Island – The Hidden Panorama

Guam Island Tour – Visiting Best Viewpoint of the Island

I will start my story at Fort Santa Agueda since the first two places included in the Island Tour has been detailed in my previous post of Hagatna and Two Lovers Point.

But while I was drafting this post and when I looked into the whole story of my experience in the tour, I see a trend of the places that we had visited while driving around the island. The title of this post is a hint of what I meant on it. Most of the places we visited has historical significance and a viewpoint.

Fort Santa Agueda

Fort Santa Agueda is still located in Hagatna, but I did not include this in Hagatna post as I wanted to include it as island tour activity. I made emphasis on Hagatna in my previous post, please see here. After we finished the visit of Latte Stone Park and Japanese Caves Latte Park, our guide drove us to Fort Santa Agueda. We took Hwy 33 and we turned right to Hwy 7. From Hwy 7, we turned right again at Fort Ct where we parked our vehicle again. Fort Santa Agueda is included in Hagatna Heritage Walk but I wasn’t able to see this during my first visit in the city because of its location requires me to walk towards the Apugan Hill.

Fort Santa Agueda Raised Viewing Platform which is the only remains of the fort

When we reached the fort, it has great lookout to enjoy the scenery of Hagatna including Agana Bay, clifflines with Oka Point and Urunao Point including Tumon Bay and of course the far Philippines Sea.

Cannons at the fort

For Santa Agueda is the only surviving Spanish fort in Hagatna and it served different purposes as the time passes by even though it was fully used as it was built few years (1800) before the Galleon Trade has been stopped (1815). When it was first built, it was used as fortification site to protect governor’s palace and Fort San Rafael. It was mentioned that it was useless when the Galleon Trade was off due to scarcity of supplies which means it doesn’t serve its purpose. During American administration, the fort became signaling station for ships. During Japanese invasion, the fort has been strategic to them and became guns emplacement.

Because the fort sits at the top of Apugan Hill, the fort is famous to visitors of Hagatna as it offers great scenery of western coast of the island.

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With Hagatna

With Hagatna and Agana Bay

With Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica

Ricardo J. Bordallo Complex

After leaving Fort Santa Agueda, we took Hwy 7 and ended at Hwy 6. While we were waiting on green light while at the crossing, since I was seating at the front of the car, I had a good look from a distance of Ricardo J. Bordallo Complex where the Governor’s office and Latte of Freedom are located. We crossed Marine Corps Drv towards the said complex. We drove inside it but we never went out of the car, I only had a glimpse of the surroundings from the vehicle.

Ricardo J. Bordallo Complex

Latte of Freedom

Asan Beach Park

We enjoyed the coastal view inside the car while our guide were driving along Marine Corps Drv. And then in few minutes from Ricardo J. Bordallo Complex we turned right and parked at Asan Beach Park. Here, I learned a great feat of one of the heroes of my country – Apolinario Mabini. At the park, I learned the place where Mabini has been staying in Guam while he was in exile. I felt proud because one of whom I recognized as hero back home have their statue standing outside the country, an important piece of reminder of my country’s history.

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Mabini Statue and some information of himself to be admired

Another historical importance of Asan Beach Park based on historical records that it is the landing of the American soldier for the Second Battle in Guam in 1944 to take over again the island from Japanese where the latter took it last 1941 from US.

Fort Nuestra Senora de la Soledad

We were back in the road again, and we were in a road longer than our previous road drive. We went to the pier but seems our guide can’t find what she is looking for. Therefore we went straight to Fort Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, Our Lady of Solitude. The said fort was the last and fourth fortification for galleons between Acapulco, Mexico and Manila, Philippines which has been out of use since 1815.

Magellan’s Landing

While we were enjoying the scenery at Fort Soledad, our guide also pointed out the location of Magellan’s Landing site when he arrived at Guam.

Magellan’s Landing

Umatac Bay

While looking for the historical facts about Umatac Bay, I learned how important the bay is and how it was related to my country as well. The bay became supply station for ships or replenishment stop that cross Pacific Ocean during the Galleon Trade period which happened from 1565-1815. I also learned that one shipment from Cavite (the province that I currently live) in Philippines returned from Acapulco as significance of the end of the Galleon Trade in 1815.

