The Ring of Kerry

The Ring of Kerry is one of Ireland’s most famous, and picturesque, scenic drives. It’s a circular route around the Iveragh Peninsula in southwest Ireland’s County Kerry. The route is more than 179km and takes in rugged and verdant coastal landscapes and rural seaside villages. We were lucky enough to complete the circuit on a day largely filled with blue skies and sunshine.

Our first stop was Ross Castle on outskirts of Killarney. The castle was closed for winter but its lakeside location was still ideal for a scenic walk. From there we went on to the Gap of Dunloe. We were able to drive deep into this scenic valley without incident. The road is incredibly narrow, with very limited passing options. It’s definitely not a place to drive in Summer when the crowds are out in force.

The views are genuinely breath-taking and simply become better and better as you venture further into the valley. Around every corner is another stunning Instagram worth scene. We gave ourselves plenty of time to enjoy this genuinely beautiful piece of Ireland before venturing on to Rossbeigh beach. 

Our next highlight was Cahergall Fort. This restored, ancient stone structure looks rather uninspiring from the road. However, once inside the complex is truly remarkable. A series of internal steps gave us access onto the rim of its broad stone walls. The view atop the wall was magnificent. It spread out across the fields and on to the nearby coast. The day we visited; we were lucky enough to experience the fort alone for almost half an hour.

We then stopped briefly at Waterville. This seaside village was once a favourite Summer haunt for Charlie Chaplin. He remains immortalised by a life-size bronze statue on the waterfront. It then on to Com An Chiste Lookout. Here we stopped to admire a stunning view across the southern coast of Ireland. That’s the view in this post’s opening image.

We then ventured on to Kenmare where we stopped for the night. We booked ourselves into the Brook Lane Hotel, a cosy boutique establishment on the edge of town. At first, we thought we’d based ourselves too far from the village’s quaint town centre for exploratory stroll. However, we discovered a local walking path nearby that curved its way along peaceful hedgerows directly into town. 

The following morning we completed the Ring of Kerry. As we traced our way back to Killarney we stopped to take in scenic spots in the Killarney National Park including Moll’s Gap, Ladies View and Torc Waterfall. I’m glad we stopped overnight at Kenmare as it gave us more time to enjoy the national park at a leisurely pace.

We then finished our final day in Ireland with a visit to Blarney Castle, home of the famous Blarney Stone. We had the almost entire castle to ourselves. We later realised how lucky we were. We encountered queue signs on the entry path advising visitors of a two-hour wait time. The castle is clearly more popular in Summer.

I can proudly say I’ve now kissed the Blarney Stone. It’s said that all who do so are granted a gift of the gab (that is great eloquence and skilful flattery). Bill Clinton once did the same thing, so I count myself in good company. 

Perhaps only disappointing aspect of our visit were the “helpful” service staff standing around the stone. They’ve clearly spent plenty of time assisting American tourists and thus blatantly touted for a tip. It was only place in Ireland where we witnessed such crass behaviour. Everywhere else the people we encountered were warm, generous and kind, and never asked for anything in return.

We spent our final night at the Cork Airport hotel. This made it easy to drop off our rental car that evening and then check-in for an early morning flight the next day. This proved a sage decision. We woke to find the airport and its surrounding dusted by snow. We later heard that there had been traffic delays for many getting to the airport.

Adare and Dingle

Our next stop in Ireland included a brief afternoon wandering the streets of Galway, followed by a side trip to the Cliffs of Moher while on our way to Adare for the night.  I worked for an Irish CEO for almost a decade who hailed from Galway.  As a result, I’ve always been curious to see her home town. We spent a couple of hours wandering through Galway's old town and relatively new cathedral.

The Cliffs of Moher are considered one of Ireland top sights.  These dramatic cliffs offer a stunning view of the nation’s rugged Atlantic coast.  They extend for more than 14 km and soar to a height of more than 214 metres.  We stopped for an hour to climb a series of paved paths and stairways that took as far as the Victorian folly, O’Brien’s Tower.

It was then on to Adare, a quaint, picturesque village south of Limerick.  The village offers a surprising array of sights.  This includes Desmond Castle, a ruin on the north bank of the Maigue, Adare Manor on the river’s southern flank and two spectacular churches; the Augustinian Priory and Trinitarian Abbey.

The Priory dates back to 1316, and the Abbey’s order of monks, to 1230.  We stayed at the Dunraven Arms. The hotel is said to be one of the oldest establishments in Ireland. It dates back to the Eighteenth Century. Sadly, it proved to be the least impressive place we stayed at in Ireland.

From Adare, it was on to the Dingle Peninsula.  We stopped in the picturesque harbour village of Dingle for a pub lunch before making our way past Inch Beach and on to Killarney.  While on our way to Dingle, we drove across the Connor Pass, Ireland’s highest roadway. However, low cloud shrouded the mountain top and we missed most of the view.  The road was still incredibly dramatic.  It often narrowed to a single lane with little more than a stone wall to guide us through the dense fog.

Follow this link to read about our two-day road trip around Ireland's world-renowned Ring of Kerry tour circuit.

