Amazing South Africa Safari, following the Orange River to the ‘Place of Great Noise’ continue… October 3, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Map, Rail Pass, Restaurant, South Africa, Tickets, Tour, Trails, Trip , 3commentsAugrabies Falls National Park
Close to the entrance there is an information centre where you can obtain a free booklet on the park. There is also a shop that sells a few tinned goods, firewood, refreshments, wine and beer — and petrol can be obtained.
There is a restaurant next to the shop, and picnic places nearby — set among trees along one of the river’s channels. There are braai sites here, with water and toilets. (No drinking water is available elsewhere in the park.) There are also two swimming pools here, and a play pool for younger children. (more…)
Amazing South Africa Safari, following the Orange River to the ‘Place of Great Noise’ October 3, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Botswana, Cape Town, Museum, Tour, Trails , comments closedAugrabies is a place of striking contrast. In a land of little rain the surging waters of the Orange River create a ribbon of life, then thunder over one of the world’s mightiest waterfalls. This drive leads from Upington to the Augrabies Falls National Park, passing through Keimoes and Kakamas. All but a few kilometres of the route is tarred.
Our first stop of the day is Upington’s famous avenue of palms at the Eiland (island) holiday resort. To get there,
Drive south-west along Schröder Street, passing on your left the old mission complex that now houses the town’s museum. Turn left at the stop sign, noting your kms. After some 200 m you pass on your left an irrigation canal and a bakkiespomp (bucket pump).
A Thundering Waterfall in a dry, Desert Landscape continue… September 30, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Cape Town, South Africa, Tour, Trails, Travel Insurance, Trip, Victoria Falls, Zambia , 2commentsWalks and drives
From here there are a number of walks and drives that you can take to outlying viewpoints. One of the most popular walks is along the 2,5 km path leading to the Arrow Head viewsite. From here you can look out over the rapids that career along the bottom of the gorge far below. For the more energetic there is the Klipspringer Hiking Trail which runs for 26km along the southern bank of the river. This is a three-day hike and walkers stay overnight in huts along the route. The trail passes Ararat, a granite rock that offers a magnificent view along the gorge, and also Moon Rock, which provides panoramic views over the whole park. (more…)
A Thundering Waterfall in a dry, Desert Landscape September 30, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Air Tickets, Cape Town, Europe, Geographic, Round The World, Tour, Trails, Travellers Cheque, Zambia , 2commentsKnown to the wandering Khoikhoi as Aukoerebis (place of great noise), the Augrabies Falls thunder over a great granite slash in the barren bushveld of the northern Cape. Here the tumbling waters of the Orange River go mad in a series of deep ravines and dangerous, dizzying cliffs.
The first white man to see the falls was a Swedish-born soldier named Hendrik Wikar. Wikar deserted his post at the Cape in 1775 to escape an accumulation of gambling debts, and for four years he wandered through the uncharted country now known as the northern Cape describing in a journal, (more…)
A Wealth of Wildlife in a world with little Water September 30, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Africa, Botswana, Map, Rail Pass, Tickets, Tour, Trails, Travel Gear , 2commentsThe traveler is greeted by an extraordinarily stark, sunburned landscape. The climate ranges from dry to very dry, and periods of extreme drought can be measured by the carcasses in the dry river beds. Yet there is abundant life in the harsh environment of the Kalahari — a primeval vitality that comes as a surprise amidst the seemingly inhospitable surroundings. For those who wish to see and feel an unspoilt Africa, this is perhaps the most rewarding place to visit. Here it is stillpossible to experience the wild excitement of a lion-kill, or to witness the lightning dash of a hunting cheetah — exactly as if mankind had never appeared on the scene. (more…)
Cahokia Mounds, the Late Woodland Culture continue… September 28, 2008
Posted by dodo in : America, Central America, Destination, Hotels, Map, Memorial, North America, Sightseeing, Tour, USA , 2commentsMound 72 is most interesting, even though today it seems a fairly insignificant ridge of earth. Excavations revealed that at the precise point where the meridional line passes through the end of the mound, a huge pole — about three feet (1m) in diameter — had been erected. Radiocarbon dating of material in the eight-foot (2.4m) deep pole (the pole had clearly been very tall) gave a date of AD 950 for the time when the pole was placed in the ground. The excavations also showed that the mound had been constructed from a series of earlier submounds that were then reshaped and covered over to give the long ridge form. (more…)
Cahokia Mounds, the Late Woodland Culture September 28, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Air Tickets, Cars, Europe, Museum, Rail Pass, Sightseeing, Tickets, Tour, USA , 2commentsThis 2,200-A0 (890HA) site is situated just to the east of St Louis, in southern Illinois, close to Collinsville (not, confusingly, near the town of Cahokia). It is the remains of a large city and ritual complex which was first occupied around AD 700, developed, flowered, declined and was abandoned by AD 1500. At its peak it covered some six square miles (1,550ha) and had a population of about 20,000. It was certainly the largest community in prehistoric times in what is now the USA, and its influence extended for great distances. (more…)
