Seagull in Mono Lake Wading among the limestone tufa outcrops in the concentrated, salty waters of Mono Lake, a California gull (Larus californicus) is at home for the summer.
High in California’s Eastern Sierra – between 1945 metres (6,380 feet) and almost 4000 metres (13,061 feet) – the Mono Basin perches at the north end of the Mono–Inyo Craters volcanic chain. This endorheic drainage basin was created over the last five million years by repeated volcanic activity and the forces of tectonic movement on the earth’s crust.
The hauntingly beautiful Mono Lake, a vast inland sea extending more than 168 square kilometres (65 square miles), sits surrounded by volcanic craters and sagebrush at the heart of this basin. As a terminal lake with no outflow, the collected waters from the surrounding mountains have endured millennia of evaporation to become saltier than the oceans and as alkaline as household ammonia. This has lead to unique endemic species: single-celled planktonic algae, Mono Lake brine shrimp, alkali flies, and a number of nematodes. These attract migratory birds, many of whom nest here in summer. The lake hosts one of the largest California Gull rookeries in North America, as well as countless other shorebirds, waterfowl, songbirds, and raptors.
This is an area of unique and rugged grandeur – and no stranger to continued volcanic activity, with eruptions occurring every 250 to 700 years. While Mono Lake was formed at least 760,000 years ago – and up to 3 million years ago, depending whom you read – much of Paoha Island, the island in the middle of the lake, was uplifted by eruptive activity only 130-260 years ago.
I was visiting a friend who lives part of the year in this magnificent area. We had explored the South Tufa Area of the lake, with its otherworldly tufa towers of limestone rising out of the salty waters the evening before (see: Evening over the Tufa Towers).
On this particular summer morning, we were driving to various overlooks, checking out the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center, and walking in search of gulls in a different section of the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve.
Come along!
Sagebrush and Mountains The Mono Basin is a high plateau, bounded by the High Sierra mountains to the west.
Overlooking Mono Lake The basin is bounded on the east by the Cowtrack Mountains.
Lee Vining Canyon A number of waterways feed into Mono Lake from the surrounding mountains.
Hills above Mono Lake
Rubber Rabbitbrush – Ericameria Nauseosa This is desert country, and rubber rabbitbrush thrives in the coarse, alkaline soil here. It is a source of food for animals, and some Native Americans people used the flowers for dye and the stems for baskets.
Burned Trees I don’t know if this is from a controlled burn or a previous forest fire: fires race through these areas regularly.
View from the Visitor Center Back at Mono Lake, we stop in at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center.
About the Tufas Displays inside the centre explain how the tufa towers in the lake are formed.
Basket Art Other exhibits show off arts and crafts from local products.
‘Mono Lake’ by Ansel Adams Yosemite National Park and the Ansel Adams Wilderness are very close by here. Ansel Adams (1902 -1984) is known to most photographic students as the man who helped establish photography as a fine art, and who promoted the conservation of these American wilderness areas.
More Rubber Rabbitbrush and Sage Back outside, the heat takes my breath away: …
Mini-Tufas in Mono Lake … this is a high-altitude desert, with daily and seasonal temperature extremes, and much of the annual precipitation falling in winter as snow.
Grasses As we walk around the lakeshore, the vegetation changes dramatically.
Tiny Tufas The tufa towers – built up when calcium-rich freshwater springs under the lake bubble up and react with the carbonates in the water to make calcium carbonate, or limestone – are not as tall on this side of the lake as the ones we had explored in the South Tufa Area the evening before (see: Evening over the Tufa Towers) …
Seagulls on the Tufas … but the California gulls are at home amongst them.
Gull and a Moon Rock Some writers have compared this terrain to Mars, but it made me think of the moon, in all its rugged glory.
Gulls among the Tufa Islands The surface of the dense waters is thick with alkali flies – one of the reasons birds are so happy here.
Brewer’s Blackbirds – Euphagus Cyanocephalus
Nature’s Artworks: Sculptured Rock Gulls are thick on the crags in the background, where we (and predators) cannot go.
