La Paz to Lima: Inca culture, adrenalin thrills and dressing up as Spider-Man
22nd Oct 2013 1:21am | By Andrew Westbrook Travelling from Bolivia s capital to Peru s counterpart in two weeks, via Lake Titicaca, Cusco and Huacachina.
Standing on a soft-footed pyramid of sand, I gawp at the scene that surrounds me. On all sides, like an undulating mountain range, the seemingly endless landscape of sand dunes rises from the desert. In the near distance lies the tiny Peruvian town of Huacachina, a postcard-perfect bubble of exotic greenery centred on a desert lagoon. Squinting through the heat haze, I spot people paddling their way across the lake, surreally crossing one of the world’s driest deserts in a rickety old pedalo. To say it’s beautiful simply doesn’t do justice to this stop on the South American Gringo Trail, and indeed, whoever first coined the phrase ‘an oasis of calm’ was, I’d like to think, inspired in some way by this hidden enclave of
About 20 kilometres from anywhere resembling a town in the south-east, a inconspicuous dirt road cuts through man-made forest to the most ominously-named sinkhole of them all. Despite the popularity of other surrounding cenotes, there s not a single person to be seen on the road, or at the park from which a pathway leads to a shaggy and distinctly out-of-place patch of bush. It s eerily quiet when I reach the hellmouth, which has been made accessible to visitors by an enclosed steel bridge which juts over the top of the sinkhole, the height from which makes me instantly woozy. I clutch my new iPhone a little tighter, brave a few quick shots, and then scuttle back to the safety of my car, just in time to see an entourage of visitors arrive. Hells Hole is 45 metres in diameter, 25 metres deep and it s 38 metres to the water from the viewing platform. It s a popular site for diving, and permits can be obtained through ForestrySA. The similarly accessible Caroline Sinkhole is a
Pile Valley, Central Station, Lake McKenzie and surrounding rainforest were untouched by the fires. The Pinnacles, Eli Creek, Maheno Shipwreck, Indian Head, Champagne Pools, and Lake Wabby, located along the eastern coastline, were also unaffected. Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon has visited Fraser Island as recovery work led by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service gets underway. The drive-market destination is a favourite choice for Fraser Coast locals and intrastate travellers. Our team could not wait to welcome guests in time for Christmas, and for those that cannot travel just now, we look forward to seeing even more visitors in the new year.
From bushfires to flash flooding, what will the Australian summer of the future look like?
SunSunday 27
Residents of Tumbulgum paddle their kayaks down a street on December 15.
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Cancel State of emergency declared , read the headlines in the days leading up to Christmas last year.
In parts of northern NSW, where flood warnings were issued this month, consecutive days of wild weather caused thousands of residents to remain on standby for evacuation.
And with the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO s latest biannual report on the climate observing a more tangible shift in the extremes , questions are emerging about what the summers of the future may hold.