tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63147817911991353242024-03-13T13:17:15.622-07:00Climbing Trip..... I mean HoneymoonTonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-18633757226243405982012-11-16T12:12:00.001-08:002012-11-16T12:40:15.892-08:00Iran<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">JULIE: According to Lonely Planet, if you consult friends, family
or government warnings you’ll probably never travel to Iran.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is very true. In
Australia the limited Iranian news we hear made all made our friends and folks think
Tony and my plans to travel there for a rock-climbing festival on our
honeymoon, was totally bonkers, especially for me: a feminist, woman atheist
with libertarian views. What’s more, I’m
half Jewish. And while I’ve never quite
understood how an atheist can be half a religion, my Jewish relatives were more
concerned than anyone about our plans to visit a country whose President
diplomatically suggested, about a month before our arrival, that Israel should
be “erased from the face of the earth’<span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is why I’m writing this blog entry not Tony.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Iran is <i>not </i>paradise
on earth and all my friends and family’s concerns have some basis.But the
truth, as always, <i>is</i> far more complex
and Tony and I are certainly glad that we ignored all your concerned advice and
visited to Iran anyway.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Being in Iran was fascinating for a student of politics like
me; you feel political moods here intensely.
You don’t talk about politics of course, but people subtly give you
their opinions all the same. I imagine the mood is similar to that in Berlin
before the wall broke; there’s a tide of resentment to increasing government
restrictions and everyone blames the government for the country’s economic
woes. In much the same way as Vaclav
Havel encouraged small acts contrary to the ruling communists, which he argued would
eventually so undermine Soviet power that the whole ‘house of cards’ would
collapse, so in Iran you see small but widespread acts of rebellion that <i>here</i> are political in nature: things as
simple as couples holding hands in the street (which is illegal), or girls
wearing makeup and wearing their headscarves in the most minimal way possible;
lots of small political acts of rebellion everywhere.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%; text-transform: uppercase;">GETTING IN…</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Our arrival in Iran was full of
trepidation. We’d had visas approved
together with the rest of the festival participants, but knew authorities could
be fickle. I was nervous about what to
wear; all information I found explained in the dark days of the revolution
women had to wear full chador (meaning tent in Persian), or risk reprisals by religious
police but now no chador was needed. But
while some reports said a headscarf loosely thrown over and not covering all
your hair and tight jeans etc were fine, other reports said since 2010 there
had been crackdowns on bad <i>hejab</i>. As with all reports on Iran, both proved to
be correct – while most women walked around with tight jackets, makeup and headscarves
pulled back as far as possible (a feat I could never manage without it falling
off), some Iranian women lived in fear of police hauling them in (albeit in the
case of the fearful lady mentioned, she was rather naïve).</span></span><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Anyway, we got our visas and through security (unlike
the Brits…) despite me getting my drab brown cardigan caught on the luggage
belt and exposing the top of my jeans.
My heart pounded thinking I’d get hauled off for indecent exposure. No one blinked. Despite the suspicious 20 kilos of metal
climbing equipment in my backpack, the various officials’ only concern was that
whether we were carrying alcohol. </span></span><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">As soon as we stepped out of security we had
our first brush with Iranian hospitality.
Behnour from the Iranian Mountain Club greeted us with almost as much
charm as my lovely husband can muster on a good day. Before we’d taken two steps Behnour ran off
to buy us water and gum, concerned we might be parched, and then he ran off
with both our backpacks (around 50 kilos worth) to his 4WD, named Churchill. There he presented us with about 4 kilos of fresh
fruit. </span></span><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The airport is far from the capital but mostly
the traffic in Tehran is terrible. I
literally thought I was going to die in a car accident every single time I was
on the road during our stay in Iran. It
is either deathly dangerous or every driver on the road could really be a fighter
pilot. Here a 2 lane road has 5 lanes of
cars, all bumper to bumper at high speed, red lights are ignored and we had a
taxi turn onto the off-ramp of a freeway.
Tony says it’s about the same as India with fewer random donkeys. </span></span><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Not only was the driving scary on our arrival
into Tehran, but every woman I saw on the way into Tehran was wearing the black
chador I’d been promised was not required! I shifted as uncomfortably in my
jeans, knee length drab brown cardigan and headscarf as a hooker at a ball. As we hit central Tehran, however, I finally relaxed:
the stylish ladies I’d been promised made their appearance, with beautiful
headscarves showing ample hair! </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE AN ATHLETE</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">That we were deposited in the Olympic village
gave some indication to the importance placed on the Bistoon rock-climbing
festival, at least in Iran. Even though we
were flying up to Kermanshah province later that same evening, we were checked
into the Olympic Hotel to rest for the afternoon. We gladly slept, wondering when the Iranians
would trigger we were a couple of bumbling Aussie climbers, and not elite
athletes. Turns out they didn’t care and as the climbing
couple on their honeymoon we featured on national news throughout our week in Bistoon. As creators of the new ‘honeymoon route’, a
rockclimb of aprox 120 metres, which we opened together with a young Iranian
married couple, we were interviewed for TV and also feature in a news summary
of the festival which you can see online here:
</span></span><a href="http://www.jadidonline.com/images/stories/flash_multimedia/climbing_bistoon_festival_56/climb_low.html">http://www.jadidonline.com/images/stories/flash_multimedia/climbing_bistoon_festival_56/climb_low.html</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The 2012 International Rockclimbing Festival
was based at Bistoon a 1000m mountain famous for ancient bas relief carvings of
the reign of Persian King Darius, 500 BC.
One of the most popular climbing walls is often off-limits as it was
artificially flattened in ancient times in preparation for more carvings that
never came about because the nasty Alexander the Great came and conquered
Persia. The flat wall is quite
impressive at around 100m long with a huge ledge running at its top –you can
imagine 100 soldiers hammering for a year to get the mountain so flat. The ledge was to me fascinating. I’d heard
Egyptians used wooden wedges and water to split rock, but here was an actual
example of the use of the technique. The
ledge, or rather gutters drew water to wood strategically placed to carve the
rock-face. The flat wall is also an ancient Romeo and Juliet story; making Bistoon
a </span></span>fitting site for our ‘Honeymoon Route’<span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">. Farhad was in charge of the project and loved
Sherin, the wife of the King. He thought
if he did his work well he might win her from him. The story ended sadly, but is a favourite of
the poets, and </span></span>due to this legend, Bistoon has come to symbolize
love and faith in Persian literature.<span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l7ObS03YHqM/UKaZVMMguKI/AAAAAAAAATs/ZbU8VfvGfH8/s1600/IMG_0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l7ObS03YHqM/UKaZVMMguKI/AAAAAAAAATs/ZbU8VfvGfH8/s320/IMG_0030.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Accommodation at the Festival, 1000 meters of rock behind </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Festival participants stayed in a 17<sup>th</sup>
century caravanserai, which is a big square complex dominated by the
mountain. The rooms all open onto a big
square courtyard. From the time we
walked through the big wooden gates, from 6 am to 1am every day for a week, Tony
and I were as sought after as Princess Katherine at the races, and had nowhere
to hide but the loo. There were around
120 festival participants, including around 60 foreigners, plus about 500
Iranian support staff. All the Iranians
were curious to know us. We had
countless ‘conversations’, of 2 or 3 words of English and lots of charades. I’d check my email hidden from view and emerge
to find Tony surrounded by a group of old men with a tea in one hand and the
Iranian hockey coach showing him some great shoulder exercises. Once I lost him altogether as he was pulled
over for an Iranian massage. We learned
fast not to compliment anything; people would give it to you. People gave us whatever they could possibly give
– even sugar and salt packets at one stage. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">We co<span style="font-size: small;">uldn't understand the attention<span style="font-size: small;">. </span></span></span>Many other climbers were more interesting than us – there was a young French
guy climbing 9A and trailed by his own film crew, the winner of the Piolet D’Or
mountaineering comp, half a dozen French guides climbing 8A and the Iranian
team just down from the Karakoram. Note
for non-climbers – these people are way stronger than Tony and I. (Tony’s edit:
<i>but less handsome…)</i></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U0JZIsQ_pP0/UKaZSV3WrAI/AAAAAAAAATg/JgqCgawRq_8/s1600/IMG_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U0JZIsQ_pP0/UKaZSV3WrAI/AAAAAAAAATg/JgqCgawRq_8/s320/IMG_0016.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1_ttoJTERSc/UKaZZOv3FQI/AAAAAAAAAUM/iXlEeZc5Rgo/s1600/IMG_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1_ttoJTERSc/UKaZZOv3FQI/AAAAAAAAAUM/iXlEeZc5Rgo/s320/IMG_0069.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">THE CLIMBING</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">There are no books on Bistoon so every foreign
climber was paired with a local guide.
Tony and I had even less freedom than most as Ibrahim the Frenchman
organising the festival had announced before our arrival that we’d create a new
route called the Honeymoon Route. Fully aware that we’d never opened a route nor
had a drill it was a cheeky statement. To
keep himself looking credible we were at least provided with all possible
assistance. On day 1 we were paired
with local guide and climber Ibrahim and Amir, neither of whom spoke English. When your life depends on communication, a
few key phrases can be useful, so we sidelined a translator to assist us before
leaving camp. Ibrahim only wanted us to
know the word “Sang!”, meaning “Rock!”, which in climbing terms means duck and
pray, a rock is about to fall on your head.
I figured out why as I neared the top of the first pitch of the day and
dropped two rocks the size of a microwave about 8 storeys down. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Just in case the spot we chose to place our new
route had been previously climbed, Ibrahim herded us most of the way up the
mountain before stopping to let us inspect the rock. The ascent involved some exposed scrambling, and
we passed about 3 groups of climbers roped up for these sections. Not us. Ibrahim
shouted “Bia!” (come on!), and cheered, was it mockingly?, as I eventually
scampered up. By the time we reached the
starting point the sun was high, my legs were sore and Amir thought it best to remain
as ground support. He’d plied us with sweets the whole way up the hill and what
he lacked in English he made up for in smiles and enthusiasm – a truly
beautiful person. As Tony began climbing,
Amir got his brother on the phone to invite us for dinner. Another 6 phone calls later my efforts to forewarn
Amir, through his brother, I was vegetarian led nowhere, due largely, I’m sure,
to the concept being totally foreign here in the land of meat. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xI3Dpp0BPEU/UKaZQ5DC6rI/AAAAAAAAATY/jpLXyRPV1IE/s1600/IMG_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xI3Dpp0BPEU/UKaZQ5DC6rI/AAAAAAAAATY/jpLXyRPV1IE/s320/IMG_0007.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7S8_kqzNAjM/UKaZqgPu0jI/AAAAAAAAAWM/c76X4jqOvxA/s1600/IMG_0723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7S8_kqzNAjM/UKaZqgPu0jI/AAAAAAAAAWM/c76X4jqOvxA/s320/IMG_0723.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Tony thought we were climbing an existing
route, but it turned out we climbed 4 brand new pitches that day. It was an emotional day; the local climbers
here are a particular breed for Iran - bold (reckless). With all 3 of us perched on a little ledge, just
above the 2 huge rocks I’d pulled off, Ibrahim started to dismantle our
anchor. That would mean if Tony fell
while climbing up the next pitch, there was a good chance all 3of us would
die! Typically more diplomatic we
screamed No! and survived the second pitch, which arrived in a giant cave. By this stage we knew we were at least off-route
but had no idea if Ibrahim was leading us to a known descent or if he was
vainly searching for a new way down – which could be dangerous. Whether he understood our queries I’ll never
know. He just said “Bia! Bia!” (come on)
and we decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. But as Tony started up pitch 3 he immediately
regretted it – Ibrahim had managed to get up the pitch without thinking about
protection for the followers –if we fell we’d pendulum 10 metres into a wall. <span style="font-size: small;">W</span>hile we were pretty sure we wouldn’t fall,
the rock was weak and muddy. We spent
half an hour setting up an interim anchor to safely join Ibrahim while he
festered above us with no idea what we were doing. Unfortunately, he assumed our issue was due
to lack of skill, which irked our pride.
