“Water is the driving force of all nature.“ ~ Leonardo da Vinci ~
The challenge from Lens Artist this week is “Water in Motion” by Sophia @ Photographias.
Who doesn’t take photos of water? Everything about water, sea, rivers, lakes and waterfalls is just waiting for a photo. Here are some of mine over the years.
Bleak day – New Year’s Eve UK from our hotel window
I would love to see this in Perth right now! It’s just another day in paradise here but in dire need of rain as trees and plants die, as huge branches fall heedlessly to the pavement below.
In the not too distant past – Gulfoss Falls, IcelandPurpose built waterfall – Launceston, TasmaniaWellington Dam, Collie, Western AustraliaWatching Storm Eunice wreak havoc in Devon
“I’ve seen your stormy seas and stormy women, And pity lovers rather more than seamen” ~ Lord Byron ~
Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
“For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), It’s always our self we find in the sea.” ― e.e. cummings –
During our week in Bali, Anthony and I hired a driver to visit one of the many waterfalls that Bali has to offer. Tengenungen was around 30 minutes drive away and our driver was going to wait for a few hours while we explored.
This not a free attraction but the fee to enter is minimal. Before walking to the steps down to the waterfall there is a small strip with many stalls selling the usual Balinese crafts. They were all calling out to us to visit on the way back.
This was the first sight of the waterfall and the glass bridge across the river. The bridge wasn’t open that day, which was a relief with the sun beating down.
It was an extremely hot and humid day and there were nearly 200 stairs to traverse! The stairs of course were not nice and even enabling one foot after the other, rather they were all different sizes; steep, wide, narrow and shallow. So it was a case of walking down like a toddler learning to walk, for me anyway.
There was a hotel set amongst the rocks with a gorgeous looking swimming pool and tables with umbrellas around it. I’m not sure if you would want to spend more than one night here.
A cute bird’s nest, large enough for a person to sit in. I did see a lady climb in, I wasn’t brave enough as the drop was too steep! It didn’t look that safe, it definitely wouldn’t have passed health and safety requirements in Australia.
Face sculptures set in the hillside
Finally at the bottom we saw there were “bridges” to cross the pool to the waterfall and more steps going up the other side. I decided to sit and watch Anthony go across as it all looked a bit risky to me. If someone was going to fall in it would be me.
I thought you would be able to swim in the pool down below but there were signs saying no swimming, I probably wouldn’t have gone anyway because of all the rocks. The sight of the waterfall amongst all the lush tropical greenery was worth the effort.
Anyone could use these signs to take selfies with, but again I wasn’t brave enough to climb over the logs and through the water to get to them.
Anthony’s journey across the river
“Hello from the other side”
I’m glad to say Anthony made it back in one piece and then we made our way back up again. Oh, boy was this tough going. I was stopping every four or five steps and with a lady hot on my tail. I had to keep turning round and apologising but she said, “no, you’re okay, it’s exactly my pace”. Then she said “you must be 30 years younger than me”! Well that would have made me 30 or her 90, maybe it was my hat and dark glasses.
Once at the top we stopped and looked at one of the stalls and I bought a dress and Anthony bought himself a sari! He said he wanted to wear it around the garden at home, but he wore it to dinner that night. He surprises me everyday.
Stopping off for a coconut and a last look across the river at the bridge.
It was a lovely morning and I’m glad we made the effort to go. There are so many different places to see in Bali but the heat does affect you, early morning is the best time to go.
After checking out of Forest Lodge we drove into Pemberton to have breakfast. Pemberton is famous for its towering Karri trees and of course the famous Gloucester Tree (a link to a previous post about this). Following breakfast we walked the length of the high street and back to give our legs a stretch.
Packing up and heading off
Now defunct railway tracks
Pemberton
Downtown Pemberton
Pemberton Town Hall
Typical house in Pemberton
An old logging train
Marron Mural
Pemberton is famous for its Marron, a freshwater crayfish endemic to South West – Western Australia. The quality of the water here is perfect for this extremely sensitive creature.
Northcliffe
A friend had mentioned that if we were in the area we should stop by Northcliffe as there was a fantastic nature art trail. So this was our next destination.
It was a 1.2km circuit and cost $10 each to walk around it. It was definitely worth it!
Rising from the Ashes
These were created by artist Kim Perrier who worked closely with the local community to create these artworks. They commemorate the catastrophic bush fire in 2015.
Forest Folk
Marble resin, cement, iron dust and steel
There were so many more art works but I’ll save these for another time! The driver was itching to get on the move.
Our next stop was Beedelup Falls, a series of waterfalls and a suspension bridge. But first a stop to take some more photos!
Emus and Sheep
Beedelup Falls
This was a lovely walk through the forest and looking at the falls. It was the right time of year to see these falls as in the summer they are probably just a trickle.
