NORFOLK ISLAND

 Norfolk Island is an island in the South Pacific Ocean and an Australian territory for historical reasons even though it is much closer to New Zealand. It is 1600km east of Sydney and Brisbane but only 1000km northwest of Auckland. The official language of Norfolk Island is English and all the islanders speak it. However, among themselves they often use Norfolk, a language derived from the English spoken by the Bounty Mutineers and the Tahitian spoken by their wives. 

The main attraction of the island consists of natural beauty: beautiful landscapes and wild seascapes. Almost a third of the island is devoted to reserves and national parks. The beaches need a mention as well, the cleanest salt water and softest sand imaginable, the surf here is pretty good too. Another fascinating aspect of Norfolk's heritage is that this is the home of the descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty.

Received from Norfolk Island Tourism.

 

 

MOSSEL BAY

Mossel Bay is situated exactly half way between Cape Town - the provincial capital of the Western Cape Province – and Port Elizabeth (both 400 km away). This popular holiday town is surrounded by a sunbathed peninsula and the refreshing waters of the Indian Ocean. It is a busy summer destination as well as an ideal winter retreat. It is blessed with a mild climate all year round but its most important feature is its status as the historical capital of the Garden Route.
Site of the first landfall made by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomeu Dias in 1488 and today a popular holiday resort with fine beaches and much else to offer the tourist. The Batholomeu Dias Museum Complex comprises historical, maritime and shell museums. Launch trips are offered to nearby Seal Island with its noisy population of some 2,000 seals as well as gannets and cormorants.

 

 

Mossel Bay has become the preferred holiday destination of local and international tourists alike and offers great fishing and safe swimming

Received from Lu-Gerda by The Post Office Tree.  For more information about Mossel Bay visit her blog Lu-Gerda's Travels.

COLUMBIA ICEFIELD

Straddling the boundary between the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, the Columbia Icefield is the largest ice mass in North America, south of the Arctic Circle. Situated in the Canadian Rockies, this ice field covers an area of 130 square miles (365 sq. km.) and has a maximum depth of 1,200 feet (365 m), the height of the Empire State Building in New York City. The average elevation of the ice field is about 10,000 feet (3,000 m). It occupies a high, flat-lying plateau in the form of a huge massif. Its highest points are Mount Columbia at 12,284 feet (3745 m) and Mount Athabasca at 11,452 feet (3,491 m).The largest icefield south of Alaska, shimmering glacial ice and snow cover some 389 sq. km (233 sq. mi.).

The Columbia Icefield is a surviving remnant of the thick ice mass that once mantled most of Western Canada's mountains. Lying on a wide, elevated plateau, it is the largest icefield in the Canadian Rockies. Nearly three-quarters of the park's highest peaks are located close to the icefield; ideally placed to catch much of the moisture that Pacific winds carry across the British Columbia interior. Most of this precipitation falls as snow; up to 7 metres a year!

MAGIC SAND BEACH

 It is one of the few white sand beaches on Hawaii. This beach near Kona Town is named Magic Sands because the entire beach will regularly disappear and then return with the natural action of the ocean. Magic Sands is one of the nicer Kona Beaches, suitable for swimming, surfing, boogie boarding, even snorkeling and scuba diving.

The swimming conditions at Magic Sands are generally quite good, particularly when the sand is covering the beach. Even during the winter months when the shoreline has more rocks exposed, there is a sandy bottom in the water. A nice shore break creates some great waves when the surf is up, making La’aloa Bay another popular spot for boogie boarding and surfing. Crowds of people will often gather to relax on the beach and watch the waves roll in. This beach is very popular and gets pretty busy. In addition to water activities, there is a volleyball net and lots of room to  plant your own beach chair and umbrella.

Magic Sands Beach at La’aloa Bay south of Kona is home to a beautiful beach cove, known also as Disappearing Sands Beach, or White Sands Beach.

KELPIES

The Kelpies are located within “the Helix” park, Falkirk, situated between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. The Kelpies are one of the largest equine sculptures in the world, standing 30 metres tall. They are the landmark feature of The Helix Environmental Regeneration Scheme on the Forth and Clyde Canal near Falkirk on Central Scotland. They are the brain-child of sculptor Andy Scott, and will be the largest public artworks in Scotland. Construction of The Kelpies began on 17thJune 2013. The build was officially completed on 27th November 2013.

