Royal National Park | Day Hike: wedding Cake Rock | The best thing about visiting Australia is that scenic views and spectacular nature are just a sto

rock - Fernwayer Travel Stories & Experiences

Australia

The best thing about visiting Australia is that scenic views and spectacular nature are just a stone's throw away, no matter where you are. If you're in Sydney, you won't get a better view of the ocean than walking through Royal National Park and taking Bundeena Drive to Marley Walk.

Passing through scenic heathland with small trees, you'll soon come to a bushwalk through a denser forest. We saw many native bird species, including the famous cockatoo, had a dip in one of the pools along the way, and took stunning sunset photos as you look out over the wild ocean. The tourist highlight is Wedding Cake Rock, but our personal star was Marley Beach, a dreamy, hidden sandy beach where you can relax and dip your feet in the refreshing water.

You can rent a car and drive directly to Bundeena, but we decided to take the train from Sydney to Cronulla and from there take the ferry to Bundeena.

Day Hike: wedding Cake Rock

United States

Ethiopia

In Lalibela, I am moved by the devotion and faith of pilgrims who have walked for weeks, and hundreds of miles across the country, to celebrate Genna - Ethiopia’s Christmas - on January 7. Here, the year is 2011, since Ethiopia still observes a pre-Julian calendar. I am immediately taken in by the idea of being 7 years younger, albeit for a fleeting moment.

Pilgrims arrive early - between midnight to 5 am -  to get a prized standing spot inside the tiny but iconic Biete Gyorgis. As I watch pilgrims read from their bibles, often from inside their shroud, using a candle or torch, I realize I’ve never seen such fervor in worship. 

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By 6:30 am, Biete Giyorgis, the iconic rock-hewn church of Lalibela, has no more standing space, so these pilgrims huddle outside and around trees and pray from their copies of the Bible, guided by the chanting from the church, that fills the air with spirituality. It’s poetic and beautiful.

Faith

Faroe Islands

Getting there on a little ferry tossed around on the surging Atlantic Ocean needs courage. As the boat uses all her resources to maneuver into a tight, rocky harbor, I wonder if the captain, who does this twice a day, is either extremely brave or completely suicidal. We step on to what looks like the sets of a Disney fantasy movie. Twenty colorful grass-roofed homes, one little schoolhouse - which has one child - and a bridge over the Atlantic.

I meet my guide Harald - a septuagenarian with poise to rival the curious sheep we see hanging precariously over the cliffs. Harald leads our little group on a 4-hour hike across the island to the lighthouse at the westernmost point of the Faroes.

Birds are everywhere - puffins, fulmars, kittiwakes, gannets - on the green hills, riding the ocean waves, occupying every inch of cliff space, filling the air with their calls, and circling the sky.

Beakful of fish

Iceland

This being a ‘chill trip’, we did not want to hike 10 hours on a glacier. Instead we trek on the Vatnajokull glacier looking for ice caves with wind on our face and ice under our feet.

Earlier, we woke up at 7 and drive in cold and windy January to Skaftafell National Park to meet Einar, our guide. 

This cave... like others ... started forming In August but you are never sure it will be stable to explore till later. In September, the loose ceiling collapsed  and this brilliant cave was formed.

These fragile and transitory structure require constant maintenance from falling rock and melting icicles. Einer enters the cave and spots a few boulders on the roof. He removes them to prevent harm to the cave and us. 

As we move around, the cave looks different as our viewing angle and the sunlight outside changes.

We are in complete awe ... and hungry. Luckily a steaming meal of lamb and potatoes is close by.

Ice Caving

On the epic Ring Road drive (A1) in East Iceland, there’s a black sand beach called Stokksnes, just a few kilometres from Höfn. 

A gravel road gets you to a tiny cafeteria - where you can pay a small fee to drive further in till the edge of the water. 

Volcanic black sand dunes, Tall green grasses. Waves breaking on the rocks. Wind. Reflections in the water. Incredible beauty. Pure zen.

