Having missed out on the opportunity to visit Karijini national park in the Pilbara as a result of breaking some bones in 2014 it was great to get the opportunity to go again, albeit for just a couple of days.
The best way to go and see this remarkable area would be to grab one’s car, drive all the way and camp under the stars. And stars you will most certainly see.
Crisscrossing the Pilbara landscape on an all-terrain vehicle, drawing and taking pictures of rocks? Right up my alley! The town of Marble Bar prides itself in being Australia’s hottest town, and as far sustained heat goes they have a convincing case. During the balmy 1923/24 summer this place experienced daily highs of over 38°C for 160 days….in a row.
Be as it may the recent wet season (November to April) brought prolific rains to the area, making for an extra green and water rich landscape; the likes of which many locals hadn’t seen for years.
When the opportunity to work for a short while in Tanzania came up, it was one I couldn’t pass up. Working in a remote rural area of a country can often be the best way to find out about its culture, the locals and the real rhythm of life. What makes Tanzanians laugh? What are traditional pet names and nicknames for mothers, relatives and outsiders? how do they poke fun at neighbouring countries? And why on Earth does ‘ 8’o clock’ actually mean 2pm? To find out – go there! Learn a few words of the fun Swahili language, maybe even pick up some local dialect!
My trip was also extended into leisure to include a short stay on the shore of lake Victoria, a three day safari through Serengeti, a one day stop at Ngorongoro conservation area, a whistle stop tour of Lake Manyara national park and several days on the island of Zanzibar.
A short term placement had me travelling to the remote town of Laverton by a small and rather noisy charter aircraft.
A deluge of rain had rendered the local access roads into a slimy mess, churned up by heavy vehicles.
With the roads closed and plenty of rain we were treated to a couple of slow days at base – a rather costly exercise in remote exploration, but one that is nonetheless a normal part of the process.
8 Days in the South Island of New Zealand riding my newly built Cove G-spot bike in the Queenstown area. Words can’t describe the beauty of this place well enough, so I will stick to the pictures!
A week trip to our seaside, covering the whole coastline from Durankulak to Rezovo almost twice over (with a wedding in the middle!!). Suffice to say some parts of the coastline should definately be avoided while others proved very pleasant and attractive!
Castellane MkII! No surfing but plenty of swimming, cycling and walking. Highlights include camping at the Sommet de Cremon and a 6hr mountain bike tour of the lake up from Courchons down the west shore of the lake through the crazy La Baume and around the barrage in the south.
All in all some rather gnarrrrly rocky path decents and a worthy return to Castellane altogether !
Going to the south of Wales in the middle of November is generally not a good idea, but somehow we had virtually perfect weather.
The mapping area proved to be quite nice and we had some great colourful sunsets pretty much every day!
