Category: Fauna & flora

Goa

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It is well known that cows are sacred in India. What I hadn’t known before we went to Goa was that they love the beach. We spent a couple of nights at Agonda beach in the southern part of Goa and both mornings I got up early to enjoy the cool of the beach before the sun came up. So did the cows. They meandered along in a herd and then plonked themselves down in the sand near the waters edge, quietly chewing the cud and gazing into the distance. They are such peaceful animals. The only drawback is that when they eventually take themselves off, there are piles of dung all over the sand. We enjoyed a couple of days’ rest beside the Arabian sea but Agonda is not the unspoiled paradise trumpeted by the guidebooks. There was a noisy building site right next to our cottage! For quiet, deserted beaches I recommend New Zealand – we’ll be there very soon.

Fishing the Strait

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When we were in Penang weekend before last, we watched this young man fishing off the beach. He chose this spot in front of a storm water outlet into the Strait. The detritus attracts small fish and every time he cast his net, he caught a few. They looked very small and it would take many to make a meal for a family. One can only hope they were small adult fish rather than juveniles. Far more efficient was the sea-eagle we watched circling high above the water. It suddenly dived with great speed and emerged with a fish it its talons. It flew into nearby trees to enjoy its catch and we lost sight of it. We later identified it as a white-bellied sea-eagle with the aid of our bird book.

I can see clearly now

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The monsoon has come and the haze has lifted. Hallelujah! It is such a pleasure to see blue skies and watch the huge rain clouds build over the hills. It is even more pleasurable to watch the rain teeming down and see everything gleaming when it has cleared. The birds and animals around us seem to have a new lease on life. Our resident squirrel is very active in the trees outside our balcony and we managed to get this photo of him the other day. I’ve resumed my early morning walks and feel more energetic. Long may it last!

Weekend in Port Dickson

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The company’s annual dinner was held last weekend at a resort in Port Dickson, which is on the Strait of Malacca south of KL. The resort is lovely – old and a bit dishevelled but it has heaps of character and this beautiful adults-only pool (there is another pool for families) in which I had a fantastic swim. Our room was a wooden chalet on stilts over the water, with a shower that was open to the sky (skylight) and the sea (slatted wooden floor beside the stone shower floor). There was also a day bed beside a window that opened over the water – perfect for sitting while reading or having a coffee accompanied by the slap of small waves and the sounds of the birds. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The next day we explored the Cape Rachado Forest Reserve and walked through dense jungle to the site of the lighthouse. The original structure was built by the Portuguese in 1528. It has been modernised and there is now a radar transmitter on the site. It was well worth walking up there despite the heat. We hope to return sometime to catch a glimpse of the migratory raptors that use the cape as a resting place on their way north.

Everyday adventure

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It seems that almost every time I venture out into Ipoh I have some kind of adventure, mostly of the “heart in the mouth” type. After days spent indoors because of the haze, I went out at lunch time today to meet Jim and a colleague. They kindly invited me to join them for a delicious (though calorific!) lunch of chapati, biryani and dal. I parked my car at a row of shops that I am familiar with and they picked me up on their way to the restaurant. After lunch I suggested they drop me at the side of the road to save them some time. What I hadn’t realised was that a deep drain separated me from my car. I looked to the right for a place to cross and saw a dead dog. It couldn’t have been there very long because I hadn’t smelt it. I immediately veered to the left and found a rickety ramp across the drain. Driving back towards the golf resort I had to negotiate some road works that have closed down one side of the road. This means the traffic on my side of the road has to take over one of the lanes going the other way. This can be tricky because there are no cones or barriers dividing the two streams of traffic. One has to rely on everyone else’s good sense. The driver speeding up behind me didn’t possess any such thing. Impatient with the slow traffic in front of him, he swung over into the far lane and drove down the wrong side of the road at breakneck speed. Fortunately the only vehicle coming the other way was a motorcycle that hurriedly took evasive action. I will need some down time before I venture out again!

