All posts tagged: adventure

The Garden Isle: Kauai, Hawaii

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The most spectacular green-ridged peaks, lazy ocean-side walks, canyons, food trucks and palm trees everywhere you gaze: Kauai is proper paradise. By law, no building can be higher than the highest coconut tree, which means you see lush vegetation and sky wherever you look – gaining it the name of the Garden Isle, which is apt my friends, very apt. We stayed on the south end of the island at Koa Kea Resort near Poipu Beach, so all of the exploring mentioned below began by driving north, usually through Old Koloa Town. Old Koloa Town When heading through the South (or exiting to explore North as we commonly were), it’s worth a stop off at Old Koloa Town, even if just for the coffee – seriously the best we found on the island! This is an old sugar plantation town from the 1830s, and the best way to arrive is through Malahui Road where you’ll drive beneath a luscious green Tree Tunnel. But back to the coffee – Aloha Roastery sits in the Waikomo courtyard …

Chasing the Twelve Apostles, Victoria

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Freewheeling through the evergreen patchwork of Victorian countryside, a Samoan chief (with a kiwi accent) steering the ride, this day trip down to the Great Ocean Road’s Apostles (once there were Twelve), was worth the long day journey to this gloriously  eroded stretch of coast. Heading Southwest out of Melbourne, we took an early pit stop in Geelong, a bay city of just over 170,000 people around an hour from Melbourne city. One of my (and probably yours too) skills is to be able to seek out places to eat/stay/shop/visit in a place at short notice. Which brings us to breakfast at Freckleduck (I didn’t say I’m skilled at seeking out well-named places!). And holy shitballs will you take a look at that ricotta, seed and maple covered, mascarpone (how do you hide a small horse?)-topped hotcake pile of deliciousness!? The coffee was great too. This was a very good omen for the day ahead. For this trip, I was reuniting with my ‘ol buddy Phil (not my fiance Phil, this Phil) who moved to …

Weekend in the Lake District, England

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A trip to the English countryside always seems like a jolly good idea, so for a romantic and adventurous short break, we head to the fells and farms of Cumbria in the Lake District. We chose the Haweswater as our base, actually a reservoir rather than a lake, which feels like a lucky little secret, as it houses the dreamy Haweswater Hotel and is right in by a number of epic and underrated hikes. After checking in and inquiring about nearby short walks, the concierge suggested we drive to the bottom of the street where we’d find Mardale Head car park, the starting point of a few lovely ambles. As we passed through the fell gate starting point, we peered up at the landscape to see the afternoon sun and passing clouds cast patchy shadows on the undulating mountains. We ascended for around 45 minutes, past winding stone fences, green hills and jutting rocks, all the while looking back at the blue Haweswater below. When we reached a small waterfall edge, we sat down to …