Category Archives: Destinations

Air & Water

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As qualified sports divers we have experienced swimming with the fishes but that was a long time ago so we were delighted to come across an underwater observation tower where we could observe fish in their natural environment without having to don wet suits and breathing gear. Built to celebrate the local area becoming Japans first National Marine park in 1972 it is popular for snorkeling and scuba diving due to an impressive coral reef teeming with fish and other sea creatures.

Descending internal stairs we found ourselves seven metres below water in a large circular room with portholes at different levels all the way around. We were mesmerised by not only the variety of fish but the dramatic rock formations, corals and shellfish clinging to the rocks. People came and went but we were so captivated by the variety of fish and the constant ebb and flow of both individual fish and large shoals that we totally lost track of time. Another gem to store in the memory banks.

Walking back along the shoreline to the car park we began to appreciate why this area had been designated a marine park as the geology created a beautiful coastline that erosion by strong wind and waves had created interesting rock features in the approximately 5000-year-old sandstone

En route to the observatory we stopped off at a local war museum hoping to get an insight into Japans perspective of World War Two. However the whole museum was dedicated to a WW2 Japanese plane salvaged from the ocean with all its relevant parts and pictorial testimonials to some of Japans pilots who flew that type of plane. We came away thinking they had missed an opportunity to educate people more by not having a section that informed about Japans Pacific War at a national level.

Shinya Yoneda & family
Testimonial of Shinya Yoneda
At foot of plane the pile of colour is folded paper cranes symbolic of remembrance

Lincolnshire into Norfolk

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After meandering our way through the Lincolnshire Wolds in Vinnie (our treasured motor home) we found ourselves wild camping at an RSPB reserve called Frieston shore just north of Boston.

What a find! It is a mixture of coastal lagoon and wetland area with easily accessible walks along footpaths flanked by hawthorn hedgerows and sea defence grassed banks.

Our parking spot gave us a clear view over the coastal lagoon and its inhabitants which were many and varied, swans, egrets, goosanders , pink footed geese, black bellied ducks, oyster catchers, and the inevitable Canada geese and mallards.

Walking between the lagoon and the wetlands we enjoyed the company of blue and great tits, robin and Jenny wren but the delight was sighting a family of goldcrests a yellow browed warbler and a pair of stonechats.

Our early morning walk the following day took us around the complete perimeter of the wetland area which consisted of large grassed meadows, fields full of sunflowers and drainage ditches which created an amazing habitat for wildlife. We were accompanied throughout our walk by several large flocks of goldfinches feeding off the hawthorn berries and sunflower heads in a quiet corner sitting on top of a spray of hawthorn we spotted a yellowhammer who after a lot of calling was joined by his mate. At the furthest outward point of our walk we turned towards the coast and sea defence embankment by walking alongside the tree lined boundary of the North Sea prison out of which flew a sparrow hawk. As we walked back along the embankment we spotted flocks of field fare on the shore side and on the wetland side we had egret mallards and at one point a marsh harrier and kestrel flew in together.

The one bird we have not mentioned is the endangered tree sparrow which thankfully is thriving here in great numbers .

After a night wild camping in a lay by outside Burnham Overy Staithe, a place renowned for its mussels, we visited Pensthorpe Waterfowl Park known as the natural centre of Norfolk.

Well worth a visit if you are a lover of nature, conservation, wildlife and the outdoors. There are easy to follow footpaths around numerous lakes, meadows and woodlands giving you the opportunity to see a large variety of waterfowl in their natural habitat, as well as nationally important conservation pens housing red squirrels, cranes, bearded tits, avocets and corncrakes.

The wildlife areas are complemented by formal gardens designed by Chelsea gold medal winners and a wooded area housing a sculpture park.

The weather on the day of our visit was overcast and wet but this did not detract from our enjoyment of the day.

The end of the road

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So here we are back at home desperately trying to overcome the jet lag and feeling the need to finish chronicling our travels.

We had hoped to get as far south as Stewart island but time was against us so we headed to Dunedin on the east coast and not to far from Christchurch our final destination.Stopping overnight at a place called Gore, not a planned stop but tiredness got the better of us so we just headed for the next convenient place. A lucky choice as the following morning we visited the local gallery which happened to be the home of the John Money collection (the name meant nothing to us at the time) Money was born in Morrinsville , studied education and psychology and ended up as a research fellow at the John Hopkins university in Baltimore. He always maintained an interest in the arts and was an avid collector he befriended the artists Theo Schoon and Rita Angus who’s work featured largely in the display as well as his own collection of African art and carvings.

