DUTCH CYCLING INFRASTRUCTURE – NSW, you could do this too!

There’s nothing special about this cycle way in Holland. Elsewhere in the world it would be a marvel and a major tourist attraction.

The Government of NSW (it’s a place in Australia) has just announced that it will rip up one of the few separated cycleways in central Sydney and not replace it until after a new light rail line has been installed – a process that is likely to take 2-3 years! Click here for a summary of the sad story.

They could learn a thing or two from how the Dutch have organised cycling infrastructure.

Today we had to travel from Amsterdam to Beverwijk for a family lunch. It’s about a 60km round trip, it was a fine day, so I decided to do it on the bike, carrying the camera and taking a few shots along the way.

ARTZUID PHOTO TIP – take a lady in red with you

Our favourite for 2015 – Duma, by Barcelona artist Jaume Plensa

Mevrouw T and I are big fans of Amsterdam’s biennial sculpture exhibition ArtZuid.

The setting may not be quite as spectacular as that of Sydney’s wonderful Sculpture by the Sea, but the leafy gardens of the Apollolaan and Minervalaan in the Oud Zuid (Old South) district are lovely too.

TRAVELLER ZOO – Hagglius shamelis

A hagglius is never happier than when getting 47 cents off the price of a bamboo flute. And never more miserable than when forced to pay $3.28 for a tuktuk ride he tried to get for under $2.
Identifying call: ‘They expect you to bargain. It’s part of their culture.’

* During 2015, illustrator Simon Letch and I have been contributing a weekly cartoon to the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age, introducing some of the curious species we meet on the road. Time to release some of them into the wilds of cyberspace…

MARRAKECH – exciting, exotic, hot

We’re staying in a riad just round the corner…but which corner?

To be honest, we’re a little apprehensive about visiting Marrakech. We know it’s a popular tourist town, and fear that will mean constant hassling from persistent hawkers, unreliable drivers, getting lost in the medina maze and stomach bugs.

We needn’t have worried.

KASBAHS – stay in one before it melts

A fairytale sandcastle, melting into the desert.

We’ve never been to Morocco before, so everything seems wonderfully exotic. And our first night’s accommodation is extraordinary.

MULES IN MOROCCAN MOUNTAINS

Khalid leads the way…though I’m ahead of him on this occasion.

“One of the world’s most famous places that nobody knows about,” says my Dutch hiking friend Bert.

We’re perched on a ridge above a wild canyon that drops several hundred metres to a dry river bed. My stomach is dropping with it; heights are not my strong suit. Away to our right is a patch of bright green, surrounded by clay houses camouflaging themselves by matching the ochre of the surrounding hills.

It is an amazing sight, and we have it all to ourselves. We don’t even know the name of the canyon or the village.

Is there anywhere else in the world anything like this?

That’s the appeal. Spectacular though it is, few people visit this part of Morocco, a six hour drive from Marrakesh. At the height of the trekking season we’ve met only one other group on our five-day adventure. For a combination of scenery, exotic culture and a sense of adventure, this trek in Morocco’s Ouarzazate region is as wild as anything I’ve ever done.

The full story on this blog will have to wait until I’ve made proper efforts to sell it. Meanwhile, here’s an assortment of pictures to whet your appetite. It was hard to choose!