Lord of the manor

Garry and I found ourselves with a long weekend sandwiched between a week of business meetings in London and a second equally hectic week in Nuremberg. We decided to chance our luck and booked a whirlwind road trip through southern Ireland.  We visited Dublin while living in the UK but little else. As a result, the Gaelic nation remains largely unexplored.

Everyone thought we were crazy booking a weekend in Ireland in the heart of winter.  However, luck was on our side.  We enjoyed blue skies and sunshine on most days. The more inclement days coincided with plans for plenty of driving and thus our time outdoors was limited. It was the perfect way to enjoy an Australia Day weekend so far from home.

We kicked off our road trip in style.  By chance I uncovered a special package offered by American Express for a night at Ashford Castle, located 45 minutes north of Galway.  The castle’s origins date back almost eight centuries.  Today it’s an impressive luxury hotel on the shores of Lough Corrib (Lake Corrib).

The castle’s current form was largely crafted by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, owner of the famed Irish brewery.  He worked extensively extending the estate to 26,000 acres, adding two large Victorian-style extensions and bringing much-needed employment to the local area. 

The castle was sold and converted into a premier hotel by Noel Huggard in 1939.  A subsequent owner, John Mulcahy, doubled its size in the 1970s and built an accompanying golf course.  During his tenure, he acquired 11 identical Waterford Crystal chandeliers.  Each cost an extraordinary £11,000 and are still on display in the castle’s fine dining restaurant.

The castle was simply amazing. We dined in its famous George V restaurant (the venison was mouth-wateringly good) and enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast the following morning.  Dinner service required a jacket. Fortunately, the hotel keeps a selection on hand for those diners caught short. 

I also rose early to join a group walking the castle’s resident Irish Wolfhounds.  After breakfast, Garry then joined me for a walk through a section of the immaculately maintained gardens. Our only regret was that we hadn’t splashed out on a second night.  It really was an awesome experience.

Follow this link to read about The Cliffs of Moher, the next stop on our Irish road tour.

A bush fire season to end them all

Australia's record-breaking bush fire season continues unabated. Record after record continues to fall including the largest fire ever witnessed from a single ignition source in Australia.

This satellite image published by NSW Rural Fire Service on 1 January says it all really.  Smoke from the NSW bush fires completely covered New Zealand's South Island for several days.  It's a striking testament to the amount of vegetation that ultimately burned in the final days of 2019. Some of the smoke and ask rising from the fire's extraordinary pyro-convective thunderstorms has even reached the troposphere.

Our light home from Tasmania on 4 January passed over the massive Currowan fire. This blaze is burning out of control south of Sydney. It covers more than 264,000 hectares. Overnight the fire moved into the iconic Kangaroo Valley area.

As you can see from this image several bush fires are now so large they’re generating their own weather system including large cumulus thunderstorm clouds. This image was taken about 4000m and shows just one fire front covering almost 40kms.

How much of Australia’s East Coast has burned as of 14 January? This map in the New York Times says it all. It shows Brisbane in dark grey at the top, then Sydney midway down the coast before ending with Melbourne in the south. When you look at it remember that the distance between Brisbane and Melbourne is approx 2000km.

The areas shown in red have burned in the last 2 days, dark orange in the last 7 days and light orange since October 2019.  The nation hasn't seen anything on this scale in more than 30 years. When will it end? Bush fire season typically winds down in March (so we have another two months to go).

The road to Hobart

Our final two days in Tasmania were spent driving through to Hobart, followed by a morning exploring Hobart’s popular Salamanca weekend market. We spent several days in Hobart on our last visit so we decided to spend more time visiting the area’s regional sights on our way into town.

Our road trip took us through the scenic London Lake district. Here you can find a stone cairn marking the geographic centre of Tasmania. We then took a detour to visit the picturesque Russell Falls on the fringe of Mount Field National Park. Here we stopped for a picnic before moving on to Salmon Ponds.

The Salmon Ponds is Australia’s oldest trout hatchery. It was founded in May 1864 and today it’s still supplying more than a million trout for stocking Tasmania’s lakes. Rivers and dams. The attraction includes a series of display ponds filled with fish including Atlantic Salmon, Rainbow Trout and some impressive Albino Rainbow Trout. 

Our final stop on the way to Hobart was Pulpit Rock Lookout. This spectacular outcrop looks out over a scenic bend in the Derwent River and the floodplains beyond. It was a fitting way to end our rural adventure before we drove on into the city.

As luck would have it. We arrived in Hobart on the final night of the Taste of Tasmania festival. This is Australia’s largest and longest-running food and wine festival. This year The Taste showcased 98 small to large food and beverage producers and 710 artists. We send several hours that evening wandering the harbourside event tasting all manner of delicious food. However, the real highlight was a chance meeting with Justin Arnold, the wine-maker at Ghost Rock, my favourite Tasmanian winery.

On our final morning in Hobart we stopped in at the Tasmania Museum & Gallery to see this venue's Tasmanian Tiger exhibit.  It's a modest room near the back of the building.  Inside are the preserved remains of Tasmania's famous extinct marsupial carnivore. Much of the room is kept in darkness to reduce the bleaching effects of light.  A timer switch briefly illuminates them before they're cast back into darkness.  It a rather poignant set up. I don't how we missed this on our first trip to Hobart?