Rifleman near Leon Kinvig hut, Ruahine Range

On the way down the track from the Ngamoko Range and only about quarter of an hour from the river, I came across what I'm sure was a family of titipounamu (Acanthisitta chloris; rifleman), Aotearoa's smallest bird, foraging in a small red beech. Trying to photograph them was an exercise in frustration, but I eventually managed this, a photograph of what I think is the juvenile. These tiny birds never fail to delight me.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

The Ngamoko Range from near Toka Biv

A belated Merry Christmas, everyone :^)

I was here on Christmas Day after arriving at Toka Biv in light rain that turned torrential towards evening, but I woke on Boxing Day in time to see the Ngamoko Range looking like this. The Ngamoko is a branch of the main Ruahine Range; the headwaters of the Pohangina River separate the Ngamoko on the west from the Ruahine on the east. The Ngamoko is much higher than the Ruahine here; Toka Biv sits at the edge of a basin on a spur leading from the Ngamoko Range down to the Pohangina River.

Later in the morning I climbed back up to the Ngamoko Range, which by then had become clagged in with cloud, and made my way down to Leon Kinvig hut in the Pohangina headwaters. This morning I climbed back up and over the range to the car. I'd seen no one else during the entire trip until I was partway down the other side, just an hour or so from the car. From there, I met 17 people in four parties coming up the track. Guess I timed my trip right.

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Miromiro; North Island tomtit

I'd just finished photographing an ink berry flower on the No. 1 Line track when two small birds appeared, flitting around in the undergrowth. I still had the macro lens on, but decided to try for a photograph with that instead of fiddling about trying to swap lenses. In a stroke of great luck, one of the birds came close to check me out, giving me the opportunity for several fairly close photographs.

This is the North Island subspecies of miromiro, the tomtit. Given the streaking on the head, I'm fairly sure this is a juvenile female.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Hoherius meinertzhageni

Here's another example of one of the world's wonders that most people will never see. These tiny beetles, only about the size of a match head, live only in New Zealand and only on plants in the mallow family — mostly lacebarks and ribbonwoods (as far as I know, but we know so little about them that any surprises won't be surprising). The colours and textures often camouflage them well and are strikingly beautiful as well, but it's the male's huge and bizarrely flattened head that might be one of their most fascinating characteristics. In this profile photograph (the only one I managed) you can get some impression of the the size (yes, those are his jaws nibbling on the twig) but to appreciate the true strangeness you need to see him head on. I'll see if I can find some more and get some better photographs.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Green mahoe moth (Feredayia graminosa)

On Monday afternoon I walked the No. 1 Line track again and brewed Lapsang Souchong tea at the top seat. A cool, blustery easterly whipped over the crest of the southern Ruahine range; cloud shadows raced across the mountainside; patches of warm sunlight visited but didn't stay long. A few blowflies roared around; big crane flies bumbled about, clumsy, catching their seemingly spaghettified legs on anything and everything; nothing offered much opportunity for worthwhile photographs.

On the way back down, I stopped to inspect the trunk of a big tawa. A distinct shadow drew my eye to an elongated protuberance on a patch of lichen and moss. Closer inspection showed this beautiful noctuid moth: Feredayia graminosa, the green mahoe moth, so named because its caterpillars feed on mahoe (whiteywood). NatureWatchNZ uses the alternative common name 'mahoe stripper moth', but search engines might misinterpret that, so I'll stick with 'green mahoe moth' ;^)

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Last days in Leh

One of the last views I had of Leh, shortly before I left for the last time.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Kitchen dweller

From time to time an occasional cockroach turns up inside. This little one was happy to sit on the side of a kitchen cupboard while I photographed (I've rotated the photograph 90°); in fact, it was so cooperative I was able to place a ruler carefully alongside to measure it (13mm if you want to know). I like the way the photograph suggests how beautifully adapted these amazing little insects are for speed and the ability to slip away out of sight.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Fern on fern, No. 1 Line

This small fern (probably Rumohra adiantiformis) was growing from the trunk of a tree fern on the No. 1 Line track.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Third fawn of the season

One of the hinds gave birth this afternoon — the third fawn of the season. I must have missed seeing it by no more than a minute or two. I was leaving for a No. 1 Line walk and had the camera with me, the 300mm lens already mounted.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Tui (2)

The bottlebrush continues to attract tui.

