Svein Elias Profile
I never travelled - until i was in my forties. Then I met Randi who had a wide experience with travelling. Since 2006 we have been travelling together, and since 2010 we have been "hunting" WHS'.
Through the last decade I've learnt to really appreciate the feeling of visiting new places, the curiosity and the excitement seeing different habits and cultures. Seeing nature's grand places with its unique animal life gives me great satisfaction. Historic places is another great experience, it makes you learn history along the way.
Seeing odd places which few people have visited before, preferably combined with the above, is the top of my list. Maybe it's kind of naive, but anyway...
Recent Reviews Svein Elias
Shirakami-Sanchi
Svein Elias Norway - 04-Feb-24
Our first “mainland” Japanese whs in our Japanese quest July '23 was Shirakami-Sanchi. The shinkansen took us from Hokkaido to Aomori Honshu and a local train further on to Hirosaki where we picked up a rental car and then spent the night. The next morning, we drove the 40-50 min to Shirakami-Sanchi Information Centre near Aqua Village Anmon. The map shows that road 28 could take us somehow into the core zone if we just went far enough, but we assumed correctly that driving was impossible. Road 28 has been totally closed since 2020 – probably due to avalanches and broken-down bridges. The remaining option was the hike to Anmon Falls.
Read OnMana Pools
Svein Elias Norway - 04-Feb-24
Zimbabwe has been on our radar since we started visiting sub-Sahara Africa some years ago. Late September '23 we realized the trip.
Our trip was a road trip starting in Lusaka Zambia southbound and our first goal was (except secondary goal of Chirundu twhs in Zambia) Mana Pools National Park. It’s the site that really drives the cost on this trip. The park is a valley hosting the Zambezi River on the northern border to Zambia and is famous for its dry season wildlife gatherings. The WHS consists of three areas (Mana Pools, Sapi and Chewore), but we were told that Mana is by far the best area - for wildlife encounters.
Read OnJomon Prehistoric Sites
Svein Elias Norway - 12-Nov-23
In our July 2023 Japan quest we visited 6 of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites, 5 of them on Hokkaido. All sites visited by rental car.
As our first goal in Hokkaido was Shiretoko National Park, we “elegantly” missed the first possible Jomon Site, the Kiusu Earthwork Burial Circles. We could have visited it on the way back west, but as our route was along the southern shore of Hokkaido, we headed for Kitakogane Site as our first site.
The [...]
Read OnAmami-Oshima Island
Svein Elias Norway - 06-Nov-23
Yamburu National Park resides in the northern part of Okinawa Island and a part of this whs. Our visit was late June.
By rental car the toll road highway took us from Naha Airport to the site. Arriving in the evening we took only a quick drive through the core of the park on narrow, overgrown roads and made plans for the next day.
After a night at the Ada Garden Hotel (remember to book half board) on the eastern side we re-entered the park, that is after we could watch the endemic Okinawa rail bird just outside the hotel. Another hotel guest told us she’d been here 8 years, but never seen it until now. Driving into the park we also spotted the tiny wild boar along the road.
Read OnRichtersveld
Svein Elias Norway - 02-Oct-22
This site defines why I’m in this “game”! Totally remote and so different from my home environment! It’s the feeling of being on another planet! It’s just awesome!
Richtersveld is the most remote corner of South Africa, bordering probably the most remote corner of Namibia. From any direction it’s a long drive. Coming from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park we chose to approach Richtersveld Transfrontier Park through Namibia visiting Fish River Canyon on the way. We had decided to spend some time in the Sendelingsdrift Rest Camp, but as we hadn’t booked anything upfront, we planned to do it along the way. That was a good idea if it hadn’t been for the fact that our South African sim card didn’t work in Namibia nor in Kgalagadi. Anyway, we planned to arrive early and could do the booking in the camp reception, but there were some “obstacles”
