by Jason Bowles | Jul 2, 2024 | Greece, Jason
For graduation, Maile decide to go to Greece; more specifically, to “the island where Mama Mia was filmed”. Eventually, we will get there, but this trip to Greece–like most–starts in Athens. It has been 22 years since we were here last, and much has changed. Even the historical sites are different: more excavated, more ruins to see, and a modern museum for the Acropolis are just some differences. And more people. Travel has become more popular, so crowds are inevitable. With the bad also comes some good . . . More and better restaurants, better local wine, and even the already amazing cuisine has been elevated.
View from our rooftop terrace.
Another difference the years have brought is an upgrade from a backpacker budget to a rooftop penthouse in Monasteraki. Our view of the Acropolis was fantastic!
The Parthenon–certainly one of the most iconic sites in the world.
Another improvement was hiring an archeologist to lead us through the sites of the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum. At her suggestion, we pre-booked our timed entry to both sites, saving time standing in line at the site. Purchasing a combined ticket to the Acropolis and several of the surrounding sites allows entry into another highlight of Athens, the Ancient Agora. Also included are the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian’s Library, and the Roman Agora, all a short walk from Montastiraki Square.
The Haephestion, in the Ancient Agora. It is like a scale model of the Parthenon which is much better preserved (the best-preserved Doric temple in Greece)
by Jason Bowles | Mar 20, 2023 | Asia, Japan, Jason
A few pictures from our trip to Japan:
Home of the Big Buddha
10,000 gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha
The Golden Temple, Kyoto
The largest Buddha in Japan at Todai-Ji, Nara
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kyoto
Godzilla continues to terrorize Shinjuku
Some highlights from Japan
by Jason Bowles | Dec 28, 2022 | Jason, New Zealand
One of the many highlights around Queenstown that we could not fit in was a typical trip to Milford Sound, which usually takes 12 – 14 hours, most of it on a bus just so you can take a short cruise in the Sound (which is actually a fjord). Instead, we cut out most of the travel time and took a helicopter tour. Unlike most heli-tours where you only see things from above, we spent half a day and enjoyed a more immersive tour of Fjordland. After taking off from Queenstown, our pilot–Renee–angled northwest over the Southern Alps to see the peaks and glaciers. Our first stop was near the top of a mountain so we could hike on the glacier.
The only way to access this remote glacier near a peak in the Southern Alps
On top of the world–on a glacier in the Southern Alps
We dropped off the top of this mountain and followed the Hollysford Valley to the Tasman Sea. Here we landed again and walked on a secluded beach with crashing surf that made it all but inaccessible.
Secluded beach in Fjordland, north of Milford Sound
Flying south down the coast of Fjordland we entered the northernmost fjord as a cruise ship was leaving it–Milford Sound. While not very long, the shear drop from Mitre Peak to the ocean is a staggering 5,521 feet. After the short flight up the sound, a sharp right turn took us past Sandfly Point, up the valley that comprised the latter part of the Milford Track. Sutherland Falls, at 1,904 feet, is spectacular when seen from below, but flying over the top to see Lake Quill feeding it defies description.
Lake Quill, the second hanging lake and the origin of Sutherland Falls.
More amazing, still, was landing thousands of feet above Lake Quill near another hanging lake that feeds Lake Quill and ultimately Sutherland Falls.
First hanging lake, 5,000 feet above the base of Sutherland Falls, Milford Track
Flying over the Southern Alps, heading back to Queenstown.
We stopped a final time on a peak overlooking Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu where Renee prepared a picnic of local delicacies including smoked salmon, cheeses, fruit, and bread, paired with a glass of Sparkling Marlborough wine. I can’t think of a better way to see Milford Sound and the surrounding area than a flight with Over the Top–The Helicopter Company.
by Jason Bowles | Dec 27, 2022 | Jason, New Zealand
So much to do, so little time. Nowhere is this more true than in New Zealand, and in New Zealand, it is nearly impossible to top the number of activities on offer in Queenstown. If you like the outdoors, this is the place. Adventure? Plenty of that. Adrenaline? This is the capital of the world for that. So why did we only leave one day for Queenstown? Trying to see as much of New Zealand as possible in a short two-week holiday. No time for bungee jumping, jet boating, mountain biking, etc. Still, we managed to use what little time we had to our best advantage.
Riding to the top of Bob’s Peak, Queenstown.
Land luge, Queenstown New Zealand
Alex parasailing over Queenstown
Maile parasailing over Queenstown
by Jason Bowles | Dec 26, 2022 | Jason, New Zealand
Finally, we made it back to New Zealand. Originally planned for the Holiday season, 2020, our return to New Zealand was another casualty of COVID. After nearly two years, though, New Zealand finally opened up to travelers and we were able to use the last of our COVID credits. Our 2020 trip was planned well in advance and scheduled around hiking the Milford Track, billed as “the most beautiful walk in the world”. Stacy and I hiked the Milford in 2002 staying in the Department of Conservation huts and would not dispute the moniker. It is also, however, one of the most popular walks in the world and by the time we had arranged our schedule to return to New Zealand this year there was no chance that the Milford Track would be on our itinerary. We learned that the DOC huts for the entire season sold out in seven minutes this year! Our plan this time, though, was not to stay in the DOC huts. Rather, we were going to splurge on a guided walk with Ultimate Hikes. Here, also, there were very limited options when booking only four or five months ahead. Actually, there was only one: the Routeburn Track over Christmas. Perfect!
