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And of course lots of wild flowers on the top
Day 14 on the Coast to Coast blogged about at ramblingman.org.uk/coasttocoast/coast_to_coast_day_14
Conglomerate cliffs in the foothills of the Wasatch Mnts. This is very young rock, relatively speaking, only 20 million years old. The eroded remnants of the Ancestral Wastach mountains.There were hundreds of wintering deer near here, and cliffs like this make an excellent home for the Cougars that eat them. I have tracked Cougars here in winters past.
Taken from the top angle. 13.02.10
Award-winning, off-shore and parallel-to-coast Sea Cliff Bridge forms part of the Grand Pacific Drive and is located on scenic Lawrence Hargrave Drive, 60 kms south from central Sydney (or 23 kms north of Wollongong). It was opened on December 11, 2005, at a total cost of A$52 million.
The Bridge provides road, pedestrian and cycleway access it's entire length (665 metres) and spectacular views. Like the Bridge, Grand Pacific Drive never loses sight of the sea. It hugs the coast between the high battlements of the Illawarra Escarpment, looming like the great wall of a lost world, and the vastness of the Tasman Sea, an ocean view so wide you can see the curve of the Earth. Looking south, the "Coast with the Most" is scalloped with bays, and world class surf beaches all the way to Wollongong and beyond.
Why was it constructed? In August 2003, a large embankment slip indefinitely closed Lawrence Hargrave Drive between Coalcliff and Clifton, a stretch of road area notorious for rock falls and closures.
But community protest at this closure was fierce, and a permanent fix was demanded from the NSW Government. Over two years later, Sea Cliff Bridge provided that fix, and the road reopened, finally Bridging the Cliff and the Sea and Community. (http://seacliffbridge.com/)
It well worth the trip to visit under the bridge at River Road in Sykesville to watch the Cliff Swallows. You can actually stand directly under some of the nests (too dark to get a picture of the close ones). Such fun to watch and listen to them squeaking and chattering :)
Gonarezhou NP:
y journey into the heart of Gonarezhou begins with the realisation that this is wild country. It is one of Africa’s last remaining pristine wildernesses and we are all privileged to be a visitor here. The animals are in their most natural state at Gonarezhou; these are no lazy photographic models, hassled by a constant cavalcade of jeeps, radioing one another in their relentless pursuits. This is a country of red sandstone, thorny scrub and baobabs. Buffalo gather at watering holes, big cats prowl silently in pursuit of painted impala, hippo wallow midstream attended by squadrons of fluttering birds. The presence of elephants is everywhere; on the earth and the vegetation, as their families travel along routes passed from one matriarch to another in search of food, safety, and water. A panorama of birdlife gathers at Tembahata and Machanu Water Pans, a flying, wading tumult of colour, while the wonders of Chilojo Cliffs and Chivilila Falls reveal the glories of the unique landscape.
El Megano at El Golfo, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.
Spot man taking the same photo as me >> maps.google.com/maps?ll=28.972587,-13.831117&spn=0.00... :-)
20 Jan 06 - Canon A80
'Situated off the coast of west County Kerry, Skellig Michael was probably founded in the 7th century. For 600 years the island was a centre of monastic life for Irish Christian monks. The Gaelic monastery, which is situated almost at the summit of the 230-metre-high rock became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is one of Europe's better known but least accessible monasteries.
Since the extreme remoteness of Skellig Michael has until recently discouraged visitors, the site is exceptionally well preserved. The very spartan conditions inside the monastery illustrate the ascetic lifestyle practiced by early Irish Christians. The monks lived in stone 'beehive' huts (clocháns), perched above nearly vertical cliff walls'.
(From Skellig Michael, Wikipedia)
Visit to Skellig Michael
To book a boat to Skellig Michael: B&B owners will usually do this for you. Payment is to the boatman (it was €40 in 2012).
A boat leaves Portmagee most days in summer. It's very casual.... make sure you get a place in advance (at least two weeks).
We almost didn't alight on the Skellig because of choppy waters (it looked like a perfect June day to me). Getting off the boat is tricky: you basically have to jump a metre or so onto a rock. The journey there is long and bumpy. Skellig Michael is breathtaking and very mysterious.... The 11th century monks' beehive huts are very intact. In May / June there are 100s of puffins that come up very close.....