Fraser Island (The Largest Sand Island), Queensland, Australia.

Fraser Island is a heritage-listed island located along the southeastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 250 kilometres (160 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is a locality within the Fraser Coast Region local government area. In the 2016 census, the island had a population of 182 people.

Together with some satellite islands off the southern west coast and thus in the Great Sandy Strait, Fraser Island forms the County of Fraser, which is subdivided into six parishes. Among the islands are Slain Island, Tooth Island, Roundbush Island, Moonboom Island, Gardner Island, Dream Island, Stewart Island, and the Reef Islands, all part of the southernmost parish of Talboor. Its length is about 123 kilometres (76 mi) and its width is approximately 22 kilometres (14 mi). It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992. The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1,840 square kilometres (710 sq mi). It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the east coast of Australia. It is the traditional land of the Butchulla people.

Fraser Island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast. Unlike on many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants.The island is home to a small number of mammal species, as well as a diverse range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater crocodile. The island is protected as part of the Great Sandy National Park.

Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for as long as 5,000 years. Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in May 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the most northern point of the island in 1802. For a short period the island was known as Great Sandy Island. The island became known as Fraser Island due to the stories of a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Fraser. Today the island is a popular tourism destination. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, Fraser Island was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "Natural attraction".

 

 

 

Fraser Island is separated from the mainland by Great Sandy Strait. The southern tip, near Tin Can Bay, is situated to the north of Inskip Peninsula. The most northern point of the island is Sandy Cape where the Sandy Cape Light operated from 1870 to 1994. The establishment of the lighthouse was the first permanent European settlement on the island. The nearest large town to the island is Hervey Bay, while Maryborough and Bundaberg are also close by. The bay on the north east coast is called Marloo Bay and on the north west coast is Platypus Bay. The most westerly place on the island is Moon Point.

Eli Creek is the largest freshwater creek on the east coast of Fraser Island with a flow of 80 million litres per day. Eli Creek has its own unique and varied wild life. Coongul Creek, on the west coast, has a flow rate of four to five million litres per hour. Some of the swamps on the island are fens, particularly near Moon Point. That was only discovered in 1996, when a group of experts who had attended a Ramsar conference in Brisbane flew over the island and conducted an aerial survey. From above, they noticed the distinct patterns of potholed peat devoid of trees. That was the first instance of fens being found in Australia and in a sub-tropical region, although more were subsequently discovered on the adjacent Cooloola coast.

The total volume of sand above sea level on Fraser Island is directly proportional to the mass of 113 cubic kilometres (27 cubic miles). All of the sand, which originated in the Hawkesbury, Hunter and Clarence River catchments in New South Wales has been transported north by longshore transport. Along the eastern coast of the island the process is removing more sand than it is depositing, resulting in the slow erosion of beaches which may accelerate with sea level rises attributed to climate change. The sand consists of 98% quartz.

All hills on Fraser Island have been formed by sandblowing. Sandblows are parabolic dunes which move across the island via the wind and are devoid of vegetation. In 2004, there was an estimated total of 36 sandblows on the island. With year-round south-easterly wind, the sand dunes on the island move at the rate of 1 to 2 metres a year and grow to a height of 244 metres. The dune movement creates overlapping dunes and sometimes intersects waterways and covers forests. Dune-building has occurred in episodes as the sea levels have changed, and once extended much further to the east. The oldest dune system has been dated at 700,000 years, which is the world's oldest recorded sequence.

The coloured sands found at Rainbow Gorge, The Cathedrals, The Pinnacles and Red Canyon are examples of the sand being stained over thousands of years due to it conglomerating with clay. Hematite, the mineral pigment responsible for the staining, acts like cement. That allows the steeper cliffs of coloured sand to form. Coffee rock, so-called because when it is dissolved in water it turns the colour of coffee, is found in outcrops along the beaches on both sides of the island.

The "75-Mile Beach" (120 km) runs along most of the east coast of Fraser Island. It is officially designated as a main road and is used as a landing strip for planes. Highway rules state that vehicles must give way to aircraft if they are oncoming. Along the beach are the Champagne Pools, Indian Head, the Maheno Wreck, and the outflow of Eli Creek. Exposed volcanic rocks are found at Indian Head, Waddy Point and Middle Rocks, as well as near Boon Boon Creek.