Tempers mounted as snack levels fell.
After pitch 4 we had to find a rock suitable for a sling for the abseil
down; night was fast approaching. After picking a number of rocks that were rejected
by Tony as unsuitable candidates, I think Ibrahim was about ready to push Tony over. In the end, he stood near the edge of the
cliff, prised off a giant boulder, threw it down, managed not to fall or crush
anyone …. and thereby exposed a perfect abseil rock. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Later that evening the festival folk brought
Shokooh and Ehsan, a young Iranian couple married about a year before us, to
our room in the caravanserei. Apparently
as we were both young married couples, it would be good if we could work
together the following day to open the “Honeymoon Route”. Shokooh spoke great English, which was a
relief after our adventures with Ibrahim, and as we discussed logistics for the
next morning, it seemed the couple had a similar approach to climbing as ours. Ehsan spoke only a little English,
shyly. But he had such a friendly way
about him that together with Shokooh’s translations, it didn’t take long before
we were laughing because even worlds apart both Ehsan and Tony spend their free
time obsessing about building climbing walls in their roof. Shokooh is a PE teacher and arrived wearing
a comfy looking shirt totally covered in dirt from a day’s climbing; like a
kindred spirit. I immediately wanted to show her the bruises I’d mystically
acquired. If Shokooh and Ehsan were
concerned about how we’d create a new rock climb with no drill, no prior
experience and limited slings they were very good sports. They recommended an area close to the
caravanserai, which was a relief – hiking 700 metres up in the sun before
starting for the day is quite hard work.</span></span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BeRRMAnJj4c/UKaZToBUpDI/AAAAAAAAATk/tRwO2hyVZWY/s1600/IMG_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BeRRMAnJj4c/UKaZToBUpDI/AAAAAAAAATk/tRwO2hyVZWY/s320/IMG_0020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Together with Shokooh and Shari. Made the mistake of giving this little girl a small bracelet - her whole family then arrived to present us with gifts..</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">And so the next day two couples began the
“Honeymoon Route”. We were joined by another Iranian mountain guide Amer – an Engineer
when he’s not mountaineering, and who as it turned out also married only a
month ago and spoke French as well as English.
Tony lead the tricky first pitch
and I lead pitch 2; an easy ramble on some of the best rock on Bistoon, the
others followed us up. 2 pitches was
enough for us tired souls that day; we abseiled down and ate lunch at 3pm in
the shade. </span></span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fDkaDUf23L4/UKaZsbknIyI/AAAAAAAAAWc/DkeBRsjhhtU/s1600/aja1iybp9jq8osi5u3gj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fDkaDUf23L4/UKaZsbknIyI/AAAAAAAAAWc/DkeBRsjhhtU/s320/aja1iybp9jq8osi5u3gj.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our good friends and climbing partners Ehsan and Skokooh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vXZeCpcrG30/UKaZrl71YVI/AAAAAAAAAWU/NZ_QeFeaBrA/s1600/IMG_0736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vXZeCpcrG30/UKaZrl71YVI/AAAAAAAAAWU/NZ_QeFeaBrA/s320/IMG_0736.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand drilling bolts for abseil, with limestone dust moustache </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">On day 3 we raced up the cliff “the fast way”
which was actually harder than expected.
We extended the Honeymoon Route to 3 pitches and spent the remainder of
the day hanging out on ledges, eating various snacks doled out by Shokooh, while
Ehsan and Tony took turns getting covered in white powder as they manually
hammered in bolted anchors for the descent. Ehsan and Shokooh promised to bolt
the excellent looking direct line in our memory if we never made it back to
bolt ourselves.</span></span><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JJTnlbnMbng/UKaZpsQXiyI/AAAAAAAAAWE/8RUSN67G0_s/s1600/IMG_0703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JJTnlbnMbng/UKaZpsQXiyI/AAAAAAAAAWE/8RUSN67G0_s/s320/IMG_0703.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new route team, Shokooh, Ehsan, Amer and Julie</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Our problem with the “Honeymoon Route” was that
it had received so much attention; but was dangerous. Tony had climbed up past a moving boulder the
size of a small fridge that was eventually going to topple off and crush someone.
On the afternoon of day 2, Ehsan,
Shokooh and I waited tethered to a ledge 50 metres up for Tony to reach the
ground so we could also descend. Tony,
however, was taking too long. We heard
him shout ‘rock’ and then a huge, explosive bang with television sized bits of
rock launching 50 metres or more from ground zero. He’d prised the giant boulder from the wall;
apparently it was very easy. We felt like good Samaritans, but in the valley
Tony’s rock explosion scared the pants off the police, who radioed one about
the ‘gunshot’ and planned to send in a contingent of armed response. . </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Kermanshah province is also mostly populated by
Iranian Kurds. Our friend Amir from the first day climbing is the first Kurd
I’ve ever met. Our telephone dinner invite
finally eventuated on the final day of the festival, and we will undoubtedly
never forget the experience. Amir played
bouncy Kurdish music en-route and dragged another couple of Iranian climbers
home impromptu instead of letting them pay for dinner at a restaurant. One was a self-confessed feminist I very much
enjoyed discussions with. Amir’s lovely family
were traditional, the only people we met who wore <i>chador</i> on our trip, and we sat on Persian carpets with some
cushions against the wall as they didn’t have couches or tables etc. However, the ladies were educated and their
chador were in surprisingly pretty fabrics.
We were lucky his sister in law was an English teacher as with her help
the conversation flowed easily. Lunch
involved endless cups of tea, piles of rice with saffron, chicken with eggplant
sauce, a tasty green vegetable dish with beans, homemade flat breads, pickles,
jelly and soft drinks. We ate until we
couldn’t move, after which time more tea and plates of chocolate puffs and biscuits
were prominently placed in front of us.
Amir’s sister in law’s family joined us for some fruit 4 or 5 bits of
fruit each – we’re talking a pear, a grapefruit, some cucumbers, and big bowls
of pomegranate in rosewater, followed by more tea and more biscuits. </span></span></span></span> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s7rwNugIx9Y/UKaZYazilnI/AAAAAAAAAUA/sQldJG9XLXI/s1600/IMG_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-s7rwNugIx9Y/UKaZYazilnI/AAAAAAAAAUA/sQldJG9XLXI/s200/IMG_0055.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our friend Amir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5B51AAgVQcQ/UKaZXcR-6TI/AAAAAAAAAT8/ZvcaE1oGi_Q/s1600/IMG_0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5B51AAgVQcQ/UKaZXcR-6TI/AAAAAAAAAT8/ZvcaE1oGi_Q/s320/IMG_0054.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amir's Family lunch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">THE REST OF IRAN</span></span></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5-sz4htrVR0/UKaZcvcE0fI/AAAAAAAAAUk/WyFWxh_awTk/s1600/IMG_0119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5-sz4htrVR0/UKaZcvcE0fI/AAAAAAAAAUk/WyFWxh_awTk/s320/IMG_0119.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing Mosques of Esfahan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">To save a few days to visit Ehsan and Shookoh
in Tehran we raced around the sites faster than a contiki tour, taking overnight buses every
second night for a week. From my blurred
memories, our first stop was Esfahan, the site of Iran’s famous blue mosques
wherein the highlight for me was standing on the one oddly coloured floor tile
to hear perfect amplification of my footstep.
I was too shy to say anything.</span></span><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Eyes glimmer in Iran if you talk about Yazd,
our second stop. Yazd is the atmospheric
second oldest city in the world and with so few tourists you can almost think
you arrived on the silk road caravans.
It’s a more traditional town of mud brick houses and narrow lanes replete
with <i>badgirs</i> –ancient
air-conditioning towers that direct air to the lower levels of a house and
apparently maintain constant temperatures of around 20 degrees year round. It’s enjoyable to get lost here and then
return to a hidden leafy courtyard to sip mint tea, such as on one evening when
we stopped to watch the local baker cook huge flat bread in round ovens and
ducked inside to have a taste.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lYJAALZpdPw/UKaZdeoV2aI/AAAAAAAAAUs/ZC8vN0wqP5s/s1600/IMG_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lYJAALZpdPw/UKaZdeoV2aI/AAAAAAAAAUs/ZC8vN0wqP5s/s320/IMG_0132.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We took a fascinating tour on the outskirts of Yazd
to see a 4000 year old mudbrick castle. It predated Islam and its
reconstructions over the years left signs of changing early building technique
and beliefs. Yazd is famous for
pomegranates and from the ramparts of the castle lush groves of the trees crowned
mud-walled lots much as they would have been back when the castle was
flourishing. Surrounded by the desert
such greenery seems odd but in ancient Persia complex underground aqueducts,
known as <i>qanats, </i>directed water to
cities from mountains 100s of kilometres away.
Temperatures here reach 50 degrees in summer we saw the clever devices
used to keep water clean. Domed cisterns
harnessed heat and air to circulate the water, while to guard it’s purity, taps
were developed so no one could contaminate the source. Open <i>qanats</i>
flow strongly through the towns, initially supplying water for cleaning and
eventually farm irrigation downstream. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ancient mudbrick Castles near Yazd</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcvG6ZBOX70/UKaZflk85BI/AAAAAAAAAVA/BShy06_mG2o/s1600/IMG_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZcvG6ZBOX70/UKaZflk85BI/AAAAAAAAAVA/BShy06_mG2o/s320/IMG_0175.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Haji Ali, our carpetmaker</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ixQnFmQ-HQ/UKaZg9Xtm3I/AAAAAAAAAVE/Y6Z3qsdTs7Y/s1600/IMG_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ixQnFmQ-HQ/UKaZg9Xtm3I/AAAAAAAAAVE/Y6Z3qsdTs7Y/s320/IMG_0189.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yazd rooftops</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Another highlight of the area was the
Zoroastrian pilgrimage site of ChakChak, a sacred fire temple which gives much insight
into how religions borrow from one another.
The temple is full of paintings of Zoroaster, a ginger haired Aryan with
a halo, white robe and beard. You’d be
forgiven for thinking it was Jesus.
However, Zoroaster, probably borrowed some of his monotheistic beliefs
from Judaism, which had recently appeared in the world, and he predated Jesus
by about 600 years. Zoroaster preached
belief in one true god, who required worship 5 times a day in the direction of
a source of light, hence the fire. Men
and women also cover their heads in the temples. Replace light with the
direction of Mecca and Islam borrowed more than Zoroastrian temple sites for
their mosques. Fascinating too really,
that at around this time in several parts of the world ancient pantheons of
gods (Egyptian, Mithra, Greek, Inca, Mayan, Roman)– were replaced by worship of
just one god. Perhaps with so many priests vying for tributes, monotheism
seemed a cleaner approach. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Being in a country where religious clerics make laws, you
can’t help thinking about religion. When
it’s 30 degrees and you’re sweltering in unrevealing clothing, which means
thick fabric you can’t see through, from ankle to wrist plus a scarf - you
can’t help but ponder how this can be what <i>religion</i>
is about. Numerous gods will invariably
smite me for insolence; yet after being in Africa where we saw male animals
wasting precious energy defending breeding rights, I mused at the probable
primal underpinnings of <i>hejab</i> rules,
and other religious mores worldwide that focus on women. Male humans, like their predecessors, still
care about whether their offspring are the genuine article. And in that perhaps we truly are a tiny step
above the monkeys; with bodies automated to scan physique for a genetically
compatible partner, by covering one half of the population in modest clothing,
we’re doing more than irritating small foreigners: we’re messing with the
natural order of partner selection! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">From Yazd we took an overnight bus to Shiraz, famous
for wine that is no longer legal, and poets. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-05Itzwk-wkk/UKaZhtz_iLI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/ueWHUm9nafY/s1600/IMG_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-05Itzwk-wkk/UKaZhtz_iLI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/ueWHUm9nafY/s320/IMG_0196.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The main drawcard is its proximity to Persepolis, impressive ruins from
550BC built to awe visiting dignitaries.
