Above: Gapado from Olle 10
Olle 8: 10 November 2025
A few weeks previously, I had joined a D of E Bronze Award group for their training. Unlike the students, I did not need to carry my tent, as it was taken by car. However, I did carry my sleeping bag and spare clothes. We overnighted at a camping site with good facilities. It was next to a beach and we could see the squid fishing boats way out to sea. They use baited hooks with a plastic lure. The light from the boats reflects off the lures and the squid attack the lures.
There are not many official camping sites on Jeju, but that trip wetted my appetite for some backpacking micro adventures. It rained the last time I did this route. On this occasion, the forecast was to stay dry.
I was trying out one new gear, including a NEMO Kunai 2P tent, NEMO Tensor sleeping mat and a Deuter Aircontact backpack.
The previous time I was with a small group of colleagues, so I did not stop to investigate the Yakcheonsa Temple. This time, I removed my boots and explored inside. I was carrying a small tripod which enabled me to take some photographs of slower shutter speeds and base ISO.
There are not many official camping sites on Jeju, but that trip wetted my appetite for some backpacking micro adventures. It rained the last time I did this route. On this occasion, the forecast was to stay dry.
I was trying out one new gear, including a NEMO Kunai 2P tent, NEMO Tensor sleeping mat and a Deuter Aircontact backpack.
The previous time I was with a small group of colleagues, so I did not stop to investigate the Yakcheonsa Temple. This time, I removed my boots and explored inside. I was carrying a small tripod which enabled me to take some photographs of slower shutter speeds and base ISO.
Moving onwards, I stopped for an ice cream and found a bug hitching a ride on my backpack. It was a western conifer seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) - invasive from the western USA. The fruit is a prickly pear. The two brown insects are a type of skipper butterfly (family Hesperiidae). The flowers the butterflies are on are likely Cooper's ice plant (Delosperma cooperi). This plant is native to South Africa. As with many places, there are many non-indigenous species to be found on Jeju.
The route ends at Daepyeong-pogu. I could not find any attractive places to camp. I had passed some good places, but they were not close to shops or restaurants. I was only carrying snacks. I went tot he Napoli Pizzeria for food, on the basis that I could ask the staff about any suitable places. They knew nothing and told me that it was not allowed. They crossed their arms into an X and said "POLICE".
I probably should have retraced my steps to a place that I had seen, but I took a taxi to Hwang Golden Beach where camping is allowed. There is even a toiled block that is left open overnight, as well as a shop and a few restaurants. I had practiced pitching the tent on campus. I think it is good that I had done so as I was pitching the tent in the dark. Other than having women tripping over my guy lines, I enjoyed a peaceful night. I do not know if it was the same person both times, but my WTF exclamations resulted in apologetic female voices on both occasions. Why is it that people trip over guy lines. Why do they even go so close to other people's space? Do they lack any kind of night vision? There is a fair amount of light from distant lamps and the guy ropes have a reflective fleck in them! It is not as though the guys spread out far from the tent.
I probably should have retraced my steps to a place that I had seen, but I took a taxi to Hwang Golden Beach where camping is allowed. There is even a toiled block that is left open overnight, as well as a shop and a few restaurants. I had practiced pitching the tent on campus. I think it is good that I had done so as I was pitching the tent in the dark. Other than having women tripping over my guy lines, I enjoyed a peaceful night. I do not know if it was the same person both times, but my WTF exclamations resulted in apologetic female voices on both occasions. Why is it that people trip over guy lines. Why do they even go so close to other people's space? Do they lack any kind of night vision? There is a fair amount of light from distant lamps and the guy ropes have a reflective fleck in them! It is not as though the guys spread out far from the tent.
This is quite a busy little port and they are constructing a new ward. My neighbours with were talking loudly as they packed up at 0500, so I was woken up fairly early. My tent survived their clumsy feet.
Olle 9 - 11 November 2025
My campsite was actually at the end of Olle 9/start of Olle 10. I was unsure if my tent and gear would be safe on the beach. Jeju is a very safe place with very low crime. However, I decided not to take the risk, even if it was very small. Furthermore, I packed up my stuff thinking that maybe I could leave some gear at the Olle shop next to the stamping station. I waited for the shop to open at 0830. While the lady was very charming, she told be that it was not possible to leave stuff at the shop for collection later in the day.
I tried to order a taxi back to the start of Olle 9. The app kept on setting my starting point to Seoul City Hall! I have had this before. My phone is over seven years old and the battery is not as good as it was, so I leave my phone turned off. When I turn it on, it takes time for the app to accept that I am on Jeju. It shows my location correctly but will not allow me to set it as the starting point of my journey. Eventually, it sorted itself out and I was off back to Daepyeon-pogu.
I tried to order a taxi back to the start of Olle 9. The app kept on setting my starting point to Seoul City Hall! I have had this before. My phone is over seven years old and the battery is not as good as it was, so I leave my phone turned off. When I turn it on, it takes time for the app to accept that I am on Jeju. It shows my location correctly but will not allow me to set it as the starting point of my journey. Eventually, it sorted itself out and I was off back to Daepyeon-pogu.
Looking across from the start of the trail to where I had dinner the previous evening.
In my first round of the Olle trails, this was my favourite route. I had seen and obtained a reasonably photograph of an Asian roe deer and photographed a particularly large joro spider and a wasp spider. I had also seen people rehearsing for a concert in the Andeok gorge. It is one of the shorter trails at 12 km but it has more ascent than most so it is not the easiest.
It has struck me that I see very little insect life where there are cultivated fields. Sometimes, it is that a specific species of plant attracts butterflies, but I think that the wide use of insecticides have indiscriminately killed most of the butterflies. There was a country lane that was raised above the fields which possibly avoids the worst of the sprays. The butterfly is feeding on the nectar from the ivy's flowers (the small green/reddish buds), not the berries themselves.
The exotic looking flower is a passion flower, likely Passiflora caerulea.
On reaching the top of Gunsyan Orem, I set up my tripod for a 12 second delay selfie at the stamping station that doubles as a bench.
The exotic looking flower is a passion flower, likely Passiflora caerulea.
On reaching the top of Gunsyan Orem, I set up my tripod for a 12 second delay selfie at the stamping station that doubles as a bench.
There is a lack of cafes on this route, though I could have crossed the road to a GS25 mini-market. I decided to push on and reached the end at around 1530. The lady at the Olle shop - a converted ship container - greeted me with a smile. She seemed surprised to see me so early. There was time to set up my tent and relax/hydrate before dinner. While erecting my tent, I saw four colleagues passing by and I called out to them.
Olle 10: 12 November 2025
It had been my intention to break camp early, but I slept through to around 0730, sleeping through the noise of the construction site. I wanted to make an early start for two reasons. One, to allow me plenty of time to relax with iced coffees in the cafes and secondly, I had not done my research to find out at what time the last ferry set sail for Gapado.
The route passes a bit of a tourist honeypot below the Buddhist temple at Sangbangsan and then a section that is very popular for people who want a much shorter walk around the area of the Songak-san observatory. In the photographs below, spot the basalt pillars (like Kilt Rock on Skye). I am curious about the steps in the cliffs. They seemed to suddenly stop, possibly due to the cliff falling into the sea. There was clearly once posts and presumably some sort of railing.
I am not sure that the matting is really necessary, thought is grippy and is softer on the knees during descent. These men seemed to be loading the matting rather than unloading it. I have no idea why.
The route passes a bit of a tourist honeypot below the Buddhist temple at Sangbangsan and then a section that is very popular for people who want a much shorter walk around the area of the Songak-san observatory. In the photographs below, spot the basalt pillars (like Kilt Rock on Skye). I am curious about the steps in the cliffs. They seemed to suddenly stop, possibly due to the cliff falling into the sea. There was clearly once posts and presumably some sort of railing.
I am not sure that the matting is really necessary, thought is grippy and is softer on the knees during descent. These men seemed to be loading the matting rather than unloading it. I have no idea why.
I am impressed by the Google lens in this instance: "The image shows a concrete aircraft hangar or bunker, likely a remnant of a World War II airfield, possibly the Alddreu Airfield on Jeju Island, South Korea.
The structure is a semi-subterranean concrete arch, likely built by the Japanese military during their occupation to house aircraft or artillery.
Inside the hangar is a large, skeletal metal sculpture resembling a vintage aircraft, possibly a Zero fighter, which was commonly used by the Japanese Navy during the war." Zero fighter refers to the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero".
The structure is a semi-subterranean concrete arch, likely built by the Japanese military during their occupation to house aircraft or artillery.
Inside the hangar is a large, skeletal metal sculpture resembling a vintage aircraft, possibly a Zero fighter, which was commonly used by the Japanese Navy during the war." Zero fighter refers to the Mitsubishi A6M "Zero".
I do not know how much of the old airfield remains. This is very much an agricultural area. Here, the ladies are harvesting the sweet potatoes.
I did not quite complete the route, but headed left for the ferry. On arrival, I was told the that the last ferry was at 15:50. I had 30 minutes. It takes a little while to complete the form with my ID number, telephone number, next of kin, etc.