[If you haven't noticed already, there's a new post up on Pohanginapete.]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Tui

New Zealand lacks the diversity of land birds of many other countries, including India, but we have some wonderful personalities among our species, and tui rank high among those. This one was feeding on bottlebrush (Callistemon) flowers close to my place yesterday.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Conifer forest, McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala)

Somewhere around here I picked up my first ever leech. A small (but messy) price to pay to be able to enjoy sights like this.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

The road from Manali to Leh

At the first stop on the second day of the drive from Manali to Leh I chatted with the driver of our minibus. How long had he been driving this route, I asked. He hesitated, then said seven, eight years. Later, someone else asked him and he replied six, seven years. Whatever the true period, he clearly knew the road extremely well.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

View from the back door, dusk

I've posted similar photographs before, but I don't get tired of evenings like this. (And no, I own nothing you see here except the car.)

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Manali morning

I enjoyed my time in Old Manali for many reasons, not the least of which was being able to enjoy sights like this from the balcony of my guest house, which was high enough up the mountainside to be almost out of earshot of the party music thumping out of Old Manali's main tourist area late at night. Not surprisingly, perhaps, dawn was a particularly quiet and tranquil time of day.

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Mist at Naddi, near Dharamsala

At Naddi village near McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, dense mist lingered, began to disperse a little, then closed in again. I liked the feeling of not being able to see everything, of not knowing what might be hidden.

[You might need a good monitor to appreciate this: the colours and tones are likely to be too subtle for some screens.]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

On the road from Manali to Leh

The second day of the journey from Manali to Leh took us through hour after hour of landscapes like this, where I felt almost as if I'd returned to Mongolia.

Now it seems so long ago.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Poplars at Leh

At Leh, I used to sit on the upstairs patio, watching the sky and the way the poplars bent and swayed in the wind, listening to the azan and the rustle of leaves, and I wished to be nowhere else. When I returned to recuperate after serious illness, the leaves had begun to yellow and fall, but the sound remained.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Failed portrait; Old Town, Leh

I'd walked past this man many times, greeting him with a 'Julley,' to which he always responded with a great smile and nod of the head, and often a 'Julley' also. I'd even inspected some of his motley collection of wares but had finally declined to buy anything after finding one of his bracelets emblazoned with 'aloha', which I assume is not a Ladakhi word. He seemed unperturbed; in fact, he seemed delighted I'd even bothered to stop and take a look.

We continued to greet each other with smiles and Julleys, and on my last day in Leh I asked if I might photograph him. He beamed and nodded and the moment I turned the camera towards him he stopped smiling. I couldn't get him to smile in any of the series of photographs, but as soon as I'd finished and thanked him, that wonderful smile returned. This is why I consider this a failure as a portrait -- it might look O.K. but it doesn't express the personality I encountered.

I'm now back in the Pohangina valley after a very long and tiring journey. Recovering my strength will take some time, but otherwise I'm fine.



All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Last days in Leh

I've spent the last several days continuing my recovery in Leh. It's quieter here now, with far fewer visitors; the days are cool, sometimes cold, the air crisp and clean. Autumn's well underway and the light and colours in the evenings are simply beautiful. 

Tomorrow I fly to Delhi; shortly after midnight I'll check in for my long journey back to New Zealand.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Ponies on the Annapurna trail

A typical scene along the trail to Annapurna Base Camp. Sadly, a jeep track has been bulldozed all the way to Landruk, the first day's destination, and although it's often impassable because of slips, the feeling of achievement of the first day's walk is now tempered by the knowledge that sometimes it's possible to drive all the way. How much further will the track be pushed? If ever Joni Mitchell's lyrics about paving paradise and putting up a parking lot were apt, they are here.

