Kole Kole is part of the Baobab Beach Resort, lying on the white sands of Diani Beach, south of Mombasa. The friendly chaps in the first few photos were more than happy to pose while doing their antics in our hotel room!

Technical details: Sony a33 with Sigma 105mm, Minolta 70-210mm and Sony 35mm lenses.

Technical details: Sony a33 with Samyang 8mm fisheye lens.

Like last year (click here), here is another round-up of some of the most memorable images taken over the past year. Click the photos to navigate to the associated full blog post. Happy viewing!

Please take a few minutes to vote for your favourite photos - click here.

First photo taken along the lively Kovalam beach. Trivandram (officially and locally known as
Thiruvananthapuram) is the capital of Kerala and the zoological gardens are located in the grounds of the picturesque Napier Museum. Species from the zoo below are the lion-tailed macaque (local to South India), a gharial (crocodile family, another native Indian species), hippos and a majestic peacock!

Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm and Minolta 70-210mm lenses.

Here's the second cave post - the Ajanta Caves differ from the Ellora Caves (60 miles apart) for a few main reasons... the Ajanta series is much older (dating back to about 100BC), and many of the caves are richly decorated and painted, although perhaps most are on a smaller scale than those in Ellora.

Once again, here's some information from UNESCO regarding this world heritage site:
The style of Ajanta has exerted a considerable influence in India and elsewhere, extending, in particular, to Java. With its two groups of monuments corresponding to two important moments in Indian history, the Ajanta cave ensemble bears exceptional testimony to the evolution of Indian art, as well as to the determining role of the Buddhist community, intellectual and religious foyers, schools and reception centres in the India of the Gupta and their immediate successors.
The caves are cut into the volcanic lava of the Deccan in the forest ravines of the Sahyadri Hills and are set in beautiful sylvan surroundings. These magnificent caves containing carvings that depict the life of Buddha, and their carvings and sculptures are considered to be the beginning of classical Indian art.
The 29 caves were excavated beginning around 200 BC, but they were abandoned in AD 650 in favour of Ellora. Five of the caves were temples and 24 were monasteries, thought to have been occupied by some 200 monks and artisans. The Ajanta Caves were gradually forgotten until their 'rediscovery' by a British tiger-hunting party in 1819.

Some photos have captions - click or hover over to read.

Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens.

The North Wessex Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), is located in the counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Today's delightful post is composed by Dan:

With Niraj’s departure to India imminent, this would be the last of our epic odysseys for some time (except of course for the one Niraj was going on). It was doubly important therefore that this walk was befitting of the occasion.

Not to their detriment, the North Wessex Downs have escaped the limelight of other, more popular walking destinations in the South – fading somewhat into obscurity behind the Cotswolds, Chilterns and the like. But in spite of this little injustice, one cannot help secretly wish they would stay that way. The quiet anonymity of these glorious hills and sleepy villages, add to their unique charm.

Our walk began at the village of Kintbury, perched on the River Kennet. It is not hard to imagine why this little known tributary of the Thames was the inspiration behind Kenneth Grahame’s classic Wind in the Willows. Down the road from Kintbury Station and before the turning for the start of the trail, was the splendid Blue Ball pub – perhaps one of the few places in the country that can boast on its menu, wood fired pizza. A short way into the walk, crossing some fields we caught our first glimpse of the red kites common to the region – soaring under the mid-morning sun. These majestic birds glided effortlessly, barely flapping a wing.

Beyond, emerging through a small pocket of woodland, we were greeted by the sight of newly born lambs. We paused for a while, taking in this simplest of nature’s spectacles. Further down we stopped for lunch at the Swan – an organic gastropub sourcing almost all of its produce locally from its own land and neighbouring farms.

Back up the road we stopped over at Inkpen Church – I have long believed that no walk is complete without a village church stop, preferably one with a graveyard too. This church was among the nicest we have seen in all our walks. Around halfway point we began the short, steep climb up Inkpen Hill. The views from the hill were nothing short of spectacular, with a panorama over five counties (though one could not really tell which was which). We continued on to the gibbet, a 17th Century hanging mast sited on top of the hill. The route took us back, completing a circular trail through the hillsides, patches of woodland and back to Kintbury.

