10 February 2023 - THE MAGNIFICENT IRON HOLE

 

THE MAGNIFICENT 

IRON HOLE

G'day folks,

At the centre of an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a deep chasm ringed by tall waterfalls. 

Réunion is an island in the Indian Ocean, sandwiched between Madagascar and Mauritius, a thousand miles from the east coast of Africa. Despite its remote location, as a “department” of France it’s actually part of the Eurozone, and with nearly a million inhabitants and some of the lushest and most magical landscapes in the world, the volcanic outpost has a robust tourist industry.

 

Tourism in the area centers around the coastal regions of Réunion, but at the island’s center is one of its most extraordinary sites, a canyon that reaches nearly a quarter mile (300 meters) into the Earth, ringed by a chorus of six tall waterfalls. Trou de Fer (the “Iron Hole”) is a collapsed crater of an ancient volcano, fed by bubbling rivers and streams, but dangerous to descend.

So rugged is the terrain at Trou de Fer, and so rain-soaked most of the year, the deep chasm wasn’t fully explored until 1989. Not that climbers hadn’t tried to reach its depths—they just never made it back out. Today it is a relatively easy hike to get there, just a couple of miles of well-groomed trails with a viewing platform at the end. From the high vantage point, you can see the surrounding mountains, tropical forests, and all the waterfalls that make their way to the bottom. 

25 November 2022 - MASSIVE SALT LAKE IN AUSTRALIA - LAKE AMADEUS

 

MASSIVE SALT LAKE

 IN AUSTRALIA

- LAKE AMADEUS -

G'day folks,

This large lake in Central Australia contains an estimated 600 million tons of salt. 

Just 50 kilometers north of Uluru (Ayers Rock) lies the largest salt lake in Australia’s Northern Territory: Lake Amadeus.

The 180-kilometer long and 10-kilometer wide dry lake shines like a white beacon amongst the red dirt. Lake Amadeus is located in the Amadeus basin, which is filled with erosion material from the Petermann Orogeny, a geological event that lifted and folded the earth’s crust millions of years ago.

 

Lake Amadeus contains an estimated 600 million tons of salt. When rain falls in sufficient quantity it becomes part of a vast flowing drainage system that connects to the Finke River, one of the oldest rivers in the world. From there it flows for 750 kilometers from its headwater in the Northern Territory’s MacDonnell Ranges, down into Lake Eyre in outback South Australia.

In the Pitjantjatjara language this lake and the nearby Lake Neale are known as pantu, or “salt lakes.” The land where these bodies of water are located is covered by the Katiti and Petermann Aboriginal Land Trusts.

Sand dunes hide the lake from view while on the main road (Lasseter’s Highway), so the best viewing point is opposite the Mount Connor Lookout, approximately 20 kilometers east of Curtin Springs. Cross the road and climb the sand dunes and the salt lake appears like a mirage. 

12 November 2022 - GIANT CRYSTALS IN SPANISH CAVE

 

GIANT CRYSTALS

 IN SPANISH CAVE 

G'day folks,

Crawl down an abandoned mine shaft in the south of Spain and then descended further still via a narrow staircase and you’ll find yourself in a magical world: a cavern filled with human-sized, sparkling crystals. This is the Pulpí geode, the second-largest known geode in the world.

The Pulpí geode sits 164 feet below Mina Rica, a silver mine on the coast of Almería that was abandoned in the 1960s. The natural wonder lying below the mine was discovered by geologists in 1999, and it took another 20 years before it was opened to the public.

 

Visitors who make the descent are greeted by walls covered with crystals, some close to seven feet long and so clear you can almost see through them. The geode formed from minerals in the cave, including gypsum and celestine. The process has been a very long one—at least 60,000 years—and it is still not fully understood by experts. Geologists also expect to find even more geodes as they dig deeper into the mine and surrounding areas.

2 October 2022 - THE MOVING ISLAND - ITALY

 

THE MOVING ISLAND 

- ITALY -

G'day folks,

This serene, turquoise lake in an extraordinary nature reserve showcases a rare natural phenomenon. 

Posta Fibreno is a karstic lake in the foothills of Italy’s Lazio region, and though it may seem more like an engrossed river, it is a small, serene lake home to a very unusual natural phenomenon known since Roman times. Described by Pliny the Elder in his 1st-century Naturalis Historia, the lake is the setting for the subtle dances and movements of a natural floating island.

