The northern part of this coastal park is adorned by high cliffs and rock formations and in the southern half is the typical Rias-type coast.

How to reach

The site is easily accessible by trains and buses. Tour buses and boats too operate to the coast, though boating is not possible in winters.

When to visit

Summers are when you should explore this coast.

Attractions of Rikuchu-Kaigan Coast

The best way to explore the coast is get on the trains on the railway line meandering along the coast. Boarding the train at Miyako would be good to start with.

Miyako city is in the Sanriku district, which is home to an active fishing industry. There are quite a few stations worth getting out at and exploring for a while. You can find some great scenery in the form of cavities and rock formations at Tanohata cliffs, up the sea by about 200 meters.

The view of the Pacific Ocean is brilliant when the train crosses the iron bridge over the Akka River. For your pleasure, the trains slow down here so you can enjoy the scene.

The final station the train takes you to is Kuji. The uni bento – a boxed lunch made by boiling seas urchin is a popular meal here, in combination with rice. Some of the other scenic sites that you will cross are the Kitayamazaki Point, the Jodogahama Beach – with white rocks over clear waters, the Namiita-kaigan Beach, the Unosu cliffs and the rock formations at Sannaoiwa.

The southern coastlines have the Goishi-kaigan Beach, the Takada-Matsubara beaches, Hanzo with unique rock formations, Oganma and the ports of Rikuzen-Takada and Ofunato, where you can have a feast of fresh seafood.

Tunnels and villages adorn the tracks all along.

The villages along the coastline have some interesting places to visit, other than being scenic beauties. Old temples, shrines and merchant houses remain intact in Marioka city. There is the Iwate Park and the Nakatsugawa River Banks. In the temple district of Kitayama is the Hoonji Temple with Budhdhist statues having different expressions.

Also deserving a tour en-route is the Ryusendo Cave, one of the three largest stalactite caves in Japan. A major attraction of this cave is the small lake at the bottom, which is about 120 meters deep.

Creating a beautiful background to small fishing districts, the saw-toothed Rikuchu-Kaigan coastline is a nothing less than a scenic wonder. Unique rock formations and cliffs dealing the beats of strong ocean waves, wonderful beaches en-route with ignite rocks, interesting places and sites to explore at almost every little villages that the coastline runs along, the sea food you can enjoy at the fishing viilages and in fact the entire site in itself is splendid.

The South Island, flanked by Cook Strait in the north, the Tasman Sea in the south and the Pacific Ocean in the south and east. On the southwest of this Island is the World Heritage Site of Te Wahipounamu, spread across 26,000 square kilometers, including the coast of Te Wahipounamu.

When to visit

South Island has a temperate climate. The areas in the south and south-west part of the country are more wet and cooler. The Ocean moderates the temperature in South Island, especially that in the west and south, resulting in a cool, temperate climate.

The average temperature of this Island is about 8 degree Celsius. July is the coldest month while January and February are the warmest.

How to reach

All three Islands of New Zealand have domestic as well international airports. Between the North and the South Island, the cruise on the Cook Strait makes for a 70-kilometer ferry trip.

There are cruise ships to New Zealand from Australia, which about 2000 kilometers away and other Pacific Islands too. This Island Nation has nine major ports to serve the cruise-ships.

Attractions of Te Wahipounamu

The Te Wahipounamu coastline is home to southern beaches and podocarps, some about 800 years old, which make about two-thirds of the Te Wahipounamu National Park. The Park is also the habitat of flora and fauna representing the Gondwanaland, the rare bird species like the endangered and flightless bird takahe and the world’s only alpine parrot – the kea. The terrain of the park is characterized by rocky coasts, cliffs, lakes waterfalls and mountains like the 3,754 meters Mount Cook – the highest peak of South Island.

Mount Cook is part of the Southern Alps in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, spread across 707 kilometers square. The Park is also home the Tasman Glacier of the Lake Tasman, a part of the 40% of the Glacier area here.  Most of the peaks here, such as the Mt Tasman, Mt Hicks, Mt Sefton and Mt Elie de Beaumont, measure above 3000 meters. Plant life mostly includes alpine plants such as Mount Cook Lily and birds include Kea.  Among animals, you can spot chamois, Himalayan tahr and red deer.

