The best way to kick start a summery trip to Israel’s more fertile north is to start heading up the Mediterranean coastline from Tel Aviv. The great coastal plains stretch all the way from Gaza down in the South up to the Lebanese border, where the country narrows down to a tiny 5-kilometres. The coastline itself has huge variety and plenty of highlights, from pretty fishing villages and ancient ports to splashy marinas.

Further north, Netanya’s 14-kilometre sandy beaches have attracted local holidaymakers and other travelers to this popular resort town, which has one of Israel’s biggest English-speaking ex-pat population, from Canada, the UK and America. Because Israel welcomes Jewish people from everywhere, there have been some remarkable population shifts over the decades.

There is a lot of development on the nearby hillsides and the tourist industry here is geared more to the mass market than the luxury traveler, but I enjoyed walking through the huge European style piazza in town, grabbing a coffee in one of the many little coffee nooks, and observing the surfers gliding across some fantastic waves on the surf beach. Netanya is a working, modern town, but I loved some of the neighbourhood streets, with terraced gardens lined with blue balustrades and manicured lawns. It’s more a pit-stop as you travel up the coast than an overnight stay.

The straight stretch of Mediterranean coastline from Gaza to Lebanon that we were driving along is only interrupted by Cape Carmel at Haifa Bay. This working port is Israel’s main maritime hub and the biggest city in the north, so there are plenty of reasons to stop your journey here.

After the Israeli flavour of the coastline so far, I was fascinated to see the big Arabic population, part of a melting pot mix with Jewish locals, including the Russian immigrants. As a university town, it also has an influx of students from around the country. Haifa’s amazing past is just as varied, so history buffs should definitely tour here and discover the many different layers to Haifa, which goes all the way back to the Bronze Age.

Living in a modern country like Australia, I always get a big kick out of towns that have existed and thrived since, in Haifa’s extraordinary case, 1400 years BC. Everyone who was anyone in the Eastern Mediterranean has tried to get their hands on such an important port: it has been conquered by Alexander the Great, Byzantines, the medieval knights of the Crusade, the Ottomans, the Mameluks and the Egyptians; it was even a pirate’s lair in the 18^th century - so there are plenty of tales to keep your guide busy!

Another cultural highlight, in fact one of the most amazing sights on this whole journey, is the SHRINE OF THE BAB, a beautiful, white domed temple style building that is not only at the heart of magnificent formal gardens, but a symbolic and spiritual centre for the Bahá’í Faith. The shrine is the final resting place of Báb - their “Prophet-Herald” whose 19^th century teachings preached that each successive religion has been a new revelation of god’s will - and that now the time has finally come for global unity. 

This makes the shrine a very holy site for followers, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But the sheer elegance and beauty of the garden alone is moving enough for travelers taking in the sights of northern Israel. Like a jewel, the golden-domed shrine is set amongst nineteen terraces that climb the northern slope of Mount Carmel. It’s a really gorgeous, enchanted garden of rolling green lawns, scarlet flower beds, fountains, and statues set in star shaped landscaping or framed by hedges. 

It is rare in the modern world, with our rambling, wilder parks and concrete public spaces, to see such a formal, fairy tale garden with balustrades and gates, dominated by the golden dome that lights up at night. It’s also worth making the ascent to look at the gardens spread out below, and the panoramic sweep out to the Galilee Hills, Akko and the Mediterranean Sea.

The gardens have been a big highlight on the cruise circuit and I enjoyed driving through. Those interested in stopping down at Haifa will find a flavourful mix of multi-ethnic neighborhoods like the GERMANY COLONY.

The real adventure for me of a journey to the north is the endless succession of historical gems that keep unfolding on the way. At the northern extremity of Haifa Bay this stunning, ancient city juts out into the Mediterranean, surrounded by water on three sides. 

Akko is not only famous for being one of the world’s oldest continuously -inhabited cities, first mentioned in Egyptian hieroglyphs 3500BC; another highlight is a walk around the 1000-year old WALLS that surround the old city. They are built in an irregular pyramid shape and the old craftsmanship has been brilliantly effective; they have withstood so many sieges from powerful armies. These rampart walls are straight out of an old adventure story, with latter-day structures like moats, towers and counter walls. 

My friends and I also loved the cultural change of seeing an Arab style fishing town, with the low-rise charm and organic feel of old stone buildings, marketplaces and fishing boats bobbing in the water. The silhouette is dotted with distinctively Arabic minarets, towers and domes - with the occasional contrast, like a white Catholic Church with a red spire. This was one of our favourite gems…

I found it exciting to turn inland and head East to this unknown part of Israel - with the added intensity of driving along the Lebanese border. The relationship between Israel and Lebanon has only gotten worse since this visit, so check on status before embarking on this journey. 

As we slowly snaked along the border roads we saw the remnence of old tanks left to rust, border towers and a lot of military radars. We found a border post of young soldiers wearing khaki and green berets - including a young Druize . Some of them were young kids looking across into Lebanon, standing beside their Hummers. The ultimate price of all conflict is sadly there also: the area is littered with memorials to those who have died. 

The next day my group of five friends took off from our village base of Gush Halav to join a large group of 50 other riders for our bicycle journey to Mt Meron, about 10 kms southwest. It’s the highest mountain in Israel, also known in Arabic as JABAL AL-JARMAQ, which we could see silhouetted on the horizon from Safed.  