 

The island, known as La Rota for its round shape, was formed over the years by free-floating rhizomes, peat, and roots. At about 13 feet thick and 130 feet wide, the mass is not rooted to the ground below the water, and thus the wind and currents cause it to move freely around the surface of the lake. Small trees and shrubs cover the land, and when a breeze blows or the volume of the water released by the underwater springs varies, the island appears to be somehow floating around on its own. This is a phenomenon so rare that Posta Fibreno is one of the only places on Earth to see it occur.

Geological anomaly aside, Lake Posta Fibreno’s mild temperature and extraordinarily clear waters have made it a paradise for divers, kayakers, wildlife lovers, and birdwatchers. The landscape is a nature reserve that protects a local endemic species of fish, the Fibreno trout. The lake has no tributaries and it is fed by karstic springs, whose constant flow are responsible for the turquoise water’s remarkable transparent hue. The fishermen on Posta Fibreno still use a traditional boat known locally as a “nàue,” and these may be spotted when walking along the nature reserve’s boardwalks. 

 

1 October 2022 - MYSTERIOUS KAINDY LAKE - KAZAKHSTAN

 

MYSTERIOUS

 KAINDY LAKE 

- KAZAKHSTAN -

G'day folks,

Here, submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake. 

Kaindy Lake is an idyllic mountain lake in Kazakhstan’s portion of the Tian Shan Mountains, close to the country’s largest city, Almaty. The lake was formed after an earthquake in 1911, which caused a major landslide, effectively creating a natural dam. Successively, rainwater filled the valley and created the lake.

 

The lake is famous for the number of dead and bleached spruce trees that stick out of the water – remnants of the trees that were flooded when the lake was formed. The trees, together with the improbable turquoise water of the lake, make an incredibly scenic sight. Underwater, the imagery is even more stunning, as the trees have not decomposed and create the surreal vision of an underwater forest.

 

Surprisingly, the lake sees few visitors, partly because Kaindy Lake is overshadowed by the more famous Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake and the Kolsay Lakes, all of which are close by, but far easier to reach from Almaty. Thus, despite its proximity to a city with a population of more than one million, the lake retains a peaceful atmosphere.

28 September 2022 - STUNNING GOLDEN ARCH IN WALES

 

STUNNING GOLDEN 

ARCH IN WALES 

G'day folks,

Welcome to a breathtaking flower tunnel that bursts with beautiful golden blossoms in Wales.

Every spring, this mesmerizing flower arch blooms within a Welsh botanic garden. Golden flowers burst from the branches of the laburnum tree, draping downward to creating a tunnel capped by a lush ceiling of blossoms.

The breathtaking 180-foot-long archway is said to be the longest in the United Kingdom. It was planned by Henry Davis Pochin, the man who created the Bodnant Garden in 1875, and has been enchanting those who pass beneath the ceiling of dangling flowers ever since.

 

The delicate blossoms are a welcome pop of color to counteract Wales’ often wet, dreary weather. When the tree blooms, its flowers cascade down from the branches like delicate pearls, earning them the nickname “Golden Rain.” Its fallen petals pepper the floor to create a walkway dotted with bright, sunshine-colored spots.

The Laburnum Arch is a fleeting phenomenon. It only lasts for a few weeks, usually in late May or early June. Predicting when exactly the archway will bloom is tricky, as the tree can be a bit finicky depending on the mildness of the winter. But even when not in bloom, the tree’s verdant leaves still create an enticing botanic tunnel. Walking beneath the thick mass of greenery feels like wandering within a fairytale forest.

 

 

4 September 2022 - ENORMOUS SINKHOLE IN ITALY

 

ENORMOUS

 SINKHOLE

 IN ITALY 

G'day folks,

This enormous sinkhole hides a secret world created from divine wrath.  

The mountains and forests surrounding the medieval village of Roccantica are wild and lush. They also hide several beautiful sights, such as hermitages and waterfalls but above all, the enormous and unusual sinkhole locally known as “U’revotano.”

This enormous abyss is a common geological phenomenon in Central Italy, also known as doline, in which karstic processes of erosion cause the collapse of a limestone roof over an underground cavern. This natural occurrence has inspired a local legend in which a village is known as Revotano.

 

According to local tradition, the village was inhabited by blasphemous residents and was swallowed up by divine wrath. As the story goes, the young wife of a local inhabitant who had gone to the stream to wash her laundry with her son suddenly heard a voice. The voice warned that divine punishment was going to befall her village. A great earthquake shook the land and the voice-guided them to safety. Revotano was swallowed into the sinkhole

The abyss is 820 feet (250-meters) wide and 426 feet (130 meters) deep. There are a few viewpoints that provide an understanding of the enormity of the sinkhole. A slippery, unmarked trail leads (with the help of a few ropes) to the bottom of the sinkhole where a fragile world of moss-carpeted trees and boulders resides.

