Tuesday, 29 March 2016
Melbourne photography
As some have requested, I've returned from a trip to Victoria. Here is a collection of photos from Melbourne. It's been a while since I've been back to mah hood, and even longer since I've actually been to any attractions. It was nice to go up Skydeck, walk to the MCG and through Southbank:
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Two weeks in the Garden Isle
So, the two weeks we spent in Kauai were so busy that the blog just sort of, well, fell by the wayside. Not to say that the sightseeing fell by the wayside. Kauai is just about the most stunning place I've seen. Ever.
It all started with the drive from the airport, in the southeast corner and the trading hub of Lihue, to the north shores and condos of Princeville. Bridges constructed over mountainous outcrops of stunning naturally sculpted trees.
We split up our visit, almost equally, into the north shore, east shore, and south shore. While our plans changed over the course of the two weeks, managing permission to shoot over FIFTY places in 2 weeks, we figured that was the best way to see everything the island had to offer.
For me the main attractions on the north shore were the variety of lookouts and beach scenery offered. From a lighthouse that doubles as a bird sanctuary, with stunning cliffs within touching distance, to lookouts over Hawaiian taro fields, to variations of beach overlooks, the north shore had it all:
Another star attraction was the caves. For the less brave, there is a dry cave that stretches out for several hundred feet, but if you're feeling a bit more energetic you can clamber up a ridge line and down into a cave that has a small lake at the bottom. Absolutely stunning, and not only that, I managed to not catch leptospirosis from the water in the lake:
Fast-forwarding to our time on the east shore. In the area of Wailua, there is a river and state park, and a couple of really nice hikes. The state park has a few waterfalls, the most well-known being Wailua Falls. It's really a sight to behold, on the day we visited there hadn't been much rain, yet the falls were still well supplied with water:
Sleeping Giant Trailhead is spectacular. It's within spitting distance of most of the hotels on the east coast of the island, and at it's amazing that at only 3.5 kilometres in length, the top affords 360-degree views of the island:
While on the east cost, I had the opportunity to take a helicopter tour of the island. Something that, while expensive, I highly recommend, as on a clear day the scenery will absolutely blow your mind. The tour takes in all the major scenic attractions of the whole island, including the red rock cliffs and valleys of Waimea Canyon State Park:
And the geographically impossible Na Pali Coast. The coastline is full of church-spire shaped formations, hundred-foot vertical rock walls shaped only by nature's hand, and centuries-old collapsed underwater caves:
Moving on to the south shore now. On the way, we went past a tiny heritage town called Koloa. Here there are arts and crafts (and other hipster) shops, and this fantastic tunnel along a road shaped only from eucalyptus trees:
One of the other highlights (or lowlights, depending on how good one's sea legs are), was a day-long excursion along the Na Pali Coast. Being on a boat gives you more perspective into the sheer size of the formations, while the helo tour just gives you an overview of its impressive scenery:
Another fantastic Hawaiian sunset, in case you were bored, this one from Spouting Horn:
The remaining few days were spent seeing more great scenery. Further exploring the area around Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park proved an experience in patience. The weather changed so dramatically in the space of a few hours, from the early morning low cloud that hung around for several hours, we managed to get lucky at Kalalau Lookout, with a rainbow forming in the perfect location:
On the way back down the mountainside, there were plenty of stop-off points, including a chance to snap a scene of typical Kauaian "red dirt", which is what these shirts are dyed with. Amazing Martian-type landscapes:
And off in the distance is nearby Ni'ihau:
Some other things of note on this island: the museums are fascinating. The history of Kauai is surprisingly rich, with Captain Cook, the Russians and Polynesians all playing an important part.
The island's main drawcard is tourism, but before that point farming was its main source of income. Because of this, the traditional family luaus, and plantation farms are well preserved. You'll experience traditional Hawaiian festivities, and see what life was like for the higher brow of Kauaian society in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The birds will piss you off! Kauai is the only island without a native mongoose population, meaning that the nene (Hawaiian geese) and chickens have far less natural predation. The nene are just plain thick - standing in the middle of the road seems to be a popular pastime. The chickens are far more inquisitive, and you'll see them all over the roads and in parking lots. We even saw one or two just waltzing through open doors into shops in Koloa.
