Archive for the 'Beach' Category
A recap of ArcticTropic’s Australian Adventure last February. We are soon relaunching as totaladventure.travel and are currently in testing phase.
After 48 hours in the Vatnajökull region , ArcticTropic traversed Route 1 into Northeast Iceland – now less than 100 miles from the Arctic Circle. Though days are getting longer by over 7 minutes each day – the weather is very wintry.
Black Tower Beach
Sturdy Viking Horses. Direct descendants from the Year 900.
High atop the cliffs.
Sea Harvest.
Snow 12 Months A Year.
Reindeer – It’s What’s For Dinner !
ArcticTropic drove East along Iceland Route 1 for about 200 km today. While only about 125 miles, it was long day because of the incredible amount of nature to experience.
Glaciers flow directly into the Atlantic Ocean.
Black Lava Sand Beach At Vik.
River of Ice. Recent winters have gotten colder and the glaciers are expanding.
Icy Iceland Beach.
On The Moon ?
During the 2 hour sunset.
An amazing waterfall coming off the Glacier this afternoon in South Iceland.Today was the first day – actually only a half day – on the Ring Road around Iceland.
A boiling caldera.
1000 Year Old Viking house.
The Geysir Erupts !
Volcanic rock formations , recently formed.
Icy River !
2014 was an incredible travel year for ArcticTropic. We explored Myanmar ( Burma), European Russia,Siberia,Mongolia,China,Japan,British Colombia,Canada,Singapore,Philippines and Panama. Here’s 184 clips in 11 minutes. This version is natural sound,a musical version will be uploaded soon.
ArcticTropic is now planning 2015 journeys. Three trips are shown here. The first , in February is to Southeastern Australia. The longest flight will be from San Francisco to Sydney – about 15 hours. In March – off to the Polar Regions of Iceland. September – Puerto Varas in Chilean Patagonia for the ATTA Summit. Several other ventures are in planning stage.
The Mergui Archipelago is one of the last untouched tropical paradises on Earth. Only a few hundred miles from the packed tourist hotspots of Phuket and Ko Samui, Thailand – there has been almost no development here. The Archipelago was paced off limits to outsiders – even citizens of Burma – by the government for over 50 years. The 800 islands receive only 2000 visitors a year – mostly divers . One must obtain a permit ( in addition to the visa ) from the Ministry of Tourism .
ArcticTropic stayed at the Myanmar Andaman Resort ( Some Good Pictures ). Comfortable bungalows with air conditioning. I was one of 3 guests there.
Macleod Island ( many of the islands still retain their old British names ) is not easy to get to . One must fly from Yangon via Air KBZ. The fight stops in Yawe and Miyek along the way to Kawthaung. Foreigners are not allowed to drive north of Kawthaung, the southernmost point in Myanmar. After numerous formalities the resort will transport you by speedboat – a 2 to 3 hour journey ,depending on waves. It is also possible to take a ferry from Ranong,Thailand to Kawthaung.
One week in Namibia barely scratches the surface. ArcticTropic was there in October, 2013 for the Adventure Travel Trade Association annual conferences in the capital city of Windhoek and the small seaside city of Swakopmund. At least weeks is needed to see the country properly.
After Namibia , ArcticTropic had less than a week to explore the vast territory of South Africa. 3 days in Cape Town was plenty, but the 1000 mile,1600 km journey back to Johannesburg via the Wynlands,the Great Karoo and the South Coast was quite a feat, meaning many hours in the car.
In 2013 ArcticTropic swam in three of the five oceans – Atlantic,Pacific and Indian. They will all be immersed in again before mid ’14. The Arctic and Southern Oceans are more of a challenge to get to and to swim in , but we will get to both soon.