Two of my friends used to go mountain bike riding with a local Israeli here who once lived in our hometown, Sydney. He’s a very serious bike rider who was also leading this whole Israeli group, and has an interesting, alpha male past as a fighter pilot (as did many in this group). My friends were much more accomplished riders than me (I’m a jogging man), but it was impossible not to fall under the spell of the road: the breeze is on your face and the whirr of 100 wheels as the biblical landscape goes by at fairly high speed.

There were only a couple of girls in our group, and we rode the whole day before reaching the gorgeous mountain setting. The 3,926 feet Mt Meron is part of a natural reserve, with two wooded peaks covered in endless groves of Cyprus oak and Arbutus groves that swept before me as I looked out over Galilee. 

Trekkers and nature lovers can climb the lush ascent, explore the caves and just enjoy the beauty - while history or theology buffs will be fascinated by the mountain’s connection with the mystical side of Jewish faith, KABBALAH. Many of the religion’s most inspiring forefathers are buried here, but it’s the tomb of RABBI SHIMON BAR YOCHAI that is the most famous and revered to Orthodox jews. 

Every year, on the anniversary of his death, a pilgrimage gathers to celebrate the traditional Jewish end-of-mourning ceremony, LAG B’OMER by joyously celebrating the Rabbi. Thousands camp out on the slopes in large tents by big bonfires, feasting, praying and playing music. I’d love to come back and join the party one day, but on this trip I was happy to make my own pilgrimage to this beautiful peak, with a community of fellow riders on a day’s bike ride. They all continued cycling, but I was ready to hit the road again and do my own thing; so my guide, David Shavit, who was showing me the basics of the north, picked me up to resume our journey. Onto my next experience!  

As we started to drive away from the border and head back to the south I followed the River Jordan towards the DEEP RIFT VALLEY, where it flows into this huge freshwater lake. This beautiful body of water is one of the great sights and iconic holiday destinations of the area, so it’s a must to spend some time on its shores. The actual point where the Lake and great river meet water is considered one of the world’s most sacred spots to be baptized.

I really wanted to try living amongst a real Israeli community, and it doesn’t get any more grass roots than these rural collectives and communities called kibbutzim. A lot of families in countries like the US and Canada sent their teenagers in the past to live and work in one, as a rite of passage, and ritual way to connect with their homeland and roots. Sadly, Kibbutzim has been disappearing throughout Israel over the past 15 years, and not as easy to find and visit. For a list of active Kibbutzim  refer 

http://www.kibbutz.org.il/eng/welcome.htm

The kibbutzim first sprung up here when the Eastern Europeans pogroms of the early 1900s drove many Jews out, and a minority came to Palestine - eventually founding these communal farms that combined the religious beliefs of Zionism with socialist, utopian ideals of equality and hard work. Over a century a whole kibbutz culture evolved into different factions with different beliefs. The Jewish presence in Israel also changed unrecognisably, from a tiny number of pioneering immigrants to a revolutionary force during the British mandate, then majority citizenship after Independence.

Of course, this has all had an effect on kibbutz life. But I had sentimental fantasies about life as a ”kibbutznik.” All my visions were of an idealized utopia where 5.00 o’clock came around and everybody poured in from the field, sharing stories of an honest day’s labour. There would be dances around the campfire, songs and the feel of a small community in harmony with each other.

As soon as I arrived at the KIBBUTZ KFARLID, somewhere near the town of Kiryat Shmona, where the border suddenly juts further north, I realized my clichés were somewhat locked in the past. The experience was interesting and pleasant, but not as authentic as I had hoped. I enjoyed meeting real Israelis out amongst acres of olive trees in the sun, hearing their hopes, concerns, enjoying their differences and relating to their similarities. But I had to get real. My original concept of agricultural labour in a communal enterprise has simply become at odds with Israel’s increasingly urbanised, privatized, secular modern culture. 

Today, most kibbutzim don’t pool their money into a collective, and have adapted to 21^st century life - although this is still ‘green living’ amongst the chicken coops. There are many different kibbutz communities in peripheral areas across the country, from the lush lands of the north near the river, where I visited, to the arid plains of the desert. There are 256 kibbutzim to choose from around Israel as a paying guest or volunteer for every kind of multi-generational, cultural experience - from youth oriented and individualistic to collectivist and religious.  Visitors can research them all online in a central directory. If you have plenty of time and curiosity, it’s a truly unique, Israeli experience.

Many people are drawn to Kiryat Shmona to take the stunning ride to the summit of the MANARA CLIFFS that loom above, the highest in Israel at 800 metres above town. I have been on a lot of cable car rides, and this is one of the most multi-faceted versions, with thrills at every turn.  At the first stop you can take a MINI-JEEP RIDE right along the cliff edge to feel the landscape, take a few giant leaps with a BUNGEE TRAMPOLINE, or let gravity do all the work and take the uphill journey in reverse, on a massive 1200-METRE mountain slide. I couldn’t help thinking that I would love to return here with my young daughter, Zoe. We bond over our love of finding the edge in extreme sports: not something most people would think of on a boys-only trip!