Achieved! The vast structure of
palaces and so forth must have looked incredible. The stone platform alone is 20 metres (6
storeys?) high. As weary visitors dragged themselves up 111 steps (4 steps
carved from each massive block of rock) to reach the Gate of all Nations they’d
be under no misapprehension they were small and powerless in the eyes of the
Persian kings. Carvings on the walkways
would have been in polished black rock, and show all nations bringing tribute,
and on reaching the top, the entry gate was dwarfed by huge human headed bulls
– a symbol of strength. The city was
burned by Alexander the Great’s army, apparently to his chagrin. How on earth a
stone city could burn is curious, but apparently roof and beam structures were
wooden and the heat from that fire, rent metal supports within the walls.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1hchCeLJBqg/UKaZjvgaW9I/AAAAAAAAAVY/9wH2SRfwK4M/s1600/IMG_0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1hchCeLJBqg/UKaZjvgaW9I/AAAAAAAAAVY/9wH2SRfwK4M/s320/IMG_0210.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">A sweeter highlight of Shiraz was the poet
Hafez’s tomb. For an Australian, whose country glorifies sport over intellect,
it was refreshing to sit and watch Iranians read poetry, and drink tea as gentle
music played. For some, Hafez’s tomb is
a pilgrimage site; they flick open a book of poems at his tomb to tell their
future. A guy with a yellow canary let the
bird select a reading for Tony and me.
Apparently my troubles are behind me and it’s all smooth sailing ahead –
if I don’t trust others with my secrets.
Perhaps this blog is a bad idea.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pAv2wspuSYI/UKaZkbPsWvI/AAAAAAAAAVc/PV1JVHbvrB8/s1600/IMG_0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pAv2wspuSYI/UKaZkbPsWvI/AAAAAAAAAVc/PV1JVHbvrB8/s320/IMG_0231.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">King </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Tomb<span style="font-family: inherit;">s </span>near Persepolis</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6sGJysXaMw/UKaZlZmiBnI/AAAAAAAAAVo/VhuQcnXpHww/s1600/IMG_0265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N6sGJysXaMw/UKaZlZmiBnI/AAAAAAAAAVo/VhuQcnXpHww/s320/IMG_0265.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Est<span style="font-size: xx-small;">her's Palace, <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Persepoi<span style="font-size: xx-small;">s. Her tomb is near the climbing. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Was surprised <span style="font-size: xx-small;">to<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> find Jewish<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> communi<span style="font-size: xx-small;">ties </span></span>and sites here</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>.</span></h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XNCRlTvDx7M/UKaZncfwUbI/AAAAAAAAAV4/8Stm4S4zWik/s1600/IMG_0308+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XNCRlTvDx7M/UKaZncfwUbI/AAAAAAAAAV4/8Stm4S4zWik/s320/IMG_0308+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Persepolis</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--C6wy9mKUKc/UKaZmc1h0pI/AAAAAAAAAVs/GJ43HfEvQ_o/s1600/IMG_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--C6wy9mKUKc/UKaZmc1h0pI/AAAAAAAAAVs/GJ43HfEvQ_o/s320/IMG_0305.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Persepolis</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">From Shiraz we took our plane to Tehran to
spend the remainder of the weekend seeing the city through the eyes of our
climbing friends, Ehsan and Shokooh. <span style="font-size: small;"></span>Ehsan and Shokooh share a nice apartment in a
city of 15 million people, which makes the housing market here even crazier
than Melbourne. For a 27 year old
climber, Ehsan’s hospitality is not dissimilar to my Granny. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>We were given the couple’s bedroom and 5 bits
of fruit and cakes after meals so fulfilling I needed a nap. The weather turned, so instead of visiting the
climbing area they’d told us so much about, more friends joined us for a big
lunch at the apartment. Amer our guide
on the Honeymoon Route came with his wife Ronak – both civil engineers with
fluent English. Ronak was one of the most stylish ladies I’d seen in Iran and I
enjoyed talking to her about life here for a woman working in a male dominated
industry. Women aren’t
calmly staying home in Iran, as in other parts of the Middle East; they
comprise 70% of the university population now.
<span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Hassan and his partner also joined us. He’d
just climbed up one of the famous Himilayan peaks in the Karakoram, the Trango
Tower. Tony naturally was keen to hear
all the details, while I felt for his partner who spent 2 months fretting in
Tehran. She cooked one of the most
delicious dishes I ate in Iran – kookoo, a kind of green vegetable pancake with barberries. The group took us around Tehran to some of
the parks and squares they liked most.
We played badminton in the Artist’s Park and even a kind of tag game in
another. Shokooh may have been wearing a headscarf but her suitability for a
job as a PE teacher was immediately clear; with the determined glint I’ve seen
in my sister Mel and so many confident sportspeople, she was more than a match for the men. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">It was refreshing spending time with friends
doing something active rather than imbibing coffee or alcohol. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Our new friends gave us a real lesson in what
it is to be hospitable.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">6 people juggled their schedules to spend
time with Tony and I in Tehran. Shokooh more than anyone. When she couldn’t get the day off work she
raced to the city to meet us for some last minute shopping and to slip food
parcels into our carry-on bags.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Heading2Char"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We’d love to
return the favour for some climbing trips in Australia if we can.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N30moztBjYc/UKai_MK_C-I/AAAAAAAAAXA/ZiARoH56d9A/s1600/IMG_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N30moztBjYc/UKai_MK_C-I/AAAAAAAAAXA/ZiARoH56d9A/s320/IMG_0005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ehsan taking 'rest' day to the extreme while famous mountaineer <span style="font-size: xx-small;">Marko </span>works hard on the flat wall.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Spices in the market, Shiraz</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CxWzweSc_TI/UKajBooQUwI/AAAAAAAAAXM/infGQfSurbo/s1600/IMG_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CxWzweSc_TI/UKajBooQUwI/AAAAAAAAAXM/infGQfSurbo/s320/IMG_0090.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">Teahouse in Esfahan</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Climbers at historic site, Kermanshah</span></span></span></td></tr>
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-2278593539185032442012-11-12T09:45:00.002-08:002012-11-12T09:45:20.532-08:00Madagascar<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our original plan for a month in Madagascar had been squashed a little by
all the good times we were having in East Africa, and because we had to be in
Iran on the 14<sup>th</sup> October for an International Climbing festival. So
we had only two weeks to enjoy paradise. Madasgcar has everything. Jungles,
deserts, beaches, pirates, amazingly good rockclimbing, tasty food (mix of
french, african and southeast asian, with some vanilla thrown in) tasty THB and
Libertalia beer, great accomodation and the coolest retro taxi’s in the world.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We spent week in the north of the Island, sleeping in a treehouse and
climbing the amazing limestone cliffs in the surrounding jungle. The climbing
was short, but the tufas and pockets made for steep and exciting lines. Most
nights on the way back to camp shy troops of cute lemurs would gaze wide-eyed
at us from the treetops. They scattered when I got too close though, I think I
must look like a Foosa. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It was nice to get back into some solid climbing. The Jungle crags excel in
the 6a-7a (19-24) grades which is perfect for us. I climbed my hardest clean
onsight ever, an amazing 6b+ that followed a tufa before breaking out onto an
overhanging pocketed red wall. Also climbed a couple of 6C’s, including one
which had a huge roof up high with a nice flake though it, a bit like a certain
well known route at arapiles back home.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jnP_yyDf5yE/UKE1BM0Si1I/AAAAAAAAASU/Iu0e5aaKRpA/s1600/IMG_0644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jnP_yyDf5yE/UKE1BM0Si1I/AAAAAAAAASU/Iu0e5aaKRpA/s640/IMG_0644.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie (in pink up high) on an excellent 6b+ route</td></tr>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eVMubrlECLI/UKE1DpOTFTI/AAAAAAAAASc/khX_ezL6jO8/s1600/IMG_0657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eVMubrlECLI/UKE1DpOTFTI/AAAAAAAAASc/khX_ezL6jO8/s320/IMG_0657.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I ate a bat. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-evElXPiS7GY/UKE1FjQeTyI/AAAAAAAAASk/IT7ZnjFcjIU/s1600/IMG_0661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-evElXPiS7GY/UKE1FjQeTyI/AAAAAAAAASk/IT7ZnjFcjIU/s320/IMG_0661.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LEMURS!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chamelions</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We befriended a nice taxi driver with one of the more reliable of the
aforementioned Renault 4L retro-taxi’s and travelled around the north of the
Island. They say that to travel around on the terrible roads of Madagascar you
need a huge 4x4…… or a tiny retro Renault 4L. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our go anywhere wheels</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We hiked some surreal landscape,
passing caves, baobab trees, bugs that look like flowers, chameleons with
camoflage powers that need to be seen to be believed, weird spiky limestone
towers… We also spent a couple of days in Antananarivo, which I liked except
that we finally experienced out first theft when a gold chain was torn from
Julie’s neck. After getting though mainland Africa without any trouble we’d
just gotten too complacent. Unlikely to happen again though, as theft is
basically non-existent in our next destination- the Middle East…</span></div>
Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-44693642572561207142012-11-09T22:05:00.002-08:002012-11-10T01:45:57.981-08:00Kenya<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We weren’t sure whether we would go to Kenya. Although it’s been a major
tourist destination for a long time, recently there have been bombings in
Mombasa, the struggle between the cattle farmers and the cattle rustlers has
escalated into a virtual civil war thanks to an easy supply of big guns from
Somalia, and pirates have been kidnapping tourists from the coast. Somehow we
ended up there anyway, and even spent a few days in Nairobi without getting
mugged, which I gather is an achievement defying statistics. We rented a huge
Pajero for a week (“It’s ok Julie, I’m sure I’ll be alright driving in Kenya,
the traffic can’t be that bad and there aren’t too many carjacking’s on the
roads WE will take…”) and went camping in the Masai Mara. We got completely
lost in the park, were surrounded by a family of Hyenas, woke a sleeping pride
of lions (“Tony.. they’re walking to the car, start the engine…!?!”) and drove
out through the gate long after it had closed. We were told not to drive at
night, so at about 9pm we pulled into a property on the side of the road which
an enterprising local had offered as a camp site. It was a stroke of luck, as
the food he cooked that night was excellent, and he took us to the local Masai
village the next day. Masai “cultural villages” are common sights, but I don’t
think these dark mud huts saw many visitors. </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our other main destination was Nakuru, at one time the home of Julie’s dad
and Grandparents. We also spent two nights camping in Hells Gate national park.