That's what you can expect from Kauai! I have no doubt I'll go back if I'm in the area, I think I'll find the scenery and culture too hard to resist! I can't recommend it enough to anyone thinking of going to Hawaii. Save up some money though, it is slightly more expensive than Hawaii's already expensive lifestyle.
Felicity says:
Agree with Matthew, it really is worthy getting a hire car and driving around as much of this beautiful island as possible - the scenery is spectacular, even if one didn't do the aforementioned "hikes". The hire car and accommodation are, however, much more expensive than my regular haunts on the Big Island so it wouldn't be a regular repeat trip.
The "lowlights" Matthew referred to? That was me - I now reminiscently call this the "Vomit Cruise Day" - if I had but known, I would cheerfully have forfeited the cost and stayed onshore. It was very rough mind you, and I wasn't the only suffering soul, and the coast was spectacular ... but I could have just looked at Matthew's photos.
In my dozen or so trips to Hawaii I have never been to Kauai but it's always been on the wishlist, and much better to drive yourself than take a tour (having a navigator is a huge benefit though!).
It all started with the drive from the airport, in the southeast corner and the trading hub of Lihue, to the north shores and condos of Princeville. Bridges constructed over mountainous outcrops of stunning naturally sculpted trees.
We split up our visit, almost equally, into the north shore, east shore, and south shore. While our plans changed over the course of the two weeks, managing permission to shoot over FIFTY places in 2 weeks, we figured that was the best way to see everything the island had to offer.
For me the main attractions on the north shore were the variety of lookouts and beach scenery offered. From a lighthouse that doubles as a bird sanctuary, with stunning cliffs within touching distance, to lookouts over Hawaiian taro fields, to variations of beach overlooks, the north shore had it all:
Spectacular north shore lookouts
Another star attraction was the caves. For the less brave, there is a dry cave that stretches out for several hundred feet, but if you're feeling a bit more energetic you can clamber up a ridge line and down into a cave that has a small lake at the bottom. Absolutely stunning, and not only that, I managed to not catch leptospirosis from the water in the lake:
Kauai's stunning cave complexes
Fast-forwarding to our time on the east shore. In the area of Wailua, there is a river and state park, and a couple of really nice hikes. The state park has a few waterfalls, the most well-known being Wailua Falls. It's really a sight to behold, on the day we visited there hadn't been much rain, yet the falls were still well supplied with water:
Wailua Falls
Sleeping Giant Trailhead is spectacular. It's within spitting distance of most of the hotels on the east coast of the island, and at it's amazing that at only 3.5 kilometres in length, the top affords 360-degree views of the island:
Sweeping views from Sleeping Giant Trailhead
While on the east cost, I had the opportunity to take a helicopter tour of the island. Something that, while expensive, I highly recommend, as on a clear day the scenery will absolutely blow your mind. The tour takes in all the major scenic attractions of the whole island, including the red rock cliffs and valleys of Waimea Canyon State Park:
Flying into stunning Waimea Canyon
And the geographically impossible Na Pali Coast. The coastline is full of church-spire shaped formations, hundred-foot vertical rock walls shaped only by nature's hand, and centuries-old collapsed underwater caves:
Na Pali. So beautiful
Moving on to the south shore now. On the way, we went past a tiny heritage town called Koloa. Here there are arts and crafts (and other hipster) shops, and this fantastic tunnel along a road shaped only from eucalyptus trees:
Eucalyptus Tunnel near Koloa
One of the other highlights (or lowlights, depending on how good one's sea legs are), was a day-long excursion along the Na Pali Coast. Being on a boat gives you more perspective into the sheer size of the formations, while the helo tour just gives you an overview of its impressive scenery:
From the ocean around the Na Pali Coast
Another fantastic Hawaiian sunset, in case you were bored, this one from Spouting Horn:
Spouting Horn sunset
The remaining few days were spent seeing more great scenery. Further exploring the area around Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park proved an experience in patience. The weather changed so dramatically in the space of a few hours, from the early morning low cloud that hung around for several hours, we managed to get lucky at Kalalau Lookout, with a rainbow forming in the perfect location:
Spot-on timing at Kalalau Lookout
On the way back down the mountainside, there were plenty of stop-off points, including a chance to snap a scene of typical Kauaian "red dirt", which is what these shirts are dyed with. Amazing Martian-type landscapes:
Martian landscapes
And off in the distance is nearby Ni'ihau:
The Forbidden Island lurks in the distance
Some other things of note on this island: the museums are fascinating. The history of Kauai is surprisingly rich, with Captain Cook, the Russians and Polynesians all playing an important part.
