Abandoned

I am ashamed to say I abandoned my blog last…
I started a new job and have been working full time and trying to sneak in freelance work in the evenings. So the sometimes zoo was neglected, horribly neglected.  However, neglect can be something quite beautiful and poetic, as these lonely places will testify:

an abandoned Wonderland amusement park outside Beijing

Holland Island, Chesapeake Bay

15th century monastery in Black Forest, Germany

Maunsell sea forts in England

Russian military rocket factory

abandoned city of Keelung in Taiwan

El hotel del salto in Colombia

abandoned fishing hut on a lake in Germany

images via http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Il7Bt

if i could escape monday…

…this is where I would go

awesome river cottage, perfectly poised in the middle of a river in Serbia.

not all who wander are lost…

the folks at wander asked some of their favorite illustrators to imagine a postcard from everywhere and nowhere at once. there are some quite evocative designs that instantly get your wanderlust fired up …and they are available to download as high-res ipad or iphone wallpaper…for those dreary house/office-bound days.

a witching moon

the perigree moon has risen full and spectacular over cape town these past two evenings.  i was lucky enough to be there to bask in the witchery of it…

{images via here}

uber-aerial photography

i love aerial photography, can’t stop staring wide-eyed out of plane windows as i am whisked across the country.  so imagine my delight at these aerial photographs taken from a space station!!

amazon river, brazil

wintery landscape of canada

london at night

the sahara dessert

the alps

“escape can’t be the only way…to escape”

i was recently introduced to this amazing, canadian singer-songwriter, dan mangan, and instantly fell in love with this song and its award-winning music video…

*three-finger salute*

if you are an avid camper, ex-girl guide (or scout) and amateur outdoors-person like me then you will love the fancy-schmancy survival gear available from new york-based retailers, bestmade company…

{via jp at eyecandy}

land of ice

i have always been intrigued by images of iceland.  the stark contrasts of blue, green and white give an almost physical sense of the cold.  these amazing scenes of iceland are by american photographer, bob o’connor.

may the fourth be with you…

finally, i have re-emerged from the palm forests of mozambique and am ready to unleash a flurry of posts!  the first of which being to wish you all a happy Star Wars day (for yesterday, i just couldn’t get my post done in time)…so without further ado:  “May the fourth be with you!”

{image via deviantart}

sandy-toed escape

i am making a cheeky escape to mozambique for a couple of weeks and thus you must accept my most sincere apologies for the lack posting…but i will return, toffee-skinned and beach-grinning, ready to post up a storm!

wanderlust

“We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” john hope franklin

recently i have been gripped with such a fever of wanderlust that i find it near impossible to pass images like these and not sigh deeply, thinking: that should be me…

{please excuse my lack of specific sources, all images via flickr & pinterest}

chasing dragons

i have been stalking dragonflies again…a whole weekend of chasing, leaping, slow-footed sneaking and maddening manual focus on my camera!  but i think i am slowly honing my skills, using a very average lens (a decent 300mm lens is on my birthday list) and getting better at determining my best focus in crazy time constraints : these little guys do not stay still for long!

nautical thoughts

{via pinterest}

time for another bare-foot escapade!

{via pinterest}

seaside saturdays…

i am ready to have a slow-moving-ocean kind of weekend!

below the down-under

these breath-taking photographs of new zealand were taken by andrew smith. i love the palettes he has used and the painterly quality of the images.  middle earth indeed!

haas meet whimsy, whimsy meet haas

this past weekend saw me enjoying a whirlwind tour of cape town.  as usual it was a bit of a sprint from start to finish, ticking off a detailed ‘to do’ and ‘must see’ list.  but one of the highlights was meeting the owners of haas, Tess & Francois.  it is simply a fantastic store (soon to boast a wonderful coffee shop too!) in Bo Kaap that has a curiously beautiful range of art, jewellery and quirky interior decor pieces…and they have begun stocking whimsy prints, cards and wrapping paper!

have a ‘super’ weekend…

this lucky artist is spending her weekend in cape town! i am hopping from foot to foot with excitement.  a couple whimsy meetings will be taking place and a brand new store will be stocking my illustrations…check back in on monday for more details…!

in the meantime enjoy these photos of a party with a theme i have always wanted to do…superheroes!

{via tortoise and the hare}

hot air balloons, equators, north by north-west, muddy boots & compasses

i have decided that this year is adventure year! i am determined to have as many day daliances, long weekend wanderings, autumnal adventures, balmy bike rides, rollicking roadtrips & public holiday picnics as possible!

{image: my own}

{image: my own}

click on images for their sources

outdoor pals…

i am not an overly sentimental person and thus am making an exception in the case of this fantastic image of an adventurer and his/her cat….because every weekend-explorer needs someone to share the afternoon with….

{via pinterest}

i’d rather be spelunking

feast your imagination on these mind-bending photographs by national geographic photographer, carsten peter, of some of the 20 new caves discovered in vietnam last year!

two-wheel crush

i adore bicycles.

i pedaled my pink bmx up and down the beachfront with maniacal glee, scattering pigeons in my wake.  i then graduated onto a black mountain bike that i thumped along dusty roads in the underberg area.  so the sudden influx in bicycle-lovers has set a big grin on my face and i decided to throw together a small pictorial ode to the vintage bicycle…my next two-wheeled companion…

the last bicycle: the black, basket-ed one, is what  have my eye on, a pashley princess sovereign!

{all images from: pinterest}

bella bicycle brigade

okay, this might be seen as a shameless plug but wow, is it worth it!

my wonderful friends, casey & richard, are the dynamic force behind street scene and have just launched an exciting bicycle project in durban: girls bike out!  i was lucky enough to be invited on the maiden voyage (er…picnic!).  the idea behind it is to offer a bicycle-picnic-afternoon for hen’s parties, birthday parties or just a good excuse to get some friends together & enjoy the balmy summer afternoons!

keen cruisers meeting up at the elangeni hotel on the beach front

richard

casey (of sibling mine)

ready to go on the gorgeously-retro urban-cruiser bikes…

our picnic spot of choice…

…the manicured lawns of moses mabhida stadium

the stunning packed picnic lunch provided by ciao bella & casey

the perfect end to our picnic: bubble-blowing

…the street scene “spoke” of bicycles (or is it a fleet, pelaton, land-squadron?)

seriously – what a wonderful idea! contact street scene & book your picnic parade.  you can see more images of this super-fun afternoon on sarah dawson’s blog.

an academy of owls

during my recent cape town adventure, i decided to visit the owl sanctuary at world of birds in hout bay. i LOVE owls and have not stopped grinning since taking these photographs…

the great esCape

well, i am back in tropical durban after a fantastic trip to cape town and thought i would share some of the delights discovered in my old city…

this fanciful sculptural installation along the Seapoint Promenade turned my afternoon stroll into a stop-start photoshoot as i had ended up photographing each of the 17 sculptures (grinning all the while)!  the installation is the work of wits masters student, marieke prinsloo-rowe, and you can read up more about it here…