Lake Nakuru - Views and Baboons

After taking our fill of flamingoes and pelicans at the Lake Nakuru shore, we head away from the water a little, with a drive across the plain and up to Baboon Cliff.

It's a dusty road, and almost completely devoid of baboons, but the view from the top shows us the lake shore we have just driven along.

 

Fortunately, we catch up with some baboons later, and one is kind enough to pose.

Book Learnin'

Who needs toys, books are where it's at.

Nikon D300, Sigma 30mm f/1.4
1/60 at f/2.8, ISO 320

Abstract Jersey

I went to Jersey for a couple of days the other month with work. The distance between hotel and office was walk-able, and the weather good, so I decided to leave slightly early and amble.

Along the way I noticed this pair of houses, looking almost symmetric, with a massive gas container thing pretty much in their back gardens.

Must be a nice view - from one window the busy A7, from the other a hulking metal shell full of something flammable. Here it is from the air.

Sony DSC-T200                  

Autumnal Eye

It's good to see that Autumn is back where it's meant to be - last year the season started very late, but this year the leaves had started falling and mornings had become cold and misty by the start of this month. I do like a good Autumn.

Last week on one of the aforementioned misty morns London remained shrouded even after I arrived at the office. Working on the 25th floor of one of the highest buildings in the area makes for some fantastic views. I took this photo of the London Eye and it came out a bit noisy and blurry - so I converted it to black and white and added a bit more noise for effect.

Sony DSC-T200

Creepy

I was out doing a bit of tidying in the garden the other weekend - just cutting back all this year's growth rather than doing anything amazing with an herbaceous border or installing a shrubbery (OK so that's two links for shrubberies. Sorry. I did look for something amusing on herbaceous borders but am easily distracted).

There is a bramble on the lane behind my garden, which keeps trying to loop its way over the fence and find an extra foothold. As I was battling with it I noticed another plant that seemed to be thriving by winding and tangling itself around the bramble and pretty much everything nearby. The shapes and patterns made by this plant are quite interesting to look at as it really does wriggle around to cling on to whatever its near.

This observation resulted in some more macro shots (I'll try to photograph something full-scale soon, promise).

The plant could be some kind of creeper, hence the title of this post, but I really have no idea.

 

Nikon D200, AF-S 105mm Micro VR
1/160sec, f/9                                                  1/125sec, f/16

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

A while back I had a little rant about the additional charges applied to ticket prices when buying from somewhere like Ticketmaster. Well, the event for which the tickets were purchased finally arrived this week - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at Somerset House.

For some reason I neglected to put a reminder in my diary and I almost forgot about it. Fortunately I was reminded in time. We were (again) pretty fortunate with the weather - Somerset House is an outdoor venue - and we had a perfect evening with not a cloud in the sky. The gig was amazing - an hour and a half of all BRMC's best tracks.

As seems to be happening more often these days, I didn't have my camera with me, so had to make do with the Nokia N73. It did surprisingly well considering it was dark.

 

Birds of Prey Centre

On our last full day in Cornwall the other month we decided on a visit to the Birds of Prey Centre, the other side of Newquay from where we were staying.

It's a relatively small place, but even though neither my wife or I are especially fanatical about raptors we had a good time. The weather was looking a bit dodgy when we arrived, and it wasn't certain if the flight display would be able to proceed later on. We had nearly an hour, wandering around and looking at all the birds, before it started chucking it down.

Instead of the display the owners decided to host an impromptu talk in one of the inside areas. I think I actually enjoyed this more than I would have the flight display - instead of fiddling with the camera all the time trying to get 'the shot' of a bird in flight we actually got to chat with the owners. It quickly became obvious how much they care for what they do and how much regard they have for the birds. They brought a couple of the birds in - a Harris Hawk and a Buzzard - and we even got to 'pet' the hawk a little.

If you are ever in the area I recommend a visit. Even if you're not that interested it's worth it - the owners are really trying to make a big thing of the place after taking over from a guy who didn't seem to care for the place too much, and they have some ideas that need funding in order to keep doing what they love.