The Fiordland National Park is in proximity to the city of Te Anau and covers an area of about 12,500 square kilometers, making it the largest of the 14 national parks of New Zealand. There are many fiords carved here by the glaciers in the past, one of which is the Milford Sound in the 1692 meters high Mitre Peak. Also worth noticing are the fiords Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound. You could also spot them in the Kelper and Murchinson Mountains. Among the many offshore ice-carved Islands are the Secretary Island and the Resolution Island. Several lakes like Lake Te Anau, Lake Manapouri, Lake Monowai, Lake Hauroko and Lake Poteriteri add to the beauty of this Park. The Sutherland Falls on the Milford Track here is among the highest waterfalls of the world. Heavy rainfalls here have given birth to a lush temperate rainforests such as the Waitutu forest in Fiordland.

In the park, you can also spot the Kiwi.

Close to the city of Wanaka, in the southern ends of the Southern Alps, is the Mount Aspiring National Park over an area of 3, 555 kilometers square. It is to the west of Lake Wanaka. Of the prominent peaks here are the 3, 033 meters Mount Aspiring, 2, 542 meters Mount Pollux and the 2,519 meters Mount Brewster.  Routes worth tramping here are Gillespie Pass Circuit, Matukituki Valley, Routeburn Track, Rees-Dart Circuit and the purchased land of Landsborough River Valley.

Another significant part of the Te Wahipounamu National Park is the 1, 175 kilometers square Westland Tai Poutini National Park. The landscape here ranges from high peaks of the Southern Alps, glaciers, lakes, rainforests, and remains of gold mining towns to the remote coastlines.  The Park is home to the famous Copland Track that runs upstream from the Karangarua River Bridge. The Welcome Flat Hut here is also home to hot springs.

All these parks are popular sites for tramping, skiing, hunting and mountaineering and you can also enjoy a helicopter tour of them. In fact, Milford, Kepler and Routeburn are managed as Great Walks and for Routeburn and Milford; you need to book your walk!

Also attracting the tourists here are the trail through the rainforests with a rich flora and fauna. There park is has about 100 species of birds, more than half being natives and quiet a few endangered ones.

For wading birds, the Okarito estuarine Lagoon is home along that to others. Several wetland birds like the grey duck Anas superciliosa, paradise shelduck Tadorna variegate and other birds can be spotted in the freshwater wetlands here.

Other than bird-watching, you can experience diving, kayaking in the fiords, jet-skiing in the rivers in the Westland and skiing in the glaciers as well. The Franz Josef and the Fox glaciers are the most visited glaciers in the Te Wahipounamu National Park.

Apart from these parks, there are several nature reserves here in the park, all of these total to about 40 separate protected areas, such as the Waitangiroto and the Scenic Reserves like the various Lakes such as the Lake Paringa, Lake Moeraki, Lake Rotokino, rivers like the Jacobs River, the Saltwater Lagoon, the White Heron Lagoon, marshlands, and other such areas that make for a good site.

Overall, the Te Wahipounamu coastline and the Te Wahipounamu National Park are perfect for an adventurous vacation, if that’s how you prefer revitalizing your senses.

Location

The island of Bali, to the south of the Equator by 8 to 9 degrees, spreads over 5,620 square kilometers in the east of Java. Bali belongs to the group of Sunda Islands in Indonesia and is the first among them. This island is situated between Java and Lambok. To its north is the Java Sea and to its south is the Indian Ocean. Bali is divided into three areas of water – The North Bali that runs along the Buleleng coast, the East Bali Sea along the coastline of Karangasem, Klungkung and Gianyar and the West Bali Sea along the coastlines of Badung, Tabanan and Jembrana.

When to visit

The time around June to September is best to visit Bali as temperatures are the coolest during these months. December/January are peak tourist season as well because of Christmas and New Year eve’s celebrations, even though its hot and humid around this time, as it is also the middle of the rainy season.

While the rainy season lasts from October to April, there are slight chances of rains throughout the year. February to April is hot and humid and not good for a trip to Bali.