The island's main drawcard is tourism, but before that point farming was its main source of income. Because of this, the traditional family luaus, and plantation farms are well preserved. You'll experience traditional Hawaiian festivities, and see what life was like for the higher brow of Kauaian society in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The birds will piss you off! Kauai is the only island without a native mongoose population, meaning that the nene (Hawaiian geese) and chickens have far less natural predation. The nene are just plain thick - standing in the middle of the road seems to be a popular pastime. The chickens are far more inquisitive, and you'll see them all over the roads and in parking lots. We even saw one or two just waltzing through open doors into shops in Koloa.
That's what you can expect from Kauai! I have no doubt I'll go back if I'm in the area, I think I'll find the scenery and culture too hard to resist! I can't recommend it enough to anyone thinking of going to Hawaii. Save up some money though, it is slightly more expensive than Hawaii's already expensive lifestyle.
Felicity says:
Agree with Matthew, it really is worthy getting a hire car and driving around as much of this beautiful island as possible - the scenery is spectacular, even if one didn't do the aforementioned "hikes". The hire car and accommodation are, however, much more expensive than my regular haunts on the Big Island so it wouldn't be a regular repeat trip.
The "lowlights" Matthew referred to? That was me - I now reminiscently call this the "Vomit Cruise Day" - if I had but known, I would cheerfully have forfeited the cost and stayed onshore. It was very rough mind you, and I wasn't the only suffering soul, and the coast was spectacular ... but I could have just looked at Matthew's photos.
In my dozen or so trips to Hawaii I have never been to Kauai but it's always been on the wishlist, and much better to drive yourself than take a tour (having a navigator is a huge benefit though!).
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
A longer day
Well, the previous two days have been pretty short photos wise, so had to make up for it today!
A late morning departure to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, where there are "guaranteed sea turtles" according to the gents at the camera shop. They weren't wrong! When we made the 1-mile trek (walk/hike, depending on your definition!) to the beach, there was one sunning itself on the beach, and at least a dozen cruising the reef looking for food.
It is a federal offence in America to come within 20 feet of a sea turtle. Naturally, we were the only ones observing this with any sort of measure, as without fail every other tourist got right up in the face of the sea turtle on the beach. I'm sure I heard it go "meh". They must be so used to it at this point:
Then it was a long drive down to Pololu Valley Lookout. The lookout itself was quite uninteresting, but I entertained a short hike down to the nearby beach. "Yeah, but on the way back you've got to get UP the hill you go down at the start" says Mum. That's a pass.
The scenery at the bottom is other-worldly, you know you are in the Kohala Coast, but you could be on an alien planet. The waves pounding on the beach throw sand/salt up into the air, meaning the surrounding forest has sunlight majestically shining through onto the floor:
There were also hundreds and hundreds of cairns set up on big rocks near the ocean. I guess that must be a thing here:
The journey back to Kona took us past yet another sunset opportunity, at Anaeho'omalu Beach. It's a hop, skip and jump from Waikoloa Village, which is less village and more row-after-row condo of the Marriotts and Hiltons of the world. Way out in the middle of nowhere, it's self-sufficient with restaurants, cafes and supermarkets but there's not much else to see. There was also a good view of Mauna Kea in the evening light:
Another reasonable drive later, we were both very much ready to eat something, having not eaten much during the day. Tomorrow is a long travel day, with two island hops landing us in Kauai, the Garden Isle. See you there!
Felicity says:
More to the point, the lookout is at the TOP of the cliffs in the photos, the beach is at the BOTTOM of the cliffs in the photos. So whilst it might be defined as a "short hike to the bottom", none of the guidebooks ever mention the return trip. Yep, I sat in the car and read a book.
It's always cool to see turtles, they are just so clumsy out of the water and so graceful in the water. It was a very hot hike to the beach in the middle of the day, but worth it for the scenery and the turtles.
A late morning departure to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, where there are "guaranteed sea turtles" according to the gents at the camera shop. They weren't wrong! When we made the 1-mile trek (walk/hike, depending on your definition!) to the beach, there was one sunning itself on the beach, and at least a dozen cruising the reef looking for food.