Fraser Island has more than 100 freshwater lakes, the second highest concentration of lakes in Australia after Tasmania. The freshwater lakes on the island are some of the cleanest in the world. A popular tourist area, Lake McKenzie, is located inland from the small town of Eurong. It is a perched lake, sitting on top of compact sand and vegetable matter 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level. Lake McKenzie has an area of 150 hectares and is just over 5 metres (16 ft) deep. The beach sand of Lake McKenzie is nearly pure silica. The lakes have very few nutrients and their pH varies, but sunscreen and soaps cause a pollution problem. Fresh water on the island may become stained by organic acids found in decaying vegetation. Because of the organic acids, a pH level as low as 3.7 has been measured in some of the island's perched lakes. The acidity prevents many species from inhabiting the lakes.

Another perched lake on Fraser Island is Lake Boomanjin which, at 200 hectares in size, is the largest perched lake on any sea island in the world. In total there are 40 perched lakes on the island, half of all known lakes of this kind on the planet. Lake Boomanjin is fed by two creeks that pass through a wallum swamp where it collects tannins which tint the water red. Lake Wabby is the deepest lake on the island, at 12 metres (39 ft) in depth, and is also the least acidic, which means it has the most aquatic life of all the lakes.

Some of the lakes on Fraser Island are window lakes, which form when the water table has risen to a point higher than the surrounding land. Most of the valleys on the island have creeks which are fed by springs. Motor boats and jet skis are banned from the lakes on the island.

Fraser Island has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen: Aw) barely avoiding the humid subtropical classification, it is generally warm and not subject to extremes in temperature due to the moderating influence of the ocean. Temperatures rarely rise above 33 °C (91 °F) or drop below 7 °C (45 °F) and humidity is consistently high. Rainfall is heaviest during the summer and early autumn, and the annual average is 1,251 mm (49.25 in). Cyclones can be a threat; Cyclone Hamish brushed the island as a category 5 in March 2009, while Cyclone Oswald in January 2013 was significantly weaker at a Category 1. Both storms however caused severe beach erosion, particularly on the island's northern tip. The average annual temperature of the sea ranges from 22 °C (72 °F) between July and September to 27 °C (81 °F) between January and March.

Fraser Island is part of the local government area Fraser Coast Region, which was created in March 2008 as a result of the report of the Local Government Reform Commission released in July 2007. Before the local government reorganisation, the island was split up evenly between the City of Hervey Bay (northern part) and the City of Maryborough (southern part). Fraser Island South is Local Area 8 of the City of Maryborough, and includes the existing village community of Eurong, the Kingfisher Bay Resort, and Dilli Village.

In 1971, the northern half of Fraser Island was declared a national park. Now almost all of the island is included in the Great Sandy National Park, which is administered by Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency. This was extended in 1992 when heritage listing was granted. Except for a few small urban areas the island is protected by a Wild Rivers declaration.

Domestic dogs are not permitted on Fraser Island and fines can be given for non-compliance. The ban, first applied in 1981, is imposed so that the island's dingo population is not exposed to diseases. In 2010, the management of the park, particularly the treatment of dingoes by the Department of Environment and Resource Management was called into question by Glen Elmes in the Queensland Parliament. Camp grounds are sometimes closed so as to reduce human contact with dingo populations.

Fraser Island is one of Queensland's most popular islands for tourists, who can reach the island by ferry from Hervey Bay or Rainbow Beach, which takes approximately 50-minutes. Estimates of the number of visitors to the island each year range from 350,000 to 500,000. The chance of seeing a dingo in its natural setting is one of the main reasons people visit the island. The use of boardwalks and marked tracks by visitors is encouraged to reduce erosion.

Urinating tourists have created environmental problems in Fraser Island lakes and on coastal dunes. The foredunes are used as a toilet by bush campers, who are estimated to number 90,000 each year. Many of the perched lakes have no outflow or inflow which exacerbates the problem. Water quality in some lakes is being affected by storm water run-off from dune roads, and by swimmers' use of sunscreen.

In April 2009, a vehicle overturned on the beach after being hit by a wave. Two backpackers were killed in the accident. Following the incident speed limits on the beach were reduced from 100 km/h to 80 km/h, and from 40 km/h to 30 km/h inland. Everyone who hires a vehicle on the island from an organisation accredited by the Fraser Coast 4WD Operators Association must attend a one-hour-long briefing on vehicle safety.

