Getting High in American Samoa

I mean in elevation! On our first full day in Am Sam we did the 8.5km Mt Alava - Vatia Village hike in the National Park. The trip up to the top was tough enough...the trip back down to the village of Vatia on the north shore of the island was even tougher...and the heat and humidity didn't particularly help, either!
Then later in the day the view from the Vatia Pass Road looking down into the harbour was well timed just as some great clouds and light was developing. We did this road numerous times and it was always a treat to look down into the harbour.

.

A Touch of Autumn

First full day back in Ballarat, and on a cold Saturday evening a simple stroll up to Lake Wendouree presented me with some nice signs of autumn colours. Because of the extremely dry summer I'm not expecting too much colour this autumn, though I have noticed a few patches starting to appear around town. Hopefully some decent rain soon will freshen things up.

.

First Visit into the National Park of American Samoa

When we arrived on the first day in American Samoa, we were very fortunate to be met by a local American who had moved to the island over 30 years ago, and was married to a local Samoan lady. Rory turned out to be our saviour in many ways - without his help and guidance I doubt we would have had half the trip we ended up having. After arriving around noon, by mid afternoon I was pretty excited to be entering our 51st USA National Park. This first visit was just to get our bearings, and this view from the north side of the island, was a great beginning. Specatacular scenery with some great clouds and light to really whet my appetite. Much more to come......!

.

Back to Normal

Back to Normal......well, sort of....! Just a couple of simple images today...the first is from the plane flight into Melbourne, somewhere over Gippsland where we flew through a fantastic, cloudy morning sky. Very hard to capture these views out of dirty, distorted aircraft windows, though in some ways that adds to the drama. And then a simple end to the day at Lake Wendouree. Keep in mind I'm shooting these recent images on my secondary, back-up camera after the wave killed my camera in American Samoa. I'm happy to advise that the new camera is ordered and on its way!

.

Reflecting The Mill

I'm sure I've been able to get some internet by now in American Samoa, though I've been enjoying posting these unseen images....here's another from Anderson's Mill on Birch's Creek at Smeaton.

.

Cracked and Salty

This image may be my favourite so far this year...its on the webpage, so hasn't made it to the blog until now. Lake Learmonth - Wow!

.

Back on Deck in Ballarat

Arrived back in Ballarat on Friday just before lunch, and I have quite a few images to work through, I thought a good starting point was from the first night we spent in Apia in (Western) Samoa, the night before we were to fly over to American Samoa. A clear sky was enhanced by this lovely moon ring, with the palm tree adding that tropical touch. More, much more, to come.....!

.