We had hiked the Routeburn Track also in 2002 back-to-back with the Milford, which is probably why we had such fond memories of the Milford. We started the Routeburn late in the day after having walked out the last ten miles of the Milford with only a short boat and bus ride as a buffer. Our experience this year started with a three-hour bus ride instead, and this was broken up with a stop for tea in Te Anau after the first two. We were off the bus and on the trail at the Divide earlier and well-rested for the strenuous climb up to Lake Mackensie.
Starting the Routeburn Track at the Divide on December 24, 2022.
In addition to the more civilized start to our trek, the facilities in the Ultimate Hikes lodges were almost luxurious. While the DOC huts provide shelter, a bunk to sleep in, and cooking facilities, our lodges had hot showers, heated rooms with beds to sleep in, excellent meals, and even laundry facilities. We did have to wash our own clothes by hand in a sink, but their drying rooms worked unbelievably well. Our clothes were dry by the time we finished dinner!
The Routeburn Track
Earland Falls
The Harris Saddle
Routeburn Flats
The Routeburn Track is just as spectacular as the Milford, and Ultimate Hikes made it a very enjoyable experience. This will most definitely be one of our more memorable Christmas holidays.
by Jason Bowles | Jul 13, 2022 | Africa, Jason
Other than flight delays (which are almost the rule now, followed closely by flight cancellations), our journey to South Africa was uneventful. After nearly 23 hours in the air, several hours in various airports, and a few hours stretching our legs along the Thames in London, we arrived in Cape Town. Almost there . . .
We rented a car and drove another two hours to Hermanus, a scenic town known for its whales. We checked into the Aloe Guest House, making this our home for a couple of days. This is a great guest house on the main road through Hermanus, with the center of town easily walkable. John and Lesley were great hosts, always helpful and extremely friendly. Our true destination, though, was Gansbaai, a not-so-scenic town 45 kilometers further around on the other side of the bay, known for its Great White Sharks. As a life-long fan of sharks and an avid watcher of Shark Week every year on the Discovery Channel, Alex was in his element. Gansbaai, Dyer Island, and Shark Alley are featured regularly as this is one of the best places on the planet to see white sharks, and other species as well. Our upcoming safari–the reason for our trip to Africa–will be in Zimbabwe and Botswana. The sole reason for our stop in South Africa was to see white sharks.
Diving with Great Whites is weather-dependant, and 4-meter swells canceled our planned dive the next day. Thus the stay in Hermanus. Most people make a day trip from Cape Town to cage-dive with the sharks: a very long day trip when you include 5 hours of driving time. Adding in the unpredictability of the seas, it could have been two VERY long day trips. Hermanus is a great town with plenty of good restaurants and a spectacular coastal trail called the Cliff Walk. Walking along this path, watching monstrous waves crash against the cliff, we were not nearly as disappointed that our dive had been canceled. We did manage to see white sharks despite the ocean conditions, though.
Hermanus is known for its southern right whales which were just starting to return from Antarctica, but the rough seas were keeping them too far from shore to see from the Cliff Walk. We opted to go flight-seeing as whale-watching boats also were not going out due to the high seas. We made arrangements to fly with African Wings out of the neighboring town, Stanford. The pilot, Dave, was waiting for us at his hanger with a Cessna 182 out front. After quick introductions, Alex, Maile, and I were in the plane, taxiing down a bumpy dirt strip for takeoff. Early in the flight, he took us over Kleinbaai, where the shark operations are and we could see Great White sharks swimming in the bay below us. Next, he flew us out over Shark Alley and Dyer Island. We could see the seal colony that brings in the predators. Cruising out over the bay we saw several southern right whales and one humpback. After 45 minutes in the air, we returned to the airstrip and Dave brought us in for a landing smoother than some commercial flights despite the rutted, uneven terrain of the dirt runway. He did a quick turnaround and took Maile back up with Stacy so she could see the whales. After the flight, we received good news: the weather was expected to improve and the shark boats were going out the following day.
Cage diving with white sharks, Gansbaai, South Africa
The water was a little rough but managable. The water was cold but managable. Unfortunately, the rough seas that precluded diving the day before (and the day before that, it turns out) had reduced visibility to a few feet. For the record, we were in the water with white sharks, but even in the cage you could see them much better from the surface than you could underwater. The shark had to bump the cage right in front of you (which it did for Alex) to really get a good look. Viewing from the boat was actually much better. In addition to four great white sharks, we also saw a large bronze whaler shark. I used a little creative license and Photoshop to create a more impressive memento as the Go Pro footage I have is garbage.
