I love mountains! This may be because usually they offer a lookout or two and, frequently, a good, feisty walk or a spectacular trip on a masterful feat of railway engineering. Some are close to home, others far away. Green, red, white, blue; snow-capped, sun-baked, forested, bare; cut by water, ice and wind. Mountains just sit there and beg to be looked at!

Below are a few images from mountains and high points I have captured and cherished. Click on an image to open a slideshow view…

Out back of Canberra, the Brindabella Ranges rise close to 2,000 metres and form part of a vast wilderness area eventually stretching all the way into Victoria

The Snowy Mountains in NSW are snowy for a few months of the year at least. This is taken from the Main Range trail, a fantastic loop walk taking in the best of the high country.

The Blue Mountains in NSW aren’t really mountains neither are they that blue! A high sandstone plateau carved by creeks and falls provides a captivating landscape with numerous lookouts!

Barely known, Mount Kaputar National Park sits in the NSW hinterland near Narrabri

The Grampians are like an island in the middle of the plains of western Victoria, the last significant expansion of the Great Dividing Range

Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain makes iconic status but is just one peak among many in a large wilderness of high moorland.

The Flinders Ranges in South Australia are far from the usual mountain scene of snow-capped forested peaks. But they are none the less stunning and evocative of the red heart of Australia

The Northern Flinders Ranges are very very ancient and were once a sea bed!

Western Australia is not renowned for its mountains, but The Stirling Ranges offer some steep walking, diverse flora, and exceptional views.

New Zealand does bigger mountains than Australia, and this is Mount Cook / Aoraki from the Hooker Valley

Fiordland National Park in New Zealand is truly inspirational, captured on this late afternoon walk on the Routeburn Track.

Volcanic mountains sit at the heart of the North Island of New Zealand in Tongariro National Park.

More volcanoes line the west coast of the USA, Mount Rainier being one of the most well-known (when it’s not behind cloud!)

Switzerland is perhaps the home to classical mountain scenery. This is some 3000 metres up (reached by cablecar) around Mount Titlis.

From Schilthorn in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland’s Jungfrau massif is home to famous peaks, epic train rides, and cheesy chocolatey cuckoo clocks

Snow in October in the Swiss Alps

The Dolomites in Italy, famed for their jaggedness and via ferrata for the intrepid

The Julien Alps in Slovenia provide a picturesque alternative to the more frequented mountain zones of Europe. Bled, as gorgeous as a fairytale in a chocolate box, sits at its heart.

My highest point, at the Aiguille du Midi (3,842m) on the slopes of Mont Blanc, is mercifully accessible by cablecar!

Annecy offers charm, chic and civilisation in the midst of the French Alps