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...

Norway Last Update 05.10.23 646 WHS Visited 26 Reviews 644 WHS Rated 168 TWHS Visited

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Recent Reviews Svein Elias

Jomon 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 [...]

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Amami-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.

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Richtersveld

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”

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Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains

Svein Elias Norway - 28-Sep-22

Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains world heritage site is in the northeast corner of South Africa bordering northwest Eswatini. There are several reserves in the area and the world heritage site is large and covers a few of them.

The sleepy little town of Barberton, which was founded in the 1880s during a goldrush, is an entrance gate to the geotrail of this site. We started out visiting the museum in the town, but it wasn’t very interesting because it’s focus was golddigging.

We enjoyed this route towards the border of Eswatini. The geotrail is road R40 upwards to the Bulembu border post

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Mapungubwe

Svein Elias Norway - 25-Sep-22

Mapungubwe National Park is located 5-6 hours of driving north of Jo’burg airport or 2 ½ hours north of Polokwane. Inside the national parks resides the world heritage site of Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape. The heritage site is just a small part of the park although the national park is not very big either.

The tracks leading to heritage site is open only to those who join the Heritage Tour which is at 7 in the morning and at 10. The park has a circular dirt ring road and the hill that is the centre of the heritage site can easily be seen from the road, but you must know what you are looking for (the correct one between several hills).

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Profile Data

Name: Svein Elias
Country: Norway
Most Impressive: Machu Picchu, Galapagos, Komodo & Grand Canyon

