A photo a week challenge…..mountains

Mountains ….

Journeying through southern Atlas mountains Morocco .

Looking out the car window…

Atlas mountains in the distance…

Tiger Leaping Gorge – Amazing

It was early morning as we drove through the streets of Lijiang heading roughly north west up into the mountains. We travelled along  a triple lane highway , long tunnels, smooth roads through a landscape that in parts was dotted with farms being intensively cultivated, past hills covered in pine forests in various stages of growth, there were small villages, the odd clump of highrise buildings mostly unfinished. We travelled  125 kms reaching Qiaotou in less than two hours. By the time we arrived it was steadily raining mmmm. Not a good start. We purchased our tickets, unearthed our rain gear from  our packs donned both and headed up the road out of town. Even having read masses of info about this place i was unprepared for the reality of it.

it was an uphill slog getting to our first sign  post…

view from the naxi family guesthouse…

the sun still shining on the tops of the mountains….

Views of the yangtze river….the colours of the wild flowers were intense….this pony followed us up up and up around the 28 bends.

our horseman and his pony who patiently followed us up through the 28 bends

And steep it was!!

Awesome landscapes wherever you looked!

more wild flowers….. more views and we are now about halfway through. To be continued : ))

 

Swamp lakes glenorchy nz

One afternoon we did the swamp board walk at Glenorchy deep in the southern alps of New Zealand. The skies were an incredible blue, the temperatures freezing, the sun glorious and the reflections mesmerizing!!

A fabulous family outing …… a great boardwalk, lots of places to stop and sit, to gaze at our planets incredible beauty……

Weekly photo challenge – Contrast

I took this on the way into the southern alps in NZ a couple of weeks ago. I love the contrast between the heavy clouds and the super bright clear sky and the mist below which I  captured through the front window of the car I was driving in. As a passenger I hasten to add : ).

Mirror mirror on the lake…..

On the way south from Milford sound late afternoon and no wind ……zoom in on the sign, might have to squint a bit …true New Zealand humour!! As is the scenery…….

The place felt serene and surreal full of the magic of nature in all her glory : ))

Taken with my phone ……camera battery had run down…..

On the road to the mountains

We had a window of opportunity to see and explore the mountains of southern new zealand. We headed south  and west from Dunedin. Snow topped mountains if you look real close,  otherwise landscapes that are deeply green with the odd tussock thrown in , oh yes and some cows, sheep and braided rivers.

Its intensely cold …..7ºcelsius daytime temperature brrrrrr!!

The hillsides are morraines  and covered in  red tussock grass.

To be continued….: ))

On the road to the mountains

We had a window of opportunity to see and explore the mountains of southern new zealand. We headed south  and west from Dunedin. Snow topped mountains if you look real close,  otherwise landscapes that are deeply green with the odd tussock thrown in , oh yes and some cows, sheep and braided rivers.

Its intensely cold …..7ºcelsius daytime temperature brrrrrr!!

The hillsides are morraines  and covered in  red tussock grass.

To be continued….: ))

Weekly photo challenge: On top…… of a mountain

This first image I took from the top of the hotel I was staying at in Pokhara 2 or 3 years ago. Many of the buildings are now 4 and 5 stories high , not nearly as pleasing to the eye as they were the first time I visited nearly 30 years ago but the views were at times spectacular! Machapuchari is its name.

This was taken in the Kali Gandaki valley near a small village called Marpha, seeing the snow swirling off the top of this mountain was amazing.

Memories of Nepal

My brother and I both have a love of mountains. The Himalaya would have to be one of the wonders of our planet. We spent a few weeks walking thru the kali gandaki valley which is said to be one of the deepest valleys on earth. Not difficult to imagine.

Taken fromjust outside of Pokhhara

From Pokhara we flew to Jomsom and from there we walked up towards the tibetan plateau….spectacular country

View looking up into a side valley heading north from Jomsom…..awesome

Heading down the valley early one morning….

Such a timeless amazing place….even now looking at these photos …the mountains feel almost sentient..

And those that live there…. taken in a small village off the track ..

The backdrop ..the foothills of Dalhagiri and a small glacier rushing down a side valley. Namaste …

Bukittinggi – Western Sumatra

A few hours drive from Padang in western Sumatra is an area called Bukittinggi. Its high above sea level and incredibly rugged. The road from Padang to Bukittinggi  is narrow and constantly in the process of being fixed up. The traffic load is immense with many large trucks coming and going from the highlands. It is possible for traffic to be held up for hours as a result of accidents which are common .

                                                                                                                        Danau Atas

There are four incredibly beautiful lakes which were formed as a result of past  volcanic activity,  which is ongoing today, and the movement
Of  the tectonic plates which meet under Sumatra.

                                                                                                                         Danau singkara

The land is intensely cultivated with vegetable gardens, rice padi, cinnamon, clove and tea plantations. The soil is fertile and of course there is  a surfeit of water so everything grows. Wherever you look there are plots of tomatoes, spring onions, shallots, chillies, cabbage and cauliflowers.

                                                                                                                               cinnamon tree- kayu manis

Here also you will find the famous durian. Its durian  season and there are durian everywhere. It is definately an aquired taste and durians can taste vastly different ! I have yet to discover one that I can say, ‘ yes this is amazing ‘. A work in progress for myself!

Oh yes this is perfect!

Lake Maninjau is famous for its incredible views of the mountains…..glorious does not describe it!

The town or city of Bukittinggi also has its attractions: wonderful padang food, beautiful views, markets that sell everything  and their very own version of   Big Ben.

The food was amazing and indescribably delicious!

The buildings are distinctive. This is a picture of the hotel where we stayed. Notice the roof line. Its a classic Sumatran roofline designed to represent the horns of the kerbau ( I think in english its ox. Maybe someone knows ?)