People on the Shore In spite of the noise of the birds, there is a real feeling of ‘quiet’ about this place.
Giant Blazing Star – Mentzelia Laevicaulis These beautiful plants are well-loved by bees, moths, and birds. The roots, seeds, and leaves had extensive uses in Native American medicine.
Shimmering Landscape As we head back up into the hills, the lake retreats into a heat haze.
It truly is a magic landscape, where the light and colours are constantly changing.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of the non-profit Mono Lake Committee to preserve Mono Lake, and the consequent formation of the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve in 1981, the area is protected.
This however, is no match for climate change and years of drought. Like so many other uniques landscapes, the area is at risk.
I’m glad I got to visit it before it is damaged further.
Morning Ablutions Every morning, devout Hindus descend the stairs of the Varanasighats to wash their sins away in the holy waters of the Mother Ganges. (Astute readers will recognise this re-processed photo as a copy of one that is in my masthead slideshow.)
Sunrise is the beginning of something …
The pilgrims on the Varanasi ghats along the Ganges are absolutely absorbed in their preparations of offerings to the Mother Ganga, in their ritual ablutions in the sacred waters, or in their pre-dawn meditations. Time loses all meaning.
Pilgrims have been travelling here to bathe in the Ganges River since time immemorial, and many of the ritual practices – with their roots in Hindu mythology – have changed little in the last 4000 years. Varanasi is the holiest of the seven Sapta Puri – holy pilgrimage sites in Hinduism. Naturally endowed with spiritual powers since the site was reputedly founded by Shiva, Varanasi can bless you with moksha – liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
While the spectacular evening Ganga Aarti on Dashashwamedh Ghat attracts both pilgrims and tourists in great numbers (see: Life and Death on the Varanasi Ghats), the devotional rituals along the river start before dawn.
So, long before sunrise – with the benefit of a headlamp – I made my way through the dark and quiet streets to Assi Ghat, where shrines were already being tended, lamps were being lit, and homages were being paid.
Tending the Shrine It is early, and the streets are dark just off Assi Ghat in Varanasi. But, already women have risen to tend to the holy shrines in honour of Shiva.
Morning Aarti In the absence of the kind of audience I saw the evening before at Dashaswamedh Ghat, Hindu priests perform their morning aarti.
Candelabra An aarti is a devotional ritual that uses fire as an offering – in this case, to the Goddess Ganga, or Mother Ganga.
Garlands Years after my visit, the State Government expanded and formalised the morning aarti, founding the Subah-e-Banaras program in 2014. The patience and care that was taken to prepare the rituals I watched had nothing to do with audience – and everything to do with ones own relationship with the Gods.
Lighting Offerings Young children sell diyas – small lamps with a candle surrounded by flowers.
Ritual to the Mother Facing the river, the lit lamps are circled clockwise, to chants or prayers, …
Offering to Maa Ganga … before being set off into the river. Diyas symbolise goodness and purity; lighting them dispels the darkness.
Old Woman and her Kumbh Pilgrims to the Ganges all have water vessels with them so they can carry a bit of the precious river away for further rituals.
Wooden Boats on the Ganges Finally! The sky is taking on new colours as the sun slowly makes its way around the horizon and through the haze.
Copper Kumbh
Old Man and his Kumbh It always amazes me how different the sadhus all are!
Old Man and a Sacred Stick The stick this man carries is not substantial enough to be a staff, but is clearly important.
Stilllife Found: Brass Kumbh
Morning Meditation Seated, draped, and still, this figure was finally touched by light as the sun rose.
Woman Making an Offering The women making offerings all have baskets full of bits and pieces …
Paraphernalia … and assorted utensils, all of which have a special role.
Morning Prayers The sun (surya) is the visible God in Hinduism.
Sacred Waters So, combined with the waters of the Mother, this is an auspicious time and place.
Water Pot
Even as a non-Hindu outsider, I felt something in the air, and wandered the ghats in a dream-like state.
