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Showing posts with label lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lists. Show all posts

April 30, 2022

Ode to things I love: Swimming in rivers and mountain pools

 What I love about it

  • Invigorating. You feel so alive!
  • Swimming after getting hot from hiking is an instant way to recharge.
  • Leaping in from a high place provides a wonderful adrenaline high.
  • Swimming down to touch the bottom.
  • How it can be warm on the surface and cold below.
  • Massaging the shoulders and back under a the strong jet of a water fall.
  • A great way to bond with fellow hikers.



Favourite swims



Australia



South Africa


Brazil


High leaps into water

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April 20, 2022

Ode to things I love: Beaches and swimming in the ocean


What I love most about beaches

  • Gorgeous white sand and the vast ocean, as far as the eye can see.
  • The sound of the waves crashing on the beach.
  • Walking along the beach.
  • Tropical beaches with palm trees.
  • Diving into the ocean on a hot day.
  • Playing beach volleyball and bat and ball.
  • Riding waves (paddle skiing, boogey boarding, body surfing)
  • Watching the sun rise and sun set over the ocean's distant horizon.
  • Beach picnics.
  • Rock pools to explore life in.
  • Tidal pools to swim in.
  • And last, but not least:  Girls in bikinis!


Priceless memories


As a kid

  • Swimming in the tidal pool at St James.
  • The pebbles on Brighton beach.
  • Swimming with the family at Muizenberg.
  • Paddling in a blow up boat with Gramps at Boulder's Beach.
  • Walking along Muizenberg beach with Grandpa, after going there by train.

Later memories
  • Watching terns and waders roosting on The Uilenskraal lagoon.
  • Boogy boarding on Llandudno beach.
  • Paddle skiing at Muizenberg.
  • Penguins on Boulder's Beach.
  • Volleyball on Clifton beach and watching the sun set.
  • Photographing herons on a beach in Mauritius.
  • Falling in love with Ally at Onrus beach after finding a feather and tickling each other's faces.
  • Oggling at Brazilian bubble buts on Copacabana beach.


Favourite beaches


Cape Town
Rest of South Africa 
Sydney
Rest of Australia
Rest of the world


Related

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April 19, 2022

Ode to things I love: Mountains

 

What I love about mountains

  • Their awe inspiring, majestic beauty.
  • Their immense size and scale and the way they tower over the landscape.
  • The wonderful experience of climbing them.
  • The views that become more and more epic as you get higher and higher.
  • The exhilaration of reaching the summit.


Favourite mountains I've hiked on



Related

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Things I treasure

"I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things." Vincent van Gogh


Ode to things I love



Being up and out in the world



Art & culture



Playing & watching sport



Priceless events



Fun and humour



Priceless things

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August 02, 2000

Movie Diary: A list of movies I've seen by year

Legend

Movies I particularly enjoyed

My favourite movies


View full version of the spreadsheet


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February 12, 2000

Shows I've seen



Childhood

  • South Pacific


School years

  • Several Shakespeare plays at Maynardville (including The Tempest, Midsummer's Night)


University years

  • District 6
  • Madam Butterfly


Old Mutual years

  • River Dance
  • The Buddy Holly Story


London (1997)

  • Phantom of The Opera
  • Jesus Christ Superstar
  • Miss Saigon


London (2000 - 2005)

  • Chicago
  • Les Miserables
  • Boy George
  • Lady Windermere's Fan
  • Shock Headed Peter
  • Starlight Express
  • Vagina Monologues
  • The Importance of being Oscar
  • The Mikado
  • Mama Mia
  • Joseph
  • The Lion King


Australia

  • Pricilla Queen of the Desert (with Ally & Kerri)
  • Jersey Boys (with Lizzy)
  • Chorus Line  (with Dani)
  • Anything Goes (with Sue)
  • Evita (with Christina)


Cape Town visits

  • Annie
  • Ndlovu Choir
  • Rocky Horror Picture Show

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February 11, 2000

Concerts I've seen

  • Brian Adams (Cape Town, 1995)
  • Natalie Cole (Cape Town, 1995)
  • Sarah Brightman (Cape Town, 1995)
  • Michael Jackson (Amsterdam, 1997)
  • Pavarotti (London, 2000)
  • Night at the Proms (London, 2004)
  • Prague Classical (Prague, 2004)


Natalie Cole, 1995

Sarah Brightman, 1995

Michael Jackson, Amsterdam, 1997

Pavarotti, 2000

Proms in the Park, 2004

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February 10, 2000

Museums I've explored


Cape Town

  • The Castle (1980)
  • Science Centre (2009)


London

  • British National Museum (history) (1997)
  • British Natural History Museum (1997)
  • Imperial War Museum  (1997)
  • London Dungeon (1997)
  • London Tower (1997)
  • Madam Tassauds (1997)
  • Theatre Museum (1997)
  • Museum of Moving Images (1997)
  • Museum of Natural History (1997)
  • Science Museum (1997)
  • National Art Museum (2000)