We eventually arrived in Dunedin (which is Maori for Edinburgh) and instantly liked it, everything appeared to span out from the main square on which sat the Cathedral, Art gallery and a great choice of eateries. Having lunched we headed towards the Chinese garden but were drawn in to the Otago settlement museum so had to give the gardens a miss until the following morning.

The gardens were built in recognition of the contribution to the town by the Chinese settlers who had originally come as gold miners diversifying into market gardening when the gold ran out and eventually into fruit selling and laundering. The garden had been prefabricated in Shanghai dismantled and then reassembled in Dunedin.

After a leisurely stroll around the garden we headed to the Otago Peninsula to visit Larnach castle built in 1871 by William Larnach a wealthy banker and member of parliament for his wife, set on a hill it had great views of the Peninsula.

Our last stop before heading to the airport was the coastal town of Oamuru known as the Steam Punk capital, what a funky place all happening around a couple of blocks of preserved Victorian commercial buildings we lost ourselves in the quirky shops for the afternoon.

Later in the evening we strolled along the promenade to the Little Blue Penguin colony, which is a conservation centre where you pay to sit in stands from which you can watch the penguins come ashore. They spend the day about 15 kilometres off shore feeding then at dusk come ashore to spend the night. They arrive in small groups known as rafts, no more than a foot tall first one little head pops up between the rocks followed by another and another, after cleaning and oiling themselves they waddle their way across the grass to the enclosure where the centre has provided individual shelters for them, one of the cutest things I have seen and a highlight of the holiday. Unfortunately no photos as cameras and phones are banned.

So that is it folks our adventure has come to an end 😢 what a great time we have had crossing at least four time zones, meeting some great people en route and taking in some spectacular scenery, our only regret is we did not give it more time.

Now to planning the next one. 🤔 Watch this space.

North or south?

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Choices to be made, do we meander our way back to Santiago through the vineyards of Southern Chile or head south into Northern Patagonia? The latter won out and we headed south to the town of Coyhaique, although we quickly learnt not the best place for 60+ year olds whose bodies don’t bounce and bend as well as they used to.

Not being in to white water rafting, kayaking and mountain trekking we struggled to find a tour that would get us out and about although our enquiries did discover a half day tour of 7 lakes and small villages (more fitting to our capabilities) but alas no one was running that tour for the days we were there, the only tour on offer was a fourteen hour trip to see a hanging glacier but as It only gave us two hours in the National Park where the glacier was we decided against it.

So we had to entertain ourselves which meant exploring the town and its perimeter taking in the views from a purpose built path.

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We had flown into the region arriving at the nearby airport on the Argentinian border at Balmaceda. If we had been able to get a boat reservation we would have sailed down the coastline from Chiloé and enjoyed an 18 hour sailing down past rugged coast and fjords and wide river estuaries aplenty. The boat sailed into a port 50 miles from Coyhaique and we decided to travel on the local bus down to one of the ports to get a taste of the coastal area.

Taking a bus to Port Aysen we bumped our way over a part made road passing through a lush green valley that appeared to have carved its way through the mountain.The bus deposited us in town and we wandered down to the estuary edge and followed it as far as we could before cutting our way back through the town to the square where we spent a pleasant half hour watching a group of teenagers playing tag football before making our way back to the bus.

Back in Coyhaique for our final day and no public transport to places nearby, so we joined the locals in the main square where we passed a pleasant afternoon soaking up the sun laying on our backs cloud watching and people watching, whilst being entertained by a band playing to raise funds for a child with cancer.

It once again highlighted how important public spaces are to communities across Chile and how they as a family and community make use without any misuse or intolerant behaviour. In our experiences over the years this is not peculiar to Chile but a common legacy across the Spanish influenced world and reinforces how they shaped their settlements with public space in every community they established.

With hindsight we should have done our homework better and perhaps given more time to explore this area of Chile using the buses to travel down to Coyhaique stopping to explore on the way, a lesson learned.