Whenever I revisit the ghats – whether through my photos or simply in my memories – I return to that sense of stillness, outside of time’s march. As we all struggle through these challenging times, this can only be a good thing!
So, as one day slips into the next, and one year drifts into another, I wish you a beautiful sunrise – and a healthy Happy New Year.
Limited Edition Blends Special edition rum blends in the retired ‘Bondstore’ that has been up-cycled into the Bundaberg Rum Museum.
They say that if you have too many lemons: make lemonade.
So, it follows that if you have too much sugar by-product, you should make rum.
That’s what happened in Bundaberg, a small city in coastal Queensland. Originally reliant on timber and maize, from the 1870s, sugar cane became the mainstay. With its humid subtropical climate and ready access to blackbirded indentured labour from the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides, plantations thrived and owners grew wealthy. Until importing South Sea Islander labour was made illegal in 1904, the biggest problem growers had was what to do with the heavy molasses waste byproduct.
In 1885 all the big sugar mill owners in the region met to discuss distilling. By 1888, the Bundaberg Distilling Company was up and running, producing its first bottles of rum in 1889. While the brand and the distillery have been owned by the British company Diageo since 2000, the name ‘Bundaberg’ is still synonymous with Australian rum.
After missing out on Bundaberg the last time I was in Queensland’s cane country (see: Maryborough Story Trails), I was determined to visit the eponymous rum factory on my most recent trip. So, I made a point of stopping in the city and taking a tour of the premises – including the ambitiously-named ‘Museum’ – and left town with a few precious bottles from the outlet store tucked safely in my car.
I didn’t have a long stay in the little city, so I didn’t get to visit their almost-equally famous gin distilleries. I did, however, enjoy the charming town centre, and the extensive botanic gardens. I was lucky to dodge most of the seasonal squalls.
Bring a sturdy umbrella, and join me for a walk.
In the Cane Fields This is sugar cane country – and rainy season. The perennial grasses are tall and the skies are ominous. (iPhone12Pro)
Approaching the Burnett Bridge Built in 1900, the Burnett Bridge is a heritage-listed metal truss road bridge crossing the Burnett River, north of Bundaberg city centre.
On Burnett Bridge Designed by British-born Queensland engineer A.B. Brady, the metal trusses catch the late afternoon light.
Paperbarks on the Waterway Water makes all the difference in a city, and it was a real pleasure entering the 27 hectare (27 acre) Botanic Gardens and walking along the river. It is, however, a double-edged sword! Cyclones whip this coastline regularly, and in January 2013, Bundaberg was inundated by ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald.
Paperbark Trunks Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as broad-leaved paperbarks, are one of my favourite trees.
Chinese Gardens The winding pathways through the different areas of the gardens reveal little surprises at every turn.
Bird of Paradise – Strelitzia Reginae
Fairymead House Sugar Museum This heritage-listed homestead was built in 1890. It now houses a museum showcasing the history of some of Bundaberg’s sugar pioneers.
Landscaped Pond The beautiful water-features in the Japanese Gardens are thanks to the generosity of a former exchange student to the city (see: Bundaberg Lions Club).
Sculpted Waterfalls The movement of the water as it cascades over rocks, and the lushness of the surrounding plants, make the Japanese Gardens feel cooler on a hot afternoon.
An Island of Ibis in the Lake Another body of water in the gardens embodies an island that is inaccessible to visitors; …
Australian White Ibis – Threskiornis Moluccus Maligned as “tip turkeys” or “bin chickens”, Australian White Ibis are amazingly adaptable birds.
Ibis in a Tree They watched me, …
Egret in Flight … as I watched egrets soaring in and out of their safe island.
Egrets in the Trees
Pacific Black Duck – Anas Superciliosa I didn’t see all the 114 species the gardens boast, …
Purple Swamphen – Porphyrio Porphyrio … but there were a few on and around the waters.
Lizard on a Log A lizard in a dark patch was so still, I though it was a statue.
