It is nearly impossible to come up with a favourite animal from the Galapagos Islands, but the Land Iguana was definitely one of my favourites.
Their sometimes bright yellow colour was pretty cool, as was watching them eat. Their main source of food is the prickly-pear cactus and I saw some land iguanas fighting over this favourite food at South Plaza Island. It was kind of amusing watch them engage in a tug-of-war battle over a cactus pod.
Sure, they’re not exactly cute and cuddly like baby seals, but with their wrinkly skin, big claws and bumpy-scaly heads I think they have their own charm.
Sandwiched between the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak lies the small, prosperous country of Brunei.
I knew little about Brunei but decided to spend a bit of time there on my trip to Borneo. It turns out that despite it’s small size Brunei has a lot to offer the adventurous and curious traveller.
After weeks of long hikes and getting dirty in the jungle, I decided to take it easy and enjoy the capital city of Brunei – Bandar Seri Begawan. The city itself is a bit sprawling and spacious, but still easy enough to walk around to visit the Mosques and Markets or relax down by the waterfront.
Entrance to Tasek Lama Recreational Park in Brunei
One feature that stood out for me was the accessibility of Tasek Park. A large park built with a series of specially designed jogging trails and even a reflexology walking path for massaging the soles of your feet! Amazing. When I first arrived I imagined how beneficial it would be to have such a park centrally located in every city of the world. I arrived towards the end of the day, as it was getting cooler and people seemed to be finishing work. The park quickly became a hot spot for people going out for a walk with friends or run along the trails.
Main Jogging Trail in Tasek Park
Steep hills up a mountain, lush flower beds, jungle trails and special jogging paths all gave the park a colourful and welcoming atmosphere. There was a nice playground area for kids and plenty of open spaces and designated areas for group activities like tai chi. Even the local wildlife was enjoying the park as I saw some curious monkeys in nearby trees.
There were people everywhere but it wasn’t crowded at all and you could take off on a smaller trail to get away from the main circuit.
Scenic Landscape of Tasek Park, Brunei
It took me about 1.5 hours to just walk around the main park area and take pictures, but you could spend a half day here just to enjoy it all, especially the soothing waterfall area. Easily one of the best ‘urban’ parks I’ve seen on my travels! There are small shops outside the entrance that sell water and snacks too, which made me realize afterwards how un-commercial it was inside the park, what a welcome relief.
Tasek Waterfall at Tasek Park, Brunei
The park went through a big upgrade not long ago and is in great condition. Oddly, there wasn’t a single street seller or beggar in the park either, which made the experience that much more relaxing. If you need a bit of exercise or just a peaceful escape, Tasek Park is the place to go in Brunei.
Interesting and odd, every year scientists discover new species of animals. Sometimes they’re small insects and lizards, sometimes they discover new monkeys or fish. I’ve come across a number of strange animals on my travels and tend to be drawn to biodiversity hot spots like Madagascar and Papua New Guinea.
The Tuatara of New Zealand is born with a Third light-sensing Eye!
From the Arctic to New Zealand, here are six of the most mysterious and interesting animals I’ve heard about or seen around the world.
Aye Ayes
The island of Madagascar is home to an astonishing number of endemic species, many of which look or act in unique ways. Lemurs are the island’s most famous inhabitants, but the Aye-Aye is probably the ugliest and most mysterious. The Aye Aye is a nocturnal lemur-like creature that has developed an extremely extended baby finger that it uses like a stick to root around in tree holes. Using this unique and sensitive digging finger it taps on the wood of trees to locate hiding spots for grubs and bugs, then it digs them out! They’re believed to be evil demons by some Malagasy, who claim that if an Aye Aye points it’s finger at you, you’ve been marked for death.
Whale Sharks
These are the largest fish in our Oceans, growing to sizes in excess of 40m long! They are sharks, but are friendly, docile plankton eaters, something you typically associate more with whales. It is said that 90% or more of the large fish in our Oceans are now gone, so there is an attraction to seeing these beasts before it is too late. It used to be a rare and lucky experience to be diving or snorkelling and come across a Whale Shark, but today it is big business in places like Isla Mujeres and Holbox in Mexico, the Bay Islands in Honduras, Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia and Donsol in the Philippines.
Tuatara
How about a three-eyed ‘living fossil’, the last of it’s kind? Indeed 200 million years ago the Tuatara may have made more cousins and relatives roaming the Earth, but today they’re on their own. A vulnerable species found only in New Zealand and it’s surrounding islands, the Tuatara has a ‘third-eye’ that gets covered over by skin in adult Tuataras. This eye is sensitive to light and is believed to be a way to trigger sleep and hibernation in these odd animals. They look like lizards (but aren’t) and can hear, but have no visible ears. Your best chance to spot one will be finding one in captivity at a zoo or wildlife park.