"Central Station", which was formerly the hub of the forestry industry when there was logging on Fraser Island, is now a popular tourist destination. Some of the rarest ferns grow in the rainforest near the location.

The island can be reached by a ferry from River Heads (South of Hervey Bay) to Kingfisher Bay and Wanggoolba Creek or Inskip Point to north of Rainbow Beach to Hook Point, or by chartered flight from Maroochydore Airport. A four-wheel drive is required for all landings (except Kingfisher Bay), and travel on the island (except within the Kingfisher Bay Resort). A permit is required for vehicles and is obtainable on-line from DERM and several outlets at Rainbow Beach. Several firms provide four-wheel drive vehicles for hire. Tour buses travel the island as well as several kinds of self-drive tours departing regularly from Hervey Bay, Rainbow Beach and Noosa.

For more information - Fraser Island

The Hobbiton Movie Set (The Lord of the Rings), Waikato, New Zealand

The Hobbiton Movie Set was a significant location used for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and The Hobbit film trilogy. It is situated on a family run farm about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Hinuera and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Matamata, in Waikato, New Zealand, and is now a Tolkien tourism destination, offering a guided tour of the set.

The underlying geology of the area is that of the Hinuera Formation, a group of alluvial silts, sands and gravels laid down in the last glacial period. Originally largely marshland, it was transformed in the 19th century by a large-scale drainage scheme and is now fertile agricultural land that is also a major racehorse breeding area.

The Alexander family moved to the 500-hectare (1,200-acre) property of rolling grassland where the set is located in 1978. Since then it has been a livestock ranch with 13,000 sheep and 300 Angus beef cattle. The main sources of income from farming are mutton, wool and beef.

When Peter Jackson began to look for suitable locations for The Lord of the Rings film series, he first saw the Alexander Farm during an aerial search in 1998 and concluded that the area was "like a slice of ancient England". Set Decorator Alan Lee commented that the location's hills "looked as though Hobbits had already begun excavations". Part of the site has a lake with a long arm that could double as a river.

After suitable negotiations with the owners, work commenced in transforming part of the farm into sets for Hobbiton and other parts of J. R. R. Tolkien's Shire in March 1999. The New Zealand Army brought in heavy equipment to make 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) of road into the site from the nearest local road and initial ground works. Further work included building the facades for 37 hobbit holes and associated gardens and hedges, a mill and double arch bridge, and erecting a 26-tonne (29-ton) oak above Bag End that had been growing near Matamata and which was cut down and recreated on site complete with artificial leaves. Thatch on the pub and mill roofs was made from rushes growing on the farm. Generators were installed and water and sewerage also had to be considered. Catering was made available for up to 400 cast, crew and visitors per day.

Jackson wrote: "I knew Hobbiton needed to be warm, comfortable and feel lived in. By letting the weeds grow through the cracks and establishing hedges and little gardens a year before filming, we ended up with an incredibly real place, not just a film set". Lee commented that "it was satisfying to see that it had taken on something of the look of the Devonshire countryside I'd lived in for the past twenty-five years".

The original set was not built to last, the hobbit hole facades having been constructed from untreated timber, ply and polystyrene and partially torn down after filming. In 2010, the set was rebuilt in a more permanent fashion for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,filming for which began in 2011. Ian McKellen reprised his role as Gandalf the Grey and was joined on the Hobbiton location by Martin Freeman, who remarked that the site "just looked like a place where people lived and where people worked"

 

Guided tours of the 5.5 hectares (14 acres) movie set site commenced in 2002 and continue to be provided daily. The two-hour excursion is very popular, and advance bookings are recommended. Highlights of the tour include Bagshot Row, the Party Tree, and Bilbo's Bag End home. There are now 44 hobbit holes on view although it is only possible to enter a few of them, all of which have small, unfinished, earth-walled interiors.The hobbit holes on site have been designed and built to one of three different scales. In addition to the smallest ones built to the correct size (hobbits are smaller than humans), some are built to a larger scale to make the hobbit actors appear smaller, and some have been constructed in a "dwarf" scale for scenes containing dwarves. Apart from a few exceptions, the colour of the front door indicates the scale, for example hobbit holes with a blue door are built to the correct scale for humans.

