Just back from New Zealand where I am constantly in awe of the art works sculptured by the country’s powerful, glacial fed river systems of the South Island. The power of nature results in art works which are both inspiring and humbling in their beauty. I have shared a few examples, taken only a few weeks ago 
Category: Hayley Anderson
Kakadu is a World Heritage Listed area in Northern Australia and one of the most amazing places on earth! 20,000sq klms of wilderness that encompasses; massive escarpments bordering Arnhem Land, stone country, monsoon forest, savannah woodlands, coast, billabongs and floodplains and up to 20,000 years of Aboriginal rock art. Wildlife is prolific and the national park is also a protected corridor for migratory birds. The area is jointly managed by the traditional Aboriginal owners and national parks. Hopefully the images will show some of its extraordinary beauty.
ARNHEIM LAND ESCARPMENT KAKADU NP NT
KAKADU NATIONAL PARK NT
Australia is a huge continent with great diversity and there is no better way to appreciate this than from the air. Even the famous monolith of Uluru (Ayrs Rock) or the sacred site of Kata Juta (The Olgas) are even more majestic when looked down upon and their total size can be appreciated. The salt lakes of the interior and the world’s longest parallel sand dunes are absolutely stunning in colour, texture and natural art.
A while ago I was in Paris which I love and after I had been back a while I had to go to Melbourne (Australia) and it was only after wandering around the centre of Melbourne that I realised why it is considered the most European of Australian cities. I began to see a resemblance.. As you will see, there are in fact a few similarities – Images are of both Paris and Melbourne.
TRAVEL ALWAYS AROUSES THE SENSES – SIGHTS, SMELLS, AND ESPECIALLY THE COLOURS OF DIFFERENT CULTURES AND COUNTRIES….
Children also make delightful subjects especially in developing countries – because when you talk to them and take their photograph, they don’t automatically pose or immediately turn on the cheesy smile.
As much as colour can set a scene I think black and white imagery can set the mood and capture the expression. These a few of my favourite shots from various parts of the world.
TRAVEL ALWAYS AROUSES THE SENSES – SIGHTS, SMELLS, AND ESPECIALLY THE COLOURS OF DIFFERENT CULTURES AND COUNTRIES….
Children also make delightful subjects especially in developing countries – because when you talk to them and take their photograph, they don’t automatically pose or immediately turn on the cheesy smile.
As much as colour can set a scene I think black and white imagery can set the mood and capture the expression. These a few of my favourite shots from various parts of the world.
Greenland – the least populated country in the world & the largest island on earth. What an incredible country – most of the landmass, certainly in winter, is covered with ice and snow. I was there at the end of 
the European summer and the ice had melted in the south, the grass was green and wildflowers bloomed in profusion. Travelling through the spectacular Prince Christian Sound, we navigated the large and beautiful icebergs, gazed in awe at the hanging glaciers and those that had crept to touch the aquamarine waters of the sound. A small Inuit village was tucked into the shelter of a cove, as usual the large white church dominating the tiny settlement.
The capital, Nuuk is not so beautiful but an interesting capital city and surrounded by spectacular scenery. The small towns of Nanortalik and Qatortok were de
lightful, with their brightly painted houses, small harbours, and friendly Inuit people out and about enjoying the daylight and the occasional warmth from the short summer’s sun.
The 3 islands of Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Cenangan & Nusa Penida are off the coast of Bali in Indonesia. They are islands where the people of all ages work incredibly hard to scrape a living from harvesting the rich, green seaweed around the coastal fringes of their islands. The seaweed is then sent to Japan and China for processing where it is used in diet foods, icecream, cosmetics etc.. Lembongan and Cenangan are becoming a haven for travellers and the islands are bringing more prosperity to some of the population and as a result they are beginning to change. Nusa Penida is the largest and the most intriguing, because it is the most ‘untouched’ and gives the visitor an insight into what Bali must have been like before being discovered by westerners.
I was first in Myanmar (or Burma as it was then) many years ago. Once illegally over the Thai border by motorbike into a ‘Karen’ stronghold near Three Pagoda Pass and again flying in on Burma Air or as we called it Bummer Air and travelling around by truck, bus and train. I was back there last December and found a country determined to embrace modern tourism. However, it doesn’t take much time or effort to wander beyond the well -known and find yourself back in an amazing ‘real’ Asia of yesteryear!
It is a wonderful country of shining, golden temples, ancient, heritage sites, a dramatic coastline and high mountains. Colourful, tribal people gather at the local markets and everywhere the people of Myanmar are full of warmth and friendliness, seemingly now, without the fear of mixing with foreigners.
MEDAN – Capital of Sumatra.
My last blog was about Singapore – a modern, dynamic, city constantly changi
ng and concealing a lot of its Asian-ness. In total co
ntrast, a few days later I was ankle deep in mud, inhaling the exhaust fumes of trucks jammed abreast on the only road to the port (where my ship was waiting), overturned lorries, traffic clogging the city streets, beggars darting between moving cars and rubbish pickers collecting anything recyclable – this is Medan! Sumatra is a very Muslim Island in Indonesia, but Medan, its capital is not in, or near the radical, Sharia state of Aceh. Medan typifys the old Asia and I was delighted and a little surprised by
the warmth and friendliness of the local people.
