buildings, we definitely needed a change. A decision was quickly made: we would go east, to where a handful of volcanos dominate the relief of Java. Positively excited — for as most of you might know, I adore those peculiar mountains — we left Yogyakarta by night bus and found ourselves in a completely different surrounding by the next morning. The volcano itself was only one of the positive surprises which made the destination more than worthwhile.

Continue reading →