In five years or so in and out of Mongolia, I’ve criss-crossed thousands of kilometres by 4WD Landcruiser. But I’ve only taken the wheel once, and that was for a short hop back to a village when my driver wasn’t well. Let me explain. Technically, anyone can take the wheels of a 4WD and go… Continue reading In Mongolia any fool can drive, but…
Author: Mike Pole
From New Zealand. Traveling the weyward path trying to figure out how the world works. I study fossil plants, past climates, travel, walk, hike, read, take photos, struggle with computer graphics and plant trees.
The Log Cabin at the Heart of St Petersburg, Russia
The most famous ‘little log cabin in the woods’ is probably the one in which Abraham Lincoln grew up in Kentucky. It was built in 1808, but unfortunately, no longer exists. However, in St Petersburg, Russia, there is to this day, a log cabin built in 1703. It was the home for a few years of Tsar Peter… Continue reading The Log Cabin at the Heart of St Petersburg, Russia
Miocene Rain and Fire Forests of Bannockburn
Canungra is the perfect place to stop for a snack on the drive up to O’Reilly’s/Lamington National Park in southeastern Queensland. On a weekend you can grab a latte and pie and sit outside a cafe, watching the biker crowd doing pretty much the same thing. From there you start winding your way up the… Continue reading Miocene Rain and Fire Forests of Bannockburn
Cheap Eats Nanjing 24 – the Mysterious Vanishing Sushi Shop
It happens so often. I chance across a place in a city – then fruitlessly search high and low for it again. Finally chance across it once more – only to lose it again. This little Nanjing sushi shop fell squarely into that category. It’s way down the southern end of Chiangxiang Road, about the… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 24 – the Mysterious Vanishing Sushi Shop
Cheap Eats Nanjing 23 – Curry at Miss Tasha
I noticed Miss Tasha when it opened. But for quite a while I kept walking past – I wasn’t sure what it was. It was set back a little off Chenxiang Road, and had a push-bike, tastefully positioned in the front. But was it a craft shop, or a cafe? My usual rule called for… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 23 – Curry at Miss Tasha
Cheap Eats Nanjing 22 – Danfeng St Bakery
Boring weekends, I’d sometimes head around the block to a little bakery in Danfeng St. I’d pick up a little selection of ‘cakes’. These are flaky pastry bounded nibbles, with a variety of soft filling inside. The cakes in the featured image cost me 12 RMB (c. $2.30). Not as healthy as basic noodles or… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 22 – Danfeng St Bakery
Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand
Early on a cool Sunday morning I sipped my latte outside Relishes Cafe, Wanaka, and thought the immediate view could be better. In a somewhat typical urban New Zealand fashion, the lake is cut off from the cafe not just by a road, but a car park as well. However, the awesome view behind it,… Continue reading Once a Vast Forest – Motatapu Track, New Zealand
Miocene Swamp Forests of St Bathans, New Zealand
The white sands and muds surrounding Blue and ‘Grey’ Lakes at St Bathans were laid down in a braided river (Manuherikia Group; Douglas 1986). About twenty million years ago, in the Miocene period, It was flowing from the New Zealand hinterland in the west to the east coast. Braided rivers are constantly changing their channels,… Continue reading Miocene Swamp Forests of St Bathans, New Zealand
The Day I Walked Around the Roman Empire
When Emperor Constantine woke up on May 28, 1453, it would have been to the depressing thought that it was likely his last day on Earth. Justinian was emperor of the Roman Empire (we tend to call them Byzantine, but they thought of themselves as Romans), although at this stage it wasn’t much. The Ottoman army… Continue reading The Day I Walked Around the Roman Empire
Cheap Eats Nanjing 21 – Cheese Time
Ah, the eternal quest for a kiwi in China to find …. cheese. I foraged far and wide, and finally, one evening, at my foraging limits, a place advertising itself with the words ‘CHEESE’! The fine print said it was ‘Cheese Time’ and a ‘Cheese Pub’. That’ll do me…. As a starter I got a… Continue reading Cheap Eats Nanjing 21 – Cheese Time