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The Banff Centre of Arts and Creativity is an absolute gem and an amazing institution to have in our backyard.  From opera to the Banff Mountain Film Festival, we are spoilt by the range and quality of performances - and we get to wear our hiking boots! Billboard on Highway 1 going to the Rockies Last night we went to see Alan Doyle, a favourite Canadian folksinger/actor/author from Newfoundland best known for being the lead singer of the band "Great Big Sea".  Unfortunately, a major snow storm and a vehicle breakdown caused the performance to be delayed for two hours.  As we were readying to leave Canmore, an e-mail pinged through that told us this, so instead of having to wait outside the locked concert hall doors, we just settled back into the sofa, topped up our drinks and left at 8:45 instead of 6:45.  We arrived at the concert hall with just enough time to briefly catch up with some friends, then we filed in to find our seats.  The band, on t...

Upon arriving at Phuket airport at 1 am, we exited the terminal and made our way past the gauntlet of tourist-hardened taxi drivers and carried our backpacks out into the humid, tropical night.  We had cleverly booked a hotel just 350 metres down the road from the airport.  After checking in, we quickly fell asleep after the 25 hour journey. Nai Harn bay In the morning we woke up, checked out, then made our way by taxi to the south end of the island to Nai Harn beach where our friends, Mark and Julie, were waiting for us.  Nai Harn beach is one of the quieter beaches due to its distance from the airport (farthest on the island) and lack of accommodation close by.  It is a sheltered anchorage from north- and north-east wind and swells, and it also has a convenient public dock for dinghies so the bay is well-used by yachties.  Kokomo, our home for the next few weeks, was happily anchored there, waiting for us to join it and start the adventure. Kokomo (...

Riding the EAC! Remember in 'Finding Nemo' when Dory and Marlin used the EAC Superhighway with the turtles to get to Sydney? We did it too - although perhaps not quite the same speed and minus the turtles! The EAC is the East Australian Current that runs down the east coast of Australia.  Somewhat larger than the film portrayed, the EAC is a surface current that is up to 100km wide in places.  It is strongest in the Summer and runs up to 4kns.  We picked it up off the coast of Fraser Island and held on for the ride! The East Australian Current Steaming past Brisbane - 9.6kn over ground  with a little help from the EAC! We experienced its gentle nudge of between 2.5 and 3.5kn.  For a period, we has 4.1kn of current helping us along.  To put this in perspective, each knot of additional speed on a 24 hour passage saves around 3-4 hours.  So that's awfully nice! 4.1kns - thats a nice little nudge! Weeeee - we love the EAC! 'You'...

Whitehaven Beach Beautiful Whitehaven Beach with sand like icing sugar and azure waters, it listed as one of the top ten beaches in the world by Lonely Planet. Somewhat subjective, some will debate, but there is little argument that Whitehaven is stunning. ...and accessible. Hoards of tourists flock to the southern end of the beach by helicopter, sea-plane, yacht and power boat, charter boat and fully-loaded day tour boats that purge tourists reminiscent to the wartime landings in Normandy. Yet despite this, Whitehaven remains stunning.  Anchor a tad further north and all but the most intrepid tourist can be avoided. The warm, clear waters invite swimming and the bright, white sand is perfect for lazing. A wonderful place to spend a day or two! ...but Lonely Planet, did you really have to tell the whole world?!

Paradise with sharp teeth Cid Harbour Cid Harbour in The Whitsunday Islands is picture perfect. The water is that stunning shade of turquoise that has you questioning; blue? green?   It is prime cruising season with dozens of yachts bobbing at anchor on the sparkling water.   The weather is sunny and warm.   Dinghies zip around the bay and the sounds of splashing and laughter carry across the water as people leap from their boats into the sparkling, warm turquoise.    We swam off Popeye, floating and splashing and practicing the backward roll method of getting into the dinghy.   We took the dinghy ashore, wandered along the beach and hiked the track around the headland.   We watched the turtles frolic, completely nonplussed by our presence.   And then we jumped into that magical warm water to rid ourselves of the sweat of the tropical day. We had just settled in for sundowners with a glass of wine in hand ...

We first brought our bikes to Alsace in 2012 and immediately feel in love with the cycling here.  Head east, and you ride the flats of the Rhine Valley, through crops of corn, wheat, cabbages and barley and along canals dotted with locks and white swans.  Head west, and it is the hilly terrain of The Vosges Mountains with castle ruins, forests and steep climbs.  North and south, you can choose climbs, flats or the rolling hills through the vineyards of the Route des Vins. The cycling infrastructure has improved over the last six years.  When we first came, the signage simply directed you to the next village so you had to know each and every small town along the route.  With the villages being only 3 - 4km apart, this was a challenge!  The signage has improved with the use of numbered cycling routes from local loops and the wine routes, up to the EuroVelo #5 which runs 3,300km from London, England to Brindisi, Italy! The Tourist Offices in the region ren...

With Susan in training for a half marathon, running became part of our sightseeing plans! A fabulous way to see the cities of Oslo and Bergen in the quiet of the mornings before the hoards of tour buses arrived.  Running on our Hurtigruten stops helped burn off some of the food we were eating and allowed us greater range in the short time frames of the stops.  And, of course, running under the midnight sun (and the blood moon) at 12:30am in Trømso was very cool! Add caption Oslo - between 5-7km each morning exploring different parts of the city Bergen - 5km most mornings with a hike up the hill one day Ålesund - a speedy 5km along the river Trondheim - 10km under picture perfect blue sky Svolvær - 5km, or was that 3km?! Kirkenes - 5km in the pouring rain.  Our only true rain day! Trømso - 10km under the midnight sun and the blood moon (very cool!) Brønnøysund - 5km with lots of groaning Trondheim - 10km with aching legs  Florø - short, gotta ...

Well this is a long way north... The most northern point in Europe!  ...well, not quite. That would be an island well north of here. The most northern point of mainland Europe? Nope, as it is on an island it cannot be!  That honour goes to Kinnarodden ( Cape Nordkinn) a little further to the east.  (We did sail around this so we can claim to have passed the northernmost point of mainland Europe!).  Kinnarodden is remote and difficult to get to, requiring a full day's hike each way over some fairly gnarly terrain The most northern point of Europe accessible by road (read tourist bus)? YES!! So we intrepidly rode the bus to the over touristy Nordkapp - the northernmost point of Europe accessible by road!  We were fortunate to arrive at a time when the weather was clear and the tourist buses few... At 'The Top Of Europe' We can almost see the North Pole from here! Wild and windy The Most Northermost Point in Europe (that can be access...