Diana Australis' photos

Thé 19C Cavenagh Bridge, part of old Colonial Singapore, down on the river. In the background, the now Fullerton Hotel was the old Colonial GPO for Singapore city. The whole area down here by the river is green and beautiful, the river clean, and lots of tourist spots and older colonial buildings. It used to be the dirty, heavily polluted port and harbour for old Singapore and was a filthy dive in the 70’s. Enjoy your Friday…big hug to all…Diana

I found this very unusual flower in a deserted corner of Singapore’s amazing Botanic Gardens. I have never seen anything quite like it. It was unlabelled and not part of any display. Google Lens identifies it as a Bat Flower, a species of tropical flowering yam. I did not have a macro lens so photos not as clear as I would have loved. The second picture is the bud, yet to flower. I thought you might be interested to look at this curious flower. WIKIPEDIA: Tacca chantrieri is a species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae. It was first described in 1901 by Édouard André.!' т. chantrieri is native to southeastern Asia. It is commonly known as the black bat flower due to its shape and coloring!?! The bat flower has unique pollination method in that it is mostly autonomous self pollinating. 131 T. chantrieri prefers environments similar to its native region with tropical, moist conditions. 12] The bat flower has been commonly used in Chinese medicine. It uses are wide in range from common aliments to more complex conditions such as cancer. I hope you enjoy this curiosity. Have a fabulous day!

At the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, I heard a sound from behind me, and turned to see this beautiful wild animal 1 meter away, holding onto the fence. I love his eyes and expression. I took lots of shots and have done no editing other than to add a small frame. This Sanctuary has been rescued from extensive felled jungle and palm oil plantations to provide a haven for these extraordinary animals, found only in Borneo. They are very large monkeys, quite gentle and quiet, and these here are wild, though there is supplementary feeding offered twice a day until the area regenerates sufficiently to provide all the necessary food for them. Their normal diet is mangrove leaves, and the supplementary feeding is cucumbers and sugar free pancakes! They often sit quietly among visitors and offer great opportunities for observation and photography. The local name for them is ‘monyet Belanda’ or Dutch monkey, as the locals thought they look like fat, big nosed Dutchmen. That said, HFF and enjoy your day immensely! Dx

This elegant juvenile pit viper was on a low plant beside the walking trail in the jungle at Bako in Sarawak. It was almost defying gravity, seeming to float. I was entranced by it…but did not get closer than 1.5 meters just in case….they do bite. Have a fabulous weekend

I am in Kuching, in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. This amazing bridge spans the Sarawak River in the city. The golden building is the State Legislative Assembly building on the other bank.The curving and high raised bridge has enough fences and rails to keep any fence aficionado happy for weeks, and they also prevent any possible plunges to the water far below! I hope you are having a fabulous Friday, and wish you an inspiring weekend. Thanks for a visit….

Thankfully. I am in Singapore and this massive mollusc, the size of my hand when fully out if its shell is in my friend’s garden. About 10cm long. It is massive. I am grateful it lives here to be photographed by me, but glad it lives here and not in my garden. It was too big and too hard shelled to even think of squashing it! Have a happy Sunday, nature livers and friends. Thanks for your visits

At 4700 meters in the Pamirs is the border post between Pakistan and China, the highest international border crossing in the world. The Karakoram Highway is the road here, built at the cost of some thousands of lives over these lofty peaks. It is closed for around 6 months of the year as it is under snow and -40C. When open, it is surprisingly busy considering the sparsity of population in these vast and very elevated areas of both countries. It was early summer here, snowing lightly. The world’s highest ATM is also here, as a matter of interest. Lots of freight trucks pass through from Xinjiang in China. The Chinese built this ghastly grey Imperial gateway. The first time I passed across here in 2000 there was only a bollard at this spot, with CHINA on one side and PAKISTAN on the other. No people, no buildings, no fences or gates….just marmots and a couple of yaks. Hope your Friday is fabulous. May your weekend bring you pleasant things. ❤️

a href="https://www.ipernity.com/doc/tigerlily5141/52145134"> Climbing up the 4000+ meter Passu Glacier in the Hindu Kush in North Pakistan. I have arthritis so it can be a bit of a challenge but I needed to prove I could do it. Thank goodness for walking poles as the track is along the edge of a 1000m fall into the ravine below, in parts.

