Crossing the Rocky Mountain Divide of BC: A Muskwa Kechika Adventure

August 24th to September 7th, 2020 Rule Number 1: Keep Calm at all Times! An apt expression of the adventure that accompanies an expedition with 22 horses, 9 riders and one dog in the Northern Rockies of British Columbia. Wayne Sawchuk has been leading Muskwa Kechika Adventures for over 30 years and there is always […]

A Spring Adventure in the Salish Sea, April 2020: Nature endures despite COVID -19

Spring is the crowning glory of the Salish Sea. It is a time of changeable weather, warming waters, wildflower bloom and birds returning to their nest sites in bright plumage and full of song. The most amazing spring spectacle is the spawning of Pacific Herring . Over the years I have been able witness to […]

Dancing around Dingos on K'gari

Since my trip to Lady Elliot Island involved stays in Hervey Bay, Queensland, the Park Manager of Norfolk Island National Park recommended I look at a restoration project on another close island: K’gari or Fraser Island. Nigel Greenup recommended I contact Bree Jashin who runs a reservation project on Fraser Council (similar to our regional […]

Lady Elliot Island, Great Barrier Reef, February 28 to March 2, 2020

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, composed of 900 individual coral islands and stretching for 2300 km along Australia’s east coast. The Great Barrier Reef is a considered to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981. With my […]

Islands off islands: Bruny and Maria Island, Tasmania, February 2020

I live on Protection Island which is off Vancouver Island and then I make journeys to other islands in Canada: Wickinninish, Haida Gwaii, and even smaller islets. I was reflecting on the fact that in this trip I spent a month on Phillip Island, off Norfolk Island, then I went to Tasmania which is a […]

To the Tyndalls, Tasmania

Some years ago, I met Heidi and Stephen while I was working for Maple Leaf Adventures the SV Maple Leaf in Haida Gwaii. To know Heidi and Stephen is to know true adventurers! They left Canada on their sailboat, Narama in 2012 to sailed to Mexico, Galapagos, Tuamotus, New Caledonia, Australia and in a round […]

Sydney in a Storm

Coming from Norfolk Island’s record drought, it was a surprise to land at Kingsford Airport in a full-on rainstorm. From fires to flood in the period of a week, tropical cyclone Damien is blasting Sydney! Even though it has only been raining for 3 days, everything was green and lush. Yesterday, it rained 79mm and […]

In praise of Tropicbirds!

Luke thinks my fascination with tropicbirds is obsessive! What’s there not to love about these magnificent creatures with their elegant colours, plumage and courtship flight? Then of course, tropicbird chicks are also endearing fluff balls that turn into pretty cute bitey chicks! The Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda ssp. roseotincta) is a large seabird weighing nearly […]

Formed by Fire, Wind and Water: Landscapes of Phillip Island

Phillip Island is definitely one of the world’s most other-worldly landscapes. With its ochre red to purple hills, hoodoos, black cliffs, pure cerulean blue sea, Dr. Zuess looking Norfolk Pines, odd nocturnal reptiles, giant centipede and it’s seabirds in the air and underground. Phillip Island is not only remote, but unique. How did it come […]

Hike to Spin Bay: The Booby Trail, Jan 26, 2020

Inevitably, if one stares at an interesting spot long enough, one tries to figure out how to get there. Adventure calls. Both Luke and I have been spending our evenings above Spin Bay on the “wind tunnel”, a steep grassy ridge running north-south and generally perpendicular to the easterly wind. We have watched the shadows […]