Umatac Bay with Magellan’s Landing and San Dionisio Church

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Umatac Bay from Fort Nuestra Senora de la Soledad

Fort Santo Angel, Fouha Rock, Facpi Island and Facpi Point

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Umatac Bay

Asan Bay Overlook at Nimitz Hill

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After spending time at Fort Nuestra Senora de la Soledad which located in the south, we drove back north. This time, we visited Asan Bay Overlook at Nimitz Hill. The hill offers the view of War in the Pacific Historical National Park which includes the hill itself down to Asan Bay. The historical artifacts that surrounds the park is to remember how Guam has been recovered back by US from Japanese in 1944. As I mentioned in Asan Bay in the first part of this post, the bay has been the landing of US soldier to defend back Guam from the hands of Japanese. At the hill, there are photos that portrays how Japanese tried to drive American soldiers to the sea but they failed.

Apra Harbor and Cabras Island

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Below are version of plane view of the what I had seen while I was Asan Bay Overlook.

Orote Peninsula

Orote Peninsula with Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor

Apra Harbor with Sasa Bay

Sasa Bay

Asan Beach Park

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Fisheye Marine Park and Asan Beach Park

Tepungan Beach Park and Fisheye Marine Park

Tepungan Beach Park, Fisheye Marine Park and Asan Beach Park

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After leaving Asan Bay Overlook, we has a brief stop as our guide told us about the one of the tunnels that Japanese used when they stayed in the island.

Fonte Plateau

Libugon Vista Point

Our last stop for the island tour is Libugon Vista Point where we had a bird’s-eye view of Tumon Bay, Tamuning, island’s international airport and Barrigada which means we can’t get enough of the lookouts that Guam has to offer.

Tumon Bay Area, Guam International Airport and Barrigada Heights

Tumon Bay

US Navy Hospital

After the tour, I rested in few hours and decided to walked in the beach as my next adventure in the island. Until then.

O-Torii – A Boundary Between the Spirits and the Human Worlds

As I mentioned from my previous post entitled “Miyajima Island – Island of Gods” that introduced a bit of Miyajima Island, on the way to the island while we were in the ferry, I had a chance to see O-Torii during high tide. And I was amazed of what I witnessed because the sceneries were all picturesque for me.

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O-Torii while in the JR Ferry

From the local restaurant that we had lunch we walked along the pathway near the shore where some local stores are available on the left side and on the right side the O-Torii was already visible from a far.

O-Torii (Grand Gate) is a symbol of Miyajima Island and the belief that surrounds it is that Great Torii is the boundary between the spirits and human worlds (reference: visit-miyajima-japan.com). Learning that facts is one of the interesting information I got for the said island and it was a way to understand a bit why the island seems to be sacred to Japanese.

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O-Torii

When we were closer with O-Torii, the water subsided a bit compared to the high tide that I saw while in the ferry. Seeing such structure on the inland of the sea was pretty amazing but to learn more that it stands on its weight was more mind-blowing. Because of that fact, natural calamities that passed by in Japan did not affect the Grand Gate and as we can see, it still magnificently stands to where it is.

After few hours in Mount Misen, we descended the mountain the same way we reached the summit which includes trekking, riding a cable car and taking a bus.

When we reached the ground, we explored the Itsukushima Shrine.

O-Torii and the surrounding area (water subsided)

After the exploration to the sacred shrine of Itsukushima, my sister and I walked down to the O-Torii since the land was dry from sea water due to low tide. We had a chance to approach the Grand Gate and we had lots of photos of it.

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Up close and personal with O-Torii

Home : Tabunan Beach

Home (Post#25) : Tabunan Beach

Last year of my travel in the island where my family roots begun, I had a quick visit and a bit of walk in Tabunan Beach at Banton Island in Romblon province. Above photo is just one of my collection during my walking tour along the beach. The beach is located at the western side of the Island in Yabawon where my uncle Napo lives. Photo captured last March 2015.

Precious Moment In The Mountain : Mount Misen

Precious Moment In The Mountain (Post#24) : Mount Misen

While roaming around in Japan, one of the mountain that we had a chance to visit and even had a chance to trek a bit was Mount Misen. Mount Misen is considered as sacred mountain in Miyajima Island (Itsukushima Island). We enjoyed the scenery while we were on our way to the top through gondola and tram lift. And more when I reached the summit of the mountain. The photo above shows some of the islands that are visible from the mountain. Photo snapshot captured last September 2015.

Miyajima (Itsukushima) Island – “Island of Gods”

After we decided to visit Miyajima Island that day, we walked back to Hiroshima Station from the hotel to take JR Sanyo Line. We used our JR Pass when we took the train and we got off at Miyajimaguchi Station. From the station we walked a little bit and we took JR ferry (other ferry available is Matsudai Kisen) using our JR Pass. The said ferry brought us from Miyajima Guchi to Miyajima Island. The travel time to the island was around 10-15 minutes.

