Sunday 24 November 2013

Nepal #1 - Dhaulagiri Circuit days 1-6

We were in Nepal for 4 weeks; in the first 3 weeks of our trip we joined an organised group tour (organised by The Mountain Company) to hike the Dhaulagiri Circuit, a trek around the 8167 m high mountain Dhaulagiri I.

After a morning flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara followed by a 3 hour bus drive, we started hiking from Beni, which is located at an altitude of around 900 m. In the first week we walked through the lower Himalayan range, slowly gaining altitude. Initially we walked through a landscape dominated by terraced fields and mountain villages, higher up the landscape became more rugged and more forested and the villages smaller. The weather was excellent the first week, sunny and warm.

We zijn 4 weken in Nepal geweest; de eerste 3 weken zijn we met een georganiseerde groepsreis meegeweest (georganiseerd door The Mountain Company) en hebben de Dhaulagiri Circuit gelopen, een tocht rond de 8167 m hoge berg Dhaulagiri I.

Na de ochtend vlucht van Kathmandu naar Pokhara gevolgd door een 3 uur lange busrit, zijn we vanaf Beni gaan lopen. Beni ligt ca 900 m. De eerste week wandelden we langzaam omhoog door de lage Himalayas. In het begin liepen we door een landschap met bergdorpen en landbouwterrassen, hogerop werd het landschap ruiger en meer bebost, en de dorpen kleiner. We hadden de eerste week prachtig weer, zonnig en warm.


The start, just outside Beni.

The first 1.5 days we walked along a road. Here passing a local woman who has collected grass for the animals.

Local girls in front of a small shop in Darbang at the end of the road.

The bridge at Darbang at the end of the road.

Between Darbang and Dharapani.

Afternoon tea in the camp at Dharapani.

The beautiful village Muri.

A great early morning view from the campsite in Muri.

Farm house in Muri.

Leaving Muri.

Lunch break.

Our track.



Along the track to Boghara.

The campsite at Boghara, 2080 m. Our pack horses are ready to leave.

Looking back to Boghara.

Trail through dense forest.

Meeting buffalos coming down from the mountain.

One of our pack horses.

Last campsite in the forest, Sallaghari at 3010 m.

Thursday 21 November 2013

Whales, lots of whales!

I am still sorting through hundreds of photos from Nepal, and a selection of them will appear on this blog shortly. In the meantime, the sun has disappeared from Tromsø for the year and the whales are back in the local fjords. So since the weather was nice today and the weather forecast pretty bad for the next week, and since the car needed a test drive after a major repair, I took the morning off to go whale watching.

I saw whales, humpback whales, lots of them. It was spectacular. Here a few photos from a morning land-based whale watching.

I ben nog steeds bezig de honderden foto's van Nepal te sorteren, en een selectie hiervan zal binnenkort op deze blog verschijnen. Maar in Tromsø is intussen de zon weer verdwenen voor de rest van het jaar en zijn de walvissen terug in de fjorden. Sinds het vandaag mooi weer was en de weersverwachting voor de komende week nogal slecht is ben ik vanochtend op zoek gegaan naar de walvissen. En ik vond ze, tientallen walvissen, bultruggen; het was prachtig. Hier een paar foto's van vanochtend, walvissen kijken vanaf land.







Whales feasting on herring.

A last glimpse of the sun.