Sunset at Masjid Selat Melaka.

Clouds and reflections in a pristine setting is a wonder of nature.

Surrounded by nothing but turquoise lagoon which melts into sapphire blue, the Maldives island of Anantara Kihavah and its pure white sands rise up out of the ocean like a mirage.

For centuries, this was where Arab traders sailing to the Far East took shelter; a lush paradise blessed by coconut, papaya and mango trees. Navigating archipelago to archipelago by the stars, the seafarers were also drawn by the riches of the ocean surrounding the island – where a prehistoric volcano sank back into the depths, leaving blooming corals within a house reef and a wealth of lagoon fish.

Wishing to keep the pristine nature of the island intact, not one tree has been moved – as evidenced by the villas growing up around them. The design pays homage to the seafarers of old, fusing Indian Ocean, Arab and Portuguese motifs with indigenous materials.

In October 2020 a massive forest fire destroyed 200,000 acres of pristine mountains and park lands in Colorado. In the small town of Grand Lake some structures were lost, but most of the town survived unharmed. The shoreline is still beautiful but the forests above it are gone and will take many decades to regrow.

Thank you everyone for taking a look at my images, much appreciated!

Another view of Forest Cave Beach taken on our day trip to Phillip Island.

One of the cleanest beach I have seen.

Hope you like " I Am A Rock " by Simon & Garfunkel...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKlSVNxLB-A

Many thanks for your visit, comments, invites and faves...it is always appreciated..

Peaceful Travel Tuesday

Freshly 'manicured' sand and shiny wet boulders as the tide starts to ebb.

Embleton Bay, Northumberland.

Parc provincial du Mont-Carleton

Le parc provincial du Mont-Carleton est situé dans le comté de Restigouche, au nord de la province canadienne du Nouveau-Brunswick.

Combinaison intéressante de forêts acadiennes et de sommets escarpés, le parc provincial Mont-Carleton compte plus de 17 000 hectares de grande nature.

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© Guylaine Bégin. L'utilisation sans ma permission est illégale.

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Bathurst Lake

Mount Carleton Provincial Park

Provincial Park Mount Carleton is located in Restigouche County, north of the Canadian province of New Brunswick.

A challenging mix of Acadian woods and mountain peaks, Mount Carleton has more than 17,000 ha (42,000 acres) of pristine wilderness.

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© Guylaine Bégin. Use without permission is illegal.

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Lake Matheson, near the Fox Glacier in South Westland, New Zealand, is famous for its reflected views of Aoraki/Mount Cook and Mount Tasman

Thanks for looking and if you have time to leave a comment I will always try to reciprocate with a visit back to your stream :-)

Yukon is a territory in northwest Canada that encompasses 186,272 square miles (482,443 km2) yet holds a population of only roughly 37,000 with over 85% of those people living in the capital city of Whitehorse. Historically known for its mining, it was placed firmly on the map during the Klondike Gold Rush between 1896 and 1899 when an influx of 100,000 gold prospectors flooded the area. Of those 100,000 only 30,000 made it to the mines, 4,000 found gold, and a handful got rich. With the news of gold in Nome in western Alaska a few years later, most prospectors quickly moved on. Today mining still takes place, but tourism of its pristine lands and the history of the gold rush era is its second biggest industry.

This shot of the wildflowers on a rainy/cloudy day was taken during a random stop on a day filled with scenic views and black bear sightings. The whole region is just full of beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, and wildlife. While exploring this vast untouched wilderness I began to imagine what it would’ve felt like for Lewis and Clark during their expedition out into the unknown west in 1804. As much as I love cities, sometimes it’s nice to get far away from civilization and just truly enjoy the wild outdoors.

The Hirschenstein is a mountain 1095 m above sea level. It is located in the Bavarian Forest on the border area of the municipality Achslach in the district Regen and the municipalities Schwarzach and Sankt Englmar in the district Straubing-Bogen. The Hirschenstein is a popular mountain for Bavarian Forest hikers. The Schuhfleck is probably the largest hiking trail junction far and wide. Ten trails meet here from all directions and places like Kalteck, Bernried, Grandsberg, Rettenbach and Sankt Englmar.

The gneiss summit cliffs of the Hirschenstein are designated as a valuable geotope by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment.

In this summit area, which is overgrown with beech forests, there is a stone lookout tower. This seven-meter high tower provides a view that is unique in the Bavarian Forest. It reaches from the Großer Arber to the Dreisessel in the east, from Deggendorf to Straubing in the south and to the Gallner in the west. On about twenty days a year, the Alps from the Dachstein to the Zugspitze can be seen unobstructed.

This image was created on a walk to the summit.

Text adapted from Wikipedia by using DeepL.

Classic chrome at Retrofest 2022 in Chatham, Ontario

Kayak at Koh Yao, Thailand

I visited the Hope Goddard Iselin Preserve Yesterday for more orchids but I only found 2, instead these beautiful Mountain Laurel were in full bloom.