Queensland Bottle Tree – Brachychiton Rupestris
Gray Goose
Australian Pelican – Pelecanus Conspicillatus
Chinese Bridge
Selfie in the Mirror Walking back to my room, I couldn’t resist a selfie in the mirror on the railway crossing.
Bundaberg Rum Distillery The next morning at the appointed time I made my way to the old distillery. The iconic “Bundy Bottles” were originally recycled coffee and chicory essence bottles that the locals collected and sold to the distillery for one penny each.
Label-Making Stamps The old bonded warehouse now houses museum pieces illustrating the 125-year history.
Selfie in the Old Phones
The Bundy Bear The mascot bear was introduced in 1961 to imply that rum can ward off the coldest chills – chills one doesn’t usually associate with sub-tropical Queensland!
Bottles on Display I made the most out of all the bottles on display, …
Spruiking the Product … because our cameras and phones get locked up before we enter the factory.
Time for tasting follows the tour, and naturally I was tempted by a few products …
More than suitable for a Christmas eggnog or spiced rum toddy.
Scars, Beads, and Braids The Nyangatom are one of the many unique ethnic groups living in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. Both men and women practice scarification for decoration. A woman’s age and status can be determined by the weight and quality of her beads: she gets her first strand from her father, and adds more every year.
Some trips produce such a maelstrom of impressions and images that, when reviewing the photos, it makes sense to start at the end.
So it was with Ethiopia!
The first photo-stories I posted about this landlocked country, split by the Great Rift Valley, were from the last tribe I visited, the Mursi people, whose villages are deep in the wild territory between the Mago and Omo Rivers (see: Mursi Portraits).
This current post, the last of the sets from the Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, takes place further south: on the western side of the Omo River, bordering South Sudan. This is now the domain of the Nyangatom, a Nilo-Saharan group thought to have migrated there from northern Uganda in the mid-late 19th century.
Being a visitor to these remoter areas of the world always raises dilemmas. I’ve seen photographers ask subjects to remove their shirts, remove their shoes, and hide their mobile phones: some people expect ‘traditional’ culture to be ‘static’.
Which, of course, it isn’t.
Even without the the encroachment of the modern world, culture changes. As an outsider, it is impossible to know how to balance the social benefits of traditional tribal life against the hardships, the regimented structures, the lack of education and choice, and the low life expectancy inherent in these subsistence-lifestyle communities.
In this region, the building and expansion of the Gibe III Dam on the Lower Omo has had – and continues to have – life changing consequences for all the ethnic groups along the river (q.v.: Mongabay Series; The Conversation; and Survival International). The dam is a hydro-electric boon to the whole country, and an irrigation gift to local sugar producers. But, it is all but destroying the flood-retreat agriculture that traditional ethnic groups depend on and have been practicing for generations.
I was travelling with a small group of photography enthusiasts on a Piper Mackay tour lead by photographer Ben McRae. From Addis Ababa we had flown into Arba Minch, the second largest town in the rather-clumsily named Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. From there, days of bumping along in four-wheel drives along highways, dirt roads, and jungle tracks, gave us access to a number of the unique ethnic groups along the Omo River (see: Omo Valley).
Somehow, it seems appropriate, that on our last day in the country, while we drove to the Jinka Airport – little more than a stretch of runway and an over-sized tin shed in a grassy field – to return to Addis Ababa, baboons showed us their bottoms with contempt as they retreated to the scrub.
And, the last image I took along the road was of a truck full of soldiers with their rifles pointed willy-nilly, off to protect – not people – but the sugar from the local factories.
Certainly, a kaleidoscope of mixed impressions!
The Nyangatom were the penultimate group we spent time with. I’ve described some of their customs previously (see: Dark Eyes and Layers of Beads). Let’s revisit them before their ways disappear – along with the receding river.
High, Hot, and Dry The Nyangatom side of the Omo River sits on a high plateau over the running waters below.
Goat in the Kraal The homes in the settlement are surrounded by a thorn-bush fence – which includes areas for the cattle and other animals, and which is opened up in the daytime.