Here is my favourite shot of the day, a close-up of a hawk. I think I prefer the black and white version, but I can't decide for sure, so I'll post them both and you can make your own mind up.

 

Nikon 80-400mm VR at 120mm, 1/200sec, f/7.1, ISO800

Inhospitable

A shot of the cliffs at The Lizard. Converted to black and white it really gives a sense of how overcast and windy the weather was that day - there weren't many other walkers about to enjoy the views with us.

Nikon 12-24mm at 12mm, f14, 1/500sec

Eden Project - Flora

You may have wondered from the last two posts why I went all the way to the Eden Project - basically a glorified garden - and, up until now, only posted pictures of the architecture. Truth is I actually found that more interesting.

While I enjoy flowers and plants for their aesthetic qualities, I don't hold much interest for learning their names or for spending too much time growing and nurturing them. I do like a nice tidy looking garden, and have spent some time mucking around in my own, but I would much prefer for it to handle itself.

I didn't completely ignore the flora at Eden though. Here are my favourite shots from the day out - an orange flower (see, no idea what its called and no qualms about that), an Arum Lily (my absolute favourite photo from the day) and a fern leaf.

As usual, click the thumbnails for a larger version of each.

Eden Project - Inside

A couple of shots from inside the Eden Project buildings. First, inside one of the biomes, and secondly, inside the Core Centre.

 

Swoyambhu - the Monkey Temple

Day 17 and we find ourselves, all of a sudden, back in Kathmandu.

The last two days have flown by - the walking has been good (even through the snow on the way to Namche), the appetite is well and truly back, and the lower altitudes allow us to consider that alcohol might not be a bad thing any more. In fact a few of us have hangovers and a need for sleep after last night's shenanigans.

Not a lot gets accomplished today - after a lunch of Sushi and a quick trip all the way to the hotel foyer to pick up some souvenirs, its time for a kip before dinner at Kilroys.

Day 18 is a lot more successful. Although we're leaving today, our flight is not until late afternoon, so we have the morning free. We have heard recommendations for the 'monkey temple' so we jump in a cab and ask for it. Twenty minutes later we're there.

The real name of the area is Swoyambhu, but tourists know it better as the Monkey Temple due to the number of monkeys living wild around here. They are fairly tame, but won't let anyone get too close before running.

 

The area also contains the temple, as well as some statues and stupas, which we spend some time wandering around.

  

And suddenly its time to leave - back to the hotel to pick up the luggage and meet with the rest of the group for the start of our journey home. Its been an amazing 18 days and I would recommend this trip to anyone. I hope you've enjoyed reading and looking at the photos - its back to semi-regular postings of daily life now ...

Porters

Its a common misconception that a sherpa is the same as a porter. This isn't true - a sherpa is a mountain guide, and a group's guide will often hire separately one or more porters who actually do the carrying.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that our luggage is being carried by Yaks, and not by porters, but we still see many porters on our trek and its amazing to see how much they can carry - often overtaking us uphill.

The first photo below shows a group of porters all wearing the same 'uniform' - these have been hired by an expedition and are on their way up to base camp to set up before the foreigners turn up. The second photo is of a group heading up between Lukla and Namche for the weekly market. These guys are probably carrying over 30kg on their backs, but they still manage to make it up the climb faster than our group did last week.

 

They might be almost superhuman in stamina, but even porters need a rest sometimes.

 

Chito Chito

Day 13, and as predicted yesterday I have a lie-in this morning. Its not that I don't want to get up at six a.m., honest, but my legs are a little shaky after the long walk yesterday and I have no energy - it seems Snickers can only keep a guy going for so long before real food is needed. So, after the 'wake up tea' another three hours sleep is in order, followed by a leisurely breakfast while we wait for those who did manage to pull themselves out of their sleeping bags to return from the climb.

Once we do set off, we're heading steadily downwards - the high altitude is still a problem so the speed isn't high, but the climb down the hill into Duglha is great, especially when passing groups struggling upwards. That's what we looked like just two days ago!