Recently Visited WHS

Update 05.10.23: Khami Ruins

Visited WHS

Rating Stats

Angkor 5

Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 5

Dolomites 5

Galapagos Islands 5

Grand Canyon 5

Komodo National Park 5

Machu Picchu 5

Petra 5

Taj Mahal 5

West Norwegian Fjords 5

Ancient Thebes 4.5

Baalbek 4.5

Florence 4.5

Great Wall 4.5

Manu National Park 4.5

Ngorongoro 4.5

Nikko 4.5

Plitvice Lakes 4.5

Qadisha Valley 4.5

Rila Monastery 4.5

Rome 4.5

Serengeti 4.5

Sigiriya 4.5

Venice and its Lagoon 4.5

Victoria Falls 4.5

Wadi Rum 4.5

Xochicalco 4.5

Acropolis 4

Aggtelek and Slovak Karst 4

Ajanta Caves 4

Alto Douro 4

Ancient Kyoto 4

Aphrodisias 4

Archaeological Site of Delphi 4

Borobudur 4

Brugge 4

Budapest 4

Decorated cave of Pont d'Arc 4

Dinosaur Provincial Park 4

Dougga/Thugga 4

Dubrovnik 4

Durmitor National Park 4

Edinburgh 4

Ellora Caves 4

Ephesus 4

Fatehpur Sikri 4

Grand Place, Brussels 4

Gros Morne National Park 4

Guanajuato 4

Gunung Mulu 4

Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago 4

Hierapolis-Pamukkale 4

Huascaran National Park 4

Humayun's Tomb 4

Imperial Palace 4

Istanbul 4

Jantar Mantar 4

Kilimanjaro National Park 4

Lake Malawi 4

Maloti-Drakensberg Park 4

Mana Pools 4

Matobo Hills 4

Mesa Verde 4

Mistaken Point 4

Mount Etna 4

Namib Sand Sea 4

Okavango Delta 4

Oporto 4

Palau de la Musica Catalana & Hospital de Sant Pau 4

Ping Yao 4

Pompei 4

Prague 4

Prambanan 4

Qhapaq Ñan 4

Qutb Minar 4

Red Bay Basque Whaling Station 4

Richtersveld 4

Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo 4

Sceilg Mhichíl 4

Selous Game Reserve 4

Teotihuacan 4

Toledo 4

Tsodilo 4

Vatican City 4

Vatnajökull National Park 4

Villages with Fortified Churches 4

Viñales Valley 4

Wadi Al-Hitan 4

Wood Buffalo National Park 4

Works of Antoni Gaudí 4

Aachen Cathedral 3.5

Amami-Oshima Island 3.5

Amphitheater of El Jem 3.5

Amsterdam Canal Ring 3.5

Ancient Nara 3.5

Anuradhapura 3.5

Arab-Norman Palermo 3.5

Assisi 3.5

Bamberg 3.5

Bauhaus Sites 3.5

Brú na Bóinne 3.5

Butrint 3.5

Camino Real 3.5

Carlsbad Caverns 3.5

Chola Temples 3.5

Cienfuegos 3.5

City of Luxembourg 3.5

Cordoba 3.5

Costiera Amalfitana 3.5

Cuenca 3.5

Cuzco 3.5

Dholavira: A Harappan City 3.5

El Pinacate 3.5

El Tajin 3.5

Epidaurus 3.5

Etruscan Necropolises 3.5

Evora 3.5

Fujisan 3.5

Garajonay 3.5

Genoa 3.5

Granada 3.5

Graz 3.5

Great Zimbabwe 3.5

Hampi 3.5

Heritage of Mercury 3.5

Hill Forts of Rajasthan 3.5

Himeji-jo 3.5

Horyu-ji Area 3.5

Hué 3.5

Isole Eolie 3.5

Jelling 3.5

Keoladeo National Park 3.5

Khami Ruins 3.5

Kinabalu Park 3.5

Kinderdijk 3.5

Kotor 3.5

Kraków 3.5

Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou 3.5

L'Anse aux Meadows 3.5

Laponian Area 3.5

Loire Valley 3.5

Mahabalipuram 3.5

Malbork Castle 3.5

Mapungubwe 3.5

Matera 3.5

Megalithic Temples of Malta 3.5

Monastery of Batalha 3.5

Mont-Saint-Michel 3.5

Mostar 3.5

Mudejar Architecture of Aragon 3.5

My Son 3.5

Mystras 3.5

Nasca Lines 3.5

Neolithic Orkney 3.5

Nubian Monuments 3.5

Ohrid Region 3.5

Old Havana 3.5

Olympia 3.5

Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles 3.5

Paphos 3.5

Petäjävesi Old Church 3.5

Phong Nha - Ke Bang 3.5

Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 3.5

Pilgrimage Church of Wies 3.5

Plain of Jars 3.5

Pont du Gard 3.5

Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands 3.5

Preah Vihear Temple 3.5

Quedlinburg 3.5

Quito 3.5

Québec 3.5

Rammelsberg and Goslar 3.5

Rani-ki-Vav 3.5

Reims 3.5

Riga 3.5

Rock Art of Alta 3.5

Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara 3.5

San Gimignano 3.5

Sangay National Park 3.5

Santa Ana de los Rios de Cuenca 3.5

Santa Maria delle Grazie 3.5

Segovia 3.5

Selimiye Mosque 3.5

Seville 3.5

Shirakami-Sanchi 3.5

Shiretoko 3.5

Siena 3.5

Sighisoara 3.5

Skocjan Caves 3.5

Spissky Hrad and Levoca 3.5

Split 3.5

Summer Palace 3.5

Surtsey 3.5

