The Twelve Apostles on Australia’s Great Ocean Road

The Twelve Apostles on Australia’s Great Ocean Road, before sunrise.

The twelve Apostles in the Australian state of Victoria is a collection of eroded limestone sea stacks.  There never were twelve, only nine.  Due to erosion, only eight remain.  The pile of dark rocks in the foreground is what remains of the apostle which collapsed in 2003. Continue reading

French Polynesian Islands of Bora Bora and Tahiti

French Polynesian Atoll

Coral Atoll

Cruising into Bora Bora it suddenly became clear what an atoll looks like. Completely surrounding some of the islands is a coral reef sticking up out of the water. To get to the island there needs to be a break in the reef somewhere, but this circular reef serves as good protection to the island and a place where fish gather, an atoll. Continue reading

With Peru in our Rear View Mirror, Hello Fakarava

Island in the distance

“Island, I see you in the distance… I tried to book passage, but you have no ports…” Jimmy Buffet

With South America in our rearview mirror, the friendly, beautiful islands of French Polynesia were eagerly anticipated.  Contrasts between the two could hardly be greater.  The laid back, easy living lifestyle on Fakarava Island was a very welcome change.

Continue reading

Bandon and the Oregon Coast

Face Rock Beach, Bandon, Oregon

Bandon, Oregon is well known among photographers for the many unique rock shapes and monoliths along its sandy beach.  The beach is named for the rock on the far left above.  Indian legend says this is Ewauna, the daughter of Chief Siskiyou.  Her partially submerged head can be seen with the face looking up to the right. Continue reading

The Road to Hana, Maui Hawaii

Limbs Gone Wild

The Road to Hana is a popular must-do attraction for many visitors to the island of Maui.  Guidebooks and audio tapes are available with descriptions of places to visit along the way, pinpointed by mile markers.  This is quite confusing as the mile markers start over three times along this 12 hour route.  Some tourists display the ‘Aloha’ spirit and take their time crossing the 50+ narrow one-way bridges, and navigating the twists and turns.  Others are in the rush-rush mode, making the trip to Hana memorable and challenging in numerous ways.
Continue reading

Swimming with Manta Rays

Manta Ray

When traveling, it seems only right to participate in the unique events that are available at that particular location.  For me that does not mean a luau and dancing for the tourists, rather a nighttime dive with manta rays seemed like a great experience I had not heard offered elsewhere.  The catamaran journey begins about an hour before sunset.  Very high waves this evening made for a rough ride.  Our captain said you can usually count on at least two people getting sick in these conditions.  I hoped it would not be me and he was eventually right.

Continue reading