Young Nyangatom Man These small ethnic groups in the Omo Valley have very little to sell, but they have learned that their appearance is marketable to tourists. In most places, we had to barter on the ‘Pay per Click’ model. This includes paying for pictures of people’s homes and livestock. In this instance, however, we paid a fixed price for the whole village. This gave me much more freedom to wander, and my interactions with people felt more natural.
Nyangatom Woman in Brown Beads I’ve shared pictures of this lovely Nyangatom woman before. Women wear up to 8 kg (17 lb) of beads, which they don’t take off.
Woman in Red, White, and Blue The material used in the small lip plugs worn by both men and women can be determined by status. Elder women wear copper, and elder men wear ivory.
A Calabash and a Mobile All across the Omo Valley, calabash gourds are hollowed out and dried, and used as drinking utensils or for carrying water.
Man in Green Men all carry their wooden stools, so unlike the women, they don’t sit directly on the ground.
Colourful Beads and a Headdress The keys on this woman’s necklaces look too clean to be purely decorative; I don’t know what they lock/unlock.
In a Nyangatom Courtyard Nyangatom men are polygamous, and their wives all have their own woven beehive huts within the village compound.
Kids in the Courtyard Children are everywhere.
Young Man in Colourful Blanket Mornings are cool – even here in the Tropic of Capricorn – and people wrap themselves in whatever they have.
Arm Decorations Both men and women practice scarification for decoration. Thorns or razors are used to cut the skin, and ash is rubbed into the wounds to create the raised scars.
Smiling Lad
Nyangatom Elder in Green These faces could tell some stories …
Smiles of an Elder … and the smiles are infectious – even without a shared language.
Can you Read his T-Shirt? Men all carry their walking sticks and stools with them. I have no idea what the Ethiopian text on this t-shirt says; chances are, this elder doesn’t either!
Beads and Beauty-Scars
Beauty-Scars, Beads, and a Baby
Men with Automatics Territorial warfare and cattle theft are very real problems in this region: young men here are expected to be well armed, and most have AK-47s left over from the civil war in neighbouring (South) Sudan.
Elder in Tattoos When men kill an enemy, they cut patterns into their shoulders and chest to release any bad spirits.
Village Tableau Nyangatom bee-hive huts are dark inside, with low doorways and no windows.
Young Man
Donkeys on the Horizon Nyangatom are semi-nomadic, and keep donkeys to help with transport when they move their settlement to follow their cattle and goat herds.
Omo River Waterfront The river is the lifeblood for these people. As we were leaving the village in our outboard boat, we watched herds of zebu cattle being guided down to the water’s edge to drink.
Goats in the Road Livestock are how many Africans measure their wealth. The next day, on our drive out the National Parks towards Jinka, we had to wait for a herd of goats crossing the dusty main road.
Ethiopia is hot, and dusty, and dirty, and – like the rest of Africa – it gets into your blood; as soon as I had landed home after transiting what has to be one of the world’s worst international terminals, I was trying to figure out how I could go back.
Rocky Outcrop The views over the Sapphire Coast from the Bermagui Coast Walk in the far south of New South Wales on a sunny spring day are breathtaking.
If you are going to be locked in your own region because of Covid-19 border controls, it helps to have a magnificent back yard!
For most of the past almost-two years, those of us in Australia – like people in much of the rest of the world – have been under some level of travel restriction. Part of this period, I couldn’t venture further than five kilometres from home, and even then only for ‘essential purposes’.
Fortunately, I live in a beautiful area, and unlike last year, this year we weren’t hampered by raging bush fires. There were windows of opportunity when the boundaries expanded slightly, and I took advantage of those when I could.
Back in July, the walking group of my regional branch of the National Parks Association was able to meet up – in a Socially-Distanced manner, of course – for a short walk in Ben Boyd National Park, which is literally on my doorstep.
I’ve done this walk before (see: In the Aussie Bush), but what amazes me when I looked back over the pictures from both visits, is how many differences there were in what caught my attention. Both times I’ve done this undulating 6 kilometre (return) walk, we started at Haycock Point picnic area, had our picnic lunches on Barmouth Beach, and then returned.
