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Stillwater is a longtime favorite in Launceston for its location on the Tamar River in a lovingly restored 1830s flour mill. Original beams, polished timber floors, and water views set the scene for seasonal dishes such as whiskey-cured Huon salmon; slow-roasted Flinders Island rack of lamb (flavored like ocean salt from the sea-swept grasses the lamb eat); and Cape Grim steak (which hails from the capital of clean air). The same owners run Black Cow Bistro a few blocks up the road, which is doing more incredible things with Cape Grim cuts. Save room for the sweet basil panna cotta with strawberries and breadcrumbs. You can hike it off at Cradle Mountain tomorrow.

Are you looking for a funny, original, and practical gift? In this shop you will find it. Pillow cases with phrases like “I love you too” or with swallows or frogs (that might turn into a prince). If you take your lunch to work, check out the lunch set (bag, box, and pot). And for the kitchen, there are many colorful accessories. Some time ago, I bought a scratch map, where you can scratch the countries you’ve visited. The shop also had another map where you color the countries visited till you have the all world in color. And you can take it with you, because it comes in a tube.

This used to be the old highway to get from the leeward to the windward side of the island. It was literally built into the side of a mountain and was barely hanging on. It’s now been replaced with a proper 4 lane highway complete with a tunnel, but parts of the old highway are still there to hike on. To get there you have to go through tourists. They are there for the lookout and the spectacular view – but you can go much deeper than that! From the lookout, go down to the right and go past the ‘closed’ sign, away from the tourists at the lookout snapping photos.

Take the old Pali Highway through dense jungle growing along the side of this lush mountain. We also picked fresh guava off the trees and snacked on them along the way down. We hiked about 45 minutes down and then slowly turned around and came back up. You can hike all the way through to the end though.

The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel sits on the Big Island’s Kohala Coast. Beautiful sandy beaches cater to sun worshipers while the proximity to Waimea and Kailua-Kona make it a great place for travelers who seek ocean sports, coffee culture, or horseback riding. After absorbing the sun, snorkeling, and surf, a trip to the beach bar is the perfect place to enjoy a bit of shade while sipping on cold, refreshing, tropical drinks. An evening at the beach bar with a Dirty Hula Girl may be the perfect ending to a day at this beach hotel.


The sweet smell of plumeria floats on gentle trade winds into each guest room at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. When entering the room, you may be surprised that floor-to-ceiling picture windows and a beautiful private lanai (patio) beckon you to step back outside—closer to the rhythmic surf and paradise in nature. In the hotel’s main building, each morning you can wake up to warm accent colors in your room that recall the previous evening’s sunset. Natural light fills the entire space and you can brew a lovely cup of Kona coffee before leaving your room to face the world. A 2009 remodel of the main building rooms along with a 2013 beachfront wing renovation enable guests to unwind in the comfort of updated interiors that still remain true to Laurance S. Rockefeller’s original vision.


Local beach access at the Mauna Kea Resort: If you go early (7:30 a.m.) there are only 40 parking spots open to get to this hidden gem. Locals know that you say “beach access” at the imposing gate for those who want to swim in its clear blue water; check it out in North Kohala. Spectacular white sand beach with some shade trees. The 40 parking spots get filled by 9 a.m. or sooner so go early. It’s also good for boogie boarding.

PropertyThe architecture at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel certainly evokes Laurance S. Rockefeller’s sense of outdoor space with breezy landscaped covered walkways and a sparkling blue tile floor in the lobby that seems to bring the calm waters of Kaunaoa Bay right into the hotel. Another not-to-miss feature on the grounds includes the Collection: a fascinating assortment of Pacific and Asian art. More than 1,600 museum pieces blend into the hotel’s ambiance so well that you will always find new treasures on each visit. Better than a museum, these pieces of history are tangible to guests who want to inspect the stitches in a quilt, photograph the colors in a carving, or feel the texture of embellishments on a statue.


After absorbing the sun, snorkeling, and surf, a trip to the beach bar is the perfect place to enjoy a bit of shade while sipping on cold, refreshing, tropical drinks. An evening at the beach bar with a Dirty Hula Girl may be the perfect ending to a day at this beach hotel.
Vino and Vinyasa (Friday evenings): Follow your sun salutations with sauvignon blanc and your planks with pinot noir at this weekly class-slash-happy hour held ocean-side on Friday evenings. It’s only fitting that the sessions focus on Vinyasa, a yoga style that synchronizes movement with breath, because you’ll want to inhale the salty sea air deeply as you gaze at a fiery Big Island sunset.


