Amarok Outdoor Adventures

Ｎａｄｉｎｅはイギリスに帰ります

Nadine`s Heading Home

　　

Our dear friend Nadine is heading home to England. Her year long English teaching contract is up and she`s shipping out for further adventures in the beginning of July. We first got to know her last September when we went together to explore Nuki yama in Kitakyushu. Since then she has joined us on many adventures, most recently Yakushima. We wish her well and will miss her greatly.

Nadineは来月イギリスに帰ります。彼女の一年英会話契約が終わりました。昨年の９月からあちこちの山に行きました。寂しくなりますね！

　　

This Saturday, the 27th we will head out with Nadine for one last adventure, if you would like to join us to wish her well please drop me an email.

今週の土曜日(２７日)は彼女とさいごのツアーです、もし一緒に行きたいならメールで参加してください。

Please mail me at john@amarok-outdoors.com



"Where will my next adventure take me?????"

2009.06.25 | Comments(3) | Trackback(0) | ツアー情報

白鳥山

A Trip Back in Time


Hey everyone, how was your weekend? We had a great trip back down to the Kumamoto mountains. This time we went Shiratori Mountain, a place overflowing with deep forests and fascinating history.



To give you an idea of where Shiratori Mountain is, it is just a bit south of Kunimi dake, to the east of the city of Yatsushiro. The hike up the mountain itself is not difficult at all but the moss covered misty forests and the occasional deer call made for a great setting.




I mentioned earlier that this area is rich in history, let me elaborate. In the late 1100`s there was the duel between the two warring clans, the Genji and the Heike. Up until this point the Heike have ruled but after the death of Heike Shigemori in 1179 the Genji start to gain control and eventually take over in 1183.



With the Genji in power the remnants of the Heike either scatter or commit ritual suicide. One of the remaining Heike, Heike Kiyotaka fled to Kyushu and lived in and around Shiratori Mountain and is actually the person who gave the mountain its name. So as you walk along the forest trail your mind starts to drift off and think about the warriors from long ago who used to walk along this same trail, Really cool!



One of the really neat natural features of this area is the huge limestone rocks that protrude out of the forest floor just before the trail heads to the top. When I looked at the pictures in the guide book there looked interesting but when you see them in person you realize just how large they are, these rocks are jutting 4〜5 meters out of the ground.



Anyway we had a great trip and I really recommend this area as its an easy walk and has lots to see and think about.

Happy trails!

2009.06.24 | Comments(0) | Trackback(0) | ツアーレポート

平治岳ツアー

Heiji dake Tour



Hey everyone how was your weekend? We had a great trip on Sunday to Heijidake in the Kuju Highlands to catch the last glimpse of the beautiful Miyamakirishima Azaleas. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with a big blue sky and a nice cool breeze.

　　

We started out from the Yoshibe Trailhead and slowly worked our way up to the North Heijidake trail which is a really nice trail that doesn`t seemed to be used that much as the trail was not the deeply rutted muddy trails that are common to the area.

　　

We worked our way up the trail and after the final push up the last part we were at the summit….. what a view!!



There were still may Miyamakirishima in bloom even though the season is winding down. We stayed around the summit area to take in the landscape before us and after a quick coffee break we started to head down, and sometimes slide down, the southern slope of Heiji to the Bogatsuru camping area.

　　
　　

We reached Bogatsuru around 2pm and while we started to prepare lunch Dave and Rice ran off to the onsen vending machine for a beer and pop run, oooohhh! That Coke tasted so good!! As I was expecting it to be a hot day I put together a lunch of cool somen noodles, perfect for a hot day outside.

　　
　　

After lunch we headed back down toward to Yoshibe and as always we stopped off at my favorite waterfall to fill up on “Minus Ion”. Before heading back to Fukuoka we headed to Chojobaru to have a quick soak in the foot bath, ooooohhh!!! Kimochi!!!

　　
　　

Anyway it was another great day with great people and I`m looking forward to the next time we can go fun a hike or even better….next time lets camp!!

　　

Happy trails!!

2009.06.16 | Comments(2) | Trackback(0) | ツアーレポート

It`s that time of year again!



Every year at this time the mountains of Kyushu turn a beautiful pink. Mountain azaleas called “Miyamakirishima” bloom from the end of May and last for about a month, and when they bloom they really BLOOM!!. Quite possibly the most beautiful place to see Miyamakirishima is from Mt. Heiji in the Kuju mountains of Oita.



Last Saturday we hiked up from the Yoshibe trailhead to the Bogatsuru Camping area. The start of the hike was overcast and when we got to bogatsuru I got a bit nervous as rain started to fall. But the rain was short lived and after a while the sun started to peak through the clouds making for a really nice day!




After eating lunch and playing around Bogatsuru for a while taking pictures, we headed back down the trail stopping off and one of my all time favorite waterfalls to soak up tons of Minus Ion before returning to the trailhead.




It was a great day and I`m really looking forward to this Sunday June 14th when we`re heading back. This time we will hiking to the top of Mt.Heiji to stand in the fields of pink. If you would like to join us send an email to john@amarok-outdoors.com

Happy Trails…

2009.06.08 | Comments(2) | Trackback(0) | トピック

国見岳ツアー

Kunimi Dake Tour



Hey everybody, how was your weekend? We had a great time hiking up Mt. Kunimi on Sunday. Located in the deep forests of Kumamoto Prefecture Kunimi Dake is a popular hiking area with a really nice looping trail.



We left Fukuoka at just after 0600 and we reached the trailhead at 0930. The forecast we for sunny skies but as we started our hike we saw some dark clouds rolling in, but after a few grumbles of thunder (luckily no rain !) the clouds gave way again to sunny blue skies.

　　

The first part of the trail was a bit steep but after a while it gave way to a really nice trail surrounded by deep greens and lots of wildlife. This area has a large population of deer that we startled a couple of times as we could see them prancing into the deep bush. We could also hear the sounds of woodpeckers searching for food in the trees.

　　

We reached the summit at around 12:30 and had our lunch there, todays appetizer was a really yummy avocado dish that someone introduced me to a little while ago, yum yum!

　　

After a relaxing break we started to head down the final half of our loop. The nature of this area is quite different then the trail up, the route up was a more confined forest with lots of trees and shrubs. While the route down also had lots of trees there weren`t as many shrubs and the grade wasn`t as steep as the way up to give us a very open feeling, all the more easier to spot the deer with, or for them to spot us!!

　　

After a couple of hours we made it back to the truck and our bumpy 40 minute logging road trip back to the highway and on to home. It was really a great day and I really love this part of Kyushu, I can`t wait to go again!! Unfortunately this time the Rhododendrons were all finished for this year but that means …………….you guessed it!! the Miyamakirishima azaleas are on their way!!! More on those soon!!

2009.06.02 | Comments(1) | Trackback(0) | ツアーレポート