Tag Archive - Below

From Below – Finding more than Opals in Coober Pedy

August 23, 2010 in Above or Below, Travel with 0 Comments

I’d always wanted to visit Coober Pedy in the far north of South Australia, primarily because I’ve been fascinated with living underground for a long time! This fascination is possibly from seeing too many James Bond villains in their underground lair at the movies or reading the Hobbit as a kid. Though these days it’s also an interest in energy efficient buildings, and living underground does give a comfortable year long temperature range.

And if you ever go to Coober Pedy, a frontier town in the middle of the desert in central Australia, halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs, you’ll understand why they built underground to escape the baking heat.  Known as the opal capital of the world my family and I were there this past Easter on a trip from Melbourne up to Alice Springs (and back). While above ground we’d timed our visit to coincide with the annual opal festival, which turned out to be an engaging friendly town fair and perhaps made it the most lively time we could have visited.  Not that it felt like anyone extra was in town, as tourists frequently only make a stop for the night on their way up to or from the centre of Australia. 

Our interest was in spending a few nights staying underground, which we did at the aptly named Underground Motel, which had rooms carved into a small sandstone hill overlooking the town and offered rooms suitable for travelling families or couples alike with a friendly host happy to explain more about the town. 

Underground Motel

While during our day in town we visited an underground church, underground town museum, an (underground) opal mine and also Crocodile Harry’s – an bizarre underground house of the aforementioned Harry, which has been used in several movies such as Mel Gibson’s Mad Max beyond Thunderdome.

Underground Church

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Coober Pedy, I loved that a lot of it was underground. It’s unusual and unlike any other place you’ll visit with a character all of its own.  So did my kids, they loved the idea of living underground, exploring caves (as they termed them) and discovering what was there.

From Below – Eiffel Tower: The view is not just from the top

August 10, 2010 in Above or Below, Inspiration, Travel with 0 Comments

The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) is one of my favourite world landmarks, I’ve been coming back to Paris for years now, first as a backpacker and more recently as a husband with kids, and regardless of which arrondisement you’re in you are always catching glimpses of It rising up above the city. A constant reminder you’re in one of the most beautiful cities on earth.

From Below - Eiffel Tower - Day

Built in 1889 for the World’s fair, the tower was originally derided by the public, calling it an eyesore, and was intended to only stand for twenty years when it was to be pulled down.  However it was deemed useful for communications purposes and was allowed to remain.  A good thing as well as now it is the most visited paid monument in the world and a universal symbol of Paris.        

 

The view from the top of the tower is a must for any first time tourist, being able to see over all of Paris is breathtaking.  However I’ve always enjoyed the view from below the tower just as much and although I might have only gone to the top two or three times I’ve walked under the tower on over a dozen visits taking in the lattice structure from different angles, night and day, as you can see from my pictures from different visits 

Underneath Eiffel Tower

From above you appreciate the city unfolding before you, but from below you can appreciate the complexity of its construction – a structure as a piece of art, while taking in the sounds of Paris life.

From Above or Below – The Great Barrier Reef

July 27, 2010 in Above or Below with 0 Comments

Great Barrier Reef 6

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is one of the natural wonders of the world and is stunningly beautiful both from above and below – something that can’t be said about most places.

The Great Barrier Reef - from above

I first saw the reef as a young teenager on holiday with my family.  The initial excitement came from taking a seaplane (also my first) from the Queensland coast out to the reef.  The small propeller driven plane gave the sense that we were really out on an adventure and offered great views over the pristine water. As we glided low over the reef I could see the profile of the reef and see the changing blue and green hues creating a stunning natural landscape. Gliding onto the surface of the water towards the flotilla of boats for viewing the reef up close we transferred onto a glass bottom boat for the day and were given our snorkeling equipment.  And below the surface was even more beautiful than seeing it from above, being able to reach out and almost touch fish nearby, see the reef up close and explore this underwater world was one of my first travel memories. 

Great Barrier Reef 4

The Great Barrier Reef - from below

Over the years I’ve always enjoyed seeing places from above and below, whether it is nature or cities.  I plan to highlight more places in future posts that you must see from above or below to really highlight their scale and beauty.  I’d also love to hear from you if you have a favourite place, whose beauty can only truly be appreciated from above or below.