But ponies and porters are still essential for supplying the guest houses along the route, and I always enjoyed encountering these pony trains.

[If you haven't realised already, I only got as far as Landruk. You can read why, here.

Update: Part 2 of the account of the illness is now up on Pohanginapete.]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Heading for Annapurna Base Camp

Well, I was intending to get into the Annapurna Sanctuary. Illness put paid to that, though, and I pulled the plug on the trek before getting too far in, where I'd have been in serious trouble. I managed to walk out without being carried and without having my pack carried, either.

More about the aftermath later on the other blog, but no need for alarm.

Update: The first part of the account of the illness is now up on Pohanginapete.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Srinagar: before the flood

This was Srinagar and the famous Dal Lake towards the end of August. Since then, terrible flooding in Jammu & Kashmir has devastated Srinagar, badly damaging the guest house where I stayed, and has also affected Leh, where supplies are running low. My thoughts are with Aijaz and Rizvana in Srinagar, Jameel and Saira in Leh, and their families.

[I'm currently in Nepal, after ten days in the UK and three in Kazakhstan, and have just published a new post on Pohanginapete. I leave in the morning for about a week's trekking in the Annapurna area.]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Kashmiri carpets

On the way back from Dachigam National Park, near Srinagar, Aijaz took me to visit his uncle's cooperative crafts enterprise (Paradise Crafts, Nishat, Srinagar). Mukhtar's operation sells handcrafts on behalf of thousands of home operations, and among the foremost of these crafts are Kashmir's famous hand-knotted carpets.

Mukhtar explained the process of producing these carpets and what determines their quality. The three most important determinants are the density of knotting (the more knots per square inch, the higher the quality -- top carpets have the astonishing density of 800-900 knots per square inch); the number of colours; and the intricacy of the pattern. Many of these carpets take years to manufacture, even with several people working on them. Some of these I found stunningly beautiful.

But the difference between carpets with, say, 400 knots per square inch and those with 700-800 is immediately obvious. That's the problem -- having seen and touched a top quality carpet you're unlikely to be satisfied with one of lower quality, and even considering that the price includes DHL couriering anywhere in the world, that they'll only appreciate in value, and that a purchase supports a local family, the smallest and least expensive are still several hundred US dollars, so buying one of these isn't a decision to make lightly.

Sadly, the skill of creating these carpets seems to be slowly dying out as young people turn to more lucrative opportunities and those with the skill age.

If you do want to find out more about Mukhtar's co-op, feel free to contact me.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Monitor lizard, Keoladeo NP, Bharatpur

At Keoladeo Ghana NP, near Bharatpur in Rajasthan, I was on my way back to the entrance when I was lucky to see this large monitor lizard sunning itself. A nice farewell.

This photograph goes back quite a few weeks now. I've been in the UK since the beginning of September. Next stop, all going well, will be Kazakhstan for a few days, then on to Nepal. Back to India about the beginning of October (more or less -- as usual, I have no definite plans).

Unfotunately, I lost the cable that connects my card reader to the tablet, so I can't download the recent photographs. However, I should be able to pick one up in the market at Kazakhstan, where apparently anything can be bought.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Hoopoe at Srinagar

I first saw a hoopoe many years ago in Mongolia. They've always fascinated me, though, ever since I learned such strange and spectacular birds existed. This one appeared unexpectedly, close by, late in the evening, on a bank of the Jhellum River in Srinagar. I managed a few quick photographs before a small child scared it off.

[The post about Leh is now up on Pohanginapete.]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Palm squirrel, New Delhi

India has many appealing animals, but for me these must rank among the most delightful. When watching their antics it's impossible not to think of Scrat from the Ice Age movies. This was one of many scampering around the Hauz Khas complex in South Delhi but they're common throughout most of the cities I've visited in India.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

The road from Leh to Manali

We drove over the second highest road in the world by moonlight and carried on down into the dawn. Somewhere a long way from here -- and a long way from anywhere -- the minibus ran over a large rock which destroyed the radiator and sump.

We should have arrived in Manali in the early evening. I finally reached my guest house about half past midnight.

This is one of the very few parts of the road with a good surface. Most is little more than a four-wheel-drive track.

I'm currently in Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), enjoying a few days' relief from the Delhi furnace.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Babbler at Bharatpur

I love these birds, with their crazed look and their whimsical habits (like preening each other's armpits). At Keoladeo National Park, near Bharatpur, I renewed my acquaintance with them and realised they delighted me just as much as they had eight years ago.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Rumbak Valley and Stok La, Hemis NP, Ladakh

This is the head of the Rumbak Valley; Stok La is the lowest point on the skyline. 'Lowest' means 4900 m. Rumbak itself is the small village in the middle distance and sits somewhere around 4000 m. Most of the elevation gain is a steep climb up the face of that ridge, via an interminable series of switchbacks. It's further than it looks in the photograph, and the trick is to just keep plodding along at whatever pace you can manage.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Palace dog, Leh

At Zhoen's request, here's the dog that appeared on the latest pohanginapete post. It sat on the steps below the palace at Leh, but clearly had no interest in guard duties.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

'Romance are not allowed'

This hand-scrawled notice on the way to the palace above Leh's Old Town amused me.I have no idea what prompted it (and probably don't want to imagine), but I note what appears to be an attempt to scratch out the 'not'.

[There's a new post up on Pohanginapete]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Trail in the Rumbak Valley, Ladakh

Much of Ladakh struck me as desperately arid, and my admiration for the people and animals that survive here grew the longer I spent there. I walked this trail in the early morning, looking for bharal and seeing none, although they're so perfectly camouflaged they might well have been there, watching me.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Tandoor Bakery, Leh (2)

Here's another view of this ancient bakery in Old Leh. You're probably tired of my whingeing about trying to process these photographs using Photomate and Android, but the output from Photomate looks markedly different from the photograph while it's being processed. Oh for Lightroom and Windows!

I'm now back in Delhi after a highly eventful trip from Leh to Manali (almost 25 hours of travelling) and a frustrating bus journey from Manali to Delhi. The delays cost me any chance of getting to the Kazakhstan embassy today, so that will have to wait until Friday now. Delhi's still sweltering, although the temperature has dropped a little compared to a month ago.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Tandoor baker, Leh

This bakery in Leh's Old Town has been operating for 600 to 700 years. I assume the bakers aren't the originals, though ;^)

I couldn't walk past this without stopping. Almost everything about it -- the wonderful smell, the simplicity, the thick layer of black tar on the ceiling from hundreds of years of smoke, the dexterity and rhythm of the baker as he formed the dough and slapped it onto the inside of the oven -- fascinated me.

Later in the morning after I photographed this, the entrance was a scrum of people packed several deep, waiting to buy the fresh breads.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Charismatic macrofauna: lizard near Stok, Ladakh

Small things are oten overlooked in favour of the so-called 'charismatic megafauna' like snow leopards. Look closely, though, and some of these small things have their own charisma, not just in appearance but also in their behaviour. This little lizard, photographed on the walk from Changma Chan camp to Stok, at first wouldn't let me close but later relented and allowed me to wriggle close enough for a reasonable photograph.

I've posted a selection of impressions of my four days in the Rumbak/Changma/Stok area on the other blog.