The camp site was one of the most amazing places I’ve slept, waking up to a
view of the plains below covered in zebra, buffalo, impala and warthogs. We
spent a great day rock climbing on the cliffs around the park, surprising the
local baboons who thought they had the cliff tops to themselves. Because there
are few predators in the park, you are free to roam camp and climb where you
like, but we managed to find trouble anyway and found ourselves running from an
angry heard of buffalo. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nUi8bARk6Ng/UJ4hISprr8I/AAAAAAAAARI/3r6E0u9pC-s/s1600/IMG_0609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nUi8bARk6Ng/UJ4hISprr8I/AAAAAAAAARI/3r6E0u9pC-s/s320/IMG_0609.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K37U8KqTDR0/UJ4hONWtFiI/AAAAAAAAARQ/uNmcSrS3uyE/s1600/IMG_0627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K37U8KqTDR0/UJ4hONWtFiI/AAAAAAAAARQ/uNmcSrS3uyE/s320/IMG_0627.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Masai Village</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1t4db-7F4YE/UJ4hOihL6SI/AAAAAAAAARU/fIYKxRRZiTU/s1600/Julie+and+elephants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1t4db-7F4YE/UJ4hOihL6SI/AAAAAAAAARU/fIYKxRRZiTU/s320/Julie+and+elephants.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-68pnJT5M784/UJ4hPcZrCFI/AAAAAAAAARY/_1jepDqR5Gs/s1600/Julie+and+giraffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-68pnJT5M784/UJ4hPcZrCFI/AAAAAAAAARY/_1jepDqR5Gs/s320/Julie+and+giraffe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qWOm-ElrzmY/UJ4hQBvIeMI/AAAAAAAAARo/RSLd1uhJjk8/s1600/Lions.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qWOm-ElrzmY/UJ4hQBvIeMI/AAAAAAAAARo/RSLd1uhJjk8/s320/Lions.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woke the sleeping lions</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6RI-xdKjZOg/UJ4hRD-73KI/AAAAAAAAARs/AyXtco84psE/s1600/crack+in+hells+gate+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6RI-xdKjZOg/UJ4hRD-73KI/AAAAAAAAARs/AyXtco84psE/s320/crack+in+hells+gate+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing cracks in Hells Gate National Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ae493p25LDY/UJ4hR8UEhmI/AAAAAAAAAR4/QsMMwr0eSk0/s1600/crack+in+hells+gate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ae493p25LDY/UJ4hR8UEhmI/AAAAAAAAAR4/QsMMwr0eSk0/s320/crack+in+hells+gate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe not the best angle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-66394213132284505722012-10-09T21:07:00.002-07:002012-10-11T08:24:30.353-07:00Uganda<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">TONY: There are a few different Africa’s in my imagination, and one is the
Heart-of-Darkness Africa of the Congo jungle, where Pigmy tribes hide in the
jungle from cannibals in wooden masks, and heavily armed rebels run blood
diamonds up the Congo River. I wanted to see this Africa as much as the big
game Savanna Africa we had seen already, and because it’s madness to travel
into the so-called Democratic Republic , we flew instead to Uganda, to get as
close as safely possible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">From the capital Kampala we went to see the gorillas and the Virungas.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">On the long drive from Kampala, we passed lush green forests and terraced
hills of Banana trees and root vegetables. We saw the hard working Ugandans
building their livelihoods from first principles, carving and firing red bricks
straight out of the ground, cutting planks of wood from huge trees, and
harvesting green bananas with machetes. We knew we were getting closer to the
Congo when we started passing convoys of UN Armoured Vehicles and huge tented
UNHCR Refugee camps. Uganda, with the memory of Idi Amin’s massacres still so
fresh, seems to be a pillar of stability supporting the fragile governments of
the countries that border it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It took a 14 kilometer uphill slog (driven hard by our guard at the front,
and our guide at the back) to reach the three summits of the Virunga volcano
chain that mark the border between Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo. We were promised amazing views of the gut-wrenching drop along a ridge - one side Rwanda, the other Uganda, and then a view of all 3 countries. The crude
ladders, built from rotting logs on the steepest parts, made for an interesting
Russian Roulette situation, where we randomly chose which rungs to put our
weight on and hoped it wouldn’t snap. We were rewarded with views of more of
the jungle and mist that covered our ascent, as the cloud didn’t clear at all
that day, or most days of the year for that matter. </span><br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AAy4by3weT0/UHTzsvrjtII/AAAAAAAAAPw/MVjzTqxRwvc/s1600/Julie+walking+to+base+of+virungas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AAy4by3weT0/UHTzsvrjtII/AAAAAAAAAPw/MVjzTqxRwvc/s320/Julie+walking+to+base+of+virungas.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching the Virungas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSYDtD93rUI/UHTzYL3b-fI/AAAAAAAAAPY/FMs7P_2lOj0/s1600/Julie+climbing+a+ladder+on+Virungas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FSYDtD93rUI/UHTzYL3b-fI/AAAAAAAAAPY/FMs7P_2lOj0/s320/Julie+climbing+a+ladder+on+Virungas.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit Ridge - views of DRC,Uganda and Rwanda to be imagined.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The next day we were out to track Gorillas. I’ve been told this can be
anything from a half an hour stroll into the forest, to an all-day bush bash
through the Jungle. You can track Gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the DRC, but I
wanted to track them in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. I think it’s the name
the sounds appealing, like a challenge. Impenetrable eh? We’ll see about that….</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Even though it became very apparent where the name Impenetrable came from,
after the Virunga Volcanoes, the trek to the Gorillas felt easy. We took a
porter to carry our day pack, rather than send one of the many hopeful local porters home
without pay. About thirty of them show up at the start of the trail every day
looking for a day's work, and most go home empty handed because the tourists
consider themselves intrepid adventurers too proud to have someone carry their lunch and water bottle. Not us! </span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">After a few hours following our Machete wielding guide through the jungle,
we spent an hour with a family or eight or nine mountain gorillas, including a
huge silverback male and two young’uns. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymwjc0PO_h0/UHTzjToq-JI/AAAAAAAAAPg/zqgWYCbA3EQ/s1600/Silverback+with+Julie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymwjc0PO_h0/UHTzjToq-JI/AAAAAAAAAPg/zqgWYCbA3EQ/s320/Silverback+with+Julie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge Silverback Gorilla. Julie is also in the photo, but hidden behind the guy in the grey shirt. We got within about 2 meters of the Gorillas</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony with Nicholas, our porter. Check out the armed guard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lead to a random spot, and turn around to see this guy. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">200 kilos of cuteness.</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Not yet ready to leave Uganda, we took a twelve hour drive to Jinja, the source of the Nile river, for some white
water rafting. Our raft of five clueless tourists and two experts got through
the day of Grade V rapids, capsizing twice. I arrogantly thought it might be a
lame day of slightly bumpy water for the easily impressed/scared tourists, but
I had to swallow my scorn, as it was absolutely one of the highlights of the
trip. Unlike the bumpy, life threatening 17 hour bus to Nairobi, our next destination. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqb7hrqp_rI/UHTzqKETSeI/AAAAAAAAAPo/LtxMfRdMFVg/s1600/Julie+rafting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqb7hrqp_rI/UHTzqKETSeI/AAAAAAAAAPo/LtxMfRdMFVg/s320/Julie+rafting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching some rapids on the Nile. Julies in the pink helmet</td></tr>
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(JULIE: I was expecting a day of being freezing but the combination of warm sun and warm water meant the day was actually really comfortable. The first time the boat flipped I was underneath it, but could
breathe in the air-pocket there and got back in pretty quickly. The second time though, we flipped right at the start of a big set of rapids: I lost my oar immediately, and Tony grabbed it as he rolled around in the rapids in front of me. I was just trying hard to breathe air that wasn't water, which is not actually that easy as it turns out. I swallowed quite a lot. We were told to trust the kayaks and guides that they'd rescue us if we were under too long, and I figured the rapids couldn't last too long... so at one point I just figured if I did start to drown they'd probably be able to save me. Fortunately not required! Definitely a memorable end to our stay in Uganda.)</span></div>
Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-67541610179986493882012-10-05T07:44:00.002-07:002012-10-05T07:44:21.122-07:00Zanzibar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I called this post Zanzibar because I love the word Zanzibar. It seems so exotic. Tropical beaches, ornate Arabic mansions, slave traders, spices, seafood cooked in coconut, outrigger canoes…. and lots and lots of touts. “Jambo my friend, they call me Mr Cheap, come and see my little shop”, “I am fisherman George, try some of my lobster skewers”, “Hello sir, I am Mr Spice, we have saffron, very nice spice”. <br />We spent a few days getting lost in Stone Town and a week on the beaches in the north of the Island, repelling touts using the Swahili I learnt from The Lion King. The sand on Kendwa beach was the finest we’d ever seen, like milk powder, with warm, turquoise water for swimming. We stayed right on it in a corner of Kendwa that seemed to be devoid of many tourists.I think we single handedly propped up the economy of our little corner of Kendwa by ordering from the ‘aspirational’ menu of the local restaurant (Dad discovered that the reason the meals took so long was that they went to the market to get the ingredients AFTER you order), having twice daily massages from the local ladies, and renting boats for snorkeling trips. We celebrated Julie’s birthday at a beach party, where the staff of the beach bar all swarmed out and danced up to us singing a loud Swahili rendition of happy birthday when they presented the cake, and an African Michael Jackson put on a dancing performance that was amazingly and hilariously good.</div>
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-39865998563418754392012-09-24T09:48:00.001-07:002012-09-24T11:38:44.679-07:00Zambia, the “real Africa” with the man they call White Beard<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">TONY: Even though lonely planet had already warned me that Zambia was the ‘real
africa’, whatever that meant, I have to admit that I got a fair jolt of culture
shock in the cab from the airport to our hotel on the main street of Lusaka,
the capital. That Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia) had been pillaged by the
British for the benefit of its old neighbor Southern Rhodesia was evident from
the poverty and lack of development. Having one of the highest percentages of
HIV in the world was also evident, with signs everywhere promoting abstinence
and offering protection. But once I’d got past that fact that we really seemed
to be the only white people in the whole city, the friendliness and atmosphere
soon shook the threatening feeling away. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">My dad was meeting us at the hotel, and somehow the people at the desk knew
immediately who I was looking for. Maybe we look a little bit similar. Dad was
joining us for a trip to the South Luangwa National Park and some time on
Zanzibar. Some people might think it’s a bit weird to have their dad join them
for part of their honeymoon (as I write this it does seem a bit…) but we were
excited as dads good company, very easy going and enthusiastic about new
places. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The highlight of Lusaka was a walking tour of a “compound”, a sprawling
suburb of shacks in that in other places might be called a township, a ghetto,
or a slum. It might sound weird to talk about this as a highlight, and I wasn’t
really comfortable with the idea of a “human safari” at first, but it was an
amazing illustration of how the west has got it wrong. Everyone was really
happy, really friendly, knew all their neighbors, and helped each other out. Of
course it wasn’t perfect, there is crime, poverty, no sanitation, and I can
verify that the community-brewed beer tastes like mud, but there is a sense of
community that is missing from the suburbs of Melbourne.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our accommodation in the South Luangwa national park, a tiny, shaky,
prop-plane flight away from the capital, was everything we expected from the
glowing recommendations. After arriving and checking into our enormous
safari-style chalet, we sat at a table just outside the thatched-roof bar
looking out over the African bush and the wide Luangwa river. Soon enough, an
Elephant came crashing through the trees and ambled towards our table. Probably
going for Julie’s exotic cocktail. The staff shouted at us to abandon our
drinks and bags and make a dash for the covered area of the bar. They’re scared
of elephants and apparently Stampy doesn’t like the ambiance of the covered
areas of the lodge, even if they’re open on all sides. But he left our beers alone
(unlike the monkeys, who took advantage of our absence to get stuck into the
hard stuff on our expense) and proceeded to tear up the surrounding trees and
generally make a racket. This was not a unique experience at the lodge, as
during the next week we would see just as much wildlife in and around the lodge
as we did driving and walking through the national park. Giraffes hung out
outside our room, cheeky monkeys tried to steal my go pro, and crocs kept us
from cooling off in the Luangwa. When I asked one of the staff why the Hippos
always came up to the lodge after dusk, he said “oh yes, the Hippos, they love
the sausages!”. (Imagine deep African drawl and a cheshire cat smile as it was
dark at the time) I was confused. Did they have a new subspecies of carnivorous
hippo in Zambia? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I realized later that
he was referring to the funny looking “Sausage Fruit” a huge elongated fruit
that grows on trees all over the place. </span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iATeId-hkZw/UGCMz32w1EI/AAAAAAAAAM4/f-fD2G04vXg/s1600/Elephant+Crossing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iATeId-hkZw/UGCMz32w1EI/AAAAAAAAAM4/f-fD2G04vXg/s320/Elephant+Crossing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elephants crossing the Luangwa river to tear up the villages crops</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We spent an amazing week with “Dazzles” of Zebra, “Parades” of Giraffe...
