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12 Apostles, Australia
Wednesday 26th March 2008
The Great Ocean Road, one of the worlds greatest coastal drives. I got a train into Melbourne early in the morning and picked up the Ford Falcon, my hire car for the next few days. It took about an hour to get to Geelong which is south from Melbourne just at the south west corner of Port Philip Bay. From there the great ocean road heads south towards Torquay and then along the coast west approximately 300km.
Just about 100km along the coast is the main reason to embark along the ocean road, the 12 Apostles. A number of limestone stacks protruding from the ocean just off shore. I stopped off there about 3 times in total, a couple during the day and once at sunset.From Travel
12 Apostles, Australia
From Travel
Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
Tuesday 18th March 2008
The Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania hinges around Cradle Mountain and Dove Lake, the two prominent features of the northern region of this national park. We have spent the day walking around Dove Lake which only took a couple of hours. Despite the weather turning later on, the scenery was stunning.
A friend and I decided to drive down to the lake around 7.30am to get this shot.From Travel
Helecopter over the Grand Canyon, Arizona
From Travel
Hong King in Gloom, Hong King
Sunday 29th June
We got up really early, 3.30am, jumped in a cab around 4 and boarded a flight to Macau around 7. 2 ½ hours later as we made our descent to Macau international the visibility out of the window was non existent until we were virtually on the ground. On landing we were made to stay on the plane a further 20 minutes until the rain eased off a little The Macau tower was lost in cloud, and an abundance of lightening. Apparently it has rained every day here for a month!
We jumped on one of the many ferries that run between Macau and Hong Kong, the comfortable, super-fast catamaran was in stark contrast to the many rickety boat journeys we endured in Thailand.
A few weeks ago the south coast of China was hit by another Cyclone, causing major flooding amongst other things. The effects of this were still evident throughout or stay, but even in the rain and overcast the Hong Kong skyline is magnificent.From Travel
Kui Gate, Yangtze River, China
Saturday 6th July 2008
On Thursday afternoon we left Yangshou and headed back to Guilin to catch an overnight train to Wuhan. Then, around 7.30am, we took a 5hr bus journey to Yichang. The passenger boat on the Yangze river was a further 1 ½ hours drive away.
At 6,300km the Yangze River is the third longest in the world after the Nile and Amazon. It cuts through the heart of China and is regarded by the Chinese as marking the division of their country into north and south both geographically and culturally. It has a tendency flood roughly once a decade causing massive death and destruction and so conquering the river has become a symbol of limitless power in China.
The Kui Gate, also named Qutang Pass, is the gateway from the Sichuan basin to the Three Gorges at the Yangtze River with high mountains towering on both banks. On the cliff are engraved five characters (Kui Gate, the Grandest of All). The gate is so named because Fengjie County was named Kuizhou in ancient times, for which the Qutang Gorge is also called "Kui Gorge". Here, the Yangtze River overwhelmingly rushes through the gate to the east.
It is one of the most famous sights in China and even makes an appearance on their currency! This shot was taken from a passenger ship looking back as I had passed through it.From Travel
Langkawi Beach, Malaysia
From Travel
Maya Beach Panoramic, Koh Phi Phi Noi, Thailand
Sunday 12th April 2008
Phi Phi Lei is the southern and smaller of the two Phi Phi islands. At the south end of the island we jumped into the waters for an hour of snorkeling around the coral. The abundance of life all around was staggering. Shame we didn’t have an underwater camera! Finally we went to Maya Beach on the west side of Phi Phi Lei which is the infamous setting for the film ‘The Beach’.
I sat there for an hour or so watching people come and go. Such an idyllic place, I couldn't help but wish I was the only person there.From Panoramic
Railey Beach at Sunset, Thailand
From Travel
Life on Mars, Forest Fire, Tasmania
From Travel
Shanghai from the Jin Mao Tower, China
Tuesday 8th July 2008
Shanghai has a higher density of skyscrapers than any other city in the world. Our bus journey to the hotel was thrilling enough as we gazed at the vast city scape from the window.
This evening we went across the river to the financial district of Pudong and ascended to the observation deck on the 88th floor of the Jinmao Tower. We managed to get there at sunset so we saw the city views at both day and night.
This was taken from the observation deck at the top with the lens pressed to the glass!From Panoramic
Stone Henge, Wiltshire UK
From Travel
Sukhothai, Thailand
Sunday 22nd June 2008
Sukhothai was the first capital of Bangkok, before Ayutthaya, and was founded in the early 13th century. Later, in the early 15th century, it was absorbed by Ayutthaya but today is considered on a par in historical value.
Sokhothai is now essentially 2 different towns consisting of new Sukhothai, where we are staying, and the old Sukhothai where the historical park and the ruins of the old capital are.