Refreshments are available at "The Shires Rest Cafe" prior to or after tours. Breakfast and indeed "Second Breakfast" is served. In 2012 the "Green Dragon" inn was opened on the set. There is now also a store selling merchandise and souvenirs adjacent to the cafe and evening events commenced in 2014. The tours have generally received good reviews. In 2013 the set welcomed its 500,000th guest.

For more information - Hobbitontours.com

Victoria amazonica (Largest of the Water lily)

Victoria amazonica is a species of flowering plant, the largest of the water lily family Nymphaeaceae. It is the national flower of Guyana.

The Victoria amazonica has very large leaves, up to 3 m (10 ft) in diameter, that float on the water's surface on a submerged stalk, 7–8 m (23–26 ft) in length. It is the largest waterlily in the world. V. amazonica is native to the shallow waters of the Amazon River basin, such as oxbow lakes and bayous. Flowers take up to 48 hours to fully open. The flowers are white the first night they are open and become pink the second night. They are up to 40 cm (16 in) in diameter, and are pollinated by beetles. This process was described in detail by Sir Ghillean Prance and Jorge Arius. The species was once called Victoria regia after Queen Victoria, but the name was superseded. It is depicted in the Guyanese coat of arms.

The species is a member of the genus Victoria, placed in the family Nymphaeaceae or, sometimes, in the Euryalaceae. The first published description of the genus was by John Lindley in October 1837, based on specimens of this plant returned from British Guiana by Robert Schomburgk. Lindley named the genus after the newly ascended Queen Victoria, and the species Victoria regia. The spelling in Schomburgk's description in Athenaeum, published the month before, was given as Victoria Regina.Despite this spelling being adopted by the Botanical Society of London for their new emblem, Lindley's was the version used throughout the nineteenth century.

An earlier account of the species, Euryale amazonica by Eduard Friedrich Poeppig, in 1832 described an affinity with Euryale ferox. A collection and description was also made by the French botanist Aimé Bonpland in 1825.In 1850 James De Carle Sowerby recognised Poeppig's earlier description and transferred its epithet amazonica. The new name was rejected by Lindley. The current name, Victoria amazonica, did not come into widespread use until the twentieth century.

 

Victoria regia, as it was named, was described by Tadeáš Haenke in 1801. It was once the subject of rivalry between Victorian gardeners in England. Always on the look out for a spectacular new species with which to impress their peers, Victorian "Gardeners" such as the Duke of Devonshire, and the Duke of Northumberland started a well-mannered competition to become the first to cultivate and bring to flower this enormous lily. In the end, the two aforementioned Dukes became the first to achieve this, Joseph Paxton being the first in November 1849 by replicating the lily's warm swampy habitat, and a "Mr Ivison" the second and more constantly successful at Syon House.

The species captured the imagination of the public, and was the subject of several dedicated monographs. The botanical illustrations of cultivated specimens in Fitch and W.J. Hooker's 1851 work Victoria Regia received critical acclaim in the Athenaeum, "they are accurate, and they are beautiful". The Duke of Devonshire presented Queen Victoria with one of the first of these flowers, and named it in her honour. The lily, with ribbed undersurface and leaves veining "like transverse girders and supports", was Paxton's inspiration for The Crystal Palace, a building four times the size of St. Peter's in Rome.

Rann of Kutch (Largest Salt Desert), Kutch, Gujarat, India

The Great Rann of Kutch is a salt marsh in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India. It is about 7500 km2 (2900 sq miles) in the area and is reputed to be one of the largest salt deserts in the world. This area has been inhabited by the Kutchi people. The Hindi word is derived from Sanskrit/Vedic word iriṇa attested in the Rigveda and Mahabharata. It is an extension of the Thar Desert.

The Great Rann of Kutch, along with the Little Rann of Kutch and the Banni grasslands on its southern edge, is situated in the district of Kutch and comprises some 30,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi) between the Gulf of Kutch and the mouth of the Indus River in southern Pakistan. The marsh can be accessed from the village of Kharaghoda in Surendranagar District.The Great Rann of Kutch together with the Little Rann of Kutch is called Rann of Kutch. In India's summer monsoon, the flat desert of salty clay and mudflats, which average 15 meters above sea level, fills with standing water. In very wet years, the wetland extends from the Gulf of Kutch on the west through to the Gulf of Cambay on the east.

