Category Archives: Travel

Walks: Niagara-on-the-Lake In Ontario, Canada

Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in southern Ontario. It sits on the shores of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Niagara River. It’s known for its wineries and the summer Shaw Festival, a series of theatre productions. The flower-filled, tree-lined old town features 19th-century buildings, mainly along Queen Street. Near the river, 19th-century Fort George was built by the British to defend against American attacks. 

Wildlife: The Black Rhino’s Comeback In Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, the mighty rhino is making a comeback. In southern Africa, the animal was poached to near extinction in recent decades. We visit a wildlife sanctuary, with an elite anti-poaching team, to see how the animal is being bought back from the brink.

It’s one of the most successful rhino conservation projects in Africa. In south-eastern Zimbabwe, a private wildlife sanctuary is working hard to bring endangered rhinos back from the brink. In decades past, the mighty Black Rhino was poached to near extinction in southern Africa. Its horn, almost worth its weight in gold, makes it a target for organised poaching gangs.

In 1998, the privately-funded Malilangwe Trust had a population of 28 white and 28 black rhinos, imported from South Africa. Today its rhino population numbers in the hundreds. Reporter Michael Davie, an Australian born in Zimbabwe, returns home to witness this extraordinary wildlife success story. He spends time with the sanctuary’s highly trained anti-poaching team, the Malilangwe Scouts, the tip of the spear against the ever present poaching threat.

“Individually you can’t win against poaching and we need every one of us to fight against poachers,” says Patrick, a Sergeant in the Scouts. “You have to be a team, a strong one.” Davie captures all the incredible action of the hectic “rhino ops” where specialists dart the animals from helicopters then move in on 4WDs as they dash across the park. Led by ecologist Sarah Clegg, the rhino ops team collect vital data on the herd.

“They’ve got this reputation of being bad-tempered and dangerous and they are, but I think it’s mostly that they’re just such emotional creatures,” says Sarah, who’s studied the animal for more than two decades. “They’re just insecure, you know? And so they need more love.” Malilangwe increased its rhino population to such an extent that last year, it relocated some of its Black Rhino herd to nearby Gonarezhou National Park — a former killing ground for rhinos.

“It’s what we all aim for in our careers as conservationists,” says Sarah. “It’s a wild park, so being able to put the rhino back into that park is like waking it up again.” This visually stunning story has a powerful message of hope. “Everyone needs to know the rhino is special,” says Patrick.

Preview: Country Life Magazine – Sept 28, 2022

Country Life Magazine – September 28, 2022:

Walk this way

Katy Birchall consults trainer Ben Randall about how to get your dog to focus on you and stop disappearing on walks

Shooting pains

As a difficult shooting season begins, Simon Lester considers the state of the sport amid its many modern challenges

If I only had a brain

Confusing to dogs and a star of horror films, scarecrows still fulfil their traditional bird-scaring role, discovers Jeremy Hobson

Mary-Ann Dunkley’s favourite painting

The design director of Liberty Fabrics picks a bright patchwork

Masterpiece

Jack Watkins is diverted by the story of Shaw’s Pygmalion

Architecture: Wallaroo Residence Tour, Canberra

In touch with a vast rural landscape, Wallaroo Residence rises from atop one of Canberra’s many slopes. Crafted by DNA Architects, the modern farmhouse gently weaves natural elements into its modern expression, emerging as a place of retreat.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to theModern Farmhouse 00:35 – Hitting The Brief 01:10 – A Walkthrough of the House 01:47 – The Key Architectural Features 02:23 – Navigating The Weather Elements 02:44 – Separation Between The Family and The Entertaining Areas 02:55 – The Contemporary Kitchen 03:41 – A Focus On Sustainability 04:24 – The Modern Farmhouse Aesthetic 04:52 – The Architects Favourite Part of The Home

Settled on the edge of Canberra, Wallaroo Residence follows a design brief readily assigned to DNA Architects. The luxury home presents as a modern farmhouse, a concept first proposed by its traditional pitched roof and then explored within an interior of considered materials maturely applied. Aggrandising the entrance of the modern farmhouse, a floating porte-cochère leads on to an impressive set of glass doors. Internally, a timber-clad kitchen sits to the east of the arrival space, beyond which lies the family living room.

From there, the residence separates into the laundry room and master suite which offers unobstructed southern views. Along the back wall of the kitchen, Fisher & Paykel DishDrawers are effortlessly integrated into both the wall itself and the adorning joinery. On the kitchen island, a Full Surface Fisher & Paykel Induction Hob satisfies the desire for sustainable living and enables multiple pans to be warmed at once.

In the laundry room, large capacity Fisher & Paykel Washer Dryers inject a sense of efficiency into the modern farmhouse. Embracing its unique perspective, Wallaroo Residence testifies to the ongoing appeal of a city escape. With inhered functionality and a contemporary aesthetic, the modern farmhouse represents a distinguished interpretation of rural luxury.

Views: Sanssouci Palace Tour In Potsdam, Germany

How does this sound: A picturesque little castle palace surrounded by wine terraces and a romantic park – and you right in the middle of it all! Join DW reporter Hannah Hummel for a relaxing day in Potsdam. She visits Sanssouci, the pleasure palace of King Frederick the Great. Hannah immerses herself in the atmosphere of the place, very much in the spirit of the Prussian king, who indulged in the good life here, far away from his court. Here he could indulge in nature, music and philosophy without worry – sans souci.