Pure Zen

United Kingdom

Continuing my recommendations for a stunning drive to the South of Iceland -

1. From Dyrhólaey to Vik: Stop at Dyrhólaey for its sea arch and basalt blocks - turn from the Ring Road to the right to road 218, and drive that road to an end, you should see puffins at Reynisfjall cliffs, at Arnardrangur "Eagle rock” (very picturesque with Reynisdrangar and Reynisfjara in the background), at low tide, you can walk along the black beach and discover little caves and rock formations, and finally, the little village of Vik with its stunning black sand beach and sea stacks, worth visiting both at sunset and sunrise.

2.  From Vik to Stokksnes Headland. You will want to stop for pictures of the moss-filled lava flows on the sides of the highway. Go to Skaftafell Glacier National Park for a glacier walk. Then pause at Fjallsárlón glacial lagoon, a nice precursor to Jökulsárlón. I’ve always found sitting on the lagoon and watching the icebergs (barely) floating by absolutely therapeutic.

Icelandic Road Trip - Part 2

Italy

Driving from Salerno on Autostrada A3 and picking up SS163 at Vietri sul Mareon, we catch our first sweeping views of Amalfi Coast with its cliff-edged promontory. “The road with 1,001 turns” is a vertigo-inducing experience. 

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We keep asking - Is the ocean supposed to be this blue? New skill: we can now pick out the color Amalfi Blue in a set of paints.

There are lemons everywhere, and the locals claim their lemons are ‘as large as watermelons’. When life gives you giant lemons, you make Limoncello. 

🍋 

Amalfi town is perfectly positioned right on the water - food, beach and gelato - all at convenient walking distance to each other. We hop over to quieter towns (Ravello) and more stylish ones that levitate over the ocean (Positano), but Amalfi has the perfect sense of place. 

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The Sirens in Homer’s Odyssey lured sailors to their doom on a rocky island that lies just off the Amalfi Coast. Watching the sun set over the town of Maiori … we embrace la dolce far niente.

Amalfi Town Hopping

Norway

I am sitting at a window ledge table in the kitchen of an authentic rorbu, a fishing hut on stilts. 

It’s after midnight during Midnattsol, but it’s hard to tear myself away from the view. Yesterday was bright and sunny, but today is stormy and the sea is asserting itself. 

This rorbu is located at the very end of the peninsula so there’s no escaping the force of the wind and the water in any of its rooms. The landing area has been left untouched – fishermen used to haul in their catch here via massive doors opening out to the sea – the old floorboards have gaps and you can see the sea underneath and hear the waves lashing on to the rocks. 

Reine is a scenic fishing village with bright red wooden huts steeped in tradition, once housing the fishermen who made their winter pilgrimage to the world’s most fertile cod fishing grounds. 

In summer, all that remains are the empty fish drying racks between houses, a reminder that – despite the stunning beauty, it’s a very harsh life.

Stay in a Rorbu

Antelope Canyon may be the most famous of Utah’s slot canyons,  but if you want to avoid the large crowds, go to Buckskin Gulch - harder to reach but possibly, more enjoyable.

Wire Pass, a gorge carved through the Cockscomb by Coyote Wash, is the most popular entry route into Buckskin Gulch. It takes 1.7 miles to get to the slot canyon from the trailhead. Wire Pass is short, less than half a mile, but its slot canyon is even more confined than Buckskin, and makes for spectacular photos.

Buckskin Gulch twists its way for another 13 surreal miles, but we turn back after a couple of miles to head back to the trailhead. We’ve stopped every few feet to capture various angles of the rock and light - and literally run out of time. You could certainly do a wonderful all-day hike here.

Through the Wire

I often drive the two hours to catch the sunrise in Virginia Beach. Rudee’s Inlet is a favorite spot because of the contrast of the rocks.

Australia

New South Wales

Day Hike: wedding Cake Rock

Ethiopia

Amhara

Faith

Faroe Islands

Mykines

Beakful of fish

Iceland

Eastern Region

Ice Caving

Pure Zen

Southern Region

Icelandic Road Trip - Part 2

Italy

Campania

Amalfi Town Hopping

Norway

Nordland

Stay in a Rorbu

United States

Utah

Through the Wire

Virginia

Just past sunrise