Just a quick stop after this in Nannup for lunch and then onto Margaret River for two nights.
For the next few days we would be exploring Launceston and some of the surrounding areas. George Town and Low Head were the destinations for today. We travelled along the East Tamar Highway alongside the Tamar River. Low Head is a suburb of George Town and sits right on the peninsula with a lighthouse at the top.
The above photo is of the Windmill Point Tree Sculptures. Depicting the workmen hauling ashore the telegraph cable that linked Tasmania to the North Island. Carved by chainsaw artist Eddie Freeman from macrocarpa trees.
One of theTamar River Leading Lights
Low Head
Onto Low Head to have a look at the lighthouse and historic site that is up there. There is a carpark just below the lighthouse and after parking we made our way to the top. Constructed in 1837 by convicts, originally made of rubble with a coat of stucco. It was decided to build a lighthouse after a dozen ships were wrecked over the previous years.
Walking down the hill the to the sea, I could see some black and white birds on a rock. It said there were penguins nesting around so I had a look through my Canon Powershot and sure enough there were a “huddle” of penguins on the rocks.
I had to balance the camera on one of the rocks to keep my hands steady, I was very happy that they didn’t come out blurry.
I felt like I’d had a good workout by the time we got back to the top and into the car. Stopping again in George Town for a delicious lunch in a waterside restaurant called The Crazy Duck. We still had a few hours left before Laurence and Maddy were arriving from Melbourne that evening, I looked at the map to see if there was anywhere worth seeing on our return to Launceston. Deciding on Lilydale Falls we drove half an hour east away from the river.
Lilydale Falls
After parking the car we made our to the first waterfall which was around 15 minutes and then saw a path to the much bigger one. It did have a warning for this part of the walk to say there were no handrails and it was quite a way longer. I’m glad we made the effort though, not that it was an effort for hubby only me! There were huge trees and ferns all around and so peaceful. There were a few other people walking the trail but not enough to hold anyone up.
At the start of the walk
Getting back to the hotel around 5pm, I had just enough time for a rest before Laurence and Maddy arrived and then it was straight out to dinner.
Another walk to the restaurant called Cataract on Paterson. Wonderful lively restaurant with a great menu and friendly staff.
Always a treat to see these two
And then it was back to our prison block as hubby called our hotel! Actually it was a very nice hotel “Balmoral on York” but housed in a plain brick utilitarian building. Conveniently located with a super host and great reception staff. There was a cute breakfast room serving continental and cooked breakfasts. The rooms were perfectly fine with extremely comfy beds.
Tomorrow we would be heading to Cataract Gorge which was going to involve lots of walking!
Both Geysir and Gulfoss are located within the Golden Circle in Iceland. These were places we visited a few years ago on an Icelandic Air tour. We first had one night in Reykjavik and the next morning boarded our coach to the next hotel which was Hotel Grimsborgir.
Geysir
This was our first destination outside Reykjavik and we stopped here for around an hour to take a few photos and to see the lively Strokkur which spouts water 100ft into the air every few minutes. You have to be really quick to take a photo as it spurts so rapidly making everyone jump, also there are always so many people standing around waiting. The name Geysir is derived from the Icelandic verb geysa (“to gush”) from Old Norse. (Source: Wikipedia).
It was also quite difficult to get close enough to the exploding spout of water due to the crowds of people there!
After an hour or so here we hopped back onto the coach and headed onto Gulfoss.
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Gulfoss
Gulfoss is one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls, beautiful and spectacular to see. By the time we arrived the weather was not looking very good. A fine cold drizzle was setting in plus the spray from the waterfall itself. The walk from the carpark took a good 20 minutes for most on the coach, but for some much longer as they were just walking to it when we were on our return! Much to the guide’s frustration as it was eating into his schedule!
From these photos you can see the long thin trail to the waterfalls. Very slippery in parts so it was quite slow going for some.
There didn’t seem to be much safety concern about the wet rocks and not much of a barrier either – at your own peril!
Gulfoss is the biggest waterfall I’ve ever seen and was truly mesmerising.
Once everyone was safely back on the coach we drove to our final destination for that day, the Hotel Grimsborgir, which is described as a luxury hotel. Nestled in the heart of the Golden Circle and sitting on the banks of the River Sogid. Everyone on the tour was commenting how nice it was and what a treat.
That night we had a sumptuous buffet dinner in a very grand restaurant. The only thing that we balked at was the price of drinks. Iceland is well known for how expensive it is but being out in the countryside was even more exorbitant. Anyway what is dinner without a glass of wine so we bit the bullet and bought a bottle of wine.
Hubby looking happy with the room and then very glum at the price of the drinks 😆
The beautifully decorated dining room where we had dinner and breakfast the next day.
Views from outside of our room.
A view of the rooms : Source – Hotel Grimsborgir
And G has gone!
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this post – all comments very welcome 😍