Glow Stand-Up Paddling and Canoeing: Kauna’oa Bay’s large plankton population attracts manta rays, and you’ll find yourself gliding alongside them during this nocturnal excursion. Thanks to LED lights carefully strapped on your board, your hour-long jaunt may also include a parrotfish sighting (they’re intrigued by the boards’ shimmery glow.) You can treat stand-up paddle boarding as a workout, or simply stargaze as you float. New paddlers can take an introductory canoe ride while more seasoned guests can explore the Kohala Coast’s caves and coves on a private group charter.

It is so easy to stroll into France, many visitor cross the border without ever realizing they’ve been abroad. Instead of a coastal hike, the French Riviera offers a paved path that takes travelers from the Principality to Mala Beach on the Cap d’Ail. Catch the Sentier Littoral (coastal trail) at Marquet Beach and head west through a landscaped paradise dotted with mysterious mansions and eccentric estates. It is an easy walk for young children, with plenty of picnic stops and, during the summer, even restaurants on the beach. Hike, or catch the bus back from the downtown of lilliputian Cap d’Ail. Photo : Sylvia Sabes

Bordered on the south by its eponymous deep-red cliffs, the national monument is home to broad plateaus, endangered California condors, and some of the oldest petroglyphs in the United States. But the area’s greatest hit is the Wave, a dramatic, undulant orange rock formation. There are trailheads, maps, and minimally marked checkpoints along the trail leading to the famous spot, but unless you opt to hire an authorized guide, you’ll have to pick your way carefully across relatively untouched desert—that is, if you manage to snag one of the 20 daily hiking permits. Apply online four months in advance or enter the daily lottery at the visitor center in Kenab, Utah. Didn’t make it? Grab a map, make sure you have a spare tire, and explore the monument’s lesser-known slot canyons and gulches, or head to the Grand Canyon or Zion National Park; both are within a two-to-three-hour drive. You can always try again the next day. Permits are $6 and $7.

Santorini, Greece is an unquestionably beautiful island, but you can take the island experience up a notch, from beautiful to breathtaking, by hiking the ancient footpath from Thira to Oia. Start just before sunrise and meander the ancient dirt and cobblestone path, which is perfectly nestled at the cliffs edge, providing breathtaking views of the caldera. I set out on this path alone for a 4 hour hike, not too sure of what I would find along the way. Way up high, above the sea, away from the island crowds, as if walking through the clouds, I experienced the true beauty of the island- obvious natural beauty that surrounds you in every direction, but an ancient, deeply rooted beauty that can only be found in the silence, in the white washed churches scattered along the path, in the sun-smoothed cobblestone of the path ... in the clouds. Don’t forget layered clothes as once the sun rises the temperature does as well, comfortable walking shoes, bottled water & a camera!

There’s an absolute gem of a hike in Yosemite National Park that anyone who loves a good winter snowshoe hike should do. It’s a seven-mile out-and-back trek from Badger Pass to the inspirational Dewey Point, which is on the south rim at just over 7,000 feet elevation. It’s hard to find a more glorious view in all of California. The joy of having only a few fellow adventurers up there with you in winter—it’s truly a treasure. During my recent visit, the packed snow meant that I didn’t even wear my snowshoes the majority of the time and instead just had on my trail running shoes. You can rent shoes at the Badger Pass recreation center, if you don’t have your own. Get out there and soak up the wild magic.

Hike into Bear Canyon on the northeastern edge of Tucson, and you’ll be rewarded (most of the year) with a view of Seven Falls, gushing out of the Santa Catalina Mountains. Even though the hike in and out is around seven miles, it’s mostly flat. You’ll find that, as you’re zigzagging across the creek on large boulders, with cliffs above the cacti all around, traffic and strip malls are a world away. When you arrive at the falls, the rushing waters are a balm for the soul. Midwinter through the middle of spring is a good time to visit this oasis; the higher-elevation snowmelt guarantees flowing water and the daytime temperatures are comfortable. Midsummer monsoon rains can also fill this canyon, and flash floods can be a sudden danger.

Already a popular day trip, this jade-colored waterway rocketed to fame as the site of Calypso’s house in Pirates of the Caribbean. Hire a guide and colorful rowboat—most seat up to eight passengers—for the one-mile excursion upstream and watch for crayfish and young barracudas in the brackish river, which is lined by mangroves with mighty buttress roots. Don’t miss the fruit drinks and Dynamite rum punch at Cobra’s Bush Bar, the trip’s turnaround point.