How to reach

Bali has direct flights to its airport at Denpasar, the Ngurah Rai International Airport, 13 kilometers southwest of Denpasar, from almost all parts of the world. By flight, it’s 1.5 hours away from Jakarta, 2.5 hours away from Singapore and about 3 hours away from Perth. Tourists from USA or Canada or Europe have to change their flights, depending on the airline they are travelling in.

Renting a motorbike or a scooter is the cheapest way to tour the island, private taxis and tourist shuttles the most convenient. Bemos or small vans too are good.

Bali Attractions

The unique Balinese Kecak dance at the cliff top temple of Pura Ulu Watu, at the southwestern tip of Bali, is a must watch. The popular Goa Gajah or the Elephant Cave carved into a cliff face in the town of Ubud is a major attraction that dates back to the 11th century.

Temples

The Hindu temples of Bali, like the Besakih Temple Complex with 20 temples on the Mount Agung volcano and the Goa Lawah Bat Cave temple at the east coast of Bali, which also is a funeral site, are other tourist attractions here. Tanah Lot is a seaside Bali temple, pretty at sunset. The Pura Ulun temples on the shores of Lake Bartan, up in the mountains at the center of Bali is worth a visit too.

Each village in Bali is supposed to have three temples, temple of origin, the village temple and of the temple of dead. Most prominent of the temples here are the nine-directional temples or (the kayangan jagat) meant to protect the islands from evil forces.  One such temple is the Uluwatu temple at the southern tip of Bali.

Some of the seven directional temples are the Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Pura Pasar Agung and the Pura Lempuyang Luhur.

All these temples are designed differently, though with common features like three courtyards or a bale, a gazebo pavilion and are meant to serve a particular function.

Monuments

Among the monuments here is the Bali Bomb Memorial on Jalan Legian in Kuta that will remind you of innocent people who lost their lives in the 2002 bomb attacks. To commemorate the Balinese fight against the Dutch in the early 2oth century, called the puputan or the suicidal fight to death, there are monuments in Klungkung in east Bali and the other in Puputan Park at Denpasar.

Among the royal palaces, there is the Taman Gili palace in KlungKung on the east coast of Bali, with only the garden to boast of now.  Gitgit waterfalls make for a spectacular scene.

Beaches

Of course, visit to Bali is incomplete without the visit to its beaches. South Bali’s long peninsula has the Kuta-Legian beaches. Most of the tourists prefer staying around these beaches.

Just north of the Kuta beach is the area of Seminyak with beaches were you can laze around.

Towards the north of the island is the Lovina beach with a calm sea. The beach here is often described as ‘black sand’, because of the volcanic basalt. A dolphin structure marks the centre of this beach.

The Sanur Beach, on the east coast of South Bali, is one of the first beaches to be developed as a resort. Because of the 100 yard reef that breaks the wave, water here lap gently which makes it excellent for swimming, wind surfing and paddle boating.  You could also play volleyball or sun bath on this flat wide beach. A number of shops and eating joints right on the beach keep you close to it all the time.

Ubud

In the valleys up in the central mountains is Ubud, a collection of what once were villages. At the intersection of its two roads, The Monkey Forest Road and the Jalan Raya road is the former palace of the rulers of Ubud, where you can spot Barong dance performances and the art market. The Monkey Forest Road leads to teh Monkey Forest Sanctuary which also has a temple of dead. The other road takes you to the west of Ubud’s centre and has a number of art galleries like the Symon Art Zoo.

Ubud also has a number of museums that display the work of local artists and of international ones who were strongly connected to Bali. Many sites like the Goa Gajah are in proximity to Ubud. Rafting too is what you can do here.

Volcanoes

Volcanoes are of course the prominent features of this Indonesian island. The 3, 142 meter high Mount Agung volcano in east Bali is dormant since 1963. Mount Batur is fairly active and can be climbed up to in about 2 hours.

Forest and rice fields

Most of the coastlines are beaches except for the Mangrove forest in the South East and the Belkit peninsula.  Rice fields away from the coast make beautiful rural scenery

With abundance of natural beauty, religious places, various expressions of arts and a rich history and culture, Bali remains a sought after tourist destination, even after the bombings of 2002 and 2005. It isn’t surprising given its panoramic magnificence, that Bali is called the Paradise of Indonesia.