We saw a few Leopards including cubs, and even saw a huge brave/stupid baboon
take a leopard on for the good of his group.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jukR6mAkN7I/UGCM4Ik_qUI/AAAAAAAAANA/aQe37AG7bvw/s1600/IMG_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jukR6mAkN7I/UGCM4Ik_qUI/AAAAAAAAANA/aQe37AG7bvw/s320/IMG_0305.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TULPMtG9Ub8/UGCNY96as8I/AAAAAAAAANg/njVW9jFdG3o/s1600/IMG_0376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TULPMtG9Ub8/UGCNY96as8I/AAAAAAAAANg/njVW9jFdG3o/s200/IMG_0376.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jOEytjoeA9w/UGCNbXAeeuI/AAAAAAAAANo/1PmxyybBGQU/s320/IMG_0391.JPG" width="240" /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rq-R-nNncGU/UGCNQz2hyYI/AAAAAAAAANY/5N6s9Ow1lOM/s1600/IMG_0363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rq-R-nNncGU/UGCNQz2hyYI/AAAAAAAAANY/5N6s9Ow1lOM/s320/IMG_0363.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leopard<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r4xXYQjZU0o/UGCM_7hgcRI/AAAAAAAAANI/OzNEi4oO2wc/s1600/IMG_0312.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r4xXYQjZU0o/UGCM_7hgcRI/AAAAAAAAANI/OzNEi4oO2wc/s320/IMG_0312.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iq6HCsprlC0/UGCNMEwWBkI/AAAAAAAAANQ/WzfBztUjceQ/s1600/IMG_0341.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The 48 hour train we took from Lusaka to Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, could
be another example of what you might call the “real Africa” except that it was
built by the Chinese. It has been left to rot in disrepair in the decades since
and I suspect it only runs on the collective will of the passengers to reach
their destination and the sanitary plumbing they might find there. It was
rough, loud, dirty and the food was suspect, but it travelled through some
beautiful countryside. It also stopped in every small, isolated village it
passed, where all the people of the village would crowd around with baskets of
food balanced on their heads in an impromptu market. Kids came running for
miles to wave at the ‘muzungu’ (us).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDAITDMHJVU/UGCNhkGyLaI/AAAAAAAAANw/q6DKBYPWcAo/s1600/train+market.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDAITDMHJVU/UGCNhkGyLaI/AAAAAAAAANw/q6DKBYPWcAo/s320/train+market.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many village markets around the train, this one selling mostly green bananas which are mashed together like potatoes as a staple food</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evening view from the train</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-zRXx13AiM/UGCNpKZTRKI/AAAAAAAAAOA/8Qwkku9Tx3M/s1600/trainmarket2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-zRXx13AiM/UGCNpKZTRKI/AAAAAAAAAOA/8Qwkku9Tx3M/s320/trainmarket2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie shopping at the marke</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">(JULIE- Just a word on the township tour in Lusaka.</span><span style="color: #1f497d;">
The little kids in the township (slum) were totally gorgeous and when
our guide
was telling us something would sidle up and smile cheekily. I gave one a
hi five and about 20 kids were pushing each other over to give me hi
fives like
I was the coolest thing in the world. Then they’d want to hold my hand
and dance around in a circle, and then another little kid would push in
and
grab my hand instead of the first one till we had a line of 10 kids
going. They
were so curious and sweet. At one spot on the tour a local young man
had tied a bunch of rags
together to make a swing for the kids in a tree and a few of the bigger
kids
spent hours pushing the little ones on it – and the little kids all
waited in
line really patiently for their turn. Imagine a line of 4 year olds in
Australia (as if). The tour guide also showed us a community
project where a little shack was set aside as a sort of youth centre.
These boys would have been barely older than Rheeese (13) but were so
proud of their
centre. They showed us their store room and their library, which
seriosly
had like 50 books (I immediately wanted to go out and buy them a
truckload). They not only read them, but sit down and read the books to
the
little kids too. Anyway, the thing that was really <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>nice was these initiatives came from within
the community with barely any funding.) </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-58682038040470711182012-08-27T09:18:00.000-07:002012-08-27T13:35:49.044-07:00Sand and Granite<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">South Africa</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">TONY: After all the percolated coffee and dirty toilets in France, landing at
Cape Town airport greeted with a soy latte and a clean loo felt like a return
to civilization. I’ve always wanted to live in a place where you could surf in
the morning before work and climb in the evening after, and Cape Town delivers
that in the most beautiful location of any city I’ve ever been. It also has
decent night life and excellent food, a mix of Asian, African and European and
the best condiment known to man, Mrs H.S Balls Original Recipe Chutney (Laura:
Julie thinks she’s seen it in your fridge at home. You NEED to put us in contact
with your supplier!) Laura’s sister Jeanette kindly offered us a room in her
apartment in Rondebosh, a leafy suburb close to everything, with a view of
Table Mountain to wake up to every morning. She was great company and an
excellent part time tour guide, and we saw a lot in the week we spent in an
around the city. The highlight was probably the little seaside villages dotted
across the peninsula, each with its own character and beach and mountain vista.
Eating fresh seafood at sunset on the fisherman’s quay in Kalk Bay, watching
the seals try to steal some of the last catch of the day while it’s being
bought in by the colorful little fishing boats... There are also African
penguins, and everyone knows I’ve got a soft spot for penguins. We climbed one
of the classic table mountain routes, ‘Jacobs Ladder (16)’ in a single very
long day. Julie lead most of the route, including the amazing traverse pitch.
Climbing this steep cliff high above the town and the ocean was one of the
highlights of the trip. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AZRrs7SBjJs/UDukTEt91nI/AAAAAAAAAJI/vknLryOHE8I/s1600/Julie+on+Jacobs+Ladder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AZRrs7SBjJs/UDukTEt91nI/AAAAAAAAAJI/vknLryOHE8I/s320/Julie+on+Jacobs+Ladder.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful traverse pitch on Jacob's Ladder - with Cape Town below</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mjT3f5slNDo/UDujjs_8b2I/AAAAAAAAAIg/4bHGWnd3YNs/s1600/IMG_0139+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mjT3f5slNDo/UDujjs_8b2I/AAAAAAAAAIg/4bHGWnd3YNs/s320/IMG_0139+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Table Mountain with our lovely hostess Jeanett</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sad to leave Cape Town, we picked up a rental car, filled the boot with
Biltong and headed north, through empty countryside to the Cerderberg
Wilderness..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We starte to feel it was
all a bit easy, just like home, and then we drove past Zebras (ZEBRAS!) We
named our VW Polo ‘Von Smits’ to try to fit in with the Africaaners. The main attraction
in Cederbeg, aside from the rolling hills and wildflowers, is the sandstone
boulders, which attract scores of climbers from all over the world for months
at a time. August is prime time for camping and bouldering at the ‘Rocklands’
when days are sunny and clear and friction is at its best.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">At least, that’s
what the guidebook I was reading insisted while we sat in the car watching the
hail batter the windscreen. It was freezing, but thankfully only for a day or
two, after which we got the sunny weather we were promised. We spent our one
sunny day climbing with French, Germans, Russians, Czechs and Americans. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That night prompted by many a veteran
Rocklands boulderer, we visited a fundraising performance at a primary school
in a nearby village. The kids really put my primary school plays to shame with
their incredible dancing and singing (although my family said my turn as
‘Trooper 4’ in ‘Captain Midnight’ at Castlemaine North Primary was inspired). Their choir covered a Ladysmith Black Mambazo track that I love, and traditional
dancing was neat. The littlest kids were very cute in their enthusiasm.</span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Leaving the next day at 6, we made our way through South African and
Namibian border checks; at least 6 windows to visit it turned out, but no one
told us that until we tried to cross the border without some random stamp or
fee paid or another. </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br /><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony in his element visiting endangered penguins on the Cape</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Cape Town</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishermen bringing in our fish for dinner - check out the seal</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie and our fish at chips at Kalkies, Kalk Bay Cape Town</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Namibia</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">It was really started to feel like Africa. The roads were straights and
dusty, junctions swarming with families looking for rides and shacks made from
tin cans selling beaded necklaces and collected firewood. I’d expected to see
African animals in game parks, but we were already spotting ostriches,
warthogs, springbok and gemsbok in the early morning and late evening from the
road. We traveled up through Namibia, which is really one vast desert
stretching from the huge red sand dunes of the Namib to the plains of the Khalahari.
There are many local languages, and we learnt how to say hello in the Nama
language, one of the “clicking” languages, from a girl at a roadhouse. Not easy
to pronounce, and I have no idea how to spell a click. (I think they use
apostrophes !nama) We stopped each night to camp in the desert. The first night
we camped close to Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world
behind the Grand Canyon, and watched the sun go down on its edge. We visited
the Namib Desert dunes at Sussouvlei, and hiked through the red emptiness
reminiscent of Arabia to the Hidden Vlei, a mud flat with petrified trees 600
years old. The colors of the flat white ground against the deep red dunes and
the bright blue sky were incredible. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5lodimZ-HS0/UDuugl_9fLI/AAAAAAAAAK0/3JKm0o0HDyM/s1600/Julie+Fish+River.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5lodimZ-HS0/UDuugl_9fLI/AAAAAAAAAK0/3JKm0o0HDyM/s320/Julie+Fish+River.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish River Canyon (and a tiny Julie)</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We continued north, Von Smits grudgingly absorbing the dust, corrugations
and potholes. We’d been told not to pick up locals looking for lifts, but it
was getting increasingly difficult to drive past families with their thumbs out
in the middle of nowhere, happy as they seemed to be waiting in the blazing
sun. When we asked again at a service station about picking up hitch hikers,
the friendly man was emphatic in his insistence that it was to be avoided, and
we would be harassed or worse, but we had to question his real motives when he
mumbled ‘you’ll never get the African stink out of the car’. We were happy the
next day to give a lift to a friend of one of the park rangers to the city, who
we found out later worked as a nurse in a healthcare system with 700 patients
per doctor, 7 days a week at a workplace 8 hours drive from home. We arrived in
Windhoek, the capital, for a days rest and to collect provisions for a week
camping at Spitzkoppe, the “Matterhorn of Africa”.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Von Smits in Namibia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soaking up the ambiance at the canyon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our desert camp in Sossusvlei</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The incredible Sossusvlei dunes in Namibia</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-scWFsrwXpDw/UDuoVbfSfCI/AAAAAAAAAJk/UPbL8LRwkZc/s1600/Dead+vlei.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-scWFsrwXpDw/UDuoVbfSfCI/AAAAAAAAAJk/UPbL8LRwkZc/s320/Dead+vlei.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only shade for kms, under a 600 year old dead tree in Hidden Vlei</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">JULIE:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">To give some idea of the aspect of Spitzkopppe, you might imagine a
Namibian version of Ayres Rock, in the shape of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matterhorn – it’s a great reddy golden
mountain and boulder playground rising from a vast dry plain.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0I9yrGCDe-o/UDuvfenMzvI/AAAAAAAAALM/XX6demVW-kY/s1600/The+Spitzkoppe.jpg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0I9yrGCDe-o/UDuvfenMzvI/AAAAAAAAALM/XX6demVW-kY/s320/The+Spitzkoppe.jpg.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our arrival at Spitzkoppe marked 5 days or so of dawn starts, unheard of
for Tony, and a veritable miracle for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We not only survived, but continued the trend of pre-sunrise starts to
climb a few longer routes in Spitzkoppe (the sun sets early here in winter).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I get ahead of myself.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3 hours into our drive from the capital,Windhoek our recorded book about
the travels of Livingstone and Stanley finished. I tied up my work, my laptop
died and I realised I’d forgotten to buy a new book. I was utterly dismayed, expecting
that the desert blankness for5 days would get more than a little boring (Oh,
how wonderful, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more</i>, sand).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ah but the desert won. My simple mind just couldn’t comprehend how a place
so dry with 5mm of annual rainfall could support so much life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A base level of intrigue made each new sight
a discovery, a thing to ponder and the rock is beautiful, smooth and sinewy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rock here is ancient, truly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently created by volcanic action well
before Gondwana was even created, the granite didn’t pierce the surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over eons, first covered by glaciers,
surrounding earth cleared, to reveal the granite now exposed to the sand. That
there is nothing around to see in any direction compounds the sense you’ve
moved back in time. (The local town is a mere smattering of tin shacks, home to
gem stone miners, and sits near a dry riverbed kilometres away).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camping among the boulders at Spitzkoppe. </td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The guidebook describes the ambiance as ‘spiritual’; reading which made me mentally
vomit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, there is something truly
special about real silence in the desert I can appreciate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your body must, I think, sense the silence,
and shut down even those tiny defences it retains even when you’re fully
relaxed on, say, a beach holiday back home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the desert even your ears can relax.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And it’s true that the stars are more beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I have to admit that I didn’t relax straight away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we entered the Spitzkoppe Park I read a
happy report explaining conservation success attracting fauna to the park –
including leopards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was shocked. In my
head, all I had to watch our for were snakes near the rocks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Snakes, being Australian, I can watch out for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I figure I’m snack size for a leopard,
and definitely not able to intimidate one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Thus commences night one, a tiny desert mouse scuttled around near the
tent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was sure it was a leopard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony snored. I shuddered!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Leopard would find us now for sure!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was sure I’d look up to glowing Leopard
eyes through the fly door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then a fierce
wind picked up and whipped the tent so fiercely I couldn’t make out leopard