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona 3.5

Tallinn 3.5

Teide National Park 3.5

Telc 3.5

Temple of Heaven 3.5

Tequila 3.5

Tiwanaku 3.5

Trier 3.5

Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios 3.5

Tugendhat Villa 3.5

Urnes Stave Church 3.5

Vat Phou 3.5

Versailles 3.5

Vienna 3.5

Villa d'Este 3.5

Wachau Cultural Landscape 3.5

Wartburg Castle 3.5

Waterton Glacier International Peace Park 3.5

Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 3.5

Yakushima 3.5

Zacatecas 3.5

Zamość 3.5

ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape 3.5

Abbey of St Gall 3

Agra Fort 3

Altamira Cave 3

Amiens Cathedral 3

Anjar 3

Arequipa 3

Arles 3

Auschwitz Birkenau 3

Avignon 3

Avila 3

Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains 3

Bardejov Town 3

Belem 3

Berat and Gjirokastra 3

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe 3

Bom Jesus do Monte 3

Boyana Church 3

Bryggen 3

Bursa and Cumalikizik 3

Byblos 3

Caceres 3

Cape Floral Region 3

Caral-Supe 3

Castel del Monte 3

Causses and Cévennes 3

Central Highlands 3

Cesky Krumlov 3

Chaco Culture 3

Champagne 3

Chan Chan 3

Chavin 3

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus 3

Churches and Convents of Goa 3

Churches of Peace 3

Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay 3

City of Bath 3

Cologne Cathedral 3

Convent of Christ in Tomar 3

Curonian Spit 3

Danube Delta 3

Dutch Water Defence Lines 3

Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs 3

Elvas 3

Ferrara 3

Fontainebleau 3

Fortified City of Carcassonne 3

Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda 3

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings 3

Frontiers of the Roman Empire 3

Genbaku Dome 3

Giant's Causeway 3

Guimarães 3

Gulf of California 3

Gusuku of Ryukyu 3

Gwynedd Castles 3

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump 3

High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago 3

Hiraizumi 3

Hoi An 3

Hospicio Cabañas 3

Imperial Tombs 3

Itsukushima Shrine 3

Jaipur City, Rajasthan 3

Jodrell Bank Observatory 3

Joggins Fossil Cliffs 3

Jomon Prehistoric Sites 3

Koh Ker 3

Kronborg Castle 3

Kutna Hora 3

La Lonja de la Seda 3

Lake District 3

Land of Frankincense 3

Le Havre 3

Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 3

Litomysl Castle 3

Longobards in Italy 3

Lyon 3

Lübeck 3

Maison Carrée of Nîmes 3

Major Town Houses 3

Mantua and Sabbioneta 3

Margravial Opera House 3

Maritime Greenwich 3

Maulbronn Monastery 3

Mazagan 3

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 3

Medina of Fez 3

Medina of Marrakesh 3

Messel Pit 3

Modena 3

Monastery of Alcobaça 3

Morelia 3

Museumsinsel (Museum Island) 3

Mycenae and Tiryns 3

Mérida 3

Nancy 3

Nessebar 3

Nesvizh 3

Old Rauma 3

Old Town Lunenburg 3

Old Town of Galle 3

Orange 3

Painted Churches in the Troödos Region 3

Pannonhalma 3

Paquimé 3

Paris, Banks of the Seine 3

Pattadakal 3

Peking Man Site 3

Pergamon 3

Pienza 3

Pirin National Park 3

Polonnaruva 3

Potsdam 3

Poverty Point 3

Puebla 3

Pyramids (Memphis) 3

Qal'at al-Bahrain 3

Querétaro 3

Ravenna 3

Red Fort 3

Regensburg 3

Rideau Canal 3

Risco Caido 3

Rjukan / Notodden 3

Robben Island 3

Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin 3

Royal Palace at Caserta 3

Røros 3

Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy 3

Salamanca 3

Salzburg 3

Sambor Prei Kuk 3

San Antonio Missions 3

San Marino and Mount Titano 3

San Miguel de Allende 3

Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 3

Singapore Botanic Gardens 3

Sinharaja Forest 3

Sintra 3

Statue of Liberty 3

Stonehenge 3

Strasbourg 3

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 3

Syracuse 3

Talayotic Menorca 3

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae 3

The Prosecco Hills 3

Thingvellir 3

Torun 3

Trogir 3

Twyfelfontein 3

Tyre 3

Upper Middle Rhine Valley 3

Urbino 3

Val di Noto 3