By the time you get to see this post, I'll probably be on a minibus from Leh back to Manali. Posting might be sparse for a few days.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Bharal (blue sheep), Rumbak Valley, Ladakh

Bharal were the subject of the study undertaken by George Schaller and the late Peter Matthiessen, and described so marvellously in Matthiessen's classic, The Snow Leopard. The Rumbak Valley in Ladakh is the best place in the world to see wild snow leopard; unfortunately, not at this time of year, However, the bharal are abundant here, and tame. This is what they look like. They're very scruffy at the moment because most are still losing their winter coats.

With luck, I'll have some impressions of my four days here up on Pohanginapete very shortly. [Update: It's posted.]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Stok La, Rumbak Valley, Ladakh

The Stok La ('La' = 'Pass') sits about 4800 metres a.s.l. -- opinions vary regarding the true height, but I certainly felt the effects of the altitude on my legs. Still, I made it satisfactorily, and the descent to Changma camp, where just three of us stayed the night, was over in short order. This photograph gives an impression of the landscape, although the area around Changma camp is much more rugged; in fact, it's some of the most savage landscape I've ever seen.

I spent four days in this area and saw plenty of bharal (blue sheep) and birds of various species, the highlight for me being the sighting of five spectacular Himalayan snowcock (no photographs, unfortunately). I'm currently working on a Pohanginapete post, which I hope to have up in a day or two.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Leh, in Ladakh

Leh continues to grow on me. The longer I stay here, the more I appreciate its charms. This morning I climbed again to the rocky knoll that forms the attachment point for the prayer flags from the monastery (the red building). I'd beaten the crowds and was rewarded with the sight of a pair of chukar making their way along the ridge in the early morning sun. Shortly after, a kestrel circled overhead, the sunlight through its wings and tail making it seem as if the bird had been illuminated by its own intensity.

I made my way back down the gritty track, though cool shade and burning sunlight, towards the old city where the smell of bread baking in tandoor ovens hundreds of years old drifted up the mountainside, with the dust of Ladakh on my shoes and the memory of birds in my heart.

(I leave tomorrow for several days in the Rumbak Valley-Namlang La-Stok area on the edge of Hemis National Park. Nothing more from me until I'm back in Leh.)

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

The road from Manali to Leh (2)

Here's another photograph from the second day of the journey. A traffic jam (yes) on a long switchback climb meant we had to stop and wait while the downhill traffic -- mostly trucks -- squeezed past. The advantage was the opportunity to get out, stretch our legs, and attempt more deliberate photographs rather than the hit-or-miss snaps from the open window of the bouncing minibus.

I'm settling in a Leh, mostly acclimated to the altitude now, sleeping well, enjoying the delightful hospitality of a guest house high up above the noise of the town below, but relying on restaurants for wifi -- probably a good thing, as it removes the temptation to spend longer than I should in places other than where I actually am. :^)

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

The road from Manali to Leh

The gap between postings has been because I've been travelling to Leh -- two days in a minibus, over a road where smooth tarseal would have been, as Gandhi rather disparagingly said of western culture, a good idea. In fairness, we did encounter a few sections of newly paved road; however, for most of the journey of over 400 km the road resembled a rough four-wheel drive track.

Still, this journey hasn't earned its reputation as one of the world's great road trips for nothing. The landscape is spectacular, the discomfort amply compensated. Here's a sample from early on the second day.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

The chai seller, Manali

Old Manali clings to the mountainside above the main town and is the preferred option for many visitors. It has an abundance of cafes and restaurants, with the expense of their offerings correlated mostly with how hip they try to be and, as far as my limited experience goes, not at all correlated with the quality (although, to be fair, most is at least good). If, for example, you want good chai, go to somewhere like this: a stall that sits between Old and New Manali. It's a shack made of tin, buckled plywood and grime, with a corrugated iron roof.  I stopped in on a walk back from the new town a couple of days ago, hoping for an aloo paratha, but had arrived too late in the day.
  'Only chai,' the man said.
Only chai was fine with me. I sat in the dark interior with one other customer, an Indian man absorbed in his phone, and drank only chai and watched the passers-by. Afterwards, I paid the 10 rupees for the chai (less than NZ 20 cents) and chatted briefly with the owner (with the cigarette) and his friend. I felt as if I were back in India.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Proof India's colourful (bumblebee)