Happy Friday. Have been super busy. Will get to visit you on Sunday evening! Finally, sorry. This is at 4000 meters altitude on the remote road into the Chipurson Valley, alongside the Afghan Wakhan Cirridor. For some reason…I think as a remote village land demarcation, we came upon this gate and stone fence. It certainly would not keep out the snow leopards! The day after we passed through the relative of our dear friend lost livestock right here to snow leopard predation. This is wild, remote and exhilarating country. Have a weekend which brings happiness doing what you wish to do, in a place you wish to be..in health and peace.

From high in North Pakistan, with its stone fences/ walls. On the way up to Passu Glacier and Borith Lake. A large boulder brought down in one of the frequent landslips or earth tremors lurks above the road, in wait…. This is a very unstable landscape. We are at around 3000meters here. Thank you for your visit and any comment. I do appreciate them very much. Have a first rate Friday and a most enjoyable weekend

Lengthy rafting jaunt on the Hunza River amid the 6000+ meter peaks. A calm section. The water is icy…straight off snow and glaciers. It was a test for my arthritis (and osteoporosis) to sit and paddle for a long period of time. I enjoyed it very much, but found it hard to get to my feet after! ;))

Remote Baltistan, on the road to K2 at high altitude. This man had walked from the distant village below..where the hedges and fence rows are. Here narrow river valley strips are hard fought and cultivated, always with the ever present threat of earthquake, landslides. Life is simple and harsh. Winters brutal, long, and isolated. People are friendly and welcoming. And the scenery is jaw-droppingly beautiful. The mountains in the background are all 7000+ meters. Have a splendid Friday..and a spectacular weekend. Keep well and happy. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR VISITS AND FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS…I REALLY DO APPRECIATE THEM VERY, VERY MUCH

Crossing one of the more user friendly footbridges over an icy and torrential glacier melt river. I always cover up fully against the sun, as being a fair skinned person, have had my share of sun induced skin cancers, and up at these altitudes the air is thin, the sun strong. I wanted to prove I could go unflinchingly across….. Maybe it will make you laugh..,

One of the countless vehicle bridges in remote North Pakistan, usually at high altitude and crossing precipitous drops into raging glacial meltwater rivers far below. This is in Hushe Valley on route to K2. We came here in 2000 but had to stop here as the previous bridge, a village and much else had been crushed in a giant flood and landslide, which is fairly common in these parts. I snapped this before we crossed and continued along the narrow road ahead, marked by the stone wall…which is the only support that these roads have on these unstable slopes. This is very remote territory, with tiny conservative villages dotted along the river gorge. Outsiders are usually mountaineering expeditions to K2 or the other 7-8000 meter peaks. We are at around 3500 meters here. Have a marvellous weekend ❤️ Thanks if you visit….very much appreciated

Woman doing laundry. Kalash Valley, Kafiristan, Pakistan. This area is right on the Afghan border. I was there in May this year, also last year. Life is simple, traditional in small villages. The woman is washing her laundry in a water channel in front of her traditional house. My friends in Pakistan informed me yesterday that this area is now closed to tourists as it was attacked two days ago by the Afghan Taliban. They sent me videos of the shooting and gunfire. Glad it did not happen when I was there, but I sure feel sorry for these people here. Wishing all of us a much more peaceful a and happy Friday and weekend than in this region just now. Diana xxx

A tree kangaroo moseying along a fence at Canberra zoo. These endangered marsupials live in a narrow range of far north tropical Australia and Papua New Guinea. I have seen them in the wild, 20 meters up in tall trees, where they forage and spend most of their time. On the ground they hop like normal kangaroos do, too. They have more developed and much stronger front legs with sharp claws for climbing, and when in trees the long tail helps with balance. Have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend.

To make you laugh, perhaps. I have fear of heights, so in North Pakistan, decided to confront it by zip lining across a high ravine. My gorgeous Pakistani friend Sher Baz videoed it. If I look terrified, I am at the start, but as I zipped along I started to really enjoy it and went back later to do it again!

Crossing the broad Chitral River in a local cable car….like the one this last week which had a dramatic rescue of 8 people from high above a gorge in a nearby part of Pakistan. These are very frequently the only means of transport across stretches of rivers, or over very high ravines where bridges would be impossible or impractical. They bear very little resemblance to the western idea of a cable car, frequently just being put together and run by locals with little funds at hand. Nevertheless they transport thousands of people a day across the mountainous north of Pakistan, and also India and Nepal. And yes, I have crossed in these. I hope your Friday is a really splendid one. And your weekend superb.