Veronika Wild

One of my first excursions was to Mt. Gyeryong. The snow had almost gone, but there was still plenty of ice along the tracks. I had to smile at first, as there were coffee machines every four hundred metres and portaloos, yet people were equipped with the latest in mountaineering equipment. Still, two kilometres can be a very long way in the mountains and by the time I was halfway to the top, it was getting dark and I had to be 'rescued' by a party of young men who insisted on not only escorting me safely down the mountain, but feeding me as well. The next time, I really did make it all the way to the top, passing the ancient and venerable Brother and Sister Pagoda on the way. Can't imagine how they got those stones up there, especially over the 'chicken ladders' which have signs saying "Caution, fallings and slippings.' Dining with my rescuers. Despite their apparent reserve Koreans are a convivial bunch. There is no such thing as paying for yourself, ...

"Hello Teacher!" is what I hear wherever I go in Gongju. In the beginning..... I arrived in Korea just after the first snowfall which was a bit of a shock after leaving the southern summer behind. None of my clothes were warm enough and hardly anything in the shops fitted me. Luckily, the flat was warm and cosy and my bosses gave me a warm leather coat and a thick woolly jumper. Gongju turned out to be a rather pretty town - not too many high rises, population ca.150,000, about one and a half hours south of Seoul, set among forested hills on the beautiful Geumgang (Ribbon of Silk) River. It has three universities and an ancient history, having been a royal capital in the Two Kingdoms period from 475 AD to 538. During this time, Gongju was renown as a centre of arts and culture. Relics of this period include the hill fortress with its great gates and pavillions and the recently discovered tomb of King Muryeong which shows that the Paeke Kingdom had wide trading links with both...

The Overland Track is a 65 - 80 km walk over the roof of Tasmania. It is old news to most Tasmanians, especially the more masochistically inclined and has become so popular that you now have to book a place before you can walk it so that the 'wilderness' isn't loved to death. These days it costs $100 in addition to the normal Park fees and you need at least twenty six essential items of equipment plus what seems like your body weight in food. This is because quite a few people have lost their lives on this walk. Unexpected blizzards are possible, even in the middle of summer and there are the usual risks of getting lost, snake bite, twisted ankles, falls, hypothermia or dehydration. In good weather it usually takes from six to ten days. Round One. Struggling up to Marion's Lookout. Crater Lake, one of many glacially formed cirques, can just be seen far below. In one section you have to haul yourself up on a chain. All I wanted to do for the first three days was to turn...