Women in their hijabs offered soft, welcome smiles. School girls with their cell phones wanted selfies – well, with us in them and the men in the mosques nodded their acceptance as we admired their place of worship.
At the lavish Sulta
ns’ Palace, families donned for a few hours, the gold clothes of royalty again, for those photographic moments.
The Grand Mosque – is very grand, the old Chinese Temple offers advice for wealth and prosperity and roadside ‘repairers’ fix bicycle tyres from the gutters and trishaw drivers, without passengers, snooze in the sun.
Singapore
I have been going to Singa
pore for many years – usually as a stopping off point on longer hauls or as a cheaper gateway into Asia. It is a city that never seems to stop changing and re-inventing itself. Every time I’ve been back it looks different. Years ago when I used to stay in the cheap dumps that were scattered around Bencoolen St, you knew you were in an Asian country just by walking outside the door. It was exciting and exotic. It smelt of Asia it looked like Asia and it promised adventure, excitement !and cheap shopping – not so much anymore
If you 
want to experience ‘Asia’ – Singapore is not the place. Forget tourist traps like ‘Little India’ – where you are constantly hassled and ‘Chinatown’ which is a tourist precinct of organised stalls selling the worst of cheap bling. Forget the ‘Asia’ thing and enjoy Singapore for what it has become – a dynamic, modern city state that is not only unique but constantly transforming itself. The city heads for the skies with tall buildings show casing amazing design and innovative architecture. Acres of gardens and parklands transform a city of glass, concrete and steel. The preservation of the old colonial buildings is a reminder of its history, while the Changi Museum makes you realise its considerable achievements after years of war.
It has clear traffic flows, a super- efficient underground rail system, cafes with excellent coffee, world class hotels and restaurants and designer stores in every shopping mall. It is slightly sterile, safe, with some of the lowest crime figures in the world. Littering, graffiti and chewing gum are all forbidden. It is controlled but its citizens 
seem content with the status quo.
You can still wander the waterfront and see the old ‘shop houses’, find a snake charmer, drink Turkish coffee in the Arab Quarter or just escape in the new and beautiful Bay Gardens fashioned from reclaimed land.
Back in Singapore last week – I have decided that I have great respect for this tiny country. In the years when I visited between the Asia of decades ago and the period when everything ‘authentic’ was pulled down to make more sky scrapers and block housing, I despaired of it. Now, due to lack of space they are still pulling down and pu
tting up – but in this era, with a lot of style and consideration.
Singapore h
as much to be proud of and one outstanding achievement is tolerance and harmony. With its diversity of citizens and religions – Indians, Chinese, Malays and ex-pat Europeans – its people all live as and are proud to be, Singaporeans.
Well this is a novel addition but they are so beautiful in their own earthy way, that I wanted to write about them!
The Pilbarra is a half million square kilometre wilderness area in Western Australia. It is where Australia’s huge iron ore industry is located. The rich deposits of iron ore are being shipped off to China as fast as it can be hauled out of the ground. This landscape is Pre-Cambrian – two billion years in the making and therefore ’pre-life’. Fortunately in 1969 the Karijini National Park was established preserving this strikingly beautiful landscape. Deep, blood-red gorges, steep cliffs, bone white Snappy Gums, golden spinifex and the stunning ochre coloured termite mounds define this ageless land. These structures are built by the industrious collectives of the Spinifex Termites. There there may be a million of these little creatures in one mound surviving their harsh habitat by utilisi
ng their extraordinary engineering skills to control the heat and humidity of their homes. Their mounds also act as a defense against predators, a food source and a recyclable way of enhancing the nutrients in this ancient soil.
The Aboriginal people of this area understood this habitat and the animals that survived here. The Spinifex Termites were used for medicine and as a supplementary food source. They only took from the land what they needed and also survived for tens of thousands of years.
The ‘story of Antananarivo or Tana for short – can be viewed on the menu bar.
It is an amazing, vibrant capital that pushes you to explore further into the country of Madagascar.
A GLIMPSE OF TANA
Antananarivo – hardly pronounceable, the capital of Madagascar, a country I had yearned to explore, yet one that had alluded me over many years of travel.
On arrival you are met with a landscape of pink brick houses, muddy waterways, and smoking kilns and an expectation that this place is very different! See Dashboard to access the full story and www.hayleyanderson.com for more images from Madagascar.
Tasmania, the most southerly state of Australia and possibly the most beautiful. Wild, often cold it has major national parks, old growth forests, magnificent coastlines and small islands plus an abundance of Australian wildlife. I have posted a few images taken last week, on my website: hayleyanderson.com. You can view them under Albums – Australia – Tasmania.
NB: The full Norfolk Story can be accessed from the menu bar.
Drop in the Ocean….Norfolk Island
This tiny 5 x 8 kilometre speck was thrust into the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, three million years ago – a violent, volcanic birth with no attachment to any other land. It is an island where large green turtles break the surface n
ext to your kayak and a variety of nesting birds eye you with only a little caution. Where fish once caught, are either traded perhaps for wild guava jam, or merely given away. Where locals still come to the wha
rf to watch the supply ship being unloaded, where, when you die, your mates dig your grave for a crate of beer.
Norfolk Island images from www.hayleyanderson.com
Goatshiteambulance: 