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Svein Elias
- Country
- Norway
- Most Impressive
- Machu Picchu, Galapagos, Komodo & Grand Canyon
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 24.02.24
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Visited WHS
Rating StatsAngkor 5Petra 5Ancient Thebes 4.5Baalbek 4.5Florence 4.5Great Wall 4.5Ngorongoro 4.5Nikko 4.5Plitvice Lakes 4.5Qadisha Valley 4.5Rila Monastery 4.5Rome 4.5Serengeti 4.5Sigiriya 4.5Victoria Falls 4.5Wadi Rum 4.5Xochicalco 4.5Brugge 4Budapest 4Ephesus 4Istanbul 4Oporto 4Ping Yao 4Pompei 4Prague 4Toledo 4Tsodilo 4Aachen Cathedral 3.5Ancient Nara 3.5Anuradhapura 3.5Assisi 3.5Bamberg 3.5Bauhaus Sites 3.5Brú na Bóinne 3.5Butrint 3.5Calakmul 3.5Camino Real 3.5Carlsbad Caverns 3.5Chichen-Itza 3.5Chola Temples 3.5Cienfuegos 3.5Cordoba 3.5Cuenca 3.5Cuzco 3.5El Pinacate 3.5El Tajin 3.5Epidaurus 3.5Evora 3.5Fujisan 3.5Garajonay 3.5Genoa 3.5Granada 3.5Graz 3.5Great Zimbabwe 3.5Hampi 3.5Himeji-jo 3.5Horyu-ji Area 3.5Hué 3.5Isole Eolie 3.5Jelling 3.5Khami Ruins 3.5Kinabalu Park 3.5Kinderdijk 3.5Kotor 3.5Kraków 3.5Laponian Area 3.5Loire Valley 3.5Mahabalipuram 3.5Malbork Castle 3.5Mapungubwe 3.5Matera 3.5Mostar 3.5My Son 3.5Mystras 3.5Nasca Lines 3.5Neolithic Orkney 3.5Nubian Monuments 3.5Ohrid Region 3.5Old Havana 3.5Olympia 3.5Palenque 3.5Paphos 3.5Plain of Jars 3.5Pont du Gard 3.5Quedlinburg 3.5Quito 3.5Québec 3.5Rani-ki-Vav 3.5Reims 3.5Riga 3.5Rock Art of Alta 3.5San Gimignano 3.5Segovia 3.5Selimiye Mosque 3.5Seville 3.5Shirakami-Sanchi 3.5Shiretoko 3.5Siena 3.5Sighisoara 3.5Skocjan Caves 3.5Split 3.5Summer Palace 3.5Surtsey 3.5Tallinn 3.5Telc 3.5Temple of Heaven 3.5Tequila 3.5Tiwanaku 3.5Trier 3.5Tugendhat Villa 3.5Uxmal 3.5Vat Phou 3.5Versailles 3.5Vienna 3.5Villa d'Este 3.5Wartburg Castle 3.5Yakushima 3.5Zacatecas 3.5Zamość 3.5Anjar 3Arequipa 3Arles 3Avignon 3Avila 3Belem 3Bryggen 3Byblos 3Caceres 3Chavin 3Elvas 3Ferrara 3Hoi An 3Koh Ker 3Le Havre 3Lyon 3Lübeck 3Mazagan 3Modena 3Morelia 3Mérida 3Nancy 3Nessebar 3Nesvizh 3Orange 3Paquimé 3Pergamon 3Pienza 3Potsdam 3Puebla 3Ravenna 3Red Fort 3Røros 3Salzburg 3Sintra 3Syracuse 3Torun 3Trogir 3Tyre 3Urbino 3Valletta 3Vegaøyan 3Verona 3Visby 3Warsaw 3Agrigento 2.5Ahmadabad 2.5Al Ain 2.5Albi 2.5Ayutthaya 2.5Ban Chiang 2.5Belfries 2.5Bellinzone 2.5Bordeaux 2.5Burgos Cathedral 2.5Burgundy 2.5Cahokia Mounds 2.5Canal du Midi 2.5Carthage 2.5Centennial Hall 2.5Choirokoitia 2.5Dong Phayayen 2.5El Escurial 2.5Elephanta Caves 2.5Fagus Factory 2.5Gammelstad 2.5Grand Canal 2.5Holasovice 2.5Ironbridge Gorge 2.5Kairouan 2.5Kerkuane 2.5Kew Gardens 2.5Kondoa 2.5Kuldiga 2.5Las Medulas 2.5Lima 2.5Luang Prabang 2.5Luther Memorials 2.5Medina of Sousse 2.5Medina of Tunis 2.5Modernist Kaunas 2.5Monticello 2.5Naples 2.5Nice 2.5Poblet Monastery 2.5Quseir Amra 2.5Rabat 2.5Reichenau 2.5Saint-Emilion 2.5Schönbrunn 2.5ShUM Sites 2.5Southern Öland 2.5Stevns Klint 2.5Tarraco 2.5Thang Long 2.5Tower of London 2.5Trang An 2.5Um er-Rasas 2.5Val d'Orcia 2.5Vilnius 2.5Volubilis 2.5Vredefort Dome 2.5Vézère Valley 2.5Western Ghats 2.5Úbeda and Baeza 2.5Aranjuez 2As-Salt 2Corvey 2Hollókö 2Ibiza 2Kandy 2Mafra 2Meknes 2Trebic 2Troy 2Vézelay 2Aquileia 1.5Beemster Polder 1.5Campeche 1.5Crespi d'Adda 1.5Djerba 1.5Forth Bridge 1.5Ivrea 1.5Kernavė 1.5New Lanark 1.5Pearling 1.5Provins 1.5Qalhat 1.5Saltaire 1.5Sammallahdenmäki 1.5Schokland 1.5Stoclet House 1.5Stećci 1Blenheim Palace 0.5Danube Limes 0.5Reviewed WHS
- Shirakami-Sanchi
- Mana Pools
- Jomon Prehistoric Sites
- Amami-Oshima Island
- Richtersveld
- Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains
- Mapungubwe
- Serengeti
- Selous Game Reserve
- Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara
- Djerba
- Struve Geodetic Arc
- Sambor Prei Kuk
- Okavango Delta
- Dinosaur Provincial Park
- L'Anse aux Meadows
- Camino Real
- Medina Azahara
- Komodo National Park
Visited TWHS
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