After dark, London provides many photo opportunities.
Nearly every day, I walk past the London theater (um, sorry, theatre) housing a production of the blockbuster Broadway show, Wicked. It’s after dark, when the show is running, that it truly shines. Literally. The bright-green neon lights of the Apollo Victoria theatre’s marquee illuminates the street and, what I love most, the queue of taxis waiting out front.
A lovely hike through the North Downs, with a visit to Darwin’s home.
“Welcome to Down House,” said the cheerful manager as I wiped the mud off my hiking boots at the entrance to Charles Darwin’s home. “Sorry for the wait, I was just out back checking on the sheep.” As I stepped across the threshold in search of a scone and a spot of tea, I felt more like I was stepping back 150 years as I skirted around the Drawing Room in search of the Tea Room. Out back, gardens and greenhouses (and sheep) still thrived, much as they had during Darwin’s day, though resting now as winter approaches.
A lovely stroll through a massive park on the outskirts of London, with surprising wildlife.
Earlier this fall, as we settled into life in London, I had the opportunity to take several hikes outside London. Thus started a sequence of ten consecutive weekend hikes… so I was determined to get out hiking again today! I chose a walk along the Thames River and through the extensive meadows and woodlands of Richmond Park, just outside London. Little did I know how much wildlife I would find in this extensive parkland, so heavily traveled by so many joggers, dog-walkers, and equestrians.
50 days of non-stop travel around the world,… and then some.
Whew, it’s good to be back home, after fifty consecutive days of travel spanning the globe. We departed our flat in London on 15 October and, other than a brief visit to the flat for two nights of laundry and repacking, we’ve been on the road ever since.
Tenth weekend of hiking.
After a long journey from New Zealand to the other side of Planet Earth, we spent Thanksgiving weekend in South Carolina, USA. Based on the beautiful barrier island, Kiawah, I had the opportunity to go for a hike along its pristine beaches and through its maritime forest and scrubland – my tenth weekend in a row out hiking. Admittedly, I traveled less than four miles and only on flat, paved pathways and boardwalks, but it was nonetheless a beautiful opportunity to spend time in nature.
Final post in the series.
We pulled into Auckland harbor early this morning, a sunny spring day. Amid all the packing and logistics of disembarking our two-week home, the Heritage Adventurer, we said our goodbyes to new friends and colleagues. Because our flight was not until the afternoon, I decided to make a visit to the computer-science department at the University of Auckland. I enjoyed the chance to stretch my legs, walking a dozen blocks up the streets and through the beautiful Prince Albert Park, to reach the university campus.
A Māori cultural experience in Rotorua.
Not long after leaving the Waiotapu thermal pools we stopped at Te Pā Tū (in Rotorua), a Māori village (pā) for a cultural experience. As we approached the gated, log entrance to this forested compound, we were welcomed into the marae (sacred space) through a traditional pōwhiri welcome ceremony. Several young warriors emerged into the clearing, carrying wooden batons; after an agressive-looking display, each gently placed a fern on the ground and backed away. One member of our party then approached, picked up the fern, and then (without losing eye contact), retreated backward to our group.
Craters, mud pools, champagne pools, and sinter terraces.
After a full day at sea we docked on the eastern shore of the north island so we could visit the inland area known as Rotorua, which sits squarely on the Taupō volcanic zone and is thus rich with geothermal activity. We spent the morning exploring the many fascinating features of the Waiotapu thermal park – deep craters, bubbling pools of mud, and the colorful landscape made as mineral-rich waters evaporated or nurtured underwater fungal life.
A brief stop in Wellington gave me the opportunity to visit an old friend.
When we departed Ship Cove, we left behind the south island of New Zealand and made our way across the Cook Strait to reach the city of Wellington at the southern tip of the north island. As the capital city, it is a bustling place and quite the contrast to the more laid-back towns of Dunedin and Christchurch, which we’d visited just two and three days prior. For me, there were two highlights to our evening-and-a-day in Wellington: dinner with an old friend, and a tour of New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa.
A daylong visit to the strait between south and north New Zealand, steeped in history.
We woke to a beautiful morning as we sailed into Cook Strait, the passage between south and north New Zealand. The Heritage Adventurer nestled into the archipelago on the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, a region known as Marlborough Sound. This anchorage gave us an opportunity to spend the day visiting the tiny island of Motuara Island – now a pest-free nature sanctuary – and the nearby Meretoto / Ship Cove, best known as the location where Captain Cook had encamped during his three circumnavigations of the globe. This visit gave us an opportunity to delve deeper into the historic encounters between Europeans and the Māori, and to enjoy the birds, a waterfall, and the beautiful landscape.
David Kotz 