The old city is best explored on a bicycle, which can be rented easily on arrival to the historical park. The historical park itself is the most tranquil of places with countless ruins scattered around a 45km squared area surrounded by lakes and forest. We have spent the last couple of days riding around the park in the glorious sunshine.From Travel
Temple of Dawn, Bankok, Thailand
Wednesday 25th June 2008
I arrived back in Bangkok on Monday,a few days ahead of my departure to China, so I could sort a few things out and prepare for the final chapter of the journey. I am staying in a different area to the last time I was here, right in the centre of the city. The main benefit being that I'm now close to the sky-train.
I know Bangkok pretty well by now and in my last few days here I've been able to enjoy some of the finer parts. A couple of days ago I sat in a nice Italian coffee shop on the river bank for an hour or so and watched the sun set over the Temple of Dawn. It was probably the only sun set that I have actually been able to see in Bangkok as the weather has been so cloudy.From Travel
The Great Wall, Baijing, China
Friday 25th July 2008
Today was the day. One of the main reasons, myself at least, decided to come to China, The Great Wall. One of the largest man made objects ever constructed. An architectural feat so large it can be seen from space. A visit that can be found on most peoples list of things to see before they die. The wall was built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 6th century BC and the 16th century AD. At its longest it stretched 10,000km and today stretches 6,400km. Some 2 - 3 million men are estimated to have died building it through the centuries. Needless to say we were all excited and had been looking forward to this for the entire trip.
We set off from the hotel early, around 7.30am, and drove by chartered bus to a section of the wall located in Mutianyu around 70km away. This is one of the best preserved parts of the Great Wall and dates back to the beginning of the 15th century. There was a mist in the air as we left Beijing but we were hopeful that it would have cleared by the time we reached the wall. It did not. We arrived at the tourist village car park around 9am and quickly jumped on a cable car to take us up to tower 14 on the wall. Stunning as the views were, the picturesque images of the wall winding over the peaks into the distance were obscured by mist. Incredibly frustrating at first, but as we walked along we realised that the weather had brought with it one redeeming attribute. Quiet! Because we had gotten there so early, and thanks to the weather there were very few people up there. For the majority of the time we were the only people on the wall at all, an incredibly rare thing to achieve in China. On this 2,250m stretch of the wall there are 22 towers. We walked from tower 14 to tower 22, which is the highest section of the wall and is as far as you can go before the wall deteriorates. The climb up to gate 22 from gate 21 was incredibly steep which just makes you ask how the hell they managed to build an 8m high granite wall, that steep, and on top of a mountain? The views from up there were staggering. What an amazing place.From Travel
Li River, Yangshou, China
Wednesday 2nd July 2008
Yesterday, around 6.30am, we arrived at Guilin station to yet more curious crowds. A local bus then drove us the 1 ½ hour journey to Yangshou. We arrived around 8am and checked into the guesthouse, a small but comfortable place in the traditional Chinese style with the rooms surrounding a central courtyard. In the afternoon we went on a boat ride up the Li river for a few hours to enjoy the spectacular scenery. Gorgeous Karst peaks give you surprises at each bend of the limpid river under the blue sky. Water buffalo patrol the fields, peasants reap rice paddies, school kids and fisherman float by on bamboo rafts.
After the boat ride I stopped for a while to look back at where we had been and take some pictures...From Travel
Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, Australia
The Blue Mountains are a mountainous region in New South Wales Australia which boarders Sydney's Metropolitan area. The area gets it's name from the blue tinge the range takes on when viewed from a distance. The large sandstone plateau is dissected by gorges of up to 760 metres in depth, and has high points up to 1,190 metres above sea level.
The native Aborigines inhabited the area for millennia prior to pioneer settlement in 1788 and so the area has significant cultural and historical importance.
The Three Sisters are 922, 918 & 906 metres tall, respectively, which is over 3000 feet above sea level. The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.
These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry.
The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle.
As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witch doctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witch doctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.
Taken in late February 2008.From Travel
Yellow Mountains, Hangshan, China
Sunday 13th July 2008
The Yellow Mountains have been an inspiration for Chinese artists over the ages with their iconic peaks dotted with twisted pine trees. The rain had filled the valleys with swirling mist causing the tops of the peaks to look like islands in a white sea. The views were just spectacular, and for all the pictures that I took they just couldn’t do it justice. The pine trees that cover the rock faces seem to defy nature. They grow despite there being no soil content, their roots pushing into crevices in the rock. They grow in a twisted fashion that is typical of the images conjured when thinking of mountain bonsai trees, and although they are only small they are usually hundreds of years old.From Travel
View from the Empire State, New York
From Travel
Plitvice National Park, Croatia
From Travel