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You are here: Home / Photo Blogging / On The Road / On the Road and In Your Backyard

On the Road and In Your Backyard

by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)|  December 19, 20185:00 am| 17 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture

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On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.

From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.

Submit Your Photos

Good Morning All,

On The Road and In Your Backyard is a weekday feature spotlighting reader submissions. From the exotic to the familiar, please share your part of the world, whether you’re traveling or just in your locality. Share some photos and a narrative, let us see through your pictures and words. We’re so lucky each and every day to see and appreciate the world around us!

Submissions from commenters are welcome at tools.balloon-juice.com

 

And so it is Wednesday, and what have we won?

Pictures from afar – have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!

Today, pictures from valued commenter ?BillinGlendaleCA.

In today’s episode, our adventurer goes offshore for whale watching and then leaves the confines of New Zealand’s South Island for the short trip to New Zealand’s North Island to explore the geothermal wonders there.

Taken on 2018-10-04 00:00:00

Wai-O-Tapu, North Island New Zealand

The Champagne Pool is a hot spring that emits tiny bubbles(hence the name) and is the highlight of the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. For those that have been to Yellowstone, it’s similar but smaller than the Grand Prismatic Spring.

Taken on 2018-10-04 00:00:00

Wai-O-Tapu, North Island New Zealand

A nicely preserved spider web in the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. This concludes Jinsun’s New Zealand adventure.

Taken on 2018-10-02 00:00:00

Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand

Off the South Island’s east coast, Kaikoura is one of the premiere spots to view sperm whales in the world. Our adventurer braved the ocean to capture pictures of sperm whales in the wild.

(Dad says after looking through the pics…”You took 50 pics of the fucking whales?”)

Taken on 2018-10-04 00:00:00

Wai-O-Tapu, North Island New Zealand

The area around Rotorua(on the shores of Lake Rotorua, formed in a collapsed volcanic crater) is home to some of the best geothermal sites outside of Yellowstone. There are geothermal sites inside the public parks in Rotorua itself. But to see the nicer geothermal features, you need to travel outside the city. Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is located about 30 kilometers south of Rotorua. This geothermal feature is Devil’s Ink Pools with hot mud at the bottom.

Taken on 2018-10-04 00:00:00

Wai-O-Tapu, North Island New Zealand

The Artist’s Palette is formed by hot water from the Champagne Pool flowing over the terrace and depositing minerals of varying colors.

 

Thank you so much ?BillinGlendaleCA, do send us more when you can.

 

Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.

 

One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email

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Previous Post: « Wednesday Morning Open Thread: Grace Notes
Next Post: Changes, law and time re the Warren bill »

Reader Interactions

17Comments

  1. 1.

    Mary G

    December 19, 2018 at 5:34 am

    Those are splendid! I wish I was soaking my old, grouchy bones in a hot spring right now. She’ll remember those memories all her life.

    I used to volunteer for kindergarten whale watching trips. As magnificent as they are, getting a good photo of a whale from a boat is really hard,

  2. 2.

    rikyrah

    December 19, 2018 at 7:41 am

    Said it before..
    New Zealand is on my bucket list
    Great pictures ?

  3. 3.

    Elizabelle

    December 19, 2018 at 7:52 am

    The adventurer got some wonderful pics, and you selected some great ones.

    Hey, 50 whale pics to improve the technique? Why not? I am impressed that a whale appeared in 50 shots.

  4. 4.

    Baud

    December 19, 2018 at 7:54 am

    Nice pics, SpawninGlendaleCA.

  5. 5.

    arrieve

    December 19, 2018 at 8:06 am

    Wonderful pictures. I have been to Rotorua and there’s a reason my New Zealander friends call it Stinkytown — all those thermal springs are quite smelly. The entire time I was there I kept hearing “Call Rotorua, that’s the name, and away goes trouble down the drain” and now the earworm is back.

  6. 6.

    Elizabelle

    December 19, 2018 at 8:27 am

    @arrieve: You’ve been to Rwanda and New Zealand too? Way cool. Adventurous traveler, yourself.

    Too much of the world still to see.

  7. 7.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @Mary G: She did a spa treatment in Rotorua, and got a selfie in one of their hot springs pools(with her phone for the Book of Faces). There are some hot springs here in SoCal.

    @rikyrah: Traveling out of my backyard is on my bucket list.

    @Elizabelle: Well, they weren’t ALL pictures of the whale.

  8. 8.

    raven

    December 19, 2018 at 8:46 am

    My buddy was riding his motorcycle there at the same time!

  9. 9.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2018 at 8:52 am

    @Baud: Thanks, she’ll see all your comments next week when we have Christmas dinner(probably not during dinner since we’re having some messy Korean food).

    @arrieve: Having been to Yellowstone, I can understand.

    @Elizabelle: Just leaving the basin is an adventure for me.

    The next set I’m planning on submitting will be my pics from my backyard(not literally), some nice colorful lights for the holiday.

  10. 10.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2018 at 8:55 am

    @raven: The kid just drove a car(and jumped off of perfectly good bridges(2) and a perfectly good airplane). She cray-cray.

  11. 11.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 19, 2018 at 9:05 am

    One of my favorite vacations took place maybe 10 years ago at this time of year. We took a cruise around NZ and Australia over both Christmas and NY. I loved NZ especially, but the whole trip was great.

  12. 12.

    mapaghimagsik

    December 19, 2018 at 9:33 am

    Greetings from my corner of the murderverse.

    As I ride to my corporate hellhole, I’m reflecting on a meeting where a manager said (and I paraphrase) that We’re tired of being the top in our field, we should find other lines of business to emulate.

    I really wanted to suggest one that didn’t kill almost a hundred people this year.

    They’ve already decided that they want to be like financial services — a line of business that is pretty much the polar opposite of what my corporate hellhole does, but I suppose if it lowered the body count, I’d be all for it.

    If I was closer in my job hunt for a new place to land I’d put up a calendar of “days without failing in our obligations to the people of California” and routinely set it to 0.

  13. 13.

    Barbara

    December 19, 2018 at 9:45 am

    Those are great. When we were on an Alaskan cruise going through prime whale feeding grounds (so we were told) we probably took 100 pictures to try to get even one that showed some part of the whale above ground, and not once did we get a picture that showed more than spouting (which was still very cool). It’s hard to get pictures of whales in motion!

  14. 14.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2018 at 9:49 am

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Madame and the kid have a Hawaiian cruise as one of the options for next year’s mother/daughter trip, or China….

    @mapaghimagsik:

    I’d put up a calendar of “days without failing in our obligations to the people of California” and routinely set it to 0.

    Eh, should I be worried?

  15. 15.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    December 19, 2018 at 9:51 am

    @Barbara: She got a good number of pics of the whale, or parts of a whale(they’re sperm whales).

  16. 16.

    Albatrossity

    December 19, 2018 at 10:05 am

    Although Kaikoura is a good spot to see whales, it is an excellent spot to see 4 or 5 species of Albatrosses! And lots of other seabirds. I’d recommend one of the Kaikoura whale- or bird-watching boat trips to anyone who gets to New Zealand. You won’t be disappointed!

  17. 17.

    J R in WV

    December 19, 2018 at 11:41 am

    Wow, great material to work with Billin.

    She did a great job with that material, and of course, excellent post processing chops to make the most of the great work she did. My congratulations to both of you!

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