Onboarding JR Ferry

Looking towards Hiroshima City while on our way to Miyajima Island

On the way to the island, I felt fascinated with the torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine, while in the ferry I was able to see the gate with high tide that makes the gate so wonderful. When we reached the pier of the island, first thing we did was having lunch in one of the local restaurant in the island not far from the pier which has old township design. Inside the restaurants settings was Japanese traditional home style from its table, flooring, seats and its overall interior has all Japanese ambiance.

Miyajima Pier (Miyajima Port)

Local Restaurant we had our lunch

Different variety of Okonomiyaki

When I did my research about Hiroshima, I found that there is famous menu not to be missed while visiting Hiroshima and I learned that is called Okonomiyaki. In the restaurant that we had lunch in the island we ordered variety of Okonomiyaki. I can’t remember the specifics and because my family was not really a food adventurer, I decided to take 3 orders for the 4 of us which was enough as they serve it full in big plates they used. And to be honest, we enjoyed the food. My whole family seems to be satisfied specially my mother whom somewhat picky and does not like to try unfamiliar menus in the table. We’ve got full and enjoyed the restaurant for a while.

After the lunch we started our exploration to the island. I am curious why the island is special and why it was considered to be one of the Best Views or Top Scenic Spots in Japan.

The following significant interests that we discovered while roaming around the island are:

O-Torii (Grand Gate)

Itsukushima Shrine

Mount Misen

Miyajima’s Temples / Halls

I will post separate articles of the things we saw and experienced on these significant places.

Until then.

Hiroshima – An Introduction To The Home of Two World Heritage Sites

Because Hiroshima is very far from Tokyo, I booked a domestic flight in ANA Airlines, where I found the cheapest price available at the time that I was booking the flight because I was able to maximize their offer price for foreign visitors.

After watching Sumo event and after spending time in Akihabara, when we reached the hotel, we immediately packed all our stuff back to our luggage since that night was the same as our last night in the hotel. We woke-up early in the morning as our flight was around 7AM and our airport was Haneda Airport, which is another airport located nearer in Tokyo compared to Narita Airport, the entry point we had in Japan.

From Kayabacho Station, we took Tozai Line to Nakano, transferred at Nihombashi, changed to Ginza Line to reach Shimbashi Station. At first we planned to take Monorail Line which mean we plan to go to Hammamutso station. When we were waiting at Shimbashi Station for the next train, we found out that the next train goes directly to Haneda Airport, I asked one officer in the train to confirm if the next train goes to Haneda Airport, and he confirmed it. We took the said train. When we were inside the train, my sister and I checked the next station that the train will stop by and we quite surprised because it seems it has too many stations on its route. Then, my sister and I keep monitoring the next train stop and we were thankful because it bypassed many stations, as time really matters for us in that situation because we were catching up with our flight schedule.

When we reached Haneda Airport it’s just right time, we’re not too early nor too late. The flight from Tokyo to Hiroshima took at least an hour and that flight actually saved us a bit of time. We touched down at Hiroshima Airport passed 8:20 AM in the morning and got off the plane passed 8:30 AM. Because we’re new, we did not realize that the bus schedule to Hiroshima Station is closer to our arrival schedule, therefore we were left behind even before we can buy our bus ticket (which can be get through automated machine) and we waited for the next schedule which was after an hour. When the next bus arrived, we boarded the bus immediately. The airport does not have train station and the only way to go to Hiroshima Station is through bus. The bus travel from the airport was around 45 minutes to reach Hiroshima.

At Hiroshima station, since it’s our first time again in another city of Japan, we really don’t know where to go to reach our hotel in the city. That problem was forgotten a bit after I saw the JR Train Line office at the station. I booked our ticket train from Hiroshima to Kyoto to reserved our seats the next day we travel. We scheduled to spend almost 2 days to go around in Hiroshima.

After booking the train ticket, we got off at the station and followed few people as we thought they were exiting the station. We ended up leaving the station in a wrong way. We passed the station docking area and underground way since we still did not realize where majority people goes when passing the station. We learned the right way later that day.

Tatami Room

River View from our Room

Even we used the wrong way in getting off the station, we were still able to find the way to our hotel. We did not take a cab as I booked a hotel just near Hiroshima Station. We reached the road Johoku Dori and turned left and then we crossed the bridge. After crossing the bridge, the hotel accommodation were after comes next. We stayed at Hotel Century21 Hiroshima located at Hijiyama Dori. In that hotel, we got a room with tatami room and river view. I really like the room that was assigned to us by the hotel.

The only plan that I had in mind initially in Hiroshima is to walk around in downtown to see the city and its historical places. I checked some brochures that I picked-up from the airport so I can plan and add more to the basic itinerary that I had. My sister and I talked about what we’re going to do for the day while we were in the hotel. I had Miyajima in mind as additional to Hiroshima city. We discussed which one will go first, at first my plan was the city then Miyajima Island. My sister thought opposite. Her idea was more sensible than mine since the afternoon of the next day, we’re planning to go to Kyoto which is another famous city of Japan and very far from Hiroshima. So we decided with agreement that we will go and explore Miyajima Island first and followed by the city the next day.

Because of limited time we had, the major places we visited within Hiroshima Prefecture where two of world heritage sites can be found, they are:

1. Miyajima Island, Hatsukaichi City

2. Hiroshima City

Mount Fuji – A Sacred Famous Mountain and Arts Inspiration in Japan

One of the considered perfect cone volcano in the world is Mount Fuji. I first learned to know about this volcano in Japan when our very own active volcano from my country named Mayon Volcano which is also considered to be the same with perfect cone volcano. I learned that Mount Mayon considered to be similar to Mount Fuji. Though I haven’t seen Mayon Volcano for real and only in photos, I can see the resemblance of the two. For me, both of them are probably has perfect cone. Based on photos, both of them has magnificent scenery from a distance. The difference that I can emphasized between the two is Mayon Volcano doesn’t have snow-capped because we don’t have winter season like Japan.

As a mountaineer, I also dreamed to climb Mount Fuji. But during the trip to this mountain, it’s not part of the family’s itinerary, I only planned to see the mountain and its summit up close and personal and be within the mountain since I was with my family.

It was our third day in Japan when I scheduled the trip to Mount Fuji. It was Sunday that day and the only thing I booked was a bus going to Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station (also known as Yoshidaguchi 5th Station or Kawaguchiko 5th Station) of the mountain from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and a return bus from Kawaguchiko Station back to Shinjuku Station.

All of us woke-up early in the morning and prepared as early as possible we can based on the time calculations I did to reached the bus station that will bring us to Mount Fuji. From the hotel we took subway Hibiya Line from Kayabacho station to Naka-Meguro and we transferred to Marunuchi Line to Ogikubo in Ginza station and got off at Shinjuku Station.

Because Shinjuku station is one of the major and interchange station we experienced some difficulties to find the bus terminal that I bought the ticket online. The terminal we were looking for was Shinjuku Highway Bus Terminal. We arrived at Shinjuku station at the right time that I planned it, but because we need to find the terminal, it seems that the timing was very tight as the bus schedule we need to take was 6:40am and at 6:30am we must be in the terminal as we need to exchange the booking that I had to a bus ticket. We asked few locals around the area of Shinjuku station but it seems no one understand our English language. We looked around and saw where the bus coming from and asked again while we were walking towards the terminal. We talked to someone and confirmed where the terminal was. I had a map of the bus station but because of some orientation issue we got confused at first. My sister whose really good in directions confused too until she noticed some of the landmarks.

Finally we found the bus terminal and we saw a lot of people in the station. It was not really surprising because Mount Fuji is a popular tourist destination in Japan. I went inside the ticket office where queues of people can be seen, I queued myself and when it was my turn, I exchanged my booking to a ticket and we were set to board the bus. Most of the people coming to Mount Fuji were climbers or hikers. They were completely geared for the climb. When I saw the climbers I felt some envy within myself because they will climb Mount Fuji and I wasn’t.

We queued in the line and waited for our bus. When the bus arrived, I started to get excited because Mount Fuji like its country of Japan was one of my dream to see for real. When we got on-boarded in the bus, I can’t deny the excitement that I felt. The bus left the terminal and while we were trying to leave Shinjuku area, I saw some part of Shinjuku. I just realized and noticed that the place is towering of buildings. It seems there are lots of businesses districts and offices area that surrounds Tokyo.

We took the highway after leaving Shinjuku area. The bus travel we did that day was the first travel we had by land aside from train. From the time that we arrived in Tokyo, we always took trains from one point to another. Because we were in the bus, it added some excitement because I can see some part of Japan while traveling. The great thing about it, I can see a lot of places while in the road. The whole travel took us more than 2 hours before we reached the 5th station in Mount Fuji. Because we traveled in Sunday morning there’s not much traffic in the road. When we reached the base of the mountain, I felt that the atmosphere changed and the road trajectory was snaky. Then, next thing happened, there’s some drizzle in the air. Being part of the mountaineering group made me realized the rain within the mountain specially if nearer in the summit seems to be normal and that drizzle in Mount Fuji was not really surprising to me.

After the rain just stopped while in 5th Station in Mount Fuji

At 5th Station (Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station)

Around Mount Fuji 5th Station

Before we reached the 5th station of Mount Fuji, the rain fell. And when we got off the bus, we felt the cool weather in the mountain. And to think that its raining, we really experienced the windy chilly rain. Since the 5th station is the most developed than other stations around the mountain before summit, we saw different establishments in the area such as hotel for accommodations and shopping stores that people can go to temporarily as a shelter while it’s raining outside and for last minute shopping before climbing the summit.

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Mount Fuji Summit

With Mount Fuji Summit

Mount Fuji is so popular to tourist and people flocking in the mountain is normal. And I also learned, that the weekend that we visited the mountain was the last weekend that the mountain was open for climbing season as it will close due to season changes. I saw a lot of groups who really came just to climb the mountain and I felt sadness again. I promised to myself that I will come back in the mountain with the objective of climbing the summit of it.

At one of the shops in Mount Fuji 5th Station

Since we were not climbing the mountain and the timing when we reached the 5th Station was not really that great. What we did were stayed and roamed around inside of one of the stores in the area as we were amazed on a lot of stuffs and souvenirs to enjoy, had our lunch, walked around in the nearby temple and lookout and finally we took photos as we can with the summit of the mountain as our background.

Komitake Shrine

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Sceneries at Observation Point near Komitake Shrine

Japan Highlights At The First Visit

I know that it’s been a while since my last post. After being busy in a project at work, I was busy planning my next out of the country adventure this year together with my family.

Traveling in a country with visa is most likely a dream to me because your chances to see that country is whether the visa application is approved. If the visa approved we are really lucky. If not, the hope will probably gone as there’s no way to come to that country in a normal and legal way.

When I heard that Japan loosen a bit of its strictness in processing visa specifically for tourists visa to promote their tourism, I put some thought to visit the country since last year. Then, I waited my chance for cheap airline ticket since I am planning to travel together with my family (with my parents and my youngest sibling). Last February this year, I received alert email from one of the budget airline in my country and I grabbed my chance to book tickets for myself and my family. Honestly, it was difficult to get cheap ticket with combined promo rate both for departure and arrival flight but with perseverance I was able to find combinations of dates for our travel.

Almost 7 months had passed and I’m still not sure if we can really travel to Japan for many reasons. And last August, I processed all our visa applications and submitted it to one of the authorized travel agency of Japan Embassy as their office does not accept anymore applications directly from applicant. I completed all the requirements and prepared for the visa fee. I applied a single entry for all of us. And after 3 days of processing, the agency called me and notified me that the visa were already approved. I was ecstatic when I heard the news, because the major worry of the travel planning if we can push visiting Japan got resolved. When I returned to pickup the passports, I was surprised for one thing. I received a multiple visa for 5 years in Japan while the rest of my family just got single entry. For me and my family, being approved even for single entry in Japan was one of the great things happened because it gave us a chance to see the country even for once. I just thought that if there is a need to re-apply for visa, it will be probably easier because we’ve had a record that we had visited Japan.

Even before visa application processing, I already started searching places to visit in Japan. Since after the booking of our flight, I have hope that I will be able to see Japan. When our visa approved, that’s was the time I made a real itinerary. I planned the places to visit and the accommodation where were going to stay. I aligned all the accommodations that we need to all places we planned to visit. Since I’m always on a budget, I selected hotels walk able to and from the train station, as I learned that taking a cab in Japan is quite pricey. I also bought necessary advance tickets such as train pass and sumo ticket to reserved guaranteed slot for my family.

My family and I traveled the country within 10 days, these includes two flights to and from Japan. In total we spent at least 8.5 days roaming around in Japan.

Here are the following places we’ve got a chance to visit.

1. Tokyo

– Ginza

– Ryogoku

– Akihabara

– Ueno

– Asakusa

– Tokyo Skytree

2. Yokohama

3. Mount Fuji and Kawaguchiko

– Mount Fuji

– Kawaguchiko

4. Miyajima and Hiroshima

5. Osaka

6. Kyoto

Our trip was really quick by I tried to see as much as we can since I was with my family. In the next coming post. I will described the experience that myself and my family had in our first visit in Japan.

Until then.

View At My Window : Strahan – Risby Cove

View At My Window (Post#23) : Strahan – Risby Cove

When I got a chance for 3 days adventure in Tasmania, next biggest island to the mainland of Australia, I had opportunity to experience the island. Part of the itinerary is to stop over for a while in Strahan, a small town located near the cove. For me after seeing the harbour from upper area, I had a glimpse how beautiful the places is. For me it is a perfect place for a rest house used for a getaway from busy life in the city. Photo captured during my adventure in Tasmania last June 2013.

Name Of The Place : Abu Dhabi

Name Of The Place (Post#22) : Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is the capital emirates of United Arab Emirates or UAE. I was here only for one day but it was a worth visit. This boat post with the name of the city can be found at the front of Marina Mall in Al Marina near the parking area. UAE is divided by seven emirates, each emirates represent a kingdom. If there is a kingdom there is a king and that’s what UAE has. Since UAE is the capital emirates or capital city of the country, their kingdom represents the President of the country and while Dubai emirates represents the Prime Minister and from what I learned it is always that way (please don’t quote me on that). The significant place I visited in this city is “Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque”. Photo snapshot captured last August 2014.

Kangaroo Island – Australia’s Wild Life Park Island

It was my second and last tour in South Australia, I knew that one of the hardest thing to decide when traveling is choosing which tour or adventure to select and which one is to give up. When I’m planning my holiday in this state, I wished that I had a longer days of holiday but I don’t have. After spending some thoughts about it, I chose Grand Adelaide and Kangaroo Island tour. I already published the stories happened to me on my first day in Adelaide in my previous posts and this time I am focused in my Kangaroo Island experience.

Every time I travel, I tried my best to see the national park around the area or nearby area because I have this thoughts that there is something special in such kind of place, something considered as natural treasure that humanity must protect. Kangaroo Island has Flinders Chase National Park and conservation parks wherein Seal Bay Conservation Park is one of them. The name of the Kangaroo Island was made because the early explorer of the island was came from the group of Matthew Flinders and at that time they haven’t eaten meat for so long until they saw small Kangaroo which the group hunted. That kind of story behind the names of places sometimes quite fascinating to learn.

— Kangaroo Island Sealink Ferry Terminal – Cape Jervis Port

Kangaroo Island from Kangaroo Island Sealink Ferry Terminal - Cape Jervis

— Kangaroo Island from Kangaroo Island Sealink Ferry Terminal – Cape Jervis Port

From my hotel, the tour bus picked me up and we traveled to Cape Jervis for more than 1.5 hours where the Kangaroo Island Sealink ferry terminal is located. We jumped off the bus and transferred to the ferry that will bring us to the island which gave us a chance to cruise Backstairs Passage. In less than an hour we arrived at Penneshaw which is the ferry terminal of Sealink in Kangaroo Island. We left the ferry and transferred to the tour bus that’s waiting for us.

— Kangaroo Island Penneshaw Port – Bay Terrace

From Penneshaw, we took Bay Terrace and North Terrace. We turned left to Thomas Wilson St to Howard Drive, then straight to Hog Bay Road. I enjoyed the ride as my eyes wandering in sceneries that I saw in the island such as Penneshaw Hotel near the port and Sea Dragon Lodge where a yacht station for island residences and visitors. The island is said to be the third largest island in Australia which means that one day may not enough to see all of the island. While inside the bus, one of my self entertainment was capturing photos as much as I can to remember all the places that I had been.

At North Terrace

Penneshaw Hotel at North Terrace and Thomas Wilson St

— Some window view snapshots from the bus along North Terrace road.

Kangaroo Island Boat Hire (Sea Dragon Lodge) from Howard Drive

— Snapshots along Howard Drive

— Snapshots from Hog Bay Road

After passing Howard Drive, we stayed in Hog Bay Road in a while. Along the road, we saw American River which looks like a lake at first while inside the bus just to realised it is a river where it ends in Easter Cove of the island. Next thing happened that I noticed, we turned left on the way to Seal Bay Conservation Park. I can’t remember which road we took but one thing that I remembered, we passed the nearby island airport. We reached the Seal Bay Conservation Park. The park is located in the nearby coastal area or beach area called as Seal Bay Aquatic Reserve which is the access to many seals towards the bay. The park has boardwalk where visitors can walk through without disturbing the seals around the park. During our visits, most of the seals that I saw were sleeping or lets say they were resting. When I saw the seals, it actually confused me because they look like a sea-lion to me. But I noticed there’s difference between Seal and sea-lion. I found out that seal has small flipper, wriggle on their bellies on land and lack visible ear flaps while sea-lion has large flipper, walk on land using flipper and have visible ear flaps.

— American River from Hog Bay Rd

— Seal Bay Visitor Information Centre

— Seal Bay Conservation Park

— Sleepyhead Seals

I enjoyed my walk around the Seal Bay, with the help of our tour guide, we got a chance to walk in the nearby seashore area where we saw other seals in the sand, some were just came from the sea and some were sleepyhead seals. While looking and watching the seals, I can say they are one of the cutest sea-lion family that I saw. Seal Bay is in the southern part of the island where I experienced cold wind from the south because I visited the place during the end of month of Autumn season.

— Sleepyhead Seals with some group of birds flocked together

— Seal Bay Aquatic Reserve

After enjoying Seals, we move to one of the wild life park in the island called Kangaroo Island Wild Park. Before it was called as Parndana Wildlife Park. Here we got a chance to see other animals aside from seals wherein the park collaborates with the island as they also protects and takes care of the animal being by providing conducive environment for them. After the wild life park, next area of the island we visited was Remarkable Rocks. Before we reached the magnificent rock formation, we stopped at the Remarkable Lookout to see the rock formation from a distance.

— Some animals at Kangaroo Island Wild Park (Parndana Wildlife Park)

— Kangaroo Island Wild Park (Parndana Wildlife Park)

Flinders Chase National Park

— At Boxer Drive near Remarkable Rocks Lookout

Along Boxer Drive we appreciated exquisite sceneries along the edges of the island or the coastline. The bay is what they call Great Australian Bight. Within the area, where ever I turned my eyes into, I saw calmness and beauty of the place admiring the island and felt good knowing it is being protected as many generations will be able to visit the place.

— At Remarkable Rocks (Surrounding Area)

— Remarkable Rocks

Remarkable Rocks is one of the popular tourist site in the island. When I saw the rocks, I was surprised because of its unique shapes and the location where the rocks stands. Because the rocks standout, it is noticeable whether you are in the island or you are in the sea. The name remarkable is probably appropriate as the name of the rocks because it is distinguishable among other rocks known to the world.

Next thing happened was were driving to Cape Du Couedic Road where we saw Cape Du Couedic Lighthouse. The area is part of Flinders Chase National Park, like the Remarkable Rocks, the place has amazing sceneries to enjoy. Based on history, the coastline off Flinders Chase became the final resting place of 14 ships which came to grief on the rocky shores which led to push the building of the tower in the area though even there some contingency lights used before.

It is the same place where to find the Admirals Arch and the New Zealand sea-lion fur. Before we end our tour in the island, we had a short visit in Flinders Chase National Park Visitor Centre.

— At Cape Du Couedic Road on the way to Cape Du Couedic Lighthouse looking towards Great Australian Bight

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— Cape Du Couedic Lighthouse

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— Admirals Arch

— At Admirals Arch Boardwalk looking towards Great Australian Bight with Casuarina Islets

— At Admirals Arch Boardwalk looking towards Great Australian Bight

When I was following the boardwalk in placed in the area, I never expected another tourist spot, I was actually looking for seal or sea-lion when I found out the Admirals Arch. It was a unique landmark because of it was made naturally by nature with time passed by.

The final place we went into before leaving the island park was Flinders Chase National Park Visitor Centre where more information displayed about the island, souvenir stores and cafe to indulge with.

Within the tourist group I had, there were visitors who need to go the island airport, because they were in a hurry to fly back to their country. I forgot which country it was, these travellers can afford to see places in short period of time while they can still able to catch their international flight, well I honestly admired them for taking chances to see more as much with a little time left.

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— Flinders Chase National Park Visitor Centre

Random Angle : Galaxy Macau

Random Angle (Post#3) : Galaxy Macau

Walking or strolling within Cotai Strip was fun because of different kind of luxury hotels, casinos, shopping malls and entertainments to be seen, but beware that it can be quite exhausting if you are not into exploring and seeing places. As we wandering around Cotai Strip, one of the luxury buildings we passed by was Galaxy Macau. Galaxy Macau offers different kinds luxury accommodations, shopping, dining, and entertainments. It can be considered a one stop area for enjoying the holiday. Inside this beautiful building, we dined and stroll inside where we got a chance to get up close and personal with Ferrari car displayed inside. This photo is part of my Hong Kong – Macau Adventure photo collection happened last January 2012.

In The Middle Of Somewhere : The Venetian Macao – Casino

In The Middle Of Somewhere (Post#3) : The Venetian Macao – Casino

When we got a chance to visit Cotai Strip in Macau, one of the luxury hotel and casino in the area is The Venetian Macao. We went inside the establishment to see what’s in it. Though we never play any gamble games and we never tried to walk inside, I took a photo in some part of the casino while stepping in ascending escalator and the photo above was the snapshot result. Photo taken last January 2012.

Home : Capones Lighthouse

Home (Post#22) : Capones Lighthouse

During summer of 2009 (March 2009), the mountaineering group where I belong used to schedule summer adventure every year and that year was quite a lot. One of the itinerary we had that time was Capones Island where historical lighthouse built. It was historical because it is one of the oldest light station exist in my country. It was first lit last August 1, 1890. The light station still active until today and its lenses has been replaced, but the sad things about it is its surrounding area was left ruined and as far as I know it still the same as of this writing. We took a boat to reach Capones Island to visit this historical site from Anawangin in San Antonio Zambales.

Name Of The Place : Flinders Chase National Park

Name Of The Place (Post#21) : Flinders Chase National Park

When I visited Kangaroo Island in South Australia, one of the National Park we visited was Flinders Chase National Park which includes two geological monuments such as Remarkable Rocks and Admiral Arch. After seeing the two geological monuments, I also enjoyed the nature within the park, some areas nearby Remarkable Rocks had captivating scenic views and discovered the other life form that lives in the island. Photo snapshot captured last May 2013.

Transportation : Hong Kong – Double Decker Tram

Transportation (Post#1) : Hong Kong – Double Decker Tram

Every time I travel, I used to take photos of anything to remember all the places that I visited. The snapshots were always random, whatever my camera caught. The photo above was one of the double-decker tram available as public transportation in Hong Kong and the one above was a flavour of a popular brand of chocolate which captured during our Chinese season visit last January 2012.

Random Angle : The Venetian Macao

Random Angle (Post#2) : The Venetian Macao

When we got a chance to visit Macau, we had an opportunity to visit the Cotai Strip in Macau where most its westernised casino hotels are located. The Venetian Macau is just one of the casino-hotel resort in the area where to see and to feel the ambiance Venice like city which mentioned from Wikipedia as the largest casino in the world and the largest single structure hotel in the world. Though I never do gambling and no idea of it personally, I just appreciated the things that we saw inside the building which for me it’s indeed nice to get to know and to discover. We had a great time just to explore the place. Photo captured last January 2012.

Structure : British Columbia (BC) Legislature Building

Structure (Post#2) : British Columbia (BC) Legislature Building

BC Legislature Building is one of the significant structure that are noticeable within Victoria in Vancouver Island. This is the building where Members of Legislative Assembly to create, review and debate whether they pass or reject the law. From the shore, this building seems like a castle because of the architecture structure design that it has that is truly admiring to whoever got a chance to see this building. I never got a chance to enter this building as I only spent one day in Victoria during my 5 days visit in British Columbia province in Canada last June 2008.

Life Of Others : Kangaroo Island – Sleepyhead Seal

Life Of Others (Post#2) : Kangaroo Island – Sleepyhead Seal

It was my second day in South Australia and I was in Kangaroo Island when we saw this one. Seal which was sleeping at the time we went to Seal Bay. This was just one of the seal we saw, and majority of them did the same thing as if the bay is their hibernating area after coming from the sea. Photo taken last May 2013. One thing really confused me was its similarities of seal and sea-lion, until I searched what’s the difference. I found out that seal has small flipper, wriggle on their bellies on land and lack visible ear flaps while sea-lion has large flipper, walk on land using flipper and have visible ear flaps.

This post has been updated to add the link of and to participate in the following:
Saturday’s Critters – February 27, 2016

Still Expression : Smile And Wave

Still Expression (Post#2) : Smile And Wave

I selected the photo above to showcase the expression of smile and hand wave as it describes the emotion at the moment of the people. This photo is in the same collection of the first post for this theme which all came from Disney Adventure in Hong Kong last January 2012 during parade at the height of celebrating the Chinese New Year.