The end of August was a bit hectic - I did a 3-day hike in the North Alps of Japan and then immediately followed that up with a week-long trip to Australia. I’m realising I only have 4 newsletter editions left before we enter 2026! Ahh!
What’s new on the blog?
This month, I wrote about my hikes to:
As well as a travel blog about my trip to Itoigawa’s Jade Beach.
I also had the honour of being published in People and Blogs, a weekly newsletter that features bloggers.
Some birdies
While down in Australia, I took some bird photos. I suppose I’ve taken enough now that I could call myself a birder or birdwatcher? There’s something satisfying about taking a photo of a new bird - sort of feels like I’m playing Pokemon.
Australia is so great for birdwatching especially. Head to any beach or park and you’ll see so many species about.
I’m sort of thinking as a side project I could build some sort of bird / bug catalog on my site. Maybe I could make it Animal Crossing themed?
Arts and crafts
Speaking of side projects, I also headed down to the Rocks Markets in Sydney and saw some really cool hand-made stuff. Like this display at the Tea Cosy:
We didn't go in, but they do a scones and tea set and have a really cute vibe (I probably went once 10 years ago). And just so many adorable tea cosies on their Instagram.
And I bought a tiny piece of artwork off a guy that gets multiple copies of a postage stamp, cuts them up and then turns it into a 3D piece of art. Apparently it’s a style called “Paper Tole”. I’ve seen in the past for people making 3D-looking Pokemon cards).
I thought both of these were so cool! AI is getting better and better at photos and writing, but I suppose they'll never take the physical away from us. So maybe I should pick up one learning how to do one of these as a hobby some time.
August in numbers
🏋️♀️ 0 visits to the gym
🏃♀️ Ran 28km and hiked 71km (my North Alps hike was 43km!)
🇯🇵 Wanikani Level 44 (no progression)
🇨🇳 Pimsleur Mandarin Lesson 74 (no progression)
🇨🇳 HanziHero Level 2 (no progression)
📚 Read 7 books (I had a lot of downtime with plane trips and mountain hut stays)
📝 Published 5 blog posts
💻 33 hours on Hardcover
I was a bit worried about my 3-day hike in Japan's Alps, but I successfully pulled it off! Watch out for my post about that next week.
… and similar to last month, the language learning side of things is in pretty dire straits. Stay tuned for whether I can turn that around in September.
Looks like you had another fruitful and busy month with lots of cool adventures :-). My wife’s hometown is Niigata, and we’d love to try an auto camp at that beautiful spot you guys stayed at overlooking the sea!