Flying into China feels like flying into a black box – not knowing what to expect. It’s been 5.5 years since I left Beijing with a carry-on to visit John for three weeks. Only days after I left, an epidemic spread and became a global pandemic that lasted several years.
So much has changed: the world is a different one now.
So we decided to hike the 265-km-long Great South West Walk. This is a loop in the south-west of Victoria. It was established as a trail in 1981 by two lively residents of Portland. Later, in 1984, a volunteer group known as the “Friends of the Great South West Walk Inc.” continued to extend, realign, maintain, upgrade, and promote the GSWW on behalf of the Glenelg Shire community and in collaboration with Parks Victoria.
My partner and I got all packed and ready to leave the United States from Dulles Airport to Melbourne shortly after Christmas. It was right on time as it became significantly cooler at the end of December, and I could not wait to return to summer in the Southern Hemisphere. After a smooth, but long flight that included transits in Charlotte and Los Angeles, we made it to Melbourne.
Whenever I am with my partner at his home on the East Coast, I also like to get some time in a city. Washington, D.C., is one of my favourite places to spend the day. But at some point, I realised that Philadelphia is also only a relatively short train ride away. So, shortly before Christmas, I decided to go on a little trip and visit the city where the US-American Constitution was born, and which is the home of the famous Liberty Bell. I booked two nights in Philadelphia and got tickets with Amtrak via Baltimore.
Spending time in the shoulder or off-season in the Appalachians is much more appealing to me than hiking there in summer. Summers under the canopy of the Appalachians‘ mostly deciduous trees are pleasant and shaded, but it is also quite humid and stuffy. Having hiked the Benton Mackeye Trail in April and June back in 2019, and having done numerous day hikes along the US-American East Coast in summer, gave me a pretty good impression of the specific challenges hiking in this region, beyond the continuous ups and downs of the rolling mountains.
It feels very special being in Samoa. On the one hand, it’s so isolated and surrounded by the vastness of the Pacific Ocean; on the other hand, many of the global invisible lines meet here. It’s remote, but it’s all about globalization here: the planes departing Samoa are full of groups of enthusiastic workers flying to Aotearoa and beyond to work in construction and agriculture. At the same time, in Samoa, many stores are run by Chinese …
Well, another one of my favorites in the Hauraki Gulf is Aotea Great Barrier Island. Whenever things get a little much, I dream myself away to Aotea, and now and then, I make the time to head out there. I am not sure whether it is the remoteness of the last barrier before the vastness of the Pacific Ocean (hence the name), the time travel aspect of feeling to go back in time to an Aotearoa from 20 years ago, the plentiful hiking opportunities or if it is the characters you get to meet and with who I, to some extend, share the fascination of a place so out of the way.
The last time I was on Tiritiri Matangi, the bird sanctuary in the Hauraki Gulf off Auckland, I noticed a bunk house. This facility is run by the DOC (Department of Conservation), so you can stay on the island. Staying in the bunkhouse is in high demand as it is popular among volunteers staying on the island, but it is also for bird-watchers as nocturnal birds cannot be seen during a day trip.
The further north we got in Vermont, the more the landscape changed: pine trees became deciduous trees and hilly forests eventually made room for flat farming areas. It was a dreary day when we passed into Canada. Our passports were quickly checked and soon we were on our way to Montréal.
After a stressful week in Bonn, I made my way from the conference center to the airport the night before my flight to Boston was scheduled. A few hotels are conveniently located next to Frankfurt Airport, so I checked into my 8-hour flight with Condor relatively relaxed. Being used to flying long hours as I am giving in New Zealand, these 8 hours felt like a quick hop over the Atlantic.