mountains Archives - Planet Whitley

The Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial, Philadelpha – and how Australia’s highest mountain got its name

Exploring the surprising story behind Mt Kosciuszko’s name at a tiny memorial to a Polish patriot in Philadelphia. Ann Relf’s boarding house is a handsome but unshowy kind of place. It has a clean, red brick worthiness that looks proudly maintained without dressing up in…

Australia, mountains, museums, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

Writer David Whitley on top of Mt Kosciuszko, New South Wales.

Climbing Kosciuszko while unfit: A fat bloke climbs Australia’s highest mountain

Mount Kosciuszko may be Australia’s tallest peak, but even the unfit can reach its summit with a chairlift, gentle trails and stunning alpine scenery. The fine line between unprepared and reckless There’s a fine line between being merely unprepared and being incredibly stupid. That line…

Australia, mountains, New South Wales, Snowy Mountains

The view from Ubirr in Australia's Northern Territory.

9 great things to climb in Australia instead of Uluru

When the ban on climbing Uluru finally came into force in October 2019, visitors had no choice but to discover it's best to walk round the Northern Territory's great monolith anyway. But for those who have an unquenchable urge to climb things in Australia, the…

Adelaide, Brisbane, climbing, Gold Coast, Grampians, Kakadu National Park, mountains, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Sydney, Tasmania, Top End, Uluru, Victoria, Western Australia

The view on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Mt Doom, Emerald Lakes & the Red Crater on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

On the North Island, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is New Zealand’s best day walk – and you might recognise the volcanoes from Lord of the Rings. Walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing The blackened, rough-sided rocks sprawled across the horizon make it pretty obvious that the…

mountains, New Zealand, North Island, volcanoes, walks

Driving into the Andes from Santiago, Chile

From the Chilean capital Santiago, it’s an enjoyable drive through the Aconcagua Valley towards the dreaded Los Caracoles. Driving through the Maipo Valley from Santiago You don’t have to drive too far out of Santiago for the landscape to start getting hillier. The south-eastern route,…

Andes, Chile, driving, mountains, Santiago