Fall Creek Falls Wilderness, Long Creek, South Carolina

Last week was the snowiest and coldest of the winter in my village. On the morning this picture was taken, my neighbors kept their horses inside the barn ......l felt the empty pasture looked pristine and peaceful .

Have a nice week :-)

All 30 photos I took of this Swallowtail sitting from the Kitchen window.

Bedruthen Steps, Cornwall

(Explore)

No boundaries!

A pair of American Avocets drift by on a perfectly still morning and glassy pond. This pair and many other avocets were found at the Blanca Wetlands near Alamosa, Colorado. The wetlands, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), is a conservation success story. This area was drained by the over use of the underground aquifer for agricultural purposes. Through extensive reclamation techniques, the marshes and ponds have been restored and are now critical breeding habitats for many species including the threatened snowy plover. For more information, click on the following link:

www.blm.gov/visit/blanca-wetlands

Thanks so much to everyone who takes the time to view, fave or comment on my photos!

© 2019 Craig Goettsch - All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use without permission is prohibited

Reykjavik is the most northern country capital, surrounded by pristine nature.

Ijskruid - Iceplant

First pink camellia of the season.

At least on this day at this time @ (Lake) Etrachsee, Styria AT

This is 'Pristine', a hybrid tea-rose growing in the rose gardens at Roxborough Park, in north-western Sydney. Located at Baulkham Hills, near Castle Hill. The gardens are maintained by the Hills Shire Council.

Photographed in the late afternoon, in between the rain that has been a feature of Sydney in recent times, on Sunday 20th December, 2020.

'Pristine' has been lucky to withstand the heavy rain and, as such, the blooms are not as "pristine" as once they may have been. But to me that makes them like warriors - and adds to their fragrant charm.

My Canon EOS 5D Mk IV, with the Canon f 2.8 L 100mm macro lens.

Arum Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)

Another one of those 'just because I like the image' posts!

purrfoxclaw.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/pristine-white/

www.instagram.com/p/BuhHdeMBLGy/

Battersea, London

Featuring:

Vanilla Bae - Bea Romper - @Tres Chic

Vanilla Bae Marketplace

more details @ my blog❤️

Otter Rock State Beach

Otter Rock

Oregon

This beautiful beach was deserted by both animals and people in late August. But by the end of October, California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) appear on Oregon beaches in varying states of health and disease. Many have been affected by Leptospirosis, a contagious bacterial infection of the kidneys. This disease causes animals to appear very lethargic and unable or unwilling to move their hind limbs, and is often accompanied by weight loss and pneumonia. Infected animals may recover from this disease if given plenty of opportunity to rest,

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and for your kind comments, awards and faves -- I appreciate them all.

© Melissa Post 2022

This view of the pretty lake Josephine with the big clouds above was just amazing to take in there on this lovely day to hike at Glacier National Park.

A few more from the beautiful village of Castine, Maine. A little historical tidbit about this now very peaceful town:

Castine harbor was the site of one of our greatest navel losses in our history. The one in question was a battle with the British in the Revolutionary War. It was the largest American naval expedition of the war. The fighting took place on land and at sea around the mouth of the Penobscot and Bagaduce rivers at Castine, Maine over a period of three weeks in July and August. The Expedition was the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor 162 years later, in 1941.

Finally I was able to visit my favourite spot again. Although I didn’t had any expectations, the beach was as beautiful as I’ve ever seen before. After storm Poly raged across our country, the beach got lost of its old skin and all the footprints along with it. The western wind also blew the water far onto the beach, and this thin layer of seawater gave some lovely reflections. Sunset turned out to be a very good one also, with some great golden light before. Well, it just was a real pleasure to come back this summer evening and I had al lot fun with my 15mm!

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This is one of those scenes that when we drive by, we say to ourselves, “I have to go back and have a better look”. I'm glad I did. With fresh unspoiled snow it didn't matter which way one looked it was mesmerizing, quiet, pristine and beautiful.

A crisp and beautiful winter day in Arrowhead Provincial Park, Ontario.

A pristine 'blue' female at rest on Hop Trefoil in a sea of buttercups on our local nature strip (Nottingham, UK) (7027)

Pristine Falls is the second main waterfall on the Fall Creek Trail. Only recently discovered by Christopher Cockfield in Google Earth, the waterfall is reached by taking a side trail to the left at 0.6 miles from Andrew Ramey Falls, walking across the North Fork of Fall Creek, following the trail up to the left on an old logging road and then taking a side trail down to the right in a steep, slick, muddy scramble (or butt slide in sections if you will) to the base of the waterfall. Pristine Falls is situated tightly in a grotto, in a setting I would describe as being solitary, even intimate. The waterfall displays the power of Fall Creek in an inspiring, roaring misty spray. I had read directions in three published articles and they were all worded differently. When I was here last Saturday, I flagged the trail with orange flagging tape to help others on the trail.

Fall Creek Falls Wilderness, Long Creek, South Carolina