Oceania via Singapore

Photos

0

Shape

transit

Anchor

none - never out of Hamad International

Pace

zero-leg

A connection between otp-doh and doh-mel, the whole layover spent inside Hamad. Qatar is on the map for this trip, not anywhere we’d actually claim to have visited.

Photos

3,262

Hikes

11 hikes · 66.8 km · 2,288 m ascent

Shape

counter-clockwise circuit from Hobart - the SE first, south to Bruny, then up the east coast to Freycinet, west across the middle to Cradle, south down the wild west coast to Strahan, back east through Mount Field, the SE peninsula, and home to Hobart

Anchor

Hobart · Coles Bay · Cradle Mtn · Strahan · Hobart

Pace

fast · ~272 photos / day

Wineglass Bay on 17 Jan over the saddle (12.4 km, 516 m), and the two days at Cradle Mountain on 19-20 Jan. Those were the heart of the leg.

• 14 Jan - first morning in Hobart. We drove up kunanyi / Mt Wellington straight away for the summit, then wandered Battery Point in the afternoon to shake the flight off.
• 15 Jan - the Bruny Island day. Down the length of the island to Cape Bruny Lighthouse, lunch at Adventure Bay, the lookout at The Neck on the way back.
• 16 Jan - the drive north up the east coast. Ross village mid-morning, Swansea for the lookout, the long midday at Friendly Beaches (Dolphin Sands), and the evening at Cape Tourville above Coles Bay - we stayed at the lookout until the light went.
• 17 Jan - the long walk over the saddle into Wineglass Bay and back along Hazards Beach.
• 18 Jan - the drive west through the middle of the island. Liffey Falls and the Western Tiers above Exton, then in to Cradle Mountain through Moina by the evening.
• 19-20 Jan - two full days at Cradle. Dove Lake, the boardwalk into Waldheim under the pencil pines, and the climb up to Marion’s Lookout.
• 21-22 Jan - the west coast out of Strahan, with a day trip up to Philosopher Falls above Waratah. The boat morning out to Hells Gates and Ocean Beach the second day.
• 23 Jan - back across the island via Queenstown (TAS) - we pulled over at the Iron Blow Lookout above Gormanston - and Tarraleah. Nelson Falls on the way, then Russell Falls at Mount Field as we dropped back down to the village at Westerway for the night.
• 24 Jan - the Tasman Peninsula. Out through Sorell and across the Dunalley canal, then Eaglehawk Neck, the Tessellated Pavement, and a long afternoon along the dolerite sea cliffs - we stopped at every pull-off and walked out to the edges. Back through Dunalley in the evening, then up kunanyi a second time for the summit at golden hour.
• 25 Jan - out via Melbourne to Christchurch. Tasmania closes.

Photos

1,932

Hikes

14 hikes · 64.0 km · 3,304 m ascent

Shape

counter-clockwise sweep - east coast out of Christchurch, inland south through Tekapo and Mt Cook to Te Anau / Fiordland (the deepest we went south), then back north up the West Coast through Franz Josef and Punakaiki, finally over the top to Tākaka and onto the Picton ferry

Anchor

Christchurch · Tekapo · Te Anau · Wānaka · Franz Josef · Punakaiki · Tākaka · Picton

Pace

fast / wild

Mt Cook, Milford Sound and Roy’s Peak inside ten days - three of the South Island’s defining places, one after the other.

• 26 Jan - out of Christchurch and inland, across the Rakaia Gorge. We stopped at Burkes Pass in the late afternoon, the old chapel and the wide sky of the Mackenzie opening out ahead of us, then ran the last hour into Tekapo at golden hour.
• 27-28 Jan - the Mackenzie Country. Tekapo first, then up through Lake Pukaki to Aoraki / Mt Cook and the long climb to Sealy Tarns. We pulled over at the Tasman Glacier viewpoint as the light dropped on the 28th.
• 29 Jan - meant to be a rest day at Tekapo, but the sky stayed clear after sunset and we stayed up under it. One of the darkest night skies in the southern hemisphere, and we were not going to sleep through it.
• 30 Jan - the run west. Down through Lindis Pass, a stop at Arthurs Point above the Shotover, then on through the Mossburn farmland into Fiordland and to Te Anau.
• 31 Jan - 1 Feb - the Fiordland days. The boat out into Milford Sound (with a stop at the Hollyford lookout in the late afternoon), then The Chasm, Gertrude Saddle, Humboldt Falls and Lake Marion - the kind of waterfalls-stacked-on-waterfalls country that wears the camera out.
• 2-4 Feb - Wānaka. We crossed via the Crown Range from Queenstown - the highest sealed road in the country, and we stopped at the lookout - then the long climb up Roy’s Peak (Rocky Mountain) and the Rob Roy Glacier track in Mt Aspiring NP, with a quiet drive back through Arthurs Point.
• 5-6 Feb - the West Coast glaciers, Franz Josef and Fox. The Lake Hāwea overlook on the way out, the Blue Pools at Haast Pass, Knights Point above the Tasman, Bruce Bay’s grey-stone shore, then Lake Matheson at sunset with Aoraki reflected end-to-end.
• 7 Feb - up the coast via Hokitika Gorge - and a quick stop at Runanga’s coast - to Punakaiki, ending the day at Cape Foulwind above Tauranga Bay.
• 8 Feb - Abel Tasman and Tākaka at the top of the South Island, then out to Wharariki Beach and Cape Farewell from Port Pūponga - that wide stretch of dune and sea-stacks at the actual northern point of the island, with the wind doing whatever it wanted.
• 9 Feb - through Mārahau and Ngakuta Bay and the Marlborough Sounds to the Picton ferry, across Cook Strait to Wellington.