Traveller’s palm

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There are two of these enormous palm trees in front of our balcony. The new leaves sprout from the middle and the old leaves on the ends slowly wither and eventually fall down. As the weight of the leaves lowers the sturdy stems, the hollow part of the stem faces up and is filled with water when it rains. Hence the name – traveller’s palm – a thirsty traveller can get a drink, though I don’t think I would risk the brackish water unless I was desperate! However, the birds love it. I have seen a pair of sweet little bulbuls dive in for a bath and then sit on the sturdy edge for a good shake. Our resident squirrels use the horizontal stems as a convenient pathway from one tree to another. They scurry along the palm’s leaves and stems and then take a flying leap into the tall tree beside it. We’ve never managed to get a photo of these lightning-fast furry creatures but often watch them with great delight. It is also a treat to watch the rain splattering off the palms (we’ve become Kiwis who love rain!) and  during one storm we took these photos.

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Lovely Langkawi

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This was the view from our balcony when we stayed in a resort on Langkawi last weekend. It is an island paradise with clear blue sea on one side and thick green jungle on the other. One evening we swam out from the beach and watched the sun disappear behind the hills. The next day we caught the cable car up to the highest point on the island and took in the breathtaking views, only a little obscured by haze. We ate extremely well at various restaurants and cafes where the food on offer was varied and delicious. Can highly recommend the Nam restaurant at the beautiful Bon Ton boutique hotel and the Red Tomato cafe in Pantai Cenang. Also La Chocolatine in Pantai Tengah for its mouth-watering pastries and fragrant coffee. No jungle walk for us this time round but we did see an oriental pied toucan in the trees in front of our chalet and a black giant squirrel that did a little dance on the road in front of the hired car!

Jungle walk

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We ventured into the jungle behind the golf course where we are now living. There is a pathway that leads to a series of small waterfalls. The water is clear and cascades over granite boulders, forming pools that are invitingly cool. The whole area is shaded by tall trees that have huge leaves. To get an idea of the size of the leaves we took the photo above, with my (very big!) feet as the scale. We were also fascinated by the tiny worm-like leeches that hurried in our direction as soon as they sensed us. We didn’t realise that any had actually latched onto us until we took off our shoes. When we removed the leeches from our ankles, the blood poured thanks to their clever anti-coagulating technique. We then took another path to get a view of the golf course and were met with the sight in the photo below. Someone had taken a lot of trouble to dump their rubbish in this otherwise pristine environment when they live in a city in which there is a rubbish collection three times a week.

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Jungle uproar

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I have just read this description in a story by Somerset Maugham: “the noise of the jungle at night is uncanny because you feel that at that hour there should be utter silence … it has an odd effect on you, that ceaseless and invisible uproar that beats your nerves. It surrounds and hems you in.” I know exactly what he means. Malaysia is home to the largest and noisiest species of cicada. When I first heard them, I thought one of our neighbours had started up a chainsaw! I’ve never got used to it. The sound of the cicadas and the boom of the frogs make the nights here extremely raucous. That together with the humid heat can indeed make one feel hemmed in. Thank goodness for air conditioning, which they wouldn’t have had when Somerset Maugham was travelling around Asia.

Auckland art gallery

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Today I walked from Ponsonby in rain, wind and sunshine to the Auckland art gallery. I enjoyed wandering around the various galleries, absorbing art from different eras by artists from New Zealand and further afield. I liked Tony Fomison’s Ponsonby Madonna and the suspended feathers woven by Maureen Lander. But almost more than the art, I enjoyed the building with its various levels and the light from windows that look out over the street or adjacent Albert Park. I had a coffee in the cafe and watched students walking through the park and thought of my daughters (one presently at Auckland uni and the other a graduate). They love(d) passing the grumpy Queen Victoria statue and the fountain on their way to and from classes. I retraced my steps to Ponsonby, crossing the motorway on the Hopetoun bridge. Looking one way, I saw a rainbow over Mount Eden and the other way, the sun glinting on the harbour bridge. I stopped in Western Park to take off my raincoat and walked the rest of the way in warm sunshine. One more little treat was a clutch of beautiful brown chooks pecking at the grass beside the footpath on the road that I’m presently living in – an amazing sight in the middle of the city!