sounds from the sandstorm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately
the cold, strong, wind hounded most of our trip and limited our ability to
climb the balancy slabs* somewhat, though we did scuttle up P. Hufagnel on the
towering smooth buttress next to our camp on one sunny afternoon<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony contemplating the next run out on P. Hufagnel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QVBz8arVtFY/UDuoCz-RBFI/AAAAAAAAAJc/cGIwv7u0bDw/s1600/Abseil+spitz.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QVBz8arVtFY/UDuoCz-RBFI/AAAAAAAAAJc/cGIwv7u0bDw/s320/Abseil+spitz.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abseiling off P. Hufagnel</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The
access to the climbs were quite lovely too. For our most satisfying climb we
had to start the walk in from the ground to the far right of the Pontok range
and trend up the low angled slabs past each of the 4 big pontok mountains all
the way to the leftmost Pontok Spitz. The path lead through a maze of boulder
steps and corridors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along the way we
saw mountain hyrax, and odd plants like cactus trees, spiky desert plants with
delicate purple flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Admittedly slab climbing of the flavour in the area is not my ideal variant
of the sport– I feel too much at the whim of brittle rock to commit to 4 metre+ run-outs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony on the other hand
boldly (as his wife, I may say somewhat too boldly) loves to climb
slab routes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He lead us up the 8 pitch
“To Bolt or Not To Bolt” on our final, perfect weather day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New monikers aside (“To bolt a little
more?”), we reached the summit marker in the sunshine and I was awfully glad
we’d done it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our names are now in the
Summit Book at the top, recording our battle up the glorious crux, thrutchy
chimney,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>off-width crack and brittle
traverse pitches, on our honeymoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We left a little sandy, but happy to wash off and relax in a comfy bed in
the Capital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We learnt a little from
other guests in the thoroughly recommended Rivendell Guest House; Etosha Game
park further north is apparently teeming with game, including black rhino and
is beautiful, and we’ve been tipping at roughly 5 times the going rate all
trip.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Currently sitting at the airport, where our first internal African flight from
Namibia has been delayed for 6 hours for maintenance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Namibia is very developed, and so I suspect
this marks the start of our “real” African journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re off to Zambia now to stay in a game
lodge for a week and then catch the Tazara train through Tanzania over and then
hang out in the very, very, cool sounding Zanzibar (just rolls off the tongue
doesn’t it) with Tony’s Dad.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">(*Slabs are rough rock that is less than vertical you patter up based on
friction alone. Physically easy, apart from on the calves, it’s scary as one
slip and you’d likely grater down, quite far since often (and in Spitzkoppe
generally) the relative ease of the climb means protection is well spaced 4-10
metres apart)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNOd92hEliM/UDuuSUYBuDI/AAAAAAAAAKs/3OA5yZbkp3I/s1600/IMG_0286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vNOd92hEliM/UDuuSUYBuDI/AAAAAAAAAKs/3OA5yZbkp3I/s320/IMG_0286.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony Conqueror of Pontok Spitz </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAiTjrRvLhE/UDuuvjjpQkI/AAAAAAAAAK8/IKaHBIRVcRU/s1600/Pontok+Spitz+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAiTjrRvLhE/UDuuvjjpQkI/AAAAAAAAAK8/IKaHBIRVcRU/s320/Pontok+Spitz+2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A hug on the summit of To Bolt or Not To Bolt- our final day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-32652123186546728692012-08-19T03:58:00.003-07:002012-08-19T03:58:55.083-07:00Summit Fever
<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Alpine rock climbing was something I was really excited about. Australia
has some decent sized cliffs, but the Mont Blanc massif of the French alps has
800 meter granite climbs at high altitude above spectacular glaciers. I somehow
talked Julie into going there. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Chamonix was a bit of a blur. We had to get oriented, find accommodation
(overpriced) and buy a lot of gear. We rented ice axes and crampons, a bought a
book called "how to cross glaciers" which I skimmed through over
dinner by way of preparation. Pretty straightforward really; stay roped
together, and if someone falls down a crevasse, try not to fall down after
them. If you manage to stop their fall, somehow build an ice anchor and a three
way pulley system to haul them out. The same as rock rescue really, except on
ice. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our first goal was the Envers refuge, a small alpine hut perched above the
Mer de Glace glacier below some incredible granite spires. We like to make an
epic out of every trip we take, so we filled our bags with way too much food
and equipment until we could barely carry them before taking the Montenvers
alpine train to the highest point we could, roping up and setting out across
the glacier. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Eleven hours later we finally saw the hut. I think our climbing ability and
experience were more than sufficient for the alpine climbing we were preparing
to attempt, but our fitness and speed were not. Two months of eating daily
three course 'menu du jour' french meals, together with incredibly heavy packs,
meant we set a record as the slowest approach to the Envers refuge in the
history of Alpinism, and we could barely put one food in front of the other by
the time we were climbing the iron ladders that guard the last few hundred
meters to the hut. Evelyn the hut guardian/cook wasn't happy to be preparing
our dinner at 10pm, and didn't stop frowning at us for three days. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The climbing above the hut was absolutely stunning. Huge snow tipped
granite towers surrounded by glaciers, split by long hand cracks perfect for
lacing with gear. After our unnecessarily epic walk in, we spent a morning
recovering before doing our first route, 'Magic of the Orient', a 500 Meter
pair of towers above the Blantyre glacier. Being our first alpine climb we had
a couple of teething problems. How do we keep the ropes dry belaying off the
ice? How do we stop the packs from skating off down the ice slope while we
climb? How do we get onto the rock when the glacier is separated from the rock
by a bottomless crevasse? We figured it all out eventually and had a beautiful
afternoon climbing in the sun..</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zv98kItPLak/UDDFyF8MkSI/AAAAAAAAAHs/WpnODB-m-Oo/s1600/2012-07-17+14.55.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zv98kItPLak/UDDFyF8MkSI/AAAAAAAAAHs/WpnODB-m-Oo/s320/2012-07-17+14.55.15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie high above the Mer de Glace on 'Magic of the Orient'</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The next day we attempted a route called ‘Guy-Anne’, a series of cracks
that trace a path up the Pont de Nantillions, the sharp looking spires high
above the Hut. The crux of the route is a perfect diagonal hand width crack
which is a grade less than the previous pitch at 6a+ but feels incredibly hard
after 60 meters of sustained hand jamming. We battled through it, but leading all
pitches in succession was taking its toll on me, and again we were moving too
slowly to finish before dark, so we retreated late in the day. We didn’t get
another shot at it, as the weather closed in the next day and we were forced to
hike back down to Chamonix. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h9tqhFtzP-4/UDDGBV6wGCI/AAAAAAAAAH0/Ymqyh6fVuZI/s1600/2012-07-18+18.21.32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h9tqhFtzP-4/UDDGBV6wGCI/AAAAAAAAAH0/Ymqyh6fVuZI/s320/2012-07-18+18.21.32.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating that I survived the cracks of Guy Anne</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">After a couple of rest days hanging out in arty cafes by the canals in Annecy,
we forgot about the suffering involved in Alpine climbing and made a dash back
to the alps when the weather cleared, this time on the Italian side, for a shot
at a route on the ‘Petit Capucin’, a peak on the flanks of Mont Blanc itself
beside the incredible looking ‘Grand Capucin’. Unfortunately this meant
spending a night or two in the ugly prison like Torino refuge, a concrete
bunker that passes for a Refugio. It is one of the highest refuges in the Alps
and a necessary staging point for people attempting to summit Mont Blanc or many
of Valle Blanche routes. It’s dirty, cold and uncomfortable, and when we were
trekking across the glacier in the Valle Blanche before sunrise the next day, I
envied the group that had pitched tents out on the ice, surrounded only by the
magnificent peaks.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Our route, ‘Lifting the King’, is a 10 pitch 400 meter 5c route, with some
nice climbing in an absolutely breathtaking setting. Behind, the summit of Mont
Blanc is clearly visible. To the right, the sheer face of the Grand Capucin
looks intimidating, but is tempting at only 6a+ if you’re willing to pull out
the etriers. In the distance, the ‘Giants Tooth’ cuts through the clouds. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlf7F2UDBjo/UDDGVG1UhLI/AAAAAAAAAH8/WaELm6O6qUw/s1600/Julie+Valle+Blanc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlf7F2UDBjo/UDDGVG1UhLI/AAAAAAAAAH8/WaELm6O6qUw/s320/Julie+Valle+Blanc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie in the Valle Blanche. Our goal is the middle of the three peaks on the left of the photo</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When we arrived at the base of the route, a pair of Italians were just
starting out. We were dismayed, thinking climbing up below them would slow us
enough to miss out on the summit, but they couldn’t figure out the opening sequence
of moves up a steep crack, and left defeated. With the peak to ourselves, we
climbed more quickly, with each pitch falling in good time. Belaying, I could
see another pair of climbers across the valley on another route, a tough
looking, steep, parallel crack that wouldn’t look out of place at India Creek,
Utah, if it wasn’t for all the snow and ice. Next time.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IFN2LSdOApI/UDDGlYpnPgI/AAAAAAAAAIE/dYEgxTA7_PQ/s1600/Julie+on+LIfting+the+King.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IFN2LSdOApI/UDDGlYpnPgI/AAAAAAAAAIE/dYEgxTA7_PQ/s320/Julie+on+LIfting+the+King.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie on 'Lifting the King', high above the Valle Blanche</td></tr>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The climbing was technical in places, with thin slabs, steep corners occasional
cracks. For most of the morning the sun was shining, but in the afternoon cloud
started to form and a bitter cold wind built up until it was almost unbearable.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Julie – liar! the wind started on pitch
3).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Belaying and rope handling became
difficult with stiff shaking hands, and Julie was struggling to communicate as
her jaw locked up from the cold. We were still four pitches from the summit,
and the crux pitch is the final steep headwall to the peak. Then we still had
to get down, 10 long abseils and a two hour+ trek across the glacier to the
refuge, probably in the dark. I’m sure Julie would have bailed if she didn’t
have to face my disappointed expressions, but we kept climbing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reaching the top of the route in the late afternoon,
we snapped two photos, glanced at the view, and headed down as fast as we
could, blue from wind chill. It was a nice route in one of the most beautiful
places I’ve been, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to talk Julie into alpine
routes again. With a flight to Africa in a week, I was looking forward to some
hot, dry desert climbing.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bgr7XvB1uzU/UDDGx9MeqHI/AAAAAAAAAIM/ZOsEhJxXeLY/s1600/IMG_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bgr7XvB1uzU/UDDGx9MeqHI/AAAAAAAAAIM/ZOsEhJxXeLY/s320/IMG_0132.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cold and tired on the top of Lifting the King</td></tr>
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-13321769877096053252012-08-06T10:17:00.000-07:002012-08-06T10:18:35.833-07:00Wide is LoveJULIE: As an Australian I think we assume that in terms of natural
beauty there’s not much we don’t have at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But for rockclimbing, Tony and I were starting to realise that even if we
have beautiful crags, we have nothing like the quantity of rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole South of France is one immense
expanse of climbable rock, often in a spectacular setting. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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In Verdon, you stay at the top of the plateau rising from
the hot sun-kissed fields in Provence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
Bertrand turned each delicate corner on the windy road up, I had to check Tony was watching the road. It was difficult not to gawk at the expanse of sheer white limestone
mountains, offset by perfect blue sky, and highlighted way down low by the merest shadow of a forest and an almost invisible line of the river that had carved it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything, about Verdon gives off a sense of
grandeur. </div>
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Perhaps imagine a hot version of the Alpes and you might imagine
something similar to the reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In any event, Verdon certainly merits its fame as one of the best, if most intimidating, places
to climb. The question was whether we were up for it.</div>
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The weather was baking, about 37 degrees, and so Tony and I eschewed
the real hardman climber location (a campsite) and found a hotel with cool tiles and generous
provincial cooking for 4 nights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returning
at 9.30 one night the manager laid out for us our meal
of the day:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a selection of fresh tomato,
basil and mozzarella, a plate of thinly sliced local ham, a salad of fennel
ribbons, parmesan cheese and fragrant olive oil and a plate of fried eggplant
slices dotted with thyme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that was
just the entree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We eventually discovered
on leaving why our host was so confused we turned down the wine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 20 euro dinner and breakfast pension
included our aperitifs and wine as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not that we could fit them. </div>
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Anyway, Tony’s careful study of the climbing guides for long months in Melbourne had resulted in some big
plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With an increasingly wild man
beard, his eyes lit up at talk of long classic climbs in the Verdon, the Demand
in particular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Demand is a 400
metres long climb in full 30 degree + sun until about 2pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it is recommended you start the climb when
it hits shade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>400 metres is double the
length of the longest climbs we’ve done so far in a day, and for the same
length climb in Tasmania we’d been planning to start before dawn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We’ll just be faster” says my eternal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>optimist husband. “And the belays are bolted,
which will save time building anchors”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I was dubious but can't help being carried away by his enthusiasm. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>After a day or so acquainting ourselves with
the rock in the area (nice limestone, not as polished as other popular areas, bit a bit
spicy on the bolting), we abseiled into The Demand, taking about 3 hours to get
down all 12 pitches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time
we arrived at the base of the climb we were covered in sweat, I was sticky from the tin of red bull that had opened itself in our backback on the way down, half out of water
and a bit tired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was 3pm.
