We've had a fantastic week on the Big Island.... A week in Kona with outrigger canoe racing in the premier event on the island... The Queen Liliokalani race 3 days of paddling 6 man canoes. I paddled with a crew from Burleigh on the Gold Coast - won a silver in the V12 - 2 canoes strapped together and 12 paddlers, and a great time in the 28km race in under 3 hrs in tough conditions. Mal was team leader of support crew- making sure the Mai Tai's were under contr...

Gorgeous coast day around Suttsu - only an hour from Hirafu and fabulous underwater life. Seaside fishing villages and gorges where rivers spill out to the blue.... So beautiful we're going back tomorrow to explore more....

A clear morning at 5am so scrambled to getting the start of the Yotei track by 6:30. Up, up, up... 10 stages (Japan mountaineering style), 1500 vertical meters, 4 hours up virtually nonstop.... Thick bamboo at the bottom, through muddy slides and rocks, gnarled tree roots and stunted thickets to open scree above the tree line. Amazing views until it clouded over near the top - ferocious wind and swirling cloud with little visibility. A great experience....

Drove to another fabulous lake - Shikotsu, clearest in Japan. Quick 40k cycle on one of the dedicated bike tracks then back to the lake to swim - amazing underwater life but below 3m it's freezing!

An amazing trip north this week along the west coast of Hokkaido to Rishiri Island for 2 nights then back through the middle via Daisetsusan National Park. Rishiri is a volcanic crater 1700m high- we snorkelled in clear ocean - yes at 46 degrees latitude and freezing! ....cycled 60km around the island on the best cycle tracks we've ever seen - literally bike highways on elevated bridges over deep valleys. Coast dotted with fishing hamlets and a couple of large ...