Saturday 19 October 2013

Travelling My Way - by any mode of transport!

When I heard that Rhinocarhire.com were running a promotion where you need to submit your all-time favourite travel photos by various modes of transport, I knew I had to enter as I love travelling!  Luckily for me, the deadline has been extended to the end of October because I've only just come back from an amazing trip to Zambia and South Africa!

I've spent a very enjoyable couple of hours going through my photos and deciding which ones to include in this post, it's been like a whirlwind trip of the world!

Travel by Sea
I love being on and in the water, so this category was really hard for me to whittle down to just a couple of photos!  So much of my travel has been by water, from kayaks through to the huge Queen Mary 2, the last true liner plying the oceans.
Firstly, from my trip to Antarctica, where we had a roller coaster 36 hour sea journey across Drakes Channel to reach this incredible white wilderness. This photo was taken very early one morning and I was struck by the beauty of the near perfect reflections in the water.
Creeping through the icebergs in the Lemair Channel, Antarctica


I love scuba diving and have travelled around the globe to indulge my passion.  I always go "liveaboard" - where you take a small (these days generally very comfortable!) boat and live on there for a week or two - you get to remote pristine dive sites away from all the day trippers.  This shot was taken at dawn one morning in a very remote area of the Red Sea - jumping into inky black waters from the safety of "home" when you know that sharks will be circling below can be daunting but exhilarating!
Leaping into the unknown


Travel by Air
Most people moan about having to get to and from a holiday by air, but to me, it's part of the joy of travelling.  I check in on line and travel with just hand baggage, so there are no huge queues at the airport, and love catching up with films whilst flying.  There's nothing better than peeking out of the window to see what's on the ground below (I've been amazed at the profusion of huge circular fields on my most recent trips, brought about by irrigation - not something we see much in England!).  I once was even lucky enough to see the Northern Lights from a plane.

This year, I visited Alaska and the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny, so I decided to take a float plane trip from Ketchican to the Misty Fiords National Park.  From start to finish, this was amazing, we landed in a remote lake right in the National Park where the silence was deafening!
Float plane on remote lake in Alaska

Flying over Misty Fiords NP





Flying by helicopter is always a real thrill, but especially so when the destination was Mount Cook in New Zealand.  We were able to land on a nearby mountain top and walk around taking in the majesty of it all - thank you air travel!





Travel by train
What a relaxing way to see a country from the comfort of a train carriage.  You know exactly where you'll end up, they are generally fairly fast and reliable, you can get food and drink, what's not to like?

Of course, the Japanese bullet trains are renowned for their reliability and punctuality.  I was amazed to see the efficiency of getting on and off the train - you must stand in a specific box on the platform.  Clean, comfortable and FAST, just a pity that so much of Japan is so urbanised so the views aren't up to much alot of the time.
Preparing to board a bullet train





My favourite country in the world to travel by train is actually my home, Great Britain.  Despite the cuts made to the network in the 1950s, we still have one of the most extensive rail networks in the world, and seeing the glorious British countryside whizz by my seat always brings my joy.
Glorious Great Britain from the train



Travel by Road
I've saved the best till last.  Nothing beats travelling by road, ideally in your own car so that you can stop when you like, take a detour from your planned trip or just put your foot down and enjoy the scenery unfold.

On my latest trip, we drove from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, but chose to go along the more unusual route through the Little Karoo, where the scenery varies from winelands to mountain and valley passes to near desert.  Five hours of pure heaven with glorious spring flowers peppering our route.  I particularly loved the deep blues of the sky against the rugged mountains of the Franschoekk Pass.
At the foot of the Franschoekk Pass




From an earlier trip to the southern hemisphere, this is a reminder to always look in your rear view mirrors, you just never know what beautiful vista will present itself!  This one was taken as we were leaving Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand.


Well, thanks Rhinocarhire.com for taking me down memory lane, it's been VERY enjoyable!  These bloggers should also be interested in entering your fab competition - SuperluckyDi (who told me about this promotion), Kylie Martin, Lisa Hughes, Katy Bennett and Kate Holderness.