Nevertheless we started up the climb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
real old style affair with jamming cracks, some awkward moves involving
slinging dead trees for protection and a fair spot of polish in parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not really my style, but Tony was on fire and
enjoying every minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He cruised up
some slippery jam cracks and calmly placed gear in places I wouldn’t have eyed
twice for it (inside a large thrutchy chimney above a dead tree just waiting to
pierce a falling climber, for instance).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end
of pitch 4 or so we had to call it a day; we just weren’t going to finish
before dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought longingly of our
comfy hotel room and dinner, but would have slept on the big ledge above us if
we’d actually had enough water to continue the climb the next day, which we didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I'd brought some 'emergency' cake just in case). By the final abseil it was clear we’d made the right call, we were both
exhausted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We walked along the
river and through an incredible 700 metres or so of tunnel through the mountain to get out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tunnel was pitch black and full of
puddles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn’t help but think about
The Hobbit when walking through and wandered what might lurk within; a
toad it turned out, and some cool air which felt amazing after the heat. </div>
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From the tourist carpark I then had to convince a passing Frenchman
to drive me and my hairy, shoeless companion about 20km up the hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony by this stage was so tired it would have
been up to me to walk to the car and return to get him so<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m VERY pleased we found someone. </div>
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The next afternoon we climbed a much shorter, but incredibly
intimidating route called Wide is Love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the plateau we abseiled down to a hanging anchor, with about 800 metres
of void below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The climb looks
intimidatingly steep, with smooth rock and neighboured by some of the hardest climbs
in the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a team of “look downers” watching from the
lookout to our left we made it out at sunset, on some of the most enjoyable climbing
on little horizontal edges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
most satisfying end to our few days climbing in Verdon.</div>
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<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small; line-height: 115%;">And now Tony will tell you the story of our next
stops in the French and Italian Alpes. It is best you hear from him, to get the
story of the stark beauty of the area and the quality of the special granite
there, else you might be left with the impression we walked up steep mountains
and suffered in the cold for over a week…</span></div>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-4025594899063467972012-08-03T10:28:00.001-07:002012-08-04T07:02:35.270-07:00Relaxed climbing in beautiful parts of France<br />
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JULIE: </div>
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While traveling it is so difficult to observe without
comparison- to home, to things you’ve seen before. I have a dozen insightful
ideas a day … but none of these can I share with you, as it’s been more than a
month since I last wrote about the trip, and all musings have fled to the
recesses of my subconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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But, just occasionally, my mind has stopped its niggling and
left me in peace to gaze at something beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our 3 weeks (22 June to 9 July) in the
Gorges du Tarn were like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is impossible
to describe our stay in the area without painting the setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Tarn river is a narrow, crystal clear
river that twinkles in green. It flows steadily down to places we never saw and
has carved out the largely rocky sides of the plateau into a magnificient steep
valley. There are steep, long cliffs with fabulous climbing everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d ventured to say that it was the most
beautiful part of France, (though as with all superlatives, they are the devils
work and no sooner do you utter the words than swallow them).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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To get from the plateau you take a winding road a little
larger than a driveway, which occasionally goes straight through rock caves
hollowed for the purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stone
village of Les Vignes (the vines) where we stayed is tiny. There are a couple
of restaurants we came to know well over our 3 weeks where you sit and look
down over the sparkling water, and out at all the cliffs – most of which have
never been climbed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The restauranteurs
came to know us also, or at least our bright blue Renault driving up and down
the town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While bemused at the
repetitive ordering of the one vegetarian dish on their menu for sure, they
rewarded our enforced patronage with free drinks from time to time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Anyway, for 3 weeks in the Tarn Tony and I happily lived
camped beside the gurgling river under shady trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weather in France was already hot,
around 35 or more each day, but in the Tarn we found shade in the steep gorge
and cool evenings to rockclimb in until 10pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, some days were too hot and so we’d float around in the river
until early afternoon or go to a nearby town for some provisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A highlight was Severac<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where we wandered up little cobblestone
streets <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to a medieval castle surrounded
by poppies and plum trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were able
to explore the ramshackle castle all alone, for free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony pointed out quite rightly how strange it
was that such beautiful<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>places came
about because of war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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We also visted the Gorges de la Jonte, the next town over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, remarkably, it was even more beautiful
than the Tarn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We climbed several longer
routes in the Jonte, both around 100metres, 25 storeys, each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that the height makes any difference to
the climbing difficulty. The first was easy climbing up the L’Icorne, the
unicorn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can imagine the high
triangular point at the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the top
we had the option of going hands over feet along a wire hooked up between the
unicorn and the main cliff, above a 100metre void, or abseiling down the
unicorn directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As tempted as we were
with monkeying over the tyrolean, we couldn’t see a way down on the other side,
and so we abseiled down directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later
in our trip we pried ourselves out of bed early enough to avoid most of the sun
on another climb in the Jonte – L’Arete Ouest (the western arête) of a huge
cliff that looks like half a mountain has detached from the rest of its
brethren to stand alone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An early start
was required as the sun was too hot to climb in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the thing about climbing an arête is
that it is scary… very scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You climb
right on the edge the whole way so there are no ledges or corners to
dissimulate the feeling of being so high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And right from the start I had to step across a chasm to get ‘en
route’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The highlight for me was right
at the top, out of sight of tony who was about 45 metres below courageously
pulling a difficult move knowing if I fell I’d drop 6 or 8 metres into
nothingness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony then led the next
pitches, as I think I used up all my courage then and there. He’s so much
braver than I am!</div>
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There were a couple of days of rain during our stay in the
Tarn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tony and I spoiled ourselves by
staying in a nice B&B called “The Tranquil Place” run by a couple of
British people. Evidently they hadn’t paid much attention during their colonial
rule, as after a day or so John finally worked out we were Australian, not
Belgian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He pulled out his Rolf Harris
Cds and rugby jokes immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
rain managed to wet all our clothes so the next sunny day was a write off to
wash them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately 50 metre
climbing ropes can string up a lot of washing, though not sure what the other
campers thought about Tony’s crappy socks.</div>
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Around the same time, we made friends with another newlywed
American couple Allan and Charlotte and their friend Alex (a girl), who were completing
post-grad philosophy studies in Spain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
sure if when you meet people initially you look for similarities only, but it
seemed uncanny how similar we were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Charlotte
and Allan were also in their first year of marriage, are vegetarian and doing a lot
of climbing all over the place; they were even considering following us into
Iran for the festival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we nearly
followed them to Spain, we resisted the urge and instead left the Tarn, sadly,
for one of the most famous climbing areas in the world… the Gorges du Verdon in
Provence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully will see our new friends
again in California some day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would be
nice to follow in the steps of some other married couples I know who’ve made
lasting friendships on their honeymoon!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Introduction to the Gorges du Verdon</i></b></div>
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Now I’ve been rockclimbing for years now, but when I looked
down at the Gorges du Verdon, a massive 850 metres from the lookout to the tiny
line of a river below, my throat choked up and I wanted to back away from the
metal railing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is only one word to
describe this place and it is spectacular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Tony did, eventually, entice me onto these amazing
cliffs … but for more on these adventures you’ll have to tune in later. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We’re off right now to sample some more
adventures on the town in Cape Town, South Africa.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--cGZsZGXIL0/UB0qblTAKeI/AAAAAAAAAHI/woBHR3JsB6A/s1600/Tony+-+wide+is+love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--cGZsZGXIL0/UB0qblTAKeI/AAAAAAAAAHI/woBHR3JsB6A/s320/Tony+-+wide+is+love.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy exposure climbing a few hundred meters above the Verdon River. You can just spot Julie tied in above the lip of a void.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TVU0Mux4Pbo/UB0qRCfPheI/AAAAAAAAAHA/U9JOHfJv70E/s1600/Julie+Verdon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TVU0Mux4Pbo/UB0qRCfPheI/AAAAAAAAAHA/U9JOHfJv70E/s320/Julie+Verdon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uRCQ68vReyU/UB0qwHmvOwI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/gLnoMa9fzXY/s1600/Tony+Climbing+Verdon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uRCQ68vReyU/UB0qwHmvOwI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/gLnoMa9fzXY/s320/Tony+Climbing+Verdon.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
</div>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-41448425400351753982012-07-11T06:20:00.004-07:002012-07-11T06:20:40.343-07:00A few photos<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GRhv_us-PpE/T_17zFjeNfI/AAAAAAAAAF4/ss7g61pnWm4/s1600/IMG_0043b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GRhv_us-PpE/T_17zFjeNfI/AAAAAAAAAF4/ss7g61pnWm4/s320/IMG_0043b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie near Le Rozier, close to Gorges du Tarn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c23kCp2j21Q/T_179XbpWuI/AAAAAAAAAGI/LykfGJkmQKc/s1600/IMG_0024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c23kCp2j21Q/T_179XbpWuI/AAAAAAAAAGI/LykfGJkmQKc/s200/IMG_0024.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lavendar Fields, Gorges du Tarn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awWLFt_Bgfo/T_18IgzL25I/AAAAAAAAAGg/PKY8sYmHeFY/s1600/IMG_1316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awWLFt_Bgfo/T_18IgzL25I/AAAAAAAAAGg/PKY8sYmHeFY/s320/IMG_1316.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Berries at the market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OWvHZfi2tVg/T_172FY0AHI/AAAAAAAAAGA/6iDY3VHsKuA/s1600/IMG_0086b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OWvHZfi2tVg/T_172FY0AHI/AAAAAAAAAGA/6iDY3VHsKuA/s400/IMG_0086b.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tony in a canoe, Gorges du Tarn</td></tr>
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</div>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-32200909070824785542012-07-06T05:04:00.001-07:002012-07-06T05:15:49.294-07:00Climbing and falling<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time to talk a little about the climbing. This is a
honeymoon, in the sense that two newly weds who are madly in love are
holidaying together in beautiful remote corners of the world, but it’s not a
honeymoon that is dedicated to five star resorts, expensive champagne and
relaxation. The locations are planned around climbing seasons and rock quality,
the luxuries limited to what we can squeeze into the top of a rucksack loaded
with 20 kilograms of climbing hardware and two 50m+ ropes. A morning might be dedicated
to sleeping in, drinking coffee or lazing about on a beach, but the afternoon
is more likely dedicated to throwing ourselves at steep bolted climbs two
grades harder than we would usually climb at home until the strength leaves our
forearms. One day might be dedicated to visiting a quaint little stone village
in the mountains, but the next day is spent high above the village on the
surrounding cliffs. It’s about the most perfect way to spend 6 months that we
could think of. </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The rough plan is to spend the better part of two months
training at the “consumer friendly” crags in France, then attempt some long
routes in some of the most spectacular locations we could think of: The 300
metre limestone gorges of Verdon in France, the soaring granite peaks of the
French Alps, the remote granite faces of Namibia and Madagascar, and the huge
sandstone cliffs of the Middle East. We need the training, as many of the
climbs in these areas are above our current onsight trad leading limit of about
6a+ (roughly 19 in the Aussie scale – for an explanation of grades see <a href="http://www.chockstone.org/rock.asp">http://www.chockstone.org/rock.asp</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In terms of “consumer friendly” crags for training, our
first stop in Orgon, Provence was ideal. Smallish pocketed limestone cliffs in
easier grades, never more than 10 minutes walk from the picturesque valley
campground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a great place to get
back into the swing of regular climbing with heaps of pleasant single pitch
routes in the 4+ to 6b range. At one point in time the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Canal</i> sector of Orgon was the scene of the hardest climbing in the
world, but the grotty caves have fallen out of favour and easier slabs high in
the valley are the attraction. The long history means most of the footholds are
slippery from the polish of a thousand climbing shoes, and it’s a bit nerve
racking to lose your feet on an otherwise easy climb, but you eventually learn
to choose the less obvious feet placements and deal with the occasional slip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our next climbing location, The Calanques, was sadly a brief
stop, as the Mediterranean heat was too energy sapping to allow for much
climbing. The one climb we did do, named <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les
Calanque</i> after the area, was spectacular though, a four pitch 5c up a
stunning white arête high above the clear blue-green ocean. I’d love to come
back here another time and enjoy the climbs in cooler weather.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Gorges du Tarn, our current climbing spot, is as unbelievably
convenient as Orgon, but it’s really a destination for the hard climbers. The
routes in our grade are the warm up routes, the classics are the 8a+’s that
draw only the strongest climbers. That’s the very reason we chose this place
though, either get strong or don’t climb at all! The climbing so far has been
overwhelmingly steep , fairly repetitive pocket pulling, with long sustained
pitches. The highlights have been the few routes which follow nice natural
lines and flakes like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jeux de Plage</i>
6a, a 30 metre stemming corner followed by nice steep headwall. Of course,
anything harder than usual that I’ve been able to get up on lead has been a
highlight for me, like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Le Petit Massoro</i>
(6b+). I’m hoping routes of this grade will start to fall more regularly.
