Taitung’s wetlands

Complementary bicycles were available at the place I stayed at in Taitung, so I took full advantage and cycled towards Taitung’s Forest Park. I passed the fifth person in Taiwan I’d seen peeing at the side of the road — two had been women!

Tikitapu from on high

I drove to the Blue Lake lookout to view the 150 hectare stretch of water that reached a depth of over twenty-seven metres.

Tikitapu (Blue Lake)

Tikitapu was named after the daughter of a chief who lost her sacred greenstone neck ornament. The pristine waters, located just out of Rotorua, were surrounded by a forest of tree ferns.

Joffre Lake Provincial Park

The aqua water of Lower Joffre Lake mirrored the pines on the opposite bank. Above loomed Matier Glacier with its melting ice cascading from Upper Joffre Lake, to Middle Joffre Lake, to the one I stood near. The sun glistened on the snow covering the peak, making it impossible to turn back.

North Beach Trail

 

Further north into Golden Ears Provincial Park, an hour east of Vancouver, was Gold Creek. Its pristine waters flowed into Alouette Lake and beside the creek was a short one kilometre trail leading to an elongated expanse of fresh water.

Buntzen Lake

I took no notice of the beauty of my hometown. It wasn’t until I returned that I saw what my eyes had overlooked in the past.

Now I’ve moved country and don’t have that glazed eye attitude but sometimes I forget what’s close at hand. That’s why I returned to Buntzen Lake, a short drive from where I live. It’s tucked away in a quiet corner near the Village of Anmore surrounded by B.C.’s tall Douglas firs and cedars.

A Hanoi lake

Hanoi had several lakes. Hoan Kiem Lake was the closest to where I stayed in the Old Quarter. Rising from one end was a stone structure, turtle tower, while up the other end was Ngoc Son Temple.