India's often described as colourful. This is often true, as even the bumblebees demonstrate. Several of these were working these flowers among the roadside vegetation near the top of Old Manali, among the nettles and marijuana. Not the best of photographs (I didn't have the flash set up), but I think it proves my point :)

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Jogiwara Road, Dharamsala

Another view of Jogiwara Road, near the Gakyi restaurant, late in the evening. At times this road (and others) were grid-locked with vehicles. I don't know why anyone would try to take a car along streets this narrow and crowded, but many people seemed to feel it necessary.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Evening street, Dharamsala

This is what Dharamsala looks like in the evening. Actually, it's much more frenetic than it appears here, and I'll post one or two more photographs to help give you the feel of the craziness. Still, by Indian standards it really does live up to its reputation of being relaxed.

The Gakyi, pictured here, became my regular breakfast spot and is one of the things I'll most miss about Dharamsala.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Dog at Dal Lake

One of the guide books describes Dal Lake, one of the points of interest near Dharamsala, as 'underwhelming'. That's an apt description, but the place isn't entirely without interest. The dogs certainly know how to pose for photographs -- plenty of practice, perhaps?

Early tomorrow morning I catch the bus to Manali. Most people apparently take the night bus, but I like to see the places I'm travelling through, particularly when I have to spend 10 hours in a bus.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Samtin

Yesterday my new friends from Shanghai and I visited Dal Lake, just outside Dharamsala. We were accompanied by a couple of other friends, including Samtin, whom William had met on his previous visit. The lake itself is, to put it mildly, unspectacular, so Samtin suggested visiting Naddi village, a short walk away. This proved more interesting. I managed to avoid the leeches this time; unfortunately, Suri and Samtin didn't. An application of hand sanitiser quickly removed the leech from Suri's ankle, but Samtin, like a good buddhist, let his feed unmolested. (The only problem with leeches is the mess they leave behind -- they use an anticoagulant which means the blood flows for a long time.)

'"Samtin" -- sounds like "something",' he explained, laughing.

[I've published a new post on Pohanginapete]

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

The view from McLeod Ganj

When the mist clears, the view from my balcony isn't too shabby. It's a case of 'enjoy it while you can', though -- this kind of exceptional view seldom lasts more than a few minutes. The bird is a black kite, one of the most abundant and ubiquitous of Indian birds.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Monk on the Dharamkot road, McLeod Ganj

Yesterday evening I returned to the Dharamkot road. Mist hung dense in the forest and lingered around the road; a few people laboured up the steep path or walked more briskly down. I took my time, enjoying the relative tranquility before rejoining the crowds at McLeod Ganj.

I also, as I discovered back in my room, had played host to a leech -- the first time I've donated blood since leaving New Zealand.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor

Beetle at Dharamsala

Yesterday evening in the more temperate weather of McLeod Ganj (the upper part of Dharamsala (or Dharamshala if you prefer the local spelling)), I walked partway up the road to Dharamkot, hoping for photographable views. I found none but did find plenty of other interesting things at the opposite end of the size scale, among them, several of these beetles among the abundant, head-high nettles along the roadside. For the first time in India, I put the macro lens on and set up the flash.

The monsoon arrived later in the evening: rain as I've never heard it, as if the roof might buckle under the weight of water; lightning; a continuous rumble of thunder, one peal merging with the next. By morning the rain had begun to ease; by late morning the cloud had begun to break, and the sky's alternated between sunshine, cloud and occasional light showers. Mostly, the light's been lousy for photographs, but maybe this evening I'll at last find a view worth a photograph. Meanwhile, I have a relatively inexpensive room with a view, a balcony, and even a desk that's perfect for writing. I think I'll be here for a few days.

All content © 2014 Pete McGregor