Without the rests, ideally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A wonder how
much different 6b+ feels when you’re crimping on tiny granite edges 10 metres
above the last bolt in the middle of the west African desert? Hmm better go
climbing now….<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0O21d2drJbs/T_bTwWiFkmI/AAAAAAAAAEw/5859mT_blek/s1600/Tony+6b+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0O21d2drJbs/T_bTwWiFkmI/AAAAAAAAAEw/5859mT_blek/s320/Tony+6b+.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lWGyaIgDWTo/T_bT3DThn4I/AAAAAAAAAE8/IT3NADy0ECo/s1600/Julie+5c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lWGyaIgDWTo/T_bT3DThn4I/AAAAAAAAAE8/IT3NADy0ECo/s320/Julie+5c.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eRVa2RAMYXo/T_bUCGQjs5I/AAAAAAAAAFE/OJGyIDZfmH0/s1600/Julie+Bungee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eRVa2RAMYXo/T_bUCGQjs5I/AAAAAAAAAFE/OJGyIDZfmH0/s320/Julie+Bungee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">UPDATE: Got my best redpoint of
the trip so far, a 35 metre 6b+ (21-22ish?) flake pitch. Would have got the
onsight too I reckon if I hadn’t got lost the first time. Also got up a 7a
clean, though someone had covered it in tick marks that softened it up
considerably. Feeling tough, I tried the next day to campus up a 7b+, failed
miserably and lost a lot of my fingertips in the process. Back to reality
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-70132099899459700372012-06-25T01:56:00.001-07:002012-06-28T08:40:39.774-07:00Cote d'Azur<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tony: After eight days of low stress climbing and a bit of
sightseeing in Provence, it was time to clean ourselves up, put on our polo
shirts, white cotton pants and boat shoes and head for a long weekend the
French Riviera. I was really looking forward to it; six of my best friends from
my previous two year Europe stint were flying in to meet us, as well as Julie’s
best friend Deena. I have to admit, it
had the potential to be awkward as I hadn’t seen them for as long as seven
years in some cases, but the conversation flowed as easily as the vodka and the
weekend was awesome. We spent our time
hanging out on the beaches in Nice, and making the most of the restaurants with
all you can eat mussels (five bowls Mehmet?) and free drinks in exchange for
kisses from the waiter (Not me, I’d rather pay for mine, the guy had a pony
tail). Good times.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I tried to stall everyone and make them miss their flights
so they could stay and hang out with us, but sadly jobs, husbands etc thwarted
me. Julie and me then did a bit of a tour of the coast; we paid 9 Euros for a
fancy Bicardi Breezer type thing in St Tropez, got stuck in traffic in Cannes, almost
drove off the road gawking at the scenery, and ended up in Cassis, a perfect
little medieval town/fishing village. The attraction here, aside from the
scenery, was the climbing in the Calanque (Mediterranean Fiords), with it’s
perfect 200 metre bright white limestone cliffs above perfect turquoise water.
The best climb of the trip so far was an exposed four pitch 5c climb above the
Calanque of En Vau. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now we’re in Gorge du Tarn, a very different but equally
picture perfect climbing area set beside a river. No easy climbing here, so
we’ll have to toughen up….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IgwVHBYApus/T-gwuhilqDI/AAAAAAAAADQ/qP5tLUC3eA0/s1600/DSC_2780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IgwVHBYApus/T-gwuhilqDI/AAAAAAAAADQ/qP5tLUC3eA0/s320/DSC_2780.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie and Haruko. And me, hiding behind a beard. Gelati was a feature of the Cote d'Azur. Especially this place, Finocchio. That literally means Fennal, but I think it's a gag, as it has another slang meaning in Italian...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BvQSDpd_I8Y/T-gtpfZ6GyI/AAAAAAAAADE/Vfh2fQmZUMg/s1600/DSC_2545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BvQSDpd_I8Y/T-gtpfZ6GyI/AAAAAAAAADE/Vfh2fQmZUMg/s320/DSC_2545.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drinking Vokda on the beach. Nina, Haruko, Joaquim, Eva and Mehmet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E622wCTEodU/T-x0ND3-e5I/AAAAAAAAAEU/SNuYrAHr9WA/s1600/DSC_2888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E622wCTEodU/T-x0ND3-e5I/AAAAAAAAAEU/SNuYrAHr9WA/s320/DSC_2888.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Julie and Deena, above Nice.</td></tr>
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(Thanks Laszlo for the photos, with the Paparazzi around I kept leaving my camera at the hotel!)</div>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-29136396121898337762012-06-13T01:14:00.001-07:002012-06-14T00:57:02.665-07:00Wild Man of Valleee HeureuseJULIE: Figured since this was a joint honeymoon blog it was time to hear from the fairer (though somewhat more tanned) of the couple.<br />
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Tony and I have been climbing lots, with me vacillating between strong and bold (for the climbers - mainly on the closely bolted 11s) and nervous (on the run-outs on dubious rock). I'd say more of the latter. I'd best post this quickly to avoid Tony giving me a lecture about what "Arno would say" (another climbing ref, sorry.).<br />
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On the plus side, everything here smells nice. "Fines herbes de Provence" which are a delicious addition to the local French food, it turns out, actually grow in Provence - everywhere. Halfway up a cliff I often find a tuft of thyme or honey-scented rosemary. <br />
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Sunday night Tony and I went to a lovely local restaurant. He's now sporting a beard and hair that mostly sticks straight up and out, especially when he's tired. Looks like a cross between the mad professor from back to the future and the Missing Link. I mentioned this only for him to begin ranting about climbing trees and eating worms and making a variety of missing link noises I can't describe. The waitress then came and asked about Australian food - do we eat grubs, she asked. I struggled to maintain composure.<br />
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Scene set.<br />
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Monday: before siesta Tony purchases hairdressing scissors and a comb. A major investment at 10 euros, given an actual haircut was probably only 15. We take over another campsite and me with evil glint in eye, tell him I've every interest in doing this terribly.<br />
"But I've got pride" says Tony.<br />
"You may not after this haircut"<br />
"Ah bella", he says. "You've never drawn anything but you're still sure you can. You're too proud to do anything badly.".<br />
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And that, is a honeymoon reference. Tony somehow understands me very, very, well. <br />
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And to keep you amused, here are some random facts about France:<br />
<ul>
<li>they sell snail shells in the supermarket</li>
<li>the snails they eat are sold separately in tins</li>
<li>they have doggie showers in the campsite; and</li>
<li>fleuve (pron. flerv) means River. Saying this word makes Tony chuckle.</li>
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-35371630528400410672012-06-10T12:53:00.004-07:002012-06-10T12:53:51.559-07:00<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QyoRx_d2efg/T9T52nOsO6I/AAAAAAAAAC0/Sbc5IIM4_4U/s1600/IMG_1277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QyoRx_d2efg/T9T52nOsO6I/AAAAAAAAAC0/Sbc5IIM4_4U/s320/IMG_1277.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wanted to put up a climbing pic, but it's not easy to take photos while belaying, so this is the closest I have. It's Julie reading a climbing guide, perched up on one side of the valley, looking at the cliffs on the opposite side. In the valley below is our campsite. We've been mostly climbing on the leftmost crag in the photo for the first half of the day (cause it's five minutes walk from the tent) then coming up to the cliff behind the camera in the afternoon. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6314781791199135324.post-44407312426229042762012-06-09T06:44:00.003-07:002012-06-09T08:04:06.057-07:00Paris to Provence, thanks to BertrandTONY: I would have started this blog a week or two ago, but thinking of a name for a blog that's not already taken by someone else isn't easy.<br />
A few things I've noticed so far: France is great, baguettes are great, speaking French is easy, reading French is hard. <br />
We spent a week in Paris in a great little top floor apartment in Montmarte and spent most of our time cycling around to the touristy sights (e.g. Louvre, Eiffel Tower etc) and the not so touristy sights (e.g. hipster art show in a run down turret come artists squat). We then picked up our gutless but charmingly funny colored car and drove south through the stunning Loire Valley, which reminded me a bit of the English countryside with its rivers, little stone walls and quaint little shops, except there were huge castles everywhere.<br />
We eventually got down to Orgon, in southern France (near Avignon), where we are now camped in a valley surrounded by polished limestone cliffs. Two days climbing so far, getting used to the rock and avoiding the midday heat. I think I can handle this for a few months.....<br />
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P.S I'm not sure why we named the car Bertrand, other than it's a funny name to shout in a bad French accent when you need the car to do something it doesn't want to do. Like accelerate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julie in Paris, with a Baguette. We're eating a lot of baguettes. They even deliver them to our campsite every day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We mostly used the bikeshare bikes to get around Paris.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At a Restaurant near Notre Dame, eating a three course menu. We ALWAYS eat three course menus</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many Chateaux in the Loire Valley, and some grapes which will one day become fairly tasty but very cheap wine</td></tr>
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09407276776430105583noreply@blogger.com5