By Nancy O'Hare
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Travel Blog

Khermen Tsav: An Ancient Canyon Deep in the Gobi Desert

7/10/2019

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Mongolia's desert is more than dry sand and endless dunes. This is my adventure in a hidden canyon with stunning colours and a vibrancy all its own.
Mongolia-Gobi
Photo credit: Chad O’Hare
I looked across the steppe’s flatlands for some indication of where we were headed. Gravel plains stretched in every direction. Nomadic families would not even set up their gers in this southwestern section of the Gobi desert with its lack of water springs and grass for livestock.
Saxual trees—the only variety able to grow in such a dry climate—struggle. Remnants of branches tangled low to the ground remained, contorted in their final search for a drop of water. Those plants able to endure sprouted tiny green leaves among the otherwise withered skeletons of trees bleached by the sun.

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Say Goodbye to Dull Vacations

6/29/2019

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Has the thrill faded from your latest vacation plan? You may be short on time to sift through a guide book to find what really grabs your interest. Let me help.

Consider adding a getaway adventure, a little nugget to revive your holiday and re-energize your entire trip in the process. Here are three options across three continents:
Australia-Caving
Photo credit: Chad O'Hare
Australia - Caving
Scramble through tight squeezes and across knobby rocks inside a cave blanketed in a crystal-like motif.

Where: Margaret River's Ngilgi Cave

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How Humans Erased a Sea

6/8/2019

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Written in dedication to World Oceans Day after visiting this sea-turned-to-desert from its Uzbekistan shores in 2019.
Mongolia-Aral-Sea-Ships
Photo credit: Chad O’Hare
Thirty years ago, my eyes would have been blinded by the reflection from the Aral Sea’s waters. Today, they stared at sand and saxual bushes that merged into a hazy horizon no matter which direction I turned. Our Landcruiser had been bouncing along a four-wheel-drive track for nearly ninety minutes. We were driving on the seabed, or what remained of it. A rusted-out bus rested upside down and scorched at the side of the road near where we had left the Ustyrt Plateau and entered the Aral Sea’s former seabed. Since then, I had seen little else beyond the occasional gas rig or pipeline marker - the latest business of choice in a fishing region erased of its sea.

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Remote Travel Required to Catch these Festivals

5/25/2019

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These are some of the most unusual festivals from around the world!
Bhutan-Sakteng
Photo credit: Chad O'Hare
One of the quickest means to gain a sense of a place is to step inside a local celebration. Some of my best memories have come from stumbling upon a quirky festival and letting myself become immersed in the unexpected.

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Four Easy Ways to Reduce Plastic When Travelling

5/21/2019

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Save-Plastic-Travel-Tips
Tips for sustainable travel:

​These tips help you to easily reduce your use of plastics, say goodbye to leaky liquids and minimize carry-on liquids for flights.

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Svaneti Piglets

5/15/2019

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Discover Georgia's Svaneti Towers and other hidden wonders in this beautiful region. I wrote this after walking along a narrow street between ancient stone houses in the town of Mestia.

Towers built to resist the enemy rose around me. Not consecutively but scattered across the valley, each attached to a home built from the same worn blocks of stone. Time roughened their edges, rain nibbled their sandy grout and flashbacks of former raids hid between nooks and melted into shadows. Today, yellow flowers painted a tapestry at the foot of certain towers while white-blossomed trees soothed their memories, lifting troubles of past generations lightly in the breeze.

The towers stood for resilience. Resilience of the town’s ancestors and strength of community that still filters through neighbourly life. Koshkebi (“stone towers”) define the Svaneti region of northern Georgia, yet my eyes were transfixed by what lay lower to the ground.

Georgia-Svaneti-Towers
Photo credit: Chad O’Hare

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Azerbaijan: Get Here before Mass Tourism Does

4/18/2019

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Thinking of travelling to the Caucasus? These places were some of my favourite destinations in Azerbaijan and worth adding to your itinerary.
Azerbaijan-Mountains
Greater Caucasus Mountain Range
All Photo credits go to: Chad O'Hare

Azerbaijan is a place where genuine hospitality remains engrained in its culture. Whether an elderly gentleman points out the way to an ancient Caucasian Albanian church or a waiter decides to give you complimentary çay (“tea”), the Azeris certainly make you feel welcome.

​As far as things to do, this nation offers a diverse mix. Stroll through restored archeological palaces or step back in time at a Zoroastrian fire temple. View petroglyphs thousands of years old or stretch your hiking legs in the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range. If you time it right, you can even catch the Formula One Grand Prix race through the streets of Baku.

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Top Three Day Hikes in Patagonia

3/19/2019

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With all the tour packages and guide books available, it can be confusing to pick where to hike in the huge Patagonia. After travelling from north to south, these are my three favourite day hikes and travel tips to help plan your vacation.
Patagonia-Hiking
Photo credit: Chad O'Hare
The Patagonia region is absolutely mammoth, with over one million square kilometres covering both Argentina’s and Chile’s southern reaches. The entire expanse is stunning; volcanic peaks, sharp rocky pitches and chunky glacier ice masses extend across its land. This may be one of those treasured destinations that entice you back for more, a sweet treat for outdoor aficionados.

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Discover Lithuania

1/8/2019

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“Stroll through a city where European comfort fuses with the medieval past to form a medley of arts, culture and contemporary urban venues", Searching for Unique
Lithurania-Travel-Tips
Photo credit: Chad O'Hare

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Climb Africa's Third Highest Mountain - Margherita Peak

12/26/2018

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Uganda-Margherita-Peak
Photo credit: Chad O'Hare
You may not think of Africa for snow and ice, but think again. Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains host the continent's third highest peak, Margherita Peak. 

If you seek a challenging, multi-day trek that covers mind-boggling terrain and tests your physical endurance, this may be the excursion for you.

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    Nancy O'Hare has lived and worked across five continents and travelled to over eighty countries. Her writing shares insights from her travels and musings about the world around us.

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  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • From Wages to Riches
    • Reclaim your Financial Wits
    • Searching for Unique
    • Dust In My Pack
    • Next Travel Book
  • Travel Blog
  • CONTACT