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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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  • After the unforgettable rigours of my crossing from Ardnamurchan to Muck, the relatively short passage to the next island of the Small Isles, Eigg, was relatively comfortable. It is the second largest of the four islands with an area of 31 km2 (12 sq mi), 9 km (5.6 mi) long from north to south, and 5 km (3.1 mi), with a population of about 50. The main settlement on Eigg is Cleasdale, a fertile coastal plain in the north west. It is known for its quartz beach, called the “singing sands” because of the squeaking noise it makes if walked on when dry. The centre of the island is a moorland plateau, rising to 393 metres (1,289 ft) at An Sgurr, a dramatic stump of pitchstone, sheer on three sides.<br />
I landed on the south of the island on a beach near the ferry jetty at Galmisdale where there is a sheltered anchorage for boats, and a new building near the jetty, housing the post office, shop, craft shop, café, restaurant and bar, and of great benefit to me, toilet and shower facilities that are open 24 hrs a day. This modern and welcoming building near the ferry jetty gives a good indication of how important tourism is to the local economy of Eigg, especially during the summer months, and it was a welcome haven for me whenever I was in need of some extra treats during the time that I was camping on the island. At first I camped behind the beach in Galmisdale Bay, and then I paddled around the rugged and steep east coast to find a place to camp with more solitude.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland42.jpg
  • I paddled around Eilean Thuilm at the northern tip of the island and found this beautiful place to camp with a clear view of the Isle of Rum. I spent a lot of time beachcombing or sitting on the grassy slope in the foreground gazing out across the beautiful sea view towards the Isle of Rum. To get to Cleadale and then Galmisdale there was a scenic footpath to get to the long sandy beach in the Bay of Laig, and then on to the single road leading to Galmisdale. It was a fascinating walk through a mixture of rugged coastal terrain, along a nice beach and then arable land with some dilapidated old farm buildings. I particularly remember an old atmospheric abandoned house with a lot of the original contents scattered around. The only thing that wasn’t good to see was the vast amounts of plastic flotsam and jetsom that had accumulated at the top of the beach. The Bay of Laig seems to have become the unfortunate receptacle and receiving end for so much garbage borne by the Atlantic Ocean from distant places, and more likely jettisoned by ships. There were many layers of it fringing the top of the long beach, more than I’ve seen anywhere else in the UK. It’s something that I had become very familiar with in Southeast Alaska, where a beautiful pristine coastal wilderness is exposed to an open ocean, and whatever unwanted trash it is carrying.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland43.jpg
  • Port Houghton is a deep inlet on the mainland just to the north of Petersburg. It was one of my favourite peaceful retreats to find solitude in Southeast Alaska, and to enjoy and photograph the beautiful vegetation. It was my favourite place for vegetation because it has such an array of consummate displays of all the lowland, coastal vegetation habitats: flower meadows bursