Birds – travellingzombie.com

Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon

A Day at Bryce Canyon

Sitting on the little shuttle bus, we trundled in the heat around Bryce Canyon, jumping on and off the bus from stop to stop to make sure we saw as much as possible on our brief day trip.

The key sites at Bryce Canyon are Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Sunset Point and Sunrise Point – all with great vistas over the natural cliffs and drops throughout the park.

Looking out over the view, we took our time soaking in the natural beauty of the area. Although it was a very dry and dusty place, there was wildlife all around and we spent ages watching the birds flying in and out of the holes in the rock face.

We didn’t get chance to do a hike or take in a Ranger programme, although both are on offer throughout the park. In particular, if we were there a little longer, I’m sure a hike through the tall, spiky hoodoos at the bottom of the amphitheater would have been incredible and created some great photographs!

Lokrum Island and the Iron Throne

Peacocks and the Iron Throne – all in one location!

During our stay in Dubrovnik, our bedroom window looked out across the sea towards Lokrum Island. Every morning we would wake to the ships passing by, taking visitors to and from the island. Although the island looked fairly small, our Croatian host had told us tales of peacock inhabitants and Game of Thrones scenery, making us curious and eager to explore.

Lokrum is an island nature reserve, around 15 minutes away from the Dubrovnik coast. Boat rides run regularly throughout the day and cost around 35HRK, which also includes entrance to the island.

As we were visiting in Autumn, the weather was a little hit and miss, so we waited for a sunny day and headed off to the boat. Visiting in Autumn did us a huge favour, as the boat was only about three quarters full, giving us room to spread out. The motion of the boat and the sun reflecting off the deep blue waters made for a stunning ride.

There are no overnight stays allowed on Lokrum and cars are also banned, so the first thing that struck us when we got off the boat was just how quiet it is! The second thing we noticed was the abundance of the island’s only inhabitants – the peacocks! Introduced to the island around 150 years ago, these stunning birds now rule the roost. There is something quite majestic about them and the colours they display are captivating. Just be sure to follow the usual rules of photographing / observing wildlife – don’t get too close or you might find that they take a snap at you!

Exploring, we stuck to the coastal path, which took us most of the way round the island. The views were stunning, made even more impressive by the sparkling sea surrounding us. Having this nature reserve on your door step must be amazing for people living in Dubrovnik – no wonder people were really proud of it. It was immaculate and felt just the right mix of natural and well maintained.

Nearer to the centre of the island sat the Monastery, with elements remaining from a number of eras, it was fitting to its surroundings, tucked away in exotic gardens and plants. Inside the monastery, more information on the island’s history was available, including the telling of the curse on the island, placed by the Benedictine Monks who were forced to leave by the French army. Legend says that on their last night, they walked single file around the island three times, dripping wax from their up-turned candles, placing a curse on anyone who tried to seek the island for their own in the future.

A more modern exhibit in the monastery focused on Game of Thrones. The botanical gardens on Lokrum and parts of the monastery were used for the city of Qarth in the show. A full sized Iron Chair stood in the corner of the exhibit for visitors to sit in and take pictures. Given that Wandering Beeb is a big fan of the show, we took some time there for him to play at being Ned Stark (at least it wasn’t Geoffrey!!).

Although it was used as a set for one of the most famous shows of this decade, it was still the beauty of the island itself that stole my attention. Without a doubt, it’s a stunning place to visit. I’d love to go back in the summer and try out the Red Sea pool – it was a little too cold for this when we went!

Have you visited Lokrum? What was your favourite part of the island?

Gondolas and Lumberjacks…oh my!

Hate cable cars, love the view.

I hate goldolas (or cable cars as we say in England). I hate everything about them – the swaying, the height, being packed into a small space with people who don’t seem to be bothered by them in the least, making exclamations about the scenery. If I’m suspended high in the air by a tiny cable, I really don’t want to know what’s out of the window! I think it comes from watching too much James Bond when I was little, but hay, I just don’t like the height. I do like the views from the top of whatever mountain the gondola is traveling up though and so, if there is no other way to ascend, I’ll grit my teeth and deal with it like a champ.

One of the worst gondolas I have been on is the one going up Grouse Mountain. Not because of the distance from the floor (I’ve been on higher), but because of the amount of sway the car produces. The first time I did this trip, I did it with a mate of mine who was really reassuring and supportive, until the car swayed and the horizon moved dizzyingly up and down. We both went pale and I think that we left hand prints in the metal pole we were holding on to. The second time, I knew to look at the floor and ignore everyone’s gasps as the car did its thing. When a whole cable car full of people makes an ‘ohhhhh’ sound, it’s not that reassuring! Interestingly, the car swings much more as it passes the last tower (nearest the top) – one to remember if you dread the swaying as much as me. Wandering Beeb was fine (that guy has no fear of heights or edges!). He was taking pictures and looking out of the window with no problems at all.

All that being said, Grouse Mountain is worth it. It’s probably a 30 minute bus ride from Canada Place in Vancouver (free shuttle with a day ticket, approx $40-60 depending on your ticket to Grouse Mountain). We have also done the trip via boat which I found much more enjoyable. It has everything for a full day’s adventure – grizzley bear habitat, ranger talks, lumberjack shows, hiking, panaramic views and bird shows.

We took a hike up to the peak to see the views and it was stunning to see Vancouver laid out in front of us. The weather was great and so our view was really clear. It was a little strange to see snow-capped mountains in the distance whilst catching sunburn (top tip – make sure you put on sunblock on whilst you are on the mountain, you will burn and burn fast!).

The lumberjack show is lots of fun (great for big adult kids and little kids alike) with the audience cheering on ‘their’ lumberjack as they take on log-rolling, climbing and sawing tasks. Although it’s very staged, you can still see the skill involved as they climb up hugely tall posts, using nothing but spikes and a short rope to hug the pole. A 45 minute show is a long time for the lumberjacks to keep the crowd entertained, but they play off the sense of danger excellently, turning every wobble, height and blade into a source of anticipation and excitement.

“There was a good balance of fun and nervousness throughout the show as ‘Jonny Nelson’ from the Green River Logging Camp and ‘Willie McGee’ from Blue Mountain battle through axe throwing, carving, climbing and log rolling, with some high jinx thrown in to encourage gasps from the audience”

The bird show and bear habitat is one of the closest views you will get of these creatures (I certainly wouldn’t want to be that close to a bear in the wild) and we had some good reminders of the wildness of these animals as the birds decided to do their own thing and fly close enough to the audience to brush people’s hair as they passed. Check out our recent posts on bear spotting and the birds of Grouse Mountain.

Grouse Mountain is never going to be the most rural, ‘off the beaten track’ type of experience. It is a tourist attraction through and through, but it doesn’t pretend to be anything else and it’s a great day out of the City in a beautiful setting. Gondola and all, I loved it.

Tell us about your love /hate experiences with travel – what parts of a trip have you gritted your teeth through because you knew that it would be worth it once you reached your destination? Let us know in the comments!

The Birds of Grouse Mountain

Visiting the ‘Birds in Motion’ session on Grouse Mountain

Flying so close you could almost feel the wings brush your head, the mix of Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and Owls in the ‘Birds in Motion’ session on Grouse Mountain is a good way to learn about the hunting and living habits of these beautiful creatures.

Taking the birds half way up the dirt track on the mountain, the Rangers encouraged them to fly down to where we were sitting, demonstrating how they would hunt for prey in the wild. Small podiums and ledges were set up to allow the birds to perch, giving the audience a close up view of the birds.

Yes, its a tourist attraction, yes the birds are not living in the wild (and I would much prefer to see them in that setting) but the birds are part of a Ranger programme and are therefore well looked after, rather than part of a performing circus. Spotting one of these birds in nature is pretty difficult, so having the opportunity to sit so close to them was incredible. Throughout the session, the Rangers were able to share facts about the birds and tell stories of their activities.

Before the session, the audience was clearly told a) not to touch the birds, and b) don’t stand up whilst the birds are flying – apparently they were able to judge the distances above our heads very well, except for if we stood up / sat down quickly. One guy shifted about just a bit too much in his seat and ended up being kissed in the face by a feathery wing! After that, we made sure to sit quite still!

If you decide to visit the session, it’s well worth sitting on the back row of the benches as you will have a good view of the birds as they fly over your head to the perches at the back. Front row seats get a better view of the birds when they land, but be warned, don’t sit too far forward on the grass – the Rangers will ask you to move anyway as this is classed as the bird’s territory and you don’t want to be mistaken for prey!

Although the eagles were great to see, I have to say that I preferred the owls. There is something fascinating about them as creatures, cute and fluffy on the outside but fairly savage and violent in their kills. As a horror fan, anything that can rotate it’s head to the same degree as the owl is well worth my time!

The ‘Birds in Motion’ sessions run throughout the summer on the mountain – you can read more about them here: https://www.grousemountain.com