The area was a vast shallow of the Arabian Sea until continuing geological uplift closed off the connection with the sea, creating a vast lake that was still navigable during the time of Alexander the Great. The Ghaggar River, which presently empties into the desert of northern Rajasthan, formerly emptied into the Rann of Kutch, but the lower reaches of the river dried up as its upstream tributaries were captured by the Indus and Ganges thousands of years ago. Traces of the delta and its distributary channels on the northern boundary of the Rann of Kutch were documented by the Geological Survey of India in 2000. The Luni River, which originates in Rajasthan, drains into the desert in the northeast corner of the Rann. Other rivers feeding into the marsh include the Rupen from the east and the West Banas River from the northeast. Nara Canal or Puran river which is a delta channel of Indus River empties during floods into Kori Creek located in the Great Rann of Kutch.

There are sandy islets of thorny scrub, forming a wildlife sanctuary and a breeding ground for some of the largest flocks of greater and lesser flamingos. Wildlife, including the Indian wild ass, shelter on islands of higher ground, called bets, during the flooding. This is one of the hottest areas of India with summer temperatures averaging and peaking at 49.5 °C. Winter temperatures reduce dramatically and can go below 0 °C (32 °F). Many religions are found here, including Hinduism, Islam, Jainism & Sikhism.

Although most of the marsh is in protected areas, the habitats are vulnerable to cattle grazing, firewood collection, and salt extraction operations, all of which may involve transportation that disturbs wildlife. There are several wildlife sanctuaries and protected reserves on the Indian side in the Rann of Kutch region. From the city of Bhuj, various ecologically rich and wildlife conservation areas of the Kutch/Kachchh district can be visited such as Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary, Kutch Bustard Sanctuary, Banni Grasslands Reserve and Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve.

In India the northern boundary of the Greater Rann of Kutch forms the International Border between India and Pakistan, it is heavily patrolled by India's Border Security Force (BSF) and the Indian Army conducts exercises here to acclimatize its troops to this harsh terrain.

This inhospitable salty lowland, rich in natural gas, was one scene of perennial border disputes between India and Pakistan that, in April 1965, contributed to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Later the same year, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Wilson persuaded the combatants to end hostilities and establish a tribunal to resolve the dispute. A verdict was reached in 1968 which saw Pakistan getting 10% of its claim of 9,100 square kilometres (3,500 sq mi). 90% was awarded to India, although India claimed 100% of the region. Tensions spurted again in 1999 during the Atlantique incident. Elements of dispute remain in Sir Creek, since 1969, there have been twelve rounds of talks between the two nations, without a breakthrough. The twelfth round was completed in June 2012.

The Indus river had been flowing into Rann of Kutch area and Rann of Kutch used to be its catchment area forming part of its delta. Indus river delta branch/channel called Koree river shifted its course after an earthquake in 1819 isolating Rann of Kutch from its delta. Pakistan has constructed the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) project to bypass the saline and polluted water which is not fit for agriculture use to reach the sea via Rann of Kutch area without passing through the Indus delta. The 500 km long LBOD, begins from northern Ghotki district in Sindh province of Pakistan and joins Rann of Kutch in the Badin district of Sindh. Rann of Kutch is the joint water body of India and Pakistan. Water released by the LBOD is enhancing the flooding in India and contaminating the quality of water bodies which are the source of water to salt farms spread over a vast area. The LBOD water is planned to join the sea via disputed Sir Creek but LBOD water is entering Indian territory due to many breaches in its left bank caused by floods.

Some women and young girls make their living by selling different types of Kutch embroidered cloths. The embroidery is of various styles such as Rabari, Ahir, Sindhi, Banni, Mutwa, Ari and Soof, some of which include mirror or bead inlays.

J. P. Dutta's Bollywood film Refugee was shot in the Great Rann of Kutch along with other locations in the Kachchh district. It is said to have been inspired by the story by Keki N. Daruwalla based around the Great Rann of Kutch titled Love Across the Salt Desert.

Amitabh Bachchan in his promotions for Gujarat Tourism titled Khushboo Gujarat Ki has also extensively shot in the Rann of kutch. Several scenes in Salman Rushdie's Booker Prize winning novel Midnight's Children take place in the Rann of Kutch, including a scene where the protagonist faints from heatstroke in the Rann's brutal climate. Some scenes or song sequences in Indian films like Magadheera, D-Day, R... Rajkumar, Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Lagaan, The Good Road, Dookudu, Sarvam, and Sarrainodu were shot in the area.