Brooklyn Ferry Service is a small ferry company, operating fully restored heritage vessels that run from Brooklyn to Dangar Island and Little Wobby Beach. The service provides essential public transport for the water-access properties in this area.The ferry runs everyday to a timetable and links with trains arriving and departing from Hawkesbury River railway station.
Take a day-trip to Dangar Island and learn about this history of this unique location and the ferries themselves.
Built in Dunedin in 1906 when the city was New Zealand’s leading commercial centre, this magnificent railway station remains, fully restored to its former glory.An excellent tourist excursion service is the only train now using the station. Much of its ground floor is used as a restaurant, and the upper floor houses an art gallery and a sports hall of fame.
In an eclectic, revived Flemish renaissance style, (Renaissance Revival architecture), the station is constructed from dark basalt from Kokonga in the Strath-Taieri with lighter Oamaru stone facings, giving it the distinctive light and dark pattern common to many of the grander buildings of Dunedin and Christchurch. Pink granite was used for a series of supporting pillars which line a colonnade at the front of the building. The roof was tiled in terracotta shingles from Marseilles surmounted by copper-domed cupolas. The southern end of the building is dominated by the 37-metre clocktower which is visible from much of central Dunedin. The sheer size, grandiose style and rich embellishments of the station earned architect George Troup the nickname of Gingerbread George.
The booking hall features a mosaic floor of almost 750,000 Minton tiles. A frieze of Royal Doulton porcelain runs around the balcony above it from which the floor’s design (featuring a locomotive and related symbols) can be clearly seen. The station’s main platform is the country’s longest, extending one kilometre.
The building’s foundation stone was laid by the Minister of Railways Joseph Ward on June 3, 1904. The Prime Minister Richard Seddon was also present. The station was opened by Ward, by then Prime Minister, in 1906. The construction of the building was kept within budget, and cost £40,000.
Created to be the jewel in the crown of New Zealand Railways, the Dunedin Railway Station has an atmosphere and character unique to any public building in the country, and is regarded as the most photographed building in New Zealand.
photos by Dimitry Sharomov
Antarctica is the fifth largest of the seven continents. It is situated over the South Pole almost entirely south of latitude 66°30′ south (the Antarctic Circle). It is a very rough circular shape with the long arm of the Antarctic Peninsula stretching towards South America. There are two large indentations, the Ross and Weddell seas and their ice shelves.The nearest other land masses are South America 1000 km (600 mls) away across the roughest stretch of water in the world – the Drake passage, Australia is 2500 km (1550 mls) away, and South Africa 4000 km (2500 mls) away.
The total surface area is about 14.2 million sq km (5.5 million sq mls) in summer, approximately twice the size of Australia, half as big again as the USA and fifty times the size of the UK.
In the winter Antarctica doubles in size due to the sea ice that forms around the coasts. The true boundary of Antarctica is not the coastline of the continent itself or the outlying islands, but the Antarctic Convergence.
The perfect gains .
Basic
pich 130, roll 120, yav 125,vertical 140
Attitude. 115. 115
Table Mountain is South Africa’s best-known landmark, but what many don’t know is that it is also a hiker’s paradise with numerous trails, amazing views and plenty of interesting facts to learn. Oh, and it’s part of a national park. And all this in the heart of the Mother City.Table Mountain, probably the most photographed landmark in South Africa, is now one of the New7Wonders of Nature.
South Africa’s most famous landmark, Table Mountain, is more than just a pile of rock in the bay. A protected national park, it has some remarkable features that make it a great destination for nature-lovers, deserving of more than just a quick cable car ride to see the view from the top.
The mountain forms part of Table Mountain National Park, which is globally recognised for its biodiversity, and contains truly unique fauna and flora. The park encompasses the Table Mountain chain stretching from Signal Hill in the north to Cape Point in the south and the seas and coastline of the peninsula.
It is primarily an open-access park with only a few points where conservation fees are payable including Cape Point, Boulders (where you’ll see penguins), the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and Silvermine.
The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway was the solution to the arduous walk and climb to the top. Since its opening in 1929, more than 22 million people have taken the trip to the top of Table Mountain. The new cableway was upgraded and officially reopened on 4 October 1997.
At the upper cable station you will find a restaurant and a curio shop as well as a network of footpaths to explore the table top.
There are plenty of hiking trails from the Camps Bay side of the mountain, as well as from the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, and even from the city centre itself.
You can walk or climb the mountain, or even abseil down it, depending on your expertise and fitness levels, but be warned. Although the mountain may look tame on any given day, each year it claims lives as people set off under-prepared for a sudden change in weather. Always hike in a group and carry water and warm clothing with you. Better still, hire a guide or ask an experienced hiker to take you along.