The air is colder and more humid at the bottom of the sinkhole, allowing the moss and ferns to grow lush and in vivid hues. As this is a very fragile and unusual example of nature, take special care not to damage the vegetation when visiting. 

 

12 September 2022 - THE HOTTEST PLACE ON EARTH - ETHIOPIA

 

THE HOTTEST PLACE 

ON EARTH 

- ETHIOPIA -

G'day folks,

Welcome to the hottest place on the planet. 

In the north of Ethiopia, hours from any populated area, is a vast expanse of brutal landscape unlike anywhere else in the world.

Dallol, in the Danakil Depression, is a boiling, salt-formed world completely hostile to human visitors. The Danakil Depression, also known as the Afar Depression, holds the distinction of being one of the lowest and hottest parts of the world.

 

On top of average temperatures of 94 degrees Fahrenheit, Dallol itself is surrounded by boiling hot springs, bringing hot minerals and toxic gas bubbles to the surface. Despite making Dallol uninhabited, these geological forces have actually made the area somewhat picturesque, coloring the lowlands with rusty orange, yellow, and green salt formations.

Dallol is extremely unwelcoming to inhabitation. However, a number of people have still ventured into the region for work, due to the high deposits of table salt in the area. Expeditions funded by Europe prior to World War I were shut down and dismantled throughout the first half of the 20th century. Later attempts by American, Indian, and Italian companies have resulted in thousands of mines throughout the region, but no permanent settlement.

Although it is now uninhabited, small structures made of salt bricks were created by the Afar people, when they were employed by mining companies throughout the 20th century. However, the majority of these have been abandoned and few traces of these settlements still exist.

Near the Dallol area in the same region is Erta Ale, the “Gateway to Hell,” a smoking volcanic terrain complete with its own lava lakes. It is an equally harsh and unforgiving environment, and nearly impossible to reach without great difficulty.

 

11 September 2022 - FIRE MEETS ICE AT Mt. EREBUS - ANTARCTICA

 

FIRE MEETS ICE 

AT Mt. EREBUS

 - ANTARCTICA -

G'day folks,

Fire meets ice at the southernmost volcano on Earth. 

Erebus. It’s a good name for the volcano. In Greek myth, Erebus was the son of the god Chaos, and his mother was Gaia or Earth. Erebus was made of darkness and shadow, and he filled the corners of the world with his darkness.

Currently, the most active volcano in Antarctica and the southernmost active volcano on Earth, the Mt. Erebus volcano features a 1,700-degree Fahrenheit lava lake, a swirling pool of magma that may be many miles deep: one of only five such lava lakes that exist in the world.

 

While the inside of Mt. Erebus may be extremely hot, outside of it, one would quickly freeze to death in the Antarctic temperatures. Riddling the side of the snow-covered volcano are ice caves, carved out by the escaping volcanic gases. Because of the gas, the ice caves stay a consistent 32 degrees, making them a likely spot for undiscovered extremophiles. The volcanic gases heat their way through these ice caves and escape into the air to form enormous 60-foot chimneys of ice, or “fumaroles” with deadly volcanic gases pouring out from their tips.

Discovered in 1841 by polar explorer Sir James Clark Ross, it was easy to identify Mt. Erebus as a volcano as it was erupting at the time. (Ross Island, which Mt. Erebus is on, is named after him as is the Ross Ice Shelf.) Later, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton would make the first ascent of Mt. Erebus between 1907-1909 on the Nimrod Expedition.

One of the things that makes Erebus significant - and the reason it is the location of the Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory, or “MEVO” - is that Erebus is one of only a few consistently active volcanos in the world. Rather than lying dormant and then spectacularly erupting once every few hundred years, though it does that on occasion too, Mt. Erebus is always on, bubbling, releasing gas and flinging ten feet wide “volcanic bombs” - hunks of molten rock which sometimes explode on landing - through the air. For a vulcanologist, Mt. Erebus is a dangerous but dreamy research site.

Mt. Erebus is also the site of a famous and tragic air disaster. An Air New Zealand DC-10 airliner on a sightseeing flight became lost in a whiteout and crashed into the side of the volcano on 28 November 1979, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew. Famed explorer Sir Edmund Hillary was supposed to have been on board but canceled at the last moment.

Debris from the crash is still visible on the volcano, despite an extensive recovery and clean up the mission. The unclaimed remains of the crash victims are entombed at a memorial at the Waikumete Cemetery in West Aukland, New Zealand where every year a wreath is laid in memory.