I guess I’d have to say pretty much the entire country of New Zealand.
Three years ago was Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia (Uluru used to be called Ayers Rock). Two years ago was Kruger National Park in S. Africa. Last year was the Baltics and Norway and I can’t remember if I was in a Park or not. This year was China and the Terra-Cotta Army in X’ian, which is a World Heritage Site and ought to count.
And yes, I do travel a bit.
Added: Agree with Balthisar, most of N. Zealand (the South Island at least) should qualify.
Bermuda’s Blue Hole Park and Walsingham Nature Reserve
Prior to that, Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve
Several, but the latest was Arenal Volcano National Parkin Costa Rica. Absolutely amazing! Great views, diverse rain forest and a knowledgeable guide made for a great experience. The guide, who was also our bus driver, was a doctoral student doing his thesis on medicinal uses of indigenous plants. He knew the name and uses of virtually every plant in the rain forest and was extremely well versed in each animal and insect species as well. It was almost like taking a botany course while on a hike, with a healthy dollop of zoology thrown in. And we managed to pick one of the relatively few dry days in the rain forest! Win, win, win, win, win!
Not sure of the timeline, so it was either Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on the Uganda/Congo border or the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania.
I think it is probably the Golden Circle route in Iceland. Absolutely breathtaking. (Well, Geysir was interesting but not really breathtaking – but the other two attractions were incredible.)
Mole National Park in northern Ghana, many years ago. Did a guided walk with a ranger near one of the main watering holes and got fairly close to a full-grown elephant. Amazing experience. Also saw a fair number of antelope, warthogs, crocodiles, and monkeys.
ProbablyKhao Pra Wihan National Park in Thailand. It’s located right on the border with Cambodia and I believe it was once a disputed region. Maybe it still is, given the military presence that was there.
If we’re talking all time rather than most recent:
[ul]
[li]Annapurna Circuit in Nepal[/li][li]Lots of national parks in New Zealand (both islands)[/li][li]Northern Thailand and some islands off shore[/li][li]Ankor Wat in Cambodia[/li][li]A few parks in central Ireland[/li][li]The reefs off of Grand Cayman[/li][li]All sorts of stuff in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France - too numerous to count[/li][li]Volcanos in Iceland, and Mt Sneffles peninsula [/li][li]Several parks on Hokkaido, Japan, as well as Nikko closer to Tokyo[/li][li]Lots of stuff in western Canada[/li][li]Western Dominican Republic[/li][li]The Coorg region west of Bangalore India[/li][/ul]
Not really a national park, but certainly a national treasure, Koyasan in Japan is located due south of Osaka, and fairly close to the old capital of Nara. It is a large complex of Buddhist temples and, I believe, the site of the earliest Buddhist temples in Japan. The setting is awe-inspiring - isolated and set among the cedar-covered slopes of Mt Koya (from Osaka it’s a train and a bus and a funicular to get there), the complex is not visited by many foreign tourists. The only accommodations are in the temples, which range from Spartan to luxurious. It’s considered the stepping off place for the temple pilgrimage around Shikoku.
It is very peaceful and beautiful, and I recommend it. Since accommodations are so limited, reservations are a very good idea.
Phong Nha National Park Vietnam, brilliant cave system to explore, spectacular surroundings.
Before that Angkor Wat (Cambodia) International Marathon, (we did the walking path), but all the races (including one for amputees, where all the money raised goes), literally run around the temples. It’s brilliant!
(I think both may be UNESCO World Heritage site’s as well as national parks.)
The most recent I think would be Komodo National Park, mostly on a boat to dive. I did visit a few of the little islands close to Flores as well, though not Komodo itself; I only had a few days and the options for getting to Komodo seemed to be either out of my price range or exceedingly dodgy. There are dragons on some of the other islands anyway, which I did see.
It’s an interesting place, and I cannot recommend the diving highly enough.
Great pictures! I’m looking forward to checking out that park (as well as other parts of Croatia) this coming summer.
While in Scotland and Ireland last August we visited Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, as well as Cairngorms in Scotland. In Ireland we visited Killarney and The Burren. All of them were beautiful in their own special ways.
Many Mayan ruins in Mexico, and one in Guatemala.
A volcano in Costa Rica.
Castles in Germany.
I think it was Yosemite, two years ago.
This New Year, I’ve hired a cottage in Snowdonia, which may count as ‘outside my home country’ depending on your definition of country. (Snowdonia is in Wales, I’m in England, both are in the UK).
Plitvice Lakes in Jezerce, Croatia
The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland for us. Very impressive, though it was a cool damp foggy day. Ireland is just beautiful.
Rebun Island in Japan does not suck at all.