Reindeer
They are not stuff of fantasy or only owned by Santa Claus, Reindeer really do exist and they roam free in the high Arctic. Living off the frozen tundra, Reindeer go by different names around the world, but can be found in northern Scandinavia, Russia, Canada and Alaska. We call them Caribou in North America and they’ve been domesticated enough in some extreme northern climates to be used for sledding. They are, apparently, extremely tasty to eat too. Northern Finland and Sweden are the best places for visiting Reindeer farms.
Angora Rabbits
I have never seen an Angora Rabbit, but I have been to the city that they are said to originate from – Ankara, Turkey. If you’re familiar with the internet obsession with LOLcats and furry, funny animals then you need to do a Google image search for Angora Rabbits. These furballs are enough to make you burst out in smiles or laughs! Among the first domesticated rabbits in the world, they are raised for their amazingly soft, luxurious and silky fur.
Sloths
Would you prefer two or three toes with your Sloth? These cute guys are a big draw for wildlife fans who visit Central and South America. It isn’t their odd looks so much that makes them mysterious and interesting, but their extremely slow metabolism. Sloths do nothing fast, including digest their food. It can take them a month to totally digest a meal! They spend their time in trees, but head towards the ground to relieve themselves when that digestion is finally done. They move so slow that their fur is sometimes coloured green because moss begins to grow on them! Aviarios del Caribe is a popular sloth rescue centre in Costa Rica if you’re yearning for some close encounters.
If you have heard of Pamukkale, Turkey you’ve likely heard of it because of the famous white terraces found there.
The white calcium pools are an honourable attraction, as is the natural hot springs swimming area. But if you take time to spend a whole day here, the nearby Hierapolis ruins are just as rewarding.
From columned walkways to ancient tombs, the ruins are spread over a large area. To me, the most impressive of all was the Hierapolis Theatre. Standing a top this theatre you can envision what it was like when great events wee once held here. The views of the surrounding landscape are amazing, putting the setting of our modern day theatres and stadiums to shame.
The Hierapolis Roman Theatre near Pamukkale, Turkey
Christmas season is one of my favourite times of the year as a beer lover. Many breweries produce special seasonal winter beers and export gift packs of their regular beers that may not normally be available.
To celebrate the season I’ve cracked open my Maredsous 3-pack of beers, brewed in Belgium by Duvel Moortgat (yes, the same brewery that makes Duvel.)
The Maredsous 6, Maredsous 8 and Maredsous 10 in all their Glory
As a collector of beer glassware, I enjoy that the people at Duvel Moortgat have varied the glassware included with their holiday gift pack over the years. Fittingly I now have three different Maredsous glasses to match with the three different beers we can get here during Christmas time.
So Merry ‘Maredsous-mas’ – I hope you have enjoyed some great beers over the holiday season this year!
Maredsous 6 ‘Blonde’
Appetizer time. This is a Belgian Ale style beer of light orange colour, the lightest of these three. It poured with more carbonation than I expected, with a constant amount of bubbles helping to create a fluffy, white head.
Very Belgian aroma of yeast, orange and sweet citrus smells. A very welcoming aroma that is complemented nicely by the taste. It wasn’t anything overly complex, but simply balanced. Taste was somewhat sweet and fresh with a possible pineapple twist. A great beer by most standards, but only slightly above average by Belgian ale standards.
Maredsous 8 ‘Brune’
This is an Abbey Dubbel beer and if the Maredsous 6 was the appetizer this is the main course.
It is typically darkish, pouring deep brown in colour and with very little carbonation, this was the flattest of the three Maredsous beers. An off-white head lies atop this one, buoyed by big bubbles. It is a bold beer of varying smells and flavours.
Mostly caramel and somewhat figgy on smell, the taste is nutty with a more subdued caramel. That sweetness then blends into a spicy, smooth, fig-raisin flavour transition. Very nice and enjoyable from start to finish. This is the kind of beer that makes you appreciate the term that beer is a ‘meal in a glass’. If you ate all of the smells and flavours of this beer, you’d be gorging yourself on a buffet meal.
Maredsous 10 ‘Tripel’
Weighing in at 10% alcohol, this Abbey Tripel is a great way to finish off the trio. Dessert time I suppose, as this beer is best savoured slowly.
In terms of looks this falls in the middle, with a deep golden honey colour. It is a lively beer though, pouring with a big, dense head that lasts longer than the dubbel or blonde.
Classically Belgian on aroma, it surprises on taste. The aroma is big yeast and a wet battle of sweetness vs. bitterness. The alcohol comes into play here somewhat, not allowing the smells to break through as much as the dubbel.
Taste is a slightly bitter citrus if such thing can exist. It has a zip to it that is tangy, but not sour or sweet. Likely the alcohol is balancing out the sugary sweetness, or perhaps my taste buds are zoning out near the end of this session! Well done beer. I always enjoy Belgians that drink well without being obviously sweet or bitter. They have a unique way of finding balance between the two ends of the spectrum and this beer does it well.
The final verdict on Maredsous was that I enjoyed the dubbel most, closely followed by the tripel.