Photos

1,558

Hikes

14 hikes · 50.1 km · 2,392 m ascent

Shape

south-to-north sweep - off the Picton ferry into Wellington, up through Tongariro at the centre, a detour west to Taranaki and back, across to Rotorua, then Northland the whole length to Cape Reinga and back down to Auckland and Waiheke

Anchor

Wellington · Whakapapa · Rotorua · Bay of Islands · Auckland

Pace

steady / varied

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing on 12 Feb - 21.7 km, 1,105 m climbed. The biggest hike of the whole trip, and the day everything else on this island bends around.

• 9-10 Feb - landing in Wellington off the ferry, a quiet evening down on the waterfront, then a slow city day on the 10th - up through the Botanic Garden, the harbour walk, and back across the centre.
• 11-12 Feb - in to Tongariro National Park via National Park Village, settling at Whakapapa Village on the Ruapehu side. Early start on the 12th, and then the day: the Alpine Crossing.
• 13-14 Feb - across from Whanganui to Taranaki. Up the Stratford mountain road to Dawson Falls, the paired Wilkies Pools and Kapuni Loop walks under the cone, then on through New Plymouth - we stayed on the waterfront below the city for the evening.
• 15-17 Feb - up the coast and stopping at the Three Sisters at Tongaporutu - those three weather-cut sandstone pillars at low tide are worth the detour off the highway, even though we hadn’t planned it - then through the limestone karst around Waitomo and into the Rotorua geothermal country. Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Waiotapu, and the redwood canopy walk at Whakarewarewa.
• 18-21 Feb - Northland the whole way up. Whangārei, then Matapouri on the Tutukaka Coast, the Bay of Islands, and finally up through the Far North (Te Hiku) to the lighthouse at Cape Reinga - where the Tasman meets the Pacific, you can see the line in the water - the Te Paki dunes right after, a small white desert that drops straight onto Ninety Mile Beach, and the slow drive back south through Te Hiku.
• 22-25 Feb - Auckland days, threaded out to the Waitākere Ranges, Mercer Bay, Whatipu, and a slow day on Waiheke.
• 26 Feb - out via Māngere to Singapore. The long exhale begins.

Photos

391

Hikes

1 hike · 7.6 km · MacRitchie Treetop

Shape

star - one hotel, everything else a radius around it

Anchor

Tanjong Pagar / Outram · a single hotel, never moved

Pace

slow · ~49 photos / day · recovery

28 Feb - the MacRitchie Treetop Walk in the morning, then a 7 km evening bike along East Coast Park to wind down. And 4 Mar: two back-to-back rides on the Marina Bay and Singapore park-connector network, 30 km between them, the longest moving day in Singapore. Marina Bay became the place we kept drifting back to, almost every evening.

• 26 Feb - arrival into Changi after the night flight, dinner in Chinatown to wake ourselves up.
• 27 Feb - the introduction loop. Maxwell for breakfast, then Marina Bay, the Gardens, and Bugis in the evening.
• 28 Feb - the long day. MacRitchie Reservoir for the treetop walk in the morning, the slow stretch along East Coast Park afterwards, and a 7.0 km / 43 min evening ride from the East Coast back towards Marina Bay - the first time we put a bike under us this trip.
• 1 Mar - a quieter day. The Southern Ridges and Henderson Waves above the canopy.
• 2 Mar - back to Marina Bay - we knew it was a pattern by this point and stopped fighting it.
• 3 Mar - Tiong Bahru in the morning, the Marina Barrage in the late afternoon.
• 4 Mar - the big bike day. A 16.3 km / 84 min loop around the bay in the late morning, lunch, then another 14.3 km / 79 min back along the same network in the afternoon. Joo Chiat and Katong threaded in between, Marina Bay again in the evening.
• 5 Mar - departure. Changi, then the long way home.

Photos

0

Shape

zero-leg

Anchor

none - never out of Pudong

Pace

zero-leg

An overnight airside layover at Pudong, the consequence of the reroute. We never left the terminal. Shanghai is on the map for this trip the same way Doha is - counted, not seen - and the long way home.