Valletta 3

Vegaøyan 3

Venetian Works of Defence 3

Verona 3

Vicenza and the Palladian Villas 3

Villa Adriana (Tivoli) 3

Villa Romana del Casale 3

Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont 3

Visby 3

Vizcaya Bridge 3

Wadden Sea 3

Warsaw 3

Westminster 3

Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi 3

Würzburg Residence 3

iSimangaliso Wetland Park 3

Aflaj irrigation system 2.5

Agrigento 2.5

Ahmadabad 2.5

Al Ain 2.5

Albi 2.5

Alcala de Henares 2.5

Antequera Dolmens Site 2.5

Asturian Monuments 2.5

Ayutthaya 2.5

Bali Subak system 2.5

Ban Chiang 2.5

Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn 2.5

Belfries 2.5

Bellinzone 2.5

Benedictine Convent of St. John 2.5

Białowieża Forest 2.5

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape 2.5

Bordeaux 2.5

Botanical Garden, Padua 2.5

Bourges Cathedral 2.5

Burgos Cathedral 2.5

Burgundy 2.5

Cahokia Mounds 2.5

Canal du Midi 2.5

Carthage 2.5

Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust 2.5

Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 2.5

Centennial Hall 2.5

Central University City Campus of the UNAM 2.5

Champaner-Pavagadh 2.5

Chartres Cathedral 2.5

Choirokoitia 2.5

Cilento and Vallo di Diano 2.5

Coa Valley and Siega Verde 2.5

Dacian Fortresses 2.5

Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios 2.5

Derwent Valley Mills 2.5

Donana National Park 2.5

Dong Phayayen 2.5

Durham Castle and Cathedral 2.5

El Escurial 2.5

Elephanta Caves 2.5

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.5

Fagus Factory 2.5

Fortifications of Vauban 2.5

Fortress of Suomenlinna 2.5

Fossil Hominid Sites 2.5

Gammelstad 2.5

Gamzigrad-Romuliana 2.5

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 2.5

Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 2.5

Grand Canal 2.5

Grimeton Radio Station 2.5

Hedeby and Danevirke 2.5

Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region 2.5

Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 2.5

Holasovice 2.5

Independence Hall 2.5

Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 2.5

Ironbridge Gorge 2.5

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine 2.5

Kairouan 2.5

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 2.5

Kerkuane 2.5

Kew Gardens 2.5

Kii Mountain Range 2.5

Kondoa 2.5

Kyiv Cathedral and Lavra 2.5

Las Medulas 2.5

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 2.5

Lima 2.5

Luang Prabang 2.5

Luther Memorials 2.5

Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt 2.5

Medina of Sousse 2.5

Medina of Tunis 2.5

Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge 2.5

Melaka and George Town 2.5

Monastery of Horezu 2.5

Monticello 2.5

Naples 2.5

Nice 2.5

Okinoshima Island 2.5

Palmeral of Elche 2.5

Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk 2.5

Plantin-Moretus Museum 2.5

Poblet Monastery 2.5

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal 2.5

Popocatepetl monasteries 2.5

Quseir Amra 2.5

Rabat 2.5

Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple 2.5

Reichenau 2.5

Rietveld Schröderhuis 2.5

Rock Carvings in Tanum 2.5

Rock Drawings in Valcamonica 2.5

Roskilde Cathedral 2.5

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 2.5

Saint-Emilion 2.5

Saint-Savin sur Gartempe 2.5

Santiago de Compostela 2.5

Schönbrunn 2.5

Semmering Railway 2.5

ShUM Sites 2.5

Southern Öland 2.5

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District 2.5

Stevns Klint 2.5

Stralsund and Wismar 2.5

Struve Geodetic Arc 2.5

Studenica Monastery 2.5

Studley Royal Park 2.5

Su Nuraxi di Barumini 2.5

Tarraco 2.5

Thang Long 2.5

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 2.5

The trulli of Alberobello 2.5

Thracian tomb of Kazanlak 2.5

Thracian tomb of Sveshtari 2.5

Tokaji Wine Region 2.5

Tomioka Silk Mill 2.5

Tower of London 2.5

Town Hall and Roland, Bremen 2.5

Trang An 2.5

Um er-Rasas 2.5

Val d'Orcia 2.5

Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai 2.5

Vilnius 2.5

Volubilis 2.5

Vredefort Dome 2.5

Vézère Valley 2.5

Western Ghats 2.5

Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska 2.5

Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians 2.5

Yuso and Suso Monasteries 2.5

Úbeda and Baeza 2.5

Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch 2

Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque 2

Aranjuez 2

As-Salt 2

Atapuerca 2

Bahla Fort 2

Banska Stiavnica 2

Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" 2

Canterbury 2

Caves and Ice Age Art 2

Chongoni Rock Art 2

Christiansfeld 2

Citadel of the Ho Dynasty 2

Classical Weimar 2

Corvey 2

Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland 2

Dilmun Burial Mounds 2

Drottningholm 2

Falun Great Copper Mountain 2

Fertö/Neusiedlersee 2

Flemish Béguinages 2

Gorham's Cave Complex 2

Grand Pré 2

Great Spa Towns of Europe 2

Historic Cairo 2

Hollókö 2

Holy Trinity Column 2

Hortobágy 2

Ibiza 2

Ichkeul National Park 2

Jewish-Medieval heritage of Erfurt 2

Kandy 2

Karlskrona 2

Kladruby nad Labem 2

Laurisilva of Madeira 2

Lenggong Valley 2

Madara Rider 2

Mafra 2

Mammoth Cave 2

Medici Villas and Gardens 2

Medina Azahara 2

Medina of Essaouira 2

Medina of Tétouan 2

Meknes 2

Mir Castle 2

Monte San Giorgio 2

Muskauer Park 2

Naumburg Cathedral 2

Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 2

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 2

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai 2

Old City of Berne 2

Par force hunting landscape 2

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy 2

Rhaetian Railway 2

Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 2

San Cristobal de La Laguna 2

Sangiran Early Man Site 2

Serra de Tramuntana 2

Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution 2

Speyer Cathedral 2

Stari Grad Plain 2

Stari Ras and Sopocani 2

Stone Town of Zanzibar 2

Taos Pueblo 2

The Four Lifts 2

The Porticoes of Bologna 2

The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales 2

Tlacotalpan 2

Tower of Hercules 2

Trebic 2

Troy 2

University of Coimbra 2

Van Nellefabriek 2

Verla Groundwood and Board Mill 2

Vlkolinec 2

Vézelay 2

Water Management System of Augsburg 2

Xanthos-Letoon 2

Yogyakarta 2

Žatec – Landscape of Hops 2

Aquileia 1.5

Beemster Polder 1.5

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates 1.5

Birka and Hovgarden 1.5

Colonies of Benevolence 1.5

Crespi d'Adda 1.5

Djerba 1.5

Engelsberg Ironworks 1.5

Forth Bridge 1.5

Ivrea 1.5

Kernavė 1.5

La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle 1.5

Miguasha National Park 1.5

Mining Cultural Landscape Erzgebirge 1.5

Mining Sites of Wallonia 1.5

Mozu-Furuichi Kofungun 1.5

New Lanark 1.5

Pearling 1.5

Plečnik's Ljubljana 1.5

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings 1.5

Provins 1.5

Qalhat 1.5

Roman Walls of Lugo 1.5

Route of Santiago de Compostela 1.5

Saltaire 1.5

Sammallahdenmäki 1.5

Santa Maria de Guadalupe 1.5

Schokland 1.5

Stoclet House 1.5

Viking Age Ring Fortresses 1.5

Krzemionki prehistoric flint mines 1

Primeval Beech Forests 1

Skogskyrkogarden 1

Stećci 1

Zollverein 1

Blenheim Palace 0.5

Danube Limes 0.5

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 0.5

Lower German Limes 0.5

Srebarna Nature Reserve 0.5

Völklingen Ironworks 0.5

Funerary and memory sites of the First World War

Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro

World Heritage Site

for World Heritage Travellers

Svein Elias Profile

Visited Sites Svein Elias

Legend

Recent Reviews Svein Elias

Jomon Prehistoric Sites

Amami-Oshima Island

Richtersveld

Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains

Mapungubwe

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Visited WHS

Reviewed WHS

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Reviewed TWHS

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