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New Zealand - Okupata Caves (Pandora on Earth ;) )

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I haven't been to NZ in ages, what with covid and all. Now I'm thinking I really should. I've got a sister down in Waihōpai so I'm sure she would love a visit to see the ca.... I mean, catch up after such a long break. :P
 
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I just love coral reefs.

Edit: Wow I never realized how AMAZING Australia's nature actually is. I've got a friend currently doing work and travel in Australia for a few months. I have not YET seen any pictures. Thos pictures kind of inspire me to do work and travel too!
Lord Howe Island, NSW. I haven't had a chance to visit yet, but this tiny rock far out in the Pacific, where the Coral Sea and Tasman sea meet, is definitely on my bucket list. Lord Howe is the eroded remains of volcano, and is home to Gaia's southernmost coral reef, and it is rumoured, may be the location of the paradise itself. Picture by Jordan Robins.View attachment 256
 
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Hopefully they bring back some lovely pictures. I think a lot of people think Australia is all just desert and beach, and yep, we have plenty of both - but most forget that our east coast is very wet! The northern coast of NSW gets *three times* the amount of rain London does... and Gaia certainly shows off every millimetre of it in our forests :)

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If I remember correctly it’s one of the most biodiverse deserts in the world… lots of riparian areas, fertile soil, and the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People built canals and farmed it well enough to support a very large population. In fact those canals actually outlasted them, and were the sole reason Phoenix was settled.

It was named Phoenix because it rose from the ashes of a prior civilization, and became the basis for its agriculture, and the Salt River Project canal project. They were so well dug and placed that all that was needed was for them to be dug out again with concrete. Apologies for the spiel in this forum haha - I just have to share the beauty of the desert and city.
 

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No apologies needed, that's really interesting... and both sad and heartening at the same time. I didn't know there was a whole canal system built by the original Sonoran people out there.
 

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Kiama, NSW. During the migration season you can sit on the beach here and watch humpback whales playing and breaching out in the bay. It feels much less invasive than going out and hounding them in loud boats. All along the coast here there are good viewing spots, but this is my favourite. Fortunately they move north during the southern winter, so you often find the beach is tranquil and quiet. 20171024_105604.jpg
 
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Daintree National Park, Queensland. Daintree is the largest remaining continuous expanse of tropical lowland rainforest in Australia, though it also includes a big swarth of highland rainforest as well. The forest comes right down to the coast in many areas, forming mangroves where marine life directly interacts with both the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.

Up until the late 1980s, the forest was logged to produce woodchips for making paper and ground cover, but it is now has a reasonable level of protection, though the forest extends far beyond the national park boundaries, making some areas vulnerable.

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Daintree National Park, Queensland. Daintree is the largest remaining continuous expanse of tropical lowland rainforest in Australia, though it also includes a big swarth of highland rainforest as well. The forest comes right down to the coast in many areas, forming mangroves where marine life directly interacts with both the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.

Up until the late 1980s, the forest was logged to produce woodchips for making paper and ground cover, but it is now has a reasonable level of protection, though the forest extends far beyond the national park boundaries, making some areas vulnerable.

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Evergreen rainforests just touch me differently than "normal" forests and idk why
 

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Evergreen rainforests just touch me differently than "normal" forests and idk why

It makes sense to me. I find rainforest much more grounding, soothing and uplifting than dry forest, and I think that's a similar contrast. The Pool of Siloam I posted above isn't far from me, but if you go there during a dry spell, the feel of the surrounding forest is *completely* different to when it's had plenty of rain... you can just feel the life coursing through it.

Interestingly, my mother came from England, and lives there now, as she never truly adapted and belonged here. She always said to me how she hated the trees and climate here - "like bottle brushes sticking out of the ground and never change, they're always the same year in year out - it's all backwards". It hurt me deeply as the idea of this land being hostile or alien is total anathema. To me it is endlessly living yet always changing... wet, dry, bright sun, quiet, subdued mists or spectacular storms and lightening, it's all alive in it's endless richness and variety. Even in fire and drought, Gaia renews and thrives.

I'm going to visit my mum soon, and I imagine it'll still be bare trees and all. To me that feels strange - to a local no doubt they feel Gaia is just resting and rebuilding, but to me it has always felt like an odd, dead or desolate feeling. On the other hand... if I get a chance to get in the water that'll be great - I do love European temperate reefs, it's like a garden, especially before the kelp grows in too thick in the northern summer - maybe make friends with a little catshark or ray :)
 
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This is within walking distance of my house. I am absolutely blessed. Don't ask about what my people did to get this fine land from um.... well... ya know... the people who were already there.
- The Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, NSW.
Such a paradise in a walking distance from home? You are definitely blessed! Just amazing!
Between Waterfall and Helensburgh, south of Sydney, the railway was diverted many decades ago onto a new alignment to avoid the difficult and steep climb up the Illawarra range. This area is a damp subtropical rainforest, and the deep cuttings of the old alignment have been reclaimed by nature in the most spectacular fashion, and bioluminescent glow-worms now live in the tunnels.
So this is a train tunnel with "bioluminescent glow-worms"? It's so astonishing I don't know what to say hahaha :S
 

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Such a paradise in a walking distance from home? You are definitely blessed! Just amazing!

I really am ^_^

So this is a train tunnel with "bioluminescent glow-worms"? It's so astonishing I don't know what to say hahaha :S

Yep, that's exactly what it is! It's been abandoned for over a century now, though, so yeah, they've had plenty of time to establish themselves and make it their own ^_^
 
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This appeared on my Mastodon feed this morning and had to share.
Eastern Rosella incoming - A truly remarkable photo taken in Hobart today! The Eastern Rosella is found throughout south-eastern Australia, from Queensland to Victoria and eastern Tasmania. Eastern Rosellas mate for life. Credit: IG: @Lake_of_tranquility
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This appeared on my Mastodon feed this morning and had to share.
Eastern Rosella incoming - A truly remarkable photo taken in Hobart today! The Eastern Rosella is found throughout south-eastern Australia, from Queensland to Victoria and eastern Tasmania. Eastern Rosellas mate for life. Credit: IG: @Lake_of_tranquility
Hey, look, a mini Ikran hahaha ;)! How cute, friend, I love birds! In my house a have a bird I rescued a few years ago, he literally does not want to leave, we even let his little house's door open, but he just don't leave. We put some bird's food and every day there is a big "bird conference" on my yard :P.
 
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