Michael Turtle Profile
I'm a travel journalist and blogger who started counting World Heritage Sites in 2011. Often I try to visit the sites as part of other trips - although sometimes I will go to a country just with the mission to see as many as possible.
Recent Reviews Michael Turtle
Kakadu National Park
Michael Turtle Australia - 27-Oct-22
Visiting Kakadu is extremely dependent on the weather. This part of Australia has two distinct seasons - wet and dry - and much of the national park is inaccessible during the wet season. As the dry begins, different parts of the park open up at different times, as the unsealed roads become passable and areas are cleared of crocodiles. I mention all of this at the start just as advice for anyone thinking of visiting - make sure you think about when you're going and what you'll be able to see. (For the record, wet season can be quite incredible because the waterfalls are in full flow, but you may want to see them by helicopter, rather than road, for instance.)
Read OnWillandra Lakes
Michael Turtle Australia - 27-Oct-22
Although the site is officially called Willandra Lakes, it's Mungo National Park (mostly within the boundaries) that is the main attraction and the focus for most visitors. Other parts of the WHS are no more impressive and quite inaccessible, other than views from the roads on the way in. Mungo makes up most of the site, and this is all you'll need to worry about visiting.
For many Australians, Mungo is considered to be 'in the middle of nowhere', but it's actually not too hard to access by car from Melbourne or even Adelaide. From Sydney, it's become a popular stop on a road trip to nearby (by Aussie standards) Broken Hill
Read OnGardens and Castle at Kromeríz
Michael Turtle Australia - 19-Oct-22
There are a lot of castles in the Czech Republic, many of them included on the World Heritage List, and it leads to inevitable comparisons once you've visited them all. While I'll discuss the others in their own reviews, my view of Kromeriz Castle is that it's not the most impressive overall - but it does have the most interesting interior of them all.
The decorations in the rooms give a real sense of the grandeur of the castle and its residences. Dozens of mounted animal heads in the games room, a large collection of artworks from the 15th to 18th century (said to be the second best gallery in the whole country after the National Gallery in Prague), and the beautiful library with tens of thousands of books.
Read OnKutna Hora
Michael Turtle Australia - 19-Oct-22
Many people visit Kutna Hora as a day trip from Prague, and that is an easy option - there's a direct train to the main Kutna Hora station near the Cathedral of our Lady at Sedlec, from where you can get a local train to the Kutna Hora mesto station in the historic centre (or just walk the 30 minutes). However, I would recommend at least staying overnight. There's more than enough to fill your time, and the city is much more pleasant in the evenings when the tourist crowds have gone (particularly in the summer months).
Read OnStari Grad Plain
Michael Turtle Australia - 21-Mar-20
At first glance, the Stari Grad Plain is not particularly interesting - just a large amount of farmland. But, after exploring it for a day, I have a new appreciation of the site. The agricultural practice here are really interesting and seeing them up close with local producers is lovely. But, even more than that, the Stari Grad Plain should be seen as the backdrop for some wonderful exploration. My biggest tip is to hire a bike and use that to get between to all the various things to do around Stari Grad. The plain itself is criss-crossed by paths that you can ride along. I found it so peaceful to pedal through the farmland, looking at the dry stone-wall boundaries with the olive trees or vineyards in between
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Michael Turtle
- Country
- Australia
- Most Impressive
- Iguazu
- Proposal
- Bagan, Myanmar
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 03.07.22
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Reviewed WHS
- Kakadu National Park
- Willandra Lakes
- Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz
- Kutna Hora
- Stari Grad Plain
- Mont-Saint-Michel
- San Gimignano
- Cesky Krumlov
- Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands
- Pompei
- Petra
- Sintra
- Pont du Gard
- Rome
- Preah Vihear Temple
- Citadel of the Ho Dynasty
- Ha Long Bay
- Phong Nha - Ke Bang
- Salzburg
- Nikko
- The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
- Ancient Nara
- Ancient Kyoto
- Los Glaciares
- Cueva de las Manos
- Peninsula Valdes
- Gondwana Rainforests
- Greater Blue Mountains
- Uluru
- Xanthos-Letoon
- Istanbul
- Hierapolis-Pamukkale
- Kotor
- Durmitor National Park
- Tower of London
- Westminster
- Blenheim Palace
- Brugge
- Major Town Houses
- Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai
- Grand Place, Brussels
- Mining Sites of Wallonia
- The Four Lifts
- Plantin-Moretus Museum
- Stoclet House
- Churches of Chiloé
- Sewell Mining Town
- Valparaiso
- Ischigualasto / Talampaya
- Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba
- Jesuit Missions of Trinidad and Jesus
- Iguacu
- Iguazu National Park
- Rio de Janeiro
- Colonia del Sacramento
- Temple of Heaven
- Great Wall
- Yosemite National Park
- My Son
- Hoi An
- Royal Exhibition Building
- Hué
- Flemish Béguinages
- Arequipa
- Qhapaq Ñan
- Lima
- Regensburg
- Maulbronn Monastery
- Prehistoric Pile Dwellings
- Pilgrimage Church of Wies
- Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire
- Wadden Sea
- Stralsund and Wismar
- Bauhaus Sites
- Fagus Factory
- Primeval Beech Forests
- Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust
- Messel Pit
- Hildesheim Cathedral and Church
- Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
- Medina of Essaouira
- Medina of Marrakesh
- Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou
- Bryggen
- Te Wahipounamu
- Baroque Churches
- Sigiriya
- Anuradhapura
- Polonnaruva
- Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
- Central Highlands
- Kandy
- Old Town of Galle
- Wartburg Castle
- Speyer Cathedral
- Muskauer Park
- Völklingen Ironworks
- Classical Weimar
- Rammelsberg and Goslar
- Potsdam
- Zollverein
- Bamberg
- Upper Middle Rhine Valley
- Lübeck
- Corvey
- Berlin Modernism Housing Estates
- Museumsinsel (Museum Island)
- Luther Memorials
- Würzburg Residence
- Quedlinburg
- Cologne Cathedral
- Medina of Fez
- Mazagan
- Meknes
- Volubilis
- Rabat
- Town Hall and Roland, Bremen
- Aachen Cathedral
- Le Havre
- Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal
- Schokland
- Thang Long
- Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
- Brú na Bóinne
- Robben Island
- Tallinn
- Angkor
- Trang An
Visited TWHS
- 'Biogradska gora' National Park (T)
- Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library (T)
- Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar : Innwa, Amarapura, Sagaing, Mingun, Mandalay (T)
- Ayeyawady River Corridor (T)
- Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) (T)
- Brooklyn Bridge (T)
- Buenos Aires – La Plata: Two capitals of the Culture of Modernity, Eclecticism and Immigration (T)
- Caves of the Buda Thermal Karst System (T)
- Central Park (T)
- Ceský ráj (Czech Paradise) Rock Cities (T)
- Cetinje Historic Core (T)
- Cultural Landscape of Innsbruck-Nordkette/Karwendel (T)
- Etosha Pan (T)
- Fann mountains (T)
- Fishriver Canyon (T)
- Historical City Centre of Yogyakarta (T)
- Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)
- Inle Lake (T)
- Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
- Levadas of Madeira Island (T)
- Mausoleum of "Mukhammad Bashoro" (T)
- Mon cities : Bago, Hanthawaddy (T)
- Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T)
- Mountain Chains (T)
- Old Town of Bar (T)
- Orvieto (T)
- Raja Ampat Islands (T)
- Ramagrama, the relic stupa of Lord Buddha (T)
- Ring of cenotes of Chicxulub Crater, Yucatan (T)
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill (T)
- Smederevo Fortress (T)
- Talayotic Culture of Minorca (T)
- Temples, Shrines and other structures of Ancient Kamakura (T)
- The Bodrum Castle (T)
- The early medieval architectural complex of Panauti (T)
- The Karlstejn Castle (T)
- The monasteries of the Arab Desert and Wadi Natrun (T)
- The Old Town of Jakarta (T)
- The Site of Ancient Town of Pyanjekent (T)
- The Tabon Cave Complex and all of Lipuun Point (T)
- Tilaurakot, the archaeological remains of ancient Shakya Kingdom (T)
- Trakai Historical National Park (T)
Reviewed TWHS