Olle 10-1: 12 November 2025
I was the only passenger on the ferry!
On reaching the other side, I was very curious about this man won was dressed up like John Bull. I spotted him boarding the Gapado ferry back across to Jeju. When he spotted me with my camera, he shuffled behind other people to hide. I knew that I would probably get I'm on the gangplank as people usually board in single file. I really should have got closer. What is the story? Is he some eccentric millionaire. Why would anyone go to a small Korean island, of an area less than a square kilometre and a population of less than 300, dressed like that?
On reaching the other side, I was very curious about this man won was dressed up like John Bull. I spotted him boarding the Gapado ferry back across to Jeju. When he spotted me with my camera, he shuffled behind other people to hide. I knew that I would probably get I'm on the gangplank as people usually board in single file. I really should have got closer. What is the story? Is he some eccentric millionaire. Why would anyone go to a small Korean island, of an area less than a square kilometre and a population of less than 300, dressed like that?
I headed across to a coffee shop. They only served coffee and desserts, as is often the case in Korea. I asked bout the existence of a restaurant, He was really helpful and directed me down the "main road" that runs across the centre of the island. He said "twenty minutes". Any sensible person would have headed straight for the food, but I decided to do the trail first! I found the campsite, but before pitching my tent, I tracked down the restaurant from the other end of the road. There were two ladies running the place, probably mother and daughter. I asked about a menu. She pointed to the pictures on the wall.
I was beginning to think that I would have to dine on the cereal bars in the pockets of my backpack, so finding this place was fantastic!. Korean seafood pancake, known as Haemul Pajeon. The small, dark, spiral-shelled molluscs visible in the dish are sea snails, which are a common type of seafood used in Korean cuisine. There are also spring onions and red chillies. Of course, all the better washed down by a cold beer. The two ladies were such delightful hosts and I appreciate them staying open after all the "coffee and dessert" places had closed.
This was the fourth time of pitching my tent including putting it up on campus. It was my second time putting it up in the dark! I got the tripod out and took a few photographs. The red grass is due to my head torch being set to red. This preserves night vision, which is useful for activities like stargazing or night hiking because it prevents your pupils from dilating like they would with a bright white light. The final one, I used my head torch on white mode to try and prevent the blown out patches created bu the light sources in the tent. Photogrphing my new tent in the dark was always a part of the plan, especially as it is orange-yellow, rather than the dark green of my Hilleberg Suolo.
I was up reasonably early, but pottered about and I was very meticulous in my packing, including cleaning my tent pegs under running water. I prepared myself for a cold shower, but much to my surprise, the water came out hot - and there was even a bar of soap! This was my first shower after three days of hiking.
Looking across to Hallasan 1950m. This is the highest point in South Korea. It was windy, so I positioned my tripod in a sheltered spot and set camera to aperture priority, using f/16 for a good depth of field, 1/30th second and base ISO of 100.
The photography continued as I walked down the Main Street back to the ferry port, picking up a hot coffee, before presenting my ticket about 20 minutes before the timetabled sailing at 0920. This time, there were about eight other people, though two of them were just collecting sacks of potatoes from Molseopo Port.
The bird is a male Daurian redstart (Phoenicurus auroreus). A part of me wishes that I had my 300mm lens on me but I would not have wanted to carry if for four days. Besides, it is currently in Scotland!
I had the last kilometre of Olle 10 to do before having breakfast in a nearby cafe that was only a minor detour, and then continuing along Olle 11.
Olle 11: 13 November 2025
I had a bit of a nightmare on my previous visit. On arriving at the start, I realised that I had forgot my Olle passport, so I took a taxi back home to pick it up. While home, I put down my wallet and on my return to the start of the route, I realised that I did not have my wallet and had to ask the taxi driver to do a u-turn to take me back to pick it up before heading out to the start for a third time! I had also badly trained my ankle while walking through the gotjawal (forest).
This time everything went just fine. I passed a large group going through the gotjawal (forest). I do not take many photographs in the forests. It is a genre that I struggle with unless there are mushrooms to photograph. This is definitely not one of my favourites, though seeing the praying mantis was a big plus and it ends at an Olle centre with a nice little cafe that serves some refreshing homemade tangerine Greek yogurt and some tasty blueberry latte.
This time everything went just fine. I passed a large group going through the gotjawal (forest). I do not take many photographs in the forests. It is a genre that I struggle with unless there are mushrooms to photograph. This is definitely not one of my favourites, though seeing the praying mantis was a big plus and it ends at an Olle centre with a nice little cafe that serves some refreshing homemade tangerine Greek yogurt and some tasty blueberry latte.
