My most current blog entry:
New Zealand Small Towns and Small Roads
Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 1:31PM We are off on the long road trip around the South Island of New Zealand. Very beautiful . . . a little fog . . . and a little brilliant sunshine.
Some of the oldest life known on Earth: two billion year old "boulders" made by single celled "animals."
The fog and mist began to lift in the afternoon.
Green, cold, and beautiful.
Far down the South Island on the small Highway 93.
3C degrees cold. 45 degrees south latitude.
Small towns (Dunedin) in all their former glory . . . under giant skies.
Steampunk HQ? Oh . . . . Victorian era inspsired steam-powered dystopian sci-fi that gained popularity in the 1980s. Good article about this 'movement' HERE.
Every single town we passed through had a WWI monument to the town's war dead.
You can buy your booze in bulk in New Zealand!
A touch of Europe on the 'other side of the world.'
On the very bottom of the South Island (the town of Bluff).
You are here, Bluff, New Zealand.
The Victoria Railway Hotel (est. 1893) in Invercargill . . . our hotel for tonight.
On The [Cold and Wet] Ground in New Zealand
Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 5:17AM BBBBBRRRRRRRRR! . . . . . and Beautiful!
Just outside of Christchurch.
Wonderful winter coastal landscaped. A nice mood.
Friendly Gulls.
New Zealand Here We Come!
Monday, June 21, 2010 at 11:57AM We're off to the South Island of New Zealand for a photographic expedition. Watch this space for photo updates sent from my iPhone on the very cool SQUARESPACE iPhone app.
It could be a bit breezy and wet on the South Island . . . . . . but we wanted a winter vacation. Current Christchurch weather should be a high of 12c and a low of 1c. Bbbbbrrrrrrr. The plan is to stay in a few B&Bs, a farm stay, and hotels.
The satellite image is most intriguing . . . . now to see it at ground level! Interestingly, the southern tip of the South Island of New Zealand is at 45 degrees South latitude . . . . and I am from Oregon in the USA which is at 45 degrees North latitude.
Dr. Jeff Harper
Just arrived to a perfect sunny day in Christchurch! A sleepless night on the plane, feeling pretty rough. The evening at the MU Steak House arund the corner from our hotel was perfect . . . . but the walk home in 1c wind was an unexpected hardship for a Bangkok dweller like me . . .bbbbrrrrrrrrr!
Jordan 2008 Photos Added
Friday, June 18, 2010 at 8:40PM I went to the wonderful country of Jordan in 2008 and took literally thousands of photos. The light in February was wonderful. I have recently been going through my photos from that trip and have been adding some to my Jordan Photo Bank. Go HERE for more.
Petra, even with tourists, is a MUST SEE in one's lifetime.
Jordan is full of interesting sites to see. This is the interior of the fort where the real Lawrence of Arabia lived for three years. Jordan had fascinating Biblical, Crusader, Islamic, Judaic and WWI and WWII sites. Go here for more.
My Congo River Adventure 1984
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 6:28PM I have just loaded new photos from The Congo. At Christmas 1984, my friend Dwain Bloyer and I boarded the Col. Ebeya river boat for an 11 day trip from Kinshasa, on the lower Congo River, up river to Kisangani, on the upper Congo: a 1200 mile continuous run of the great river. It was an extraordinary life experience. Unfortunately, when I moved to Bangkok from Charlottesville, Virginia in 1996 2/3 of my shipment was stolen (in Virginia), including my personal photos and slides of my Congo travels. Fortunately, Dwain had a set of slides from our trip (although no where near as good as my lost photos - hahaha!) and, when on a vacation to Bangkok a couple of years ago with his wife Sharon, brought them to me. I had them hastily scanned and have just today gone through them to see if they are good enough for posting. They are not of a quality I normally accept, but as a "record" of those experiences they are priceless. I have added many more in my Travel Photo Bank: Congo at this LINK.
The Col. Ebeya. Thanks to Jeff Shey for this photo, another Jeff who took the Col. Ebeya up the Congo River. He has a great web site HERE.
The massive river boat and barge train in the background is the Col. Kokolo, the sister ship to the Col. Ebeya I took up the Congo River for 11 days in 1984.
That's me on the deck of the Col. Ebeya surveying the produce. The ship was actually a waterborne city of 3000 people that moves up through the Congo jungle region buying and selling goods as it went. The decks became fuller and fuller the further up into The Heart of Darkness we went.
The scenes along the river banks were breathtaking in their humanity.
Timeless Congo River Life.
The lovely and wonderful Congolese people. For more photos of my Congo experiences, please visit this LINK.