Day 159 of the project,
Auckland, New Zealand
"One....two...three...AHHH!" After wading waist-deep into the glacier fed lake, I finally worked up enough courage to plunge underwater. My fellow walker, a lovely woman from Toulouse, France, had bravely gone first and pronounced it "refreshing." I don't know that I stayed in long enough to describe it as anything but "frigid."
New Zealand is famous for its stunning and diverse landscapes. Fans of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy know it well (and often travel to tour the Hobbit homes). It is also famous for its series of nine Great Walks scattered throughout the numerous national parks. The Milford Track is one of the most famous of those walks. It is difficult to get a permit, as access is restricted to 40 people per day during high season. Trampers (Kiwi terminology for hikers) walk 33.5 miles over four days, tracing the river from Lake Te Anau through Mackennon Pass, past New Zealand's highest waterfall, Sutherland Falls and ending at Milford Sound.
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
December 10, 2014
October 24, 2014
In the food chain
Day 109 of the project,
Swakopmund, Namibia
It is the amazing the amount of information that can be gathered from a pile of rhinoceros shit. Obviously, you can learn about their diet and digestive process. Rhinos only have one stomach (unlike other large herbivores) and cannot fully process their roughage...meaning the pile of poop actually looks like an explosion of half chewed twigs. Less obvious is that a dominant male will drop in his territory; other males will pass by and drop on the perimeter of his poop, which alerts him about guests in his area. It is like a message board for the rhino community. However, when a female rhino wants to get the male's attention, she will poop directly on top of his pile. Initially this will piss him off, until he realizes who left the message.
However, the most important thing you can learn from the dung is proximity to the animal. So when the pile belongs to the less social and more aggressive black rhino and is relatively fresh, your park rangers on the guided morning walk tend to get a little nervous. A bad encounter between the locals and foreign tourists is not exactly great PR.
In my normal life, I have never taken any interest in rhino shit. These creatures were an abstraction--something seen from the comfort of my living room on National Geographic. I never dreamed I would be in such close physical proximity.
Swakopmund, Namibia
It is the amazing the amount of information that can be gathered from a pile of rhinoceros shit. Obviously, you can learn about their diet and digestive process. Rhinos only have one stomach (unlike other large herbivores) and cannot fully process their roughage...meaning the pile of poop actually looks like an explosion of half chewed twigs. Less obvious is that a dominant male will drop in his territory; other males will pass by and drop on the perimeter of his poop, which alerts him about guests in his area. It is like a message board for the rhino community. However, when a female rhino wants to get the male's attention, she will poop directly on top of his pile. Initially this will piss him off, until he realizes who left the message.
However, the most important thing you can learn from the dung is proximity to the animal. So when the pile belongs to the less social and more aggressive black rhino and is relatively fresh, your park rangers on the guided morning walk tend to get a little nervous. A bad encounter between the locals and foreign tourists is not exactly great PR.
In my normal life, I have never taken any interest in rhino shit. These creatures were an abstraction--something seen from the comfort of my living room on National Geographic. I never dreamed I would be in such close physical proximity.
July 28, 2014
South American desert dreams
Dia 21 del proyecto,
Entre San Pedro de Atacama y Valparaiso, Chile
Many people consider deserts to be barren and boring. Lifeless with strange plants and few visible animals. It is easy to dismiss, especially in northern Chile, the landscape as such. But to do so would be to miss some of the most spectacular terrain on this planet.
The Atacama desert is enormous--it spans about a third of northern Chile, a decent chunk of northwestern Argentina, most of Bolivia and all of southern Peru. It is the driest desert on earth, with many places never recording rainfall in the history of (western) civilization. The ground ranges from the peaks of the Andes to the altiplano, or high plane, to enormous sand dunes. Vegetation can be standard cactus to clumps of indigenous grasses designed to withstand the incredibly dry conditions.
In spite of the dryness, the Atacama is a geologist's dream. Salt is prevalent in nearly every area; crystals form in various patterns from traditional salt pans to fields that look like the top of an apple crumble. Lithium, copper and nitrates are also found in huge quantities and are mined by all four countries. Volcanoes dot the mountain-scape, with the active ones occasionally sending up a puff of gas as a reminder of their presence.
Entre San Pedro de Atacama y Valparaiso, Chile
Many people consider deserts to be barren and boring. Lifeless with strange plants and few visible animals. It is easy to dismiss, especially in northern Chile, the landscape as such. But to do so would be to miss some of the most spectacular terrain on this planet.
The Atacama desert is enormous--it spans about a third of northern Chile, a decent chunk of northwestern Argentina, most of Bolivia and all of southern Peru. It is the driest desert on earth, with many places never recording rainfall in the history of (western) civilization. The ground ranges from the peaks of the Andes to the altiplano, or high plane, to enormous sand dunes. Vegetation can be standard cactus to clumps of indigenous grasses designed to withstand the incredibly dry conditions.
In spite of the dryness, the Atacama is a geologist's dream. Salt is prevalent in nearly every area; crystals form in various patterns from traditional salt pans to fields that look like the top of an apple crumble. Lithium, copper and nitrates are also found in huge quantities and are mined by all four countries. Volcanoes dot the mountain-scape, with the active ones occasionally sending up a puff of gas as a reminder of their presence.
July 20, 2014
Sube la montana
Dia 12 del proyecto,
Cusco, Peru
The city of Cusco is roughly 3,300 meters above sea level, nestled comfortably in a valley. Albeit a very high valley. Most guide books recommend arriving a day or two early (and consuming copious amounts of coca tea) to acclimatize before trekking. I agree completely; if your trek only stays at 3,300 meters, one or two days is perfect. However, neither the official experts nor this trekker have solutions for dealing with the 1,300-meter (3,900-foot) climb in the first 25 kilometers (15 miles) of the Salkantay trail.
While the classic Inca trail is the most famous, it is one of seven main footpaths that lead into Machu Picchu. The Salkantay trail is one and is named for the mountain which supplied most of the city's water. Quecha lore says that during a bad drought, the ancient Incan king sent his two sons out to find water. The younger brother, named Salkantay, died and became the mountain. His older brother's tears for his death became the glacier peak.
It doesn't seem so tough when I type it. But it humbled this marathon-running San Franciscan.
Cusco, Peru
The city of Cusco is roughly 3,300 meters above sea level, nestled comfortably in a valley. Albeit a very high valley. Most guide books recommend arriving a day or two early (and consuming copious amounts of coca tea) to acclimatize before trekking. I agree completely; if your trek only stays at 3,300 meters, one or two days is perfect. However, neither the official experts nor this trekker have solutions for dealing with the 1,300-meter (3,900-foot) climb in the first 25 kilometers (15 miles) of the Salkantay trail.
While the classic Inca trail is the most famous, it is one of seven main footpaths that lead into Machu Picchu. The Salkantay trail is one and is named for the mountain which supplied most of the city's water. Quecha lore says that during a bad drought, the ancient Incan king sent his two sons out to find water. The younger brother, named Salkantay, died and became the mountain. His older brother's tears for his death became the glacier peak.
It doesn't seem so tough when I type it. But it humbled this marathon-running San Franciscan.
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