Roos in the Grass On a flat area just north of our starting spot at the Haycock Point picnic area, a couple of eastern grey kangaroos (macropus giganteus) are resting in the grass.
Haystack Rock Haycock Point gives us views over the rock platform to the dome-shaped Haystack Rock. The iron-oxide that colours these red, riverine rocks is a relic of the atmospheric oxygen from the Devonian Age.
Colours of the Sapphire Coast The variations of the blues in the waters are impressive against the layers of colour in the rocky coast.
Colourful Lichens and Tumbled Rock The fungus on the boulders, and the shrubs on cliff face, are a veritable patchwork of hues and textures.
New Holland Honeyeater – Phylidonyris Novaehollandiae
The Jagged Shore From the cliff tops, a break in the heath, banksia, and gum trees, allows us views back over the coast to Haystack Rock. The SS Empire Gladstone survived World War II only to ground – without loss of life, fortunately – on the rocks on the south side of this spit in 1950. The sunken ship is now a popular dive site.
Arched Rock Lookout Shortly, we come to another break in the overgrowth, where we have views over an unnamed arch of rock.
The Unnamed Arch This unusual rock arch is just one of the many craggy sculptures created by the eroding forces of the ocean.
Pambula Beyond Around the next bend, the colours of the water deepen at the mouth of the Pambula River, and parts of the small town of the same name come into view.
Red Rocks on Barmouth Beach Below
Silver Gull – Chroicocephalus Novaehollandiae A hopeful gull watches us as we lunch.
After lunch on the beach, we walked back the way we had come …
Some months later, in spring – and after another lockdown spell – I had the opportunity to do a walk that I had always promised myself: overlooking the Horse Head Rock near Wallaga Lake.
My walking companion and I started with a late lunch in Bermagui before driving a short way north and parking the car at Hayward Point. From there, we picked up the walking track that follows the old Tilba Road. In spite of being unpaved until 1963, this was the main road into Bermagui from the north-south Princes Highway. It threaded its way between the Long Swamp Nature Reserve and the Pacific Ocean. Sections of the road washed away in the 1970s, before it finally became a cycle- and waking-track.
Bermagui to the South We start our walk at Hayward Point, where we can look south over the beach to the little coastal town of Bermagui …
North from Hayward Point … and north along the empty sandy coastline.
Long Swamp Flora and Fauna Reserve After walking a short way, we are on a slight ridge with water on both sides: Hayward Beach drops down to Horseshoe Bay and the Pacific Ocean on the right, and Long Swamp stretches out along the left.
Coastal Banksia – Banksia Integrifolia
Pig Face Yellow – Lampranthus Glaucus When we come back into the open, pig face – or ice flowers – are defending the sands from erosion.
Branching Trees The path leads us under the trees, …
Camel Rock … and back to the cliffs overlooking the aptly-named Camel Rock.
Rocks on the Sapphire Coast Even the unnamed rocks are pretty impressive!
Daisies on the Path
Horse Head Rock The next feature is the one I have been waiting for: Horse Head Rock, which is believed to be approximately 500 million years old!
Sandbar and Wallaga Lake Our walking path ends near Murunna Point, where we admire the sand bar that keeps Wallaga Lake separated from the Pacific Ocean …
White-Bellied Sea Eagle – Haliaeetus Leucogaster … and a white-bellied sea-eagle circles overhead. Raptors always get my attention, and although I never get ‘the shot’ I want, I love watching them soar.
Cobargo-Bermagui Road As stunning as the coastal walks are, driving home through the verdant fields is just as beautiful! (iPhone12Pro)
Wherever you have found yourself in this strange andlocked-down world, I hope you have some natural beauty to comfort you, and blue skies overhead.
- Performing the Ganga Aarti from Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi
- Buddha Head from Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
Or - pick any photo from my Flickr or Wanders blog photos.
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One day …
locked-down world, I hope you have some natural beauty to comfort you, and blue skies overhead.