Potsdam, city, capital of Brandenburg Land (state), eastern Germany. Lying on the southwest border of Berlin, it is sited where the Nuthe River flows into the Havel River, the confluence becoming a series of lakes.

First mentioned in 993 as a Slavic settlement known as Poztupimi, it received its charter in 1317. It became Brandenburg’s electoral residence in 1640 under Frederick William (the Great Elector) and the Prussian royal residence under Frederick II (the Great), during whose reign (1740–86) it was an intellectual and military centre and virtual capital of Prussia. In the 18th century a colony of Dutch immigrants gave their quarter of the city, and some other parts as well, a distinctly Dutch flavour. Potsdam suffered severe damage in World War II, but many monuments survived and others have been restored. The Cecilienhof Palace was the scene (July 17–August 2, 1945) of the Potsdam Conference of the Allied leaders; it now houses a museum and a memorial, as well as a hotel. From 1952 to 1990 the city was capital of the Potsdam Bezirk (district) of East Germany.

2022 Museum Tours: Musée d’Orsay In Paris, France

Musée d’Orsay, (French: “Orsay Museum”) national museum of fine and applied arts in Paris that features work mainly from France between 1848 and 1914. Its collection includes painting, sculpture, photography, and decorative arts and boasts such iconic works as Gustave Courbet’s The Artist’s Studio (1854–55), Édouard Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (1863; Luncheon on the Grass), and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (1876; Bal du moulin de la Galette).

The Musée d’Orsay is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a railway station and hotel that was designed by Victor Laloux and located on the Left Bank of the Seine River opposite the Tuileries Gardens. At the time of its completion in 1900, the building featured an ornate Beaux Arts façade, while its interior boasted metal construction, passenger elevators, and electric rails.

Because of changes in railway technology, however, the station soon became outdated and was largely vacant by the 1970s. Talks to transform the builing into an art museum began early in the decade and were finalized in 1977 through the initiative of Pres. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. With government funds, the building was restored and remodeled in the early 1980s by ACT architecture group.

The interior was designed by Gaetana Aulenti, who created a complex layout of galleries that occupied three main levels surrounding the atrium beneath the building’s iconic iron-and-glass barrel vault. On the ground floor, formerly the building’s train platforms, extensive stone structures broke up the cavernous space and created a central nave for the sculpture collection and gallery spaces for painting and decorative arts.

Timelapse Travel Views: ‘Magnificent Japan’ (4K)

“雄大 (YUDAI)” means magnificent in Japanese. The film is a Timelapse and Hyperlapse depiction of magnificent Japan.

Japan, island country lying off the east coast of Asia. It consists of a great string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through the western North Pacific Ocean. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands; from north to south these are  Hokkaido  (Hokkaidō),  Honshu  (Honshū),  Shikoku, and Kyushu (Kyūshū). Honshu is the largest of the four, followed in size by Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. In addition, there are numerous smaller islands, the major groups of which are the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands (including the island of Okinawa) to the south and west of Kyushu and the IzuBonin (Ogasawara), and  Volcano  (Kazan) islands to the south and east of central Honshu. The national capital, Tokyo (Tōkyō), in east-central Honshu, is one of the world’s most populous cities.

Filmed and Edited by: Daisuke Shimizu

Walking Tours: Side In Southern Turkey (4K)

Side is a resort town on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast. An ancient port city, it’s known for long beaches and Greco-Roman ruins. In the center are the remains of the 2nd-century Antique Theater, which seated up to 15,000. The white marble columns of the Hellenistic Temple of Athena stand near the harbor. Other sites are sprinkled throughout, with finds housed at the Side Museum, a restored Roman bath complex. 

Wildlife: A Chameleon Birthing On Mount Kenya

In these frozen peaks, a chameleon gives birth to live young as it is too cold to lay eggs out in the open.

 In East Africa, during the day, on the high slopes of Mount Kenya the tropical sun keeps the cold at bay – but at night the frost descends. During this cycle of freeze and thaw, a pregnant high casqued chameleon must choose the right time to give birth, if her new-borns are to escape the deadly night freeze.

Island Views: A Walking Tour In Mykonos, Greece

Mýkonos, also spelled Míkonos, island, dímos (municipality), and perifereiakí enótita (regional unit), South Aegean (Modern Greek: Nótio Aigaío) periféreia (region), southeastern Greece. Mýkonos is one of the smaller of the eastern Cyclades (Kykládes) group of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

According to legend, it is the piece of rock thrown by Heracles to destroy the Giants. It is a rugged granite mass, about 33 square miles (85 square km) in area, lying next to Delos (Dílos) and between Tínos to the northwest and Náxos (Náchos) and Páros to the south. Mýkonos has several beaches, and on the north coast the Gulf of Pánormos forms a deep indentation. Located on the west side of the island is its capital, Mýkonos town; the town is the centre of a thriving tourism industry and is renowned for its nightlife.

Filmed in September 2022.