Teotihuacan, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Street of the Dead September 28, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Destination, Egypt, Geographic, Guatemala, Hotels, Map, Mexico, Museum, Round The World, San Juan, Tickets, Tour, Travelling Bag, Trip , 3commentsThis great and urban and religious centre, 30 miles (48km) northeast of modern Mexico City, was given its present name by the
Aztecs who encountered its awesome ruins. In Nahuatl, the language the Aztecs spoke, Teotihuacan means ‘place of the gods’, or, ‘the place of the creation of the gods’. This great site, dominated by two pyramids, was ‘regarded by the Aztec as the original source of civilization and government, and the place where cosmic order was established.” In Aztec myth, Teotihuacan was where Nanahuatzin, a dying god, jumped into a ceremonial fire which the four creator gods (representing the Four Directions) were too fearful to enter. (more…)
The Ruined Mayans City of Chichen Itza continue… September 22, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Accommodation, Central America, Destination, Hotels, Mexico, Museum, New York, Sightseeing, Tour, Trails, Trip , 3commentsThe Caracol (the name means ’snail’ because of the structure’s appearance and interior winding staircase) exemplifies this involvement with Venus in particular and the heavens in general. The structure consists of a cylindrical tower on a two-tiered rectangular platform, and it was probably Mayan originally with later Toltec- influenced additions. The upper part of the tower has crumbled, giving an appearance coincidentally reminiscent of modern domed observatories. This probably helped speculation over a long period about possible astronomical aspects to the building. Some of this speculation has been shown by fairly recent research to be wrong, but Anthony Aveni can now claim that Chichen Itza is one of ‘the most secure examples of the incorporation of a horizon-based astronomy in architecture’: (more…)
The Ruined Mayans City of Chichen Itza September 22, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Central America, Europe, Guatemala, Honduras, Map, Mexico, Rail Pass, Science, Sightseeing, Tour, Travel Gear, Travelling Bag, Trip , 5commentsThe ruined ceremonial city of Chichen Itza lies about 75 miles (120km) southeast of Merida in the north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. ‘Old Chichen’ was built by the Mayans in what archaeologists call the Late Classic Period (AD 600-830) on an earlier site, only traces of which have been found. Buildings in this area include what have become dubbed the Church, the Nunnery, the House of the Three Lintels and the Caracol — a Mayan observatory. (more…)
Peru Inca citadel Machu Picchu: Hitching Post of the Sun, Sun God continue… September 22, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Central America, Cuzco, Encyclopedia, Geographic, Map, Round The World, Science, Tour, Trip , 2commentsThe Torreon’s southeast window may also have had astronomical significance, for it aligned to the rising of the stars in the tail of Scorpius which were called collca, the Storehouse, by the Andeans. Anthropologist Gary Urton has found that the Andean Indians today also use that name for the Pleiades, so there may have been some conceptual, mythological link between the two groups of stars.
There are probably energy and consciousness aspects to Machu Picchu, too. David Zink writes that the site is located on a geological fault. Often what are sometimes extreme magnetic anomalies are found in such locations. My own research has shown a connection between magnetic anomalies and the sensitivity of psychics.’ (more…)
Peru Inca citadel Machu Picchu: Hitching Post of the Sun, Sun God September 22, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Cuzco, Destination, Encyclopedia, Geographic, Library, Map, Museum, Tour, Travelling Bag , 3commentsMachu Picchu was an Inca citadel, located a little over 60 miles (97km) ….. north of Cuzco. Its ruins occupy a topographical saddle about 8,000 feet (2,400km) up in the Andes between the peaks of Machu (old) Picchu and Huayna (new) Picchu. It is a complex of cultivation terraces, stone houses, temples, plazas and residential compounds clinging to the ridge, on three sides of which are vertiginous drops, overhanging the gorge of the Urubamba River about 2,000 feet (600m) below. The city was discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham of Yale University, whose reports and photographs captured the public imagination. (more…)
Disappeared Inca Empire Supremacy CUZCO part 2 September 19, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Cuzco, Encyclopedia, Geographic, Health Insurance, Lodges, Map, Science, Sightseeing, Travel Gear , 3commentsIf Cuzco was the centre of the empire, then the omphalos of Cuzco itself was the Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun. In Inca myth, the spot for this was found by Manco Capac, the first Inca, who was sent to earth to bring civilization. He used a golden rod to test for the correct location, and he knew he had found the spot when the rod disappeared into the ground. (more…)
Norway Røros Mysterious Light Phenomena September 19, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Europe, France, Hotels, Museum, New York, Norway, Rail Pass, Sweden, Tickets, Tour, Trails, Trip , 2commentsThe town of Røros is inscribed on the World Heritage List because of its mining heritage. It owes this, of course, to the mineral resources of the surrounding landscape, and because it is that landscape, the natural aspect of the area, that concerns us here, this choice from the List is a little different in kind from the other entries selected for this book.