We finally learn the phrase 'chito chito' - Nepalese for 'quickly quickly' - as we begin to pick up speed and we reach our next stop, Pheriche, mid-afternoon.

On day 14 we arrive back in Tengboche after a tortuous walk through the snow (the weather has finally changed: its snowing and the paths have become extremely slippery). Each day the monks at the monastery gather twice to chant - once in the morning and once in the afternoon - and we make our way over to the monastery for three o'clock to sit and listen.

 

Later on, back at the lodge, it appears that the appetite is back to normal. Just in time too as this is the place to try the local specialities of Snickers and Mars Pies. They are both pretty good, but I'd have to go with the Mars variation as my favourite - like a cross between a profiterole and a deep fried Mars bar. Mmmmmm.

Mani Stones & Prayer Flags

Mani stones are rocks, boulders or stones that have been inscribed with mantras. They are associated with Tibetan Buddhism.

The stones can be huge, standing on their own, or small and made into walls or piles.

We're seeing a lot of these stones on the walk - especially at the lower altitudes where the more permanent settlements are located - dotted along the path, sometimes to one side and sometimes in the middle of the trail.

It is important to remember to always walk around the stones clockwise if possible.

 

Prayer flags are also often seen, wrapped around Mani stone piles or walls, strung between walls or stupas or between trees or hilltops.

Each flag is one of five colours and is printed with mantras and symbols, and each colour represents a different thing: red for fire, green for water, blue for sky or space, yellow for earth and white for wind or air.

Monasteries often have thousands of flags outside.

 

Altitude Acclimatization, part 2

Whatever the actual altitude in Dingboche, we're now above the tree line and, although its still clear during the days, its cold out of the sun, and last night the temperature dropped to minus eight (Celsius).

Because the air is so thin and cold, we lose a lot of moisture through breathing and so need to drink extra fluids. This results in me waking up several times a night with a dehydration headache and needing to drink. The low temperature causes an issue when I find my water starting to freeze by the morning. The altitude is also playing havoc with my appetite and its very difficult to eat much at mealtimes.

Today - day 10 - is another rest day. We have climbed around a thousand meters since Namche and we need to give ourselves time to get used to the extra height before heading further. We go for a walk up a few hundreds meters in the morning, passing several stupas on the way and take it easy in the afternoon.

The afternoon looks promising for another good sunset, but the clouds come back in at the last moment. The clouds look more ominous today, and our guide says the weather is going to change for the worse, but hopefully not for a couple of days.

 

Nuts!!

All the squirrels I saw last weekend were digging around in the soil, trying to remember where they buried their nuts last year. This is the only one I found that was nut-less. Sorry about the annoying twig in front of it - I had to take the opportunities as they came before the little fellas scarpered, and this one turned out well, despite the slight obstruction.

Interestingly, I looked up the origin of the word scarper after writing the last paragraph - turns out it comes from good old Punch and Judy

Nikon 18-200 @ 170mm, f5.6, 1/15sec, ISO-400

Bath Botanical Gardens - Part 2

More shots from the Botanic Gardens in Royal Victoria Park in Bath, showing that spring is well and truly here, after the false start we had a few weeks ago

 

Nikon 18-200 VR
170mm, f11, 1/30sec, ISO-400                 95mm, f8, 1/60sec, ISO-400

Royal Crescent

Just back from a short weekend trip to Bath. Went there a couple of years ago and did all the touristy stuff, so this time I just went for a bit of a stroll in the spare time. More pictures to come later from the park, but here's one of the Royal Crescent.

Nikon 18-200 @ 18mm, f14, 1/25sec

Lost

If you followed the directions on this road sign you'd end up as lost as it is. Probably the result of some drunken shenanigans at the weekend.

Nikon 60mm, f6.3, 1/1250sec, ISO-800 (by mistake)

The Light

A photo of the light above my desk. Edited a little to darken the shade, bring out the elements of the bulb and convert to black and white.

Sigma 30mm, f8, 1/320sec