 

The Kelpies by numbers:

*300 tonnes each
*30 metres high
*1200 tonnes of steel-reinforced concrete foundations per head
*990 unique stainless steel skin-plates
*Built on site in 90 days.
For more information go to www.thekelpies.co.uk

PEYTO LAKE

Peyto Lake is located in Banff National Park near Bow Summit approximately 38Km north of Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway. It is one of the treasures in the Canadian Rockies. Peyto Lake gets its beautiful turquoise green color from glacial silt created by the Peyto Glacier and the Wapta Icefield. The 2.8 km length and elevation lake of 1860 m, make this turquoise diamond shape lake perfectly shine in The Canadian Rockies. The best view of Peyto Lake is at look out Bow Summit. This scenic view is about half hour of Lake Louise. It is an unforgettable picture of the summit with a view of this glacier lake on a majestic blue sky. Peyto Lake was named after Bill Peyto who was a historical trapper and trail guide in the late 1800's and early 1900's, in the Banff area.

The amazing blue of Peyto Lake

QUEZON CITY

Quezon City is the largest city in Metro Manila as well as the largest city in the Philippines. Recently, it has become the hub of information technology as well as its entertainment industry in the Philippines. The city was named after former Philippine president Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina. Quezon City was the country's capital from 1946 until 1972, when the seat of government was officially returned to neighboring Manila.

 

Quezon Memorial Park. Built in memory of President Manuel L. Quezon, it is in front of the City Hall of Quezon City and is a favourite promenade for Sunday strollers

Quezon Memorial Park. This quiet park of trees and lawns was developed in honor and in memory of the late president Manuel L. Quezon. A marker fenced by concrete and set on a circular cement platform serves as a landmark of Baler, the birthplace of Quezon. A replica of the house where Quezon grew up could be found at Quezon Park. The park now serves as a public recreation center and a place for remembering the great leader.

HUNTINGTON BEACH

The City of Huntington Beach is located along the Southern California coast in Orange County, 35 miles south of Los Angeles and 90 miles north of San Diego. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, and has been long known for its long 8.5 miles of beautiful beach, mild climate, and excellent surfing, earning it the nickname of Surf City.  Surf, sand, sun and subtle sophistication encapsulate what the City of Huntington Beach is all about. Named for railroad magnate Henry Huntington who orchestrated its development, the city is now an epicenter of activity and entertainment with wide, sandy beaches.

Huntington Beach offers residents a charming community with ideal weather, a diversified economy overflowing with good jobs, a wide variety of housing, an excellent educational system, boat marinas, numerous parks, and exemplary health care. Boasting some of California’s widest, cleanest, and safest beaches, the unofficial dress code has become a mix of wetsuits, bikinis and sandals accessorized by volleyballs, surf boards and beach towels.  

Read more at: City of Huntington Beach

GREAT BRITAIN

This is the name of the island which is made up of England, Scotland and Wales. The origin of the word 'Great' is a reference to size, because in many European languages the word for Britain and Brittany in France are the same. In fact, it was the French who first talked about Grande Bretagne! In everyday speech 'Britain' is used to mean United Kingdom.
The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright red cross is the cross of St George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

England is a land of scenic mountains, as well as great urban sprawls and congested roads. Scotland has two of the country's most absorbing cities. It is a land of tartan kilts, bagpipes, drams of whisky and misty glens. Wales offers superb introductions to a lost industrial heritage as well as abounds with lush valleys and medieval castles.

MT. ROBSON

Measuring 3,954 metres Mt. Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. Located in the Fraser River Valley east of the Robson River; 4 km south of Berg Lake. Major headwater Fraser River. Mount Robson was likely named in 1815 after Colin Robertson, who worked for both the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company at various times in the early 19th century. Other names Cloud Cap Mountain; Snow Cap Mountain, Yuh-hai-has-kun; The Mountain of the Spiral Road.
First successful climber(s): W.M. Foster, A.H. McCarthy, Conrad Kain in 1913.

"Mount Robson is not only the highest mountain in the Canadian Rocky Mountains but one of the great mountains of the world, and deserving of inclusion in any select list on account of many striking characteristics and a form, beauty, and grandeur transcending any other of the greater peaks of the Rockies… The mountain is unique, and its massive precipices, seamed with different-coloured rock strata, enhance it in both beauty and stature." These words were written by Frank Smythe, an English mountaineer who wrote dozens of books about the mountains of the world during the first half of the twentieth century and was widely regarded as an authority on the subject.