Technical details: Sony a850 with Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) lens.

Just a few photos taken during a walk in the Aquadrome on a nice Spring weekend.

Technical details: Sony a850 with Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) lens.

Today's blog post is brought to you by Dan...

It is not often that we venture to the east of the capital, or perhaps more accurately, anywhere east of the Metropolitan line. There is some logic to this unofficial frontier that has come to dictate our walks, at least on costs and convenience grounds given that we mostly set off from Niraj’s base in north-west London. Nevertheless, it would be hard to deny that Niraj’s inexplicable preference for the West [of England as opposed to the whole world] also plays a part.

That said, the Epping Forest Walk marked an exception to this long-standing convention. Covering some 6,000 acres, the forest is London’s largest open space and stretches 12 miles from Manor Park in east London to just north of Epping in Essex. The forest is also of national and international conservation importance with two thirds designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.

Our walk began not far from Chingford Station at Connaught Water– one of a number of man-made lakes in the area that were formerly gravel excavation pits. The circular route took us on a well-trodden track through the heart of the forest, northwards to High Beech and back. Although famous for its ancient oak, beech and hornbeams that have stood for many centuries, the forest is home to an astonishing variety of trees - around twenty species in all.

Just before halfway emerged the hamlet of High Beech, the only settlement within Epping Forest. Being Good Friday, we caught a procession heading towards the Holy Innocents Church – a quaint church entirely embosomed by the forest. On reaching, we stood for a brief while in the church’s graveyard, musing momentarily on the impermanence of all things, before entering the church for some inner repose. A little while later, we headed further on, passing the Epping Forest Visitor Centre to the King’s Oak pub for a spot of well-earned lunch. The return leg took us eastwards and back south through Loughton Camp – the site of an iron-age hideout, and along the small streamlet of Loughton Brook meandering its way through the forest, before eventually reaching the far side of Connaught Water where we had begun. 

Technical details: Sony a850 with Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) lens.

A small collection of photos taken over a few visits to Stocker's Lake and the Rickmansworth Aquadrome...

Technical details: Sony a850 with Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) lens.

Excitement to test out the new (second-hand) Bigma lens (interesting page here) took me to the Aquadrome on an unusually dry but cold winter day. This winter has taught me not to take the sunshine for granted and I was keen to make use of it, or more so the absence of bad weather (not unlike how we confuse an absence of suffering with happiness!) A long walk with this behemoth certainly gave my arms a workout, but after enjoying the 50-500mm range and seeing the results it was certainly worth it.

Technical details: Sony a850 with Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) lens.

Write-up by Dan (I can take no credit):

There are few green spaces left in London that quite retain an air of secrecy and other-worldliness like Holland Park. Nestled between Kensington High Street and Notting Hill, at first sight the park’s walled exterior seems almost to shield it from the inclemency of city life. Inside, the footpaths meander around dense thickets of bush and woodland. Even in the icy grip of winter – when we visited – the park was dubbed with a marvellous mix of birdsong. To the untrained ear, bird calls probably resemble little more than a cacophony; but with patience and mindfulness they begin to unveil a world that still dances to the rhythm of the seasons and beats to a tune before time. At the heart of the park is the little known Kyoto Peace Garden – a sanctuary for silence-seekers and a fine example of a traditional Japanese water garden. The garden and surrounds are also home to a flock of peacocks which add to the sense of exoticness unique to the park.

In the afternoon we paid a brief visit to the Natural History Museum. As impressive as the extent of its collections is the museum’s architectural splendour. The front façade and entrance hall is perhaps one of the finest of any building in the UK – and a fitting monument to Victorian extravagance. Highlights of the visit included the life size replica of a blue whale spanning 30m in length across the museum’s mammalian hall. 

Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens.