The Tongariro Alpine Crossing on New Zealand’s north island has a reputation as one of the most dangerous hikes in the country. The crossing is just under 20km with somewhere between 1,100 and 1,700 meters of climbing depending on whether you take the side-track to the top of Mt Ngauruhoe.
Despite the spectacular views on offer around Mt Howitt it’s clear from the map that early European explorers had a rough time surveying the region.
As a nation with a large reserve of uranium but no nuclear energy industry Australia is periodically subject to op-ed pieces designed to drum up support for a domestic nuclear power industry.
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Our first day on the bikes took us up the west coast from Negombo to Puttallam. It was a busy stretch of road and we were still a few days away from getting comfortable with the traffic so progress was slow.
In a lagoon north of Mullaitivu is a gold-painted ‘victory monument’. It presides over the area where the ‘Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam’ (LTTE) made their last stand against the Sri Lankan army in 2009.
It’s hard to know when to visit Sri Lanka. December to April is officially the dry season but the weather conditions are somewhat complex with various monsoon seasons affecting different parts of the island at different times.
A couple of chance encounters highlighted the dueling narratives of Sri Lankan history and the tensions that still remain following the end of the civil war.
Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag paints images of suburban Sweden in the 1980s transformed by some unexplained technological breakthrough.
While wandering Osaka looking for the famous Umeda Sky building in Osaka I met my first talkative local.
One out of every five fish caught on planet earth is sold at Tsukiji fish market. Every day more than 2000 tons of fish pass through the market in Tokyo’s Chūō district.
Right in the center of the biggest city in the world an experiment in agriculture is being conducted.
2015 led me back to Tokyo. This time I spent most of my time in the district of Sumida in Tokyo’s Northeast.
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The Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo is a run-down testament to the ambition of some of Japan’s most celebrated post-war architects.
The small coastal city of Joetsu on Japan’s north coast highlights some of the problems facing modern Japan.
Earlier this year I tagged along with the Australian/International off-pissed ski team to the slopes of Myokokogen. Matt chose Myoko because the guidebook gave it four and half snowflakes out of five in the ‘powder’ category. Also because our plan called for us to go from there to Kyoto and then onto Tokyo and we wanted to make sure our itinerary doubled as a tongue twister.
The old capital of Kyoto is home to about 1600 temples and countless smaller shrines.
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Tasmania’s southern coastline is one of the most wild and remote parts of Australia
Photos by Asmaa Waguih and Joey Lawrence of Kurdish fighters provide a face for a revolution that is quietly taking place behind the front lines of the war with ISIS.
The National Library of China holds an artifact that represents what must be the most ambitious attempt to control information in history.
