Monday 15 June 2009

The world’s top drives

Amalfi

Taking a break from its now regular promotion of  the increasingly discredited global warming myth, the National Geographic has a neat photo gallery of the world’s twenty best drives on which you should take your open top car: Drives of a Lifetime: The World's Greatest Scenic Routes.

DrivesFortunately I have eighteen of them still to look forward to – and since New Zealand’s North Island gets one of the twenty spots, described as having “some of the most varied and rugged landscapes on Earth,” it’s one to keep on regularly enjoying.

Check them all out here.  (That’s Italy’s Amalfi coast above, by the way, one I’d really like to try.)

And while we’re doing world geography, see how you go in these ten questions from America’s National Geography bee, a programme of the National Geographic Society. (See if you can better my eight out of ten.)

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

'Taking a break from its now regular promotion of the increasingly discredited global warming myth ...'

Bloody hell, when WILL you give it a rest? Oh yeh, sure, it's just incredible how many reputable climate scientists (i.e. the only ones I give two sh*ts about listening to) are now starting to reject the 'myth'. I mean, they're just everywhere aren't they? Everywhere.

Where are they?

Tell me something, is it possible for you to approach the topic of Climate Change objectively or do you just rely on the shocking misrepresentations by so-called 'experts'?

Thank goodness you're in such a tiny minority. For my children's sake, and their children.

Will de Cleene said...

Boring roads leads to bored drivers. With bends like that, outlawing text messaging while driving is superfluous there.

G. E. Light said...

An unfortunately North American-centric list. Some thoughts. Forget the Mississippi River Drive, Much of it flat and boring if not exactly straight with high levees blocking views of river.

They missed the most obvious one on East Coast Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive (the VA extension)

I've done the coastal most raoad or Highway 1/!)! and PCH in California south from oregon border to Santa Barbara and then south from LAX to Newport Beach/Irvine. As great as PCH. The bit north of Santa Cruz through Half Moon Bay and on up to San Francisco and esepcially the bit round the Marin Headlans by Golden Gate and on to Tomales Bay are just as spectacular and a lot closer to a lot of other stuff to do: wineries big cities. If doing PCH stop in Big Sur at Nepnethe and have a drink on redwood deck a 1000 feeat above the Pacific Ocean man!

Peter Cresswell said...

Anonymous (yes, always anonymous, eh), I refer here to the world's temperatures, which like the tides of King Canute flatly refuse to behave the way your supposedly "reputable" scientists predict they should.

Which should start to raise questions about their good repute, don't you think?

G. E. Light said...

Must be a bunch south of border in Andes and around Rio and Buenos Aires but I can plump for Mexico City to Cuzco

LGM said...

Ocean Rd in Victoria and South Australia.

Any autobahn (or other roadway) where you can get to more than 300km/hr (with the right vehicle).
LGM

Sus said...

Hi Bulb .. had to respond as I lived in Half Moon Bay, Ca. In fact, I lived on the coastal side of US1, approx 500m from the beach. Know the stretches of road you note well; drove them many times.

Gorgeous place to live & I loved it. (In spite of the fog).

Cheers.

G. E. Light said...

Sus some local knowledge

I always loved grabbing a blanket and heading outside and downstairs at Moss Beach Distillery with a nice single malt.

The Beach House social club tax write-off place they did jazz shows and of course Barbara's Fish Trap at Princeton-by-the-Sea

A fun drive would be from Stanford out 84 to San Gregorio store using the hidden back route off Sand Hill over to 84. At the store a left and south along Old Post Road to Pescadero for pie at Duartes and artichoke hearts sourdough rounds at Arcangeli.

TA.

twr said...

Odd that it's sponsored by Toyota, widely regarded as the purveyor of the most boring cars on earth.

G. E. Light said...

Why is that odd? Basic marketing principle: hip by association.

G. E. Light said...

Oh and 10 out of 10 on Geography Be. Which 2 got you PC? I admit my answer to 1 was a well informaed guess. But I knew the other 9 cold.