ArcticTropic traveled along the Southern Ocean today, along the Great Ocean Highway. Cold summer weather between 15 and 19 C. The coastline is 2000 miles from Antarctica.

Some of the Twelve Apostles.

A Koala munching on Eucalyptus leaves.

Strange local birds.

The Apostles.

London Bridge. Until 1990 there was a second arch that connected to the mainland but it collapsed. All of these natural structures consist of very soft sandstone and regularly collapse.

Video upload is very limited at this time. Rural Australia does have some wifi, but at dialup speeds. The above 7 second video took 40 minutes to upload.

For adventures in Austalia, CLICK HERE

On February 15th ArcticTropic rented a car – a Holden Barina and headed south to Jervis Bay, about 250 km from the city. Once beyond the metro areas, Australia is a beautiful and nearly empty land. Kangaroos are a common part of the landscape and while looking friendly they can give intruders quite a stomping.

Prince’s Highway stretches 1250 km from Sydney to Melbourne.

Beautiful beachfront property near Jervis Bay Territory. No hurricanes in this part of the world.

Isolated beaches everywhere.

In the Snowy Mountains ( where is snows from June to September ) near Mt. Kosciuszko, highest mountain in Australia. The Eucalyptus forest smells wonderful.

Crossing from New South Wales into Victoria State.

Kangaroo – It’s What’s For Dinner. Very healthy lean meat. Delicious too !

For Adventures in Austalia, CLICK HERE

ArcticTropic set foot on the Australian continent for the first time. Sydney is the start and departure point. Above ,the Opera House.

Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Zooming in. Here’s and adventure – climbing to the top of the bridge !

Iceberg’s – the legendary 50 meter swimming pool built into solid rock. Waves crash in as one swims. Video coming soon.

Kangaroo Burger – It’s What’s For Lunch. Delicious, Nutritious and Very Low Fat.

Government House.

Videos will be Uploaded in the next few days.

For adventures in Australia, CLICK HERE

2014 was an incredible travel year for ArcticTropic. We explored Myanmar ( Burma), European Russia,Siberia,Mongolia,China,Japan,British Colombia,Canada,Singapore,Philippines and Panama. Here’s 184 clips in 11 minutes. This version is natural sound,a musical version will be uploaded soon.

ArcticTropic is now planning 2015 journeys. Three trips are shown here. The first , in February is to Southeastern Australia. The longest flight will be from San Francisco to Sydney – about 15 hours. In March – off to the Polar Regions of Iceland. September – Puerto Varas in Chilean Patagonia for the ATTA Summit. Several other ventures are in planning stage.

2014 was a busy travel year for ArcticTropic. In all, we travelled an equivalent of more than twice around the world.The voyage to Myanmar in March ,via Frankfurt and Singapore was to the opposite side of the world and back the same route. In May and June we travelled in a continuous Eastbound direction until we ended up back where we started. In contrast, the 2.5 hour hop to Panama was a mere commuter flight.

Final edit of Go-Pro footage of ArcticTropic’s exploratory voyage across Russia in early Summer 2014. Five days in Moscow , then to Irkutsk,Lake Baikal and Ulan Ude , before crossing into Mongolia.

For Adventures in Russia, CLICK HERE

In order to save 50% on airfare from Tokyo to Vancouver, ArcticTropic flew on Philippine Airways via Manila. Other than the incessantly crying baby in the background,the first flight was quite pleasant. In the future we will explore those dense jungles in the mountains above Manila. The dense jungles are home to primitive tribes and until the 1980s hid Japanese soldiers who had no idea World War II had ended.

Yamanouchi is an ancient village in the Japanese Alps, in the Prefecture of Nagano. Snow monkeys live in the forests and bathe in the volcanic hot springs. For a few months the forests are free of snow and the monekys give birth to many offspring.

A protective Mother.

Geysers shoot boiling water up from the volcanic ground.

While melted snow fuels the icy waterfalls.

Mother and Child in the forest.

Yamanouchi is an ancient village built atop thousands of hot springs. Buildings are heated naturally.

Social life revolves around the baths.

Inside a men’s bath. Cold water is mixed with hot to create a bath of 42 C ( 107 F ) .

A Zen Dinner at the Ryokan.

For adventures in Japan, CLICK HERE

The best way to explore Japan is on the 200 mph , 320 kph High Speed Shinkansen network on Japan Rail. The Japan Rail Pass allows 7 days of unlimited travel for $ 279 – only non-resident foreigners are eligible. Distances in Japan are great – but seem close on these trains that seem to fly along the ground.

In Kyoto, the highest pagoda in Japan.

A Shinto Shrine.

Kyoto has delicious cuisine. Here is some venison sashimi.

Locusts.

And Bee Larvae

For Adventures in Japan, CLICK HERE