Duxford (UK)

  • Imperial War Museum (2004)


Amsterdam

  • Modern Art Museum (1997)
  • Nan Goldin exhibition (Modern Art Museum, 1997)
  • Torture Museum (1997)
  • Van Gogh Museum (1997)
  • Rijksmuseum (1997)
  • Sex Museum (1997)
  • Ann Frank museum (1997)


Prague

  • Communist Museum (2004)


Cairo

  • Egyptian Museum (1997)


Wellington, New Zealand

  • Te Papa Tongarewa Museum  (2008)


Sydney

  • The Power Museum (2019)
  • Museum of Contemporary Art (2019)
  • Powerhouse Museum (2019)
  • NSW Art Galley (2019)
  • Maritime Museum (2024)
  • Elizabeth House (2024)
  • Hyde Park Barracks (2025)
  • The Australian Museum (2025)
  • The Sydney Museum (2025)


Newnes (Australia)

  • Small Arms museum (2018)
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December 26, 1990

Countries, Cities & Towns visited


Countries visited


List of 50 countries visited


Africa


Europe



North America



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December 26, 1990

Ode to things I love: Wildlife

I've always been captivated by wildlife. Few experiences make me feel more alive than watching animals in their natural habitat and witnessing the extraordinary diversity of life on our planet. I've been fortunate enough to explore some of the world's greatest wildlife destinations, but Africa will always hold a special place in my heart. Growing up in South Africa gave me a lifelong connection to the bush, and every visit to Zululand or the Kruger National Park reminds me why. There's simply nothing quite like seeing elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and wild dogs living as they have for thousands of years.

I've also been privileged to experience wildlife at the ends of the Earth. Walking among fearless creatures in the Galápagos Islands, watching vast colonies of penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula, and standing in awe as polar bears roamed the Arctic sea ice are memories I'll treasure forever. Each place has revealed a different side of nature's brilliance, leaving me with an even deeper appreciation for the beauty, resilience and wonder of the wild. These encounters continue to inspire my travels, my photography and my gratitude for those who have worked so hard to protect these extraordinary places.



Wildlife parks I've visited


Animals I've seen in the wild

 South Africa (28)
  • Cape Seal
  • Right Backed Whale
  • Vervet Monkey
  • Lesser Bushbaby
  • Chacma Baoon
  • Striped Mouse
  • Leopard
  • Black Backed Jackal
  • African Elephant
  • Rock Dassie
  • Black Rhino
  • White rhino
  • Burchell's Zebra
  • Warthog
  • Hippopotamus
  • Giraffe
  • Blue wildebeest
  • Red hatebeest
  • Bontebok
  • Common duiker
  • Springbok
  • Klipspringer
  • Steenbok
  • Impala
  • Gemsbok
  • Buffalo
  • Kudu
  • Eland
  • Waterbuck

Botswana (1)
  • Red Lechwe

Tanzania (4)
  • Red colobus monkey
  • Bush pig
  • Lion
  • Cheetah

Canada (4)
  • Black Bear
  • Big Horn Mountain Sheep
  • Chipmonk
  • Elk

India (2)
  • Indian Rhino
  • Sloth Bear

South America (12)
  • Squirrel monkey (Bolivia)
  • Racoon (Brazil)
  • Howler monkey (Brazil)
  • Pategonian Hare (Argentina)
  • Armodillo (Argentina)
  • Sea elephant (Argentina)
  • Guacanos (Argentina)
  • Capuchin monkey (Ecuador)
  • Spider monkey (Ecuador)
  • River dolphin (Cuyabeno, Ecuador)
  • Galapagos sea lion (Galapagos)
  • Fur seal (Galapagos)
  • Capybara (Argentina)

Australia (4)
  • Western grey kangaroo
  • Porcupine Quokka (Rotnest Island)
  • Duck Billed Platypus
  • Bandicoot


Some photos



































 
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December 20, 1990

Ode to things I love: Nature reserves

I've always loved national parks and nature reserves. They are among humanity's greatest achievements—not because of what we built, but because of what we chose not to build. Every time I walk through an ancient forest, stand on a windswept headland or watch wildlife in its natural habitat, I'm reminded of the extraordinary foresight of the people who fought to protect these places. They understood that some landscapes are simply too precious to lose. Their vision has given generations the chance to experience beauty, solitude and wonder, while safeguarding countless species that share our planet. Setting land aside for nature is one of the greatest gifts we have ever given both ourselves and the living world.



South Africa

Western Cape

Eastern Cape

Zululand

Northern Cape

Gauteng


Africa
  • Serengetti & Ngora (Tanzania)
  • Etosha National Park (Namibia)
  • Okovango Delta (Botswana)
  • South Luanga National Park (Zambia)
  • Chobe


UK


Australia


Sydney

NSW



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