The valley of Hessdalen is situated about 19 miles (30km) northwest of Røros, reasonably close to the border with Sweden. It is sparsely populated, with fewer than two hundred inhabitants scattered in farms amid the isolated wildness of the place. Despite its remoteness, the Hessdalen area put itself ‘on the map’ because of an outbreak of extraordinary light phenomena, which commenced in the closing months of 1981 and which were witnessed on and off for a few years thereafter. (more…)
Traveling US, don’t forget to buy a Car with the Fantastic Auto Loan, we can do it September 19, 2008
Posted by dodo in : America, Europe, Rail Pass, Sightseeing, Tour, Travel Gear, Trip, USA , 2commentsTraveling in the US is not that easy. I am used to enjoy a European rail pass holiday on the train. The territory is too big for backpacker like me to walk or take crowed bus. It is impossible to take a convenient touring train or bus. Having a little trail off road, it is my favorite. (more…)
Pass by German Aachen Cathedral continue… September 16, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Air Tickets, Europe, France, Germany, Greece, Hotels, Ireland, Istanbul, Italy, Jerusalem, London, Museum, Paris, Rail Pass, Sightseeing, Tickets, Tour , 3commentsAmong the classical texts translated at Aachen was the highly influential treatise by the first- century Bc Roman architect Vitruvius Pollio, in which the principles and traditions of earlier architecture, secular and sacred, were incorporated. The palace chapel can be seen to be essentially Vitruvian in nature. It followed Vitruvius’ octagonal scheme (which involved geomantic consideration of the ‘eight winds’). (more…)
Pass by German Aachen Cathedral September 16, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Cars, Destination, Dubai, Europe, France, Germany, Hotels, Museum, Netherlands, Rail Pass, Sightseeing, Travel Gear, Trip , 2commentsThe location now was occupied by Aachen, adjacent to the modern borders of France and Holland, was resorted to even in prehistory because hot springs occur there. Exactly how far back into antiquity the place had importance is unknown, but the Celts were certainly established in the area by the time the Romans discovered the springs. The waters were sacred to the Celts and dedicated by them to the healing god, Granus. The Romans called the site Aquis Grani. They built bath complexes and shrines. Some houses edging the Hof, a triangular space a stone’s throw northeast of the cathedral, were built on first and second century AD Roman masonry, and part of a well sanctuary was uncovered. (more…)
How safe is Air Flight Journey? Commercial Airplane Accidents and Safety continue… September 13, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Air Tickets, Airlines, Destination, Rail Pass, Round The World, Sightseeing, Tickets, Tour, Trip , 3commentsWhat kind of maintenance steps do airlines take?
There are two basic types of maintenance: scheduled maintenance and unscheduled work focused on correcting faults that have occurred. For scheduled inspections, government regulators require increasingly detailed work, some of it related to a plane’s age and the number of hours and flights it has made. At each step in the process, mechanics probe more and more deeply into an aircraft, taking apart more and more components for closer inspection. Regulators give airlines some flexibility in their maintenance programmes, but a typical programme looks something like this: (more…)
One day in Germany Speyer Cathedral, World Famous Heritage continue… September 10, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Air Tickets, Cars, Destination, Europe, Hotels, Museum, Rail Pass, Tour , 5commentsThese geomantic stones had associations with certain alignments and the axial centres of towns. The Domnapf location not only had typical Blue Stone connotations with ancient judicial rules, as indicated above, but also expresses this geomantic role as its presence on this alignment attests. Furthermore, it was from this spot that the layout of the streets of Speyer was arranged. The omphalos point.
Maximilianstrasse was created at the time of die cathedral in the eleventh century as a Via Triumphalis, linking the west gate — the Old Gate or Altportel — and the west porch of the cathedral. The German Emperors and the newly appointed Bishops of Speyer used it for their ceremonial entrances into the city. (This is a medieval continuation of the link between kingship and straight alignments.) (more…)
One day in Germany Speyer Cathedral, World Famous Heritage September 10, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Air Tickets, Belgium, Europe, Germany, Hotels, Netherlands, Rail Pass, Scotland, Sightseeing, Switzerland, Tickets, Tour , 3commentsSituated in Rhineland-Palatinate, this extensively rebuilt Romanesque structure is the largest cathedral in Germany. Although it dates from the eleventh century, the origins of the site are much older.
To the Celts it was known as Noviomagus, and the Romans called it Civitas Nemetum. The cathedral has evolved on a former pagan holy place, for the site was occupied by a Roman temple dedicated to the Celtic goddess Nantosvelta. It is even thought `probable that buildings from the Roman period were converted to construct the church’.’ It is likely that the site was considered sacred ‘even before the Roman temple was built’ . (more…)