It is a federal offence in America to come within 20 feet of a sea turtle. Naturally, we were the only ones observing this with any sort of measure, as without fail every other tourist got right up in the face of the sea turtle on the beach. I'm sure I heard it go "meh". They must be so used to it at this point:
Sea turtles at Honokohau
Then it was a long drive down to Pololu Valley Lookout. The lookout itself was quite uninteresting, but I entertained a short hike down to the nearby beach. "Yeah, but on the way back you've got to get UP the hill you go down at the start" says Mum. That's a pass.
The scenery at the bottom is other-worldly, you know you are in the Kohala Coast, but you could be on an alien planet. The waves pounding on the beach throw sand/salt up into the air, meaning the surrounding forest has sunlight majestically shining through onto the floor:
Sunlight/forest stuff at Pololu Valley
There were also hundreds and hundreds of cairns set up on big rocks near the ocean. I guess that must be a thing here:
Cairns in Pololu Valley
The journey back to Kona took us past yet another sunset opportunity, at Anaeho'omalu Beach. It's a hop, skip and jump from Waikoloa Village, which is less village and more row-after-row condo of the Marriotts and Hiltons of the world. Way out in the middle of nowhere, it's self-sufficient with restaurants, cafes and supermarkets but there's not much else to see. There was also a good view of Mauna Kea in the evening light:
Sunset in Waikoloa
Another reasonable drive later, we were both very much ready to eat something, having not eaten much during the day. Tomorrow is a long travel day, with two island hops landing us in Kauai, the Garden Isle. See you there!
Felicity says:
More to the point, the lookout is at the TOP of the cliffs in the photos, the beach is at the BOTTOM of the cliffs in the photos. So whilst it might be defined as a "short hike to the bottom", none of the guidebooks ever mention the return trip. Yep, I sat in the car and read a book.
It's always cool to see turtles, they are just so clumsy out of the water and so graceful in the water. It was a very hot hike to the beach in the middle of the day, but worth it for the scenery and the turtles.
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Back in business!
Bless Lighthaus Camera, just over 24 hours and an overnight express from Maui later, my new (used) 7D camera is here! Now I can stop panicking and start being a tourist again!
Fast-forwarding to mid-afternoon in Kona, walking through the main part of town (AVOIDING the seawall. All that stuff about lightning is codswallop, IMHO), stopping to take a couple of photos of the nearby church:
To join Mum and her cocktail and iced coffee at Daylight Mind. This place wasn't doing much business, so it was nice to sit back and take a few photos while we were there. The obligatory "drinks on the railing" photo:
And a great view of the surfers in action on the waterfront:
Then it was off further along said waterfront, looking for some decent sunset snaps. I managed to find a couple of decent trees and streetscapes to work with:
Before heading back to the condo. Dealing with the camera has been a bit of a headache, and tomorrow will not be the most peaceful of days - we will be heading to a lookout on the far side of the island, but we will be stopping to see some turtles, which should be nice.
Felicity says:
New camera. Whew. Pool time. Woohoo! Cocktails! YAY! That's to prepare me for the 3 hour round trip drive tomorrow. It has been nice to have a bit of down time to prepare me for what will be a fairly frantic visit to Kauai.
Fast-forwarding to mid-afternoon in Kona, walking through the main part of town (AVOIDING the seawall. All that stuff about lightning is codswallop, IMHO), stopping to take a couple of photos of the nearby church:
Church photos!
To join Mum and her cocktail and iced coffee at Daylight Mind. This place wasn't doing much business, so it was nice to sit back and take a few photos while we were there. The obligatory "drinks on the railing" photo:
Drinks on the railing
And a great view of the surfers in action on the waterfront:
Surfing in Kona
Then it was off further along said waterfront, looking for some decent sunset snaps. I managed to find a couple of decent trees and streetscapes to work with:
Another beautiful sunset in Kona
Before heading back to the condo. Dealing with the camera has been a bit of a headache, and tomorrow will not be the most peaceful of days - we will be heading to a lookout on the far side of the island, but we will be stopping to see some turtles, which should be nice.
Felicity says:
New camera. Whew. Pool time. Woohoo! Cocktails! YAY! That's to prepare me for the 3 hour round trip drive tomorrow. It has been nice to have a bit of down time to prepare me for what will be a fairly frantic visit to Kauai.
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