Few cities in the U.S. can claim to be ‘sandwiched’ by a National Park; Tucson might well be the only one. Saguaro National Park is divided into Eastern and Western divisions that flank the city--plenty of wilderness hiking within a half-an-hour’s drive from the middle of town. If you’re here, like most visitors, in the winter, a perfect half-day’s hike is up to Wasson Peak in Saguaro National Park, on the western edge of the city. Seven-miles round-trip with a nearly 2000-ft elevation gain: it’s a moderate climb with 360-degree views from the top. (You do NOT want to hike this in the summer; there is no shade.) At 4687ft/1428m, it’s low compared to some of the 9000+ ft peaks on Tucson’s other horizons, but the panoramas are unbeatable, and the trek up through a saguaro forest is unforgettable. There are several routes, but perhaps the most popular is the Kings Canyon trailhead--directly across the road from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Hike the peak in the morning (give yourself around four hours so you can enjoy lunch and the view from the summit), and spend the afternoon visiting the animals across the road. (A new aquarium featuring the Sea of Cortez just opened; fall through spring also offer ‘raptor free flight’ demonstrations.) (From the top, the views: trail to the peak, looking south toward the distant Santa Rita mountains, looking over the NW part of the city to the forested peak of Mt. Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mtns.)

The Great Wall of China runs more than 21,000 kilometers (over 13,000 miles), not as one continuous wall but rather as fortified wall sections. Some of the sections date back more than 2,500 years, though only 8.2 percent of the existing wall is original. The Mutianyu Great Wall is one of the more accessible portions. Hike (because that is what you’ll be doing, even on the wall itself) up the Great Wall, then slide down the side of the mountain on a toboggan. Alternatively, explore the Simatai Great Wall, which retains a more authentic feel—save, of course, for the fake water town at the bottom. Even more remote is the Jiankou section, which is largely unrestored, so book with an experienced group like Beijing Hikers or Wild Great Wall.

One of the best day-hikes from Tucson is just north of town, on the ‘back side’ of the Santa Catalina Mountains: Romero Canyon. Drive up to Catalina State Park for the trailhead, and you’ll begin trekking through mesquite woods and towering saguaros before beginning to climb the rocky foothills into this mountain range. Then you’ll scramble down into the canyon itself, with a flowing stream at its heart. Most years, even in the early summer dry season, you can still find pools to cool off in--it’s a popular trail for Tucsonans. (Just get an early--dawn--start.) Continue past the pools and you can hike all the way up to Romero Pass, in the heart of the Pusch Ridge Wiliderness, where naturalists are trying to re-introduce a herd of mountain bighorn sheep. Late fall through early spring are perfect here... “Desert oasis” might be a hackneyed phrase when describing places like this, but desert-dwellers don’t take them for granted. Fortunately, when you’re in southern Arizona, seek and ye shall find...

Along with South Africa’s winelands, the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve falls within the Cape Floral Kingdom—a small but incredibly diverse area that’s home to 5,000 plant species that can’t be found anywhere else on earth. In the reserve, walking and hiking trails wind past the myriad flora and fauna, leading up to some of the best vantage points for admiring the beauty of the Franschhoek Valley and beyond. The Breakfast Trail is a relatively flat, 1.2-mile walk that can be completed in under an hour or used as a jumping off point for other, more strenuous hikes, like the Vista Trail and Dutoitskop. If you make it to the top of the Vista Trail on a clear day, you might catch a glimpse of Lion’s Head and Table Mountain.

Permits for entering the reserve must be purchased online in advance. If you’re planning a full-day excursion, swing by De Warenmarkt Deli in Stellenbosch or the Franschhoek Market (Saturdays only) and pick up some snacks to keep you energized while you hike.

Eons of running water are responsible for Hawaii’s escarpments and canyons. After a rainfall, innocuous streams, pools, and waterfalls can swell to impressive sizes. For an easy hike, walk along the Maunawili Falls trail on Oahu to glimpse the 20-foot cascade. There’s a lovely swimming hole, and you can scramble to a rocky overhang to dive into the pool below. On Maui, hike to the Makahiku Falls and climb to the overlook above to view two very different representations of water: the thundering 181-foot cataract below and the vast panorama of ocean beyond. Kauai, “The Garden Island,” is known for its spectacular waterfalls. The beautiful double streams of the Wailua Falls are easily seen from a roadside viewing point.