Travel tales that inspire adventure

I had an exhilarating experience on the west coast of Vancouver Island in Canada that changed my view of beaches as indolent, sun-soaked travel destinations. Here, where the Trans-Canada Highway finally peters out against a backdrop of snowy mountains, you'll find tiny fishing and logging town Tofino, where visitors come to whale-watch, hike among red cedars and sitka spruce, and walk the beaches – though they yearn not for blue skies but black clouds.

Tofino is one of the world's best storm-watching destinations, especially in winter. The perfect holiday weather sees howling winds, a moody sky and huge breakers roll in from the chilly North Pacific Ocean, spitting spray over jagged rocks and the thrill-seekers who battle their way along the beaches. Chesterman Beach is the most magnificent, storm-tossed with tree trunks, pounded by surf and backed by a forest of ancient cedars that sway and groan. You can feel the sand tremble beneath your boots as surf crashes. You'll appreciate the wild glory of nature and the tempestuous beauty of winter weather. Even better, though, you can retire afterwards to the Wickaninnish Inn, a luxury lodge that clings to the rocks and has cathedral windows in its gourmet restaurant, splattered in salt spray. Heave off your wet-weather gear, let your fingertips tingle in front of the fire, and reward yourself with a warming whiskey.

Ute Junker swims with a sea lion in the Galapagos

Up-close animal encounter don't come better than in the Galapagos Islands. You can sit a metre or two away from a pair of waved Albatross doing an intricate mating dance, get within spitting distance – literally – of marine iguanas, or lumber up to a giant tortoise. But nothing tops my memory of swimming with a sea lion in the equatorial waters of the island archipelago.

It was the sea lion that started it. While a group of its friends frolicked nearby, this one - a good-sized specimen, well over a metre long – was clearly curious about the two-legged intruders. The fearless creature had no hesitation in checking me out. After swimming around me, it decided to show off its acrobatic repertoire. Gracefully tumbling through a series of somersaults, then speeding towards the seafloor, before lazily corkscrewing its way back to me. Putting on another burst of speed, the sea lion skimmed underneath me, almost grazing my stomach, before finally popping its head up. I swear it had a grin on its face.

Floating side-by-side, the challenge was clear. The sea lion wanted to see what I could do. I gestured at it helplessly; there was no way I could compete. I did a duck dive and swam back up, clearly I was outclassed. This wonder of the water put on another show, demonstrating a few more smooth moves, before swimming away, leaving me delirious with delight.

Ben Groundwater and the art of sushi

This is art. You can't help but believe that as you watch the way the sushi master works, as you consider the deft stroke of his razor-sharp knife blade, as you see the way rice is molded with the subtle squeeze of his hand, as you watch the grace with which the seafood is draped across it, the almost dainty brushstrokes as sauce is added, and the reverence with which the finished morsel is placed in front of you.

Such creativity, it almost seems wrong to eat it. It seems such a shame that all of that dedication and talent will be devoured in just a single mouthful, savoured, enjoyed, and then gone. But the chef is already working on the next bite. The knife is out, the rice is handy. The cycle is beginning again.

This is the lively experience of eating sushi at a high-end Tokyo diner Kyubey. It bears no relevance whatsoever to the conveyor-belt sushi you've eaten in the past. This is art, pure and simple, the elevation of just a few ingredients to a whole different stratosphere of dining.

Kyubey is a well-known sushi bar at the higher end of the scale, though it's certainly not the city's most famous (a meal here costs about $100 – some of the best charge five times that amount). Still, the experience of sitting at the wooden counter and watching the chef at work here is phenomenal. The skill. The passion. The obvious dedication, as bite after bite is served, each morsel thoughtfully conceived and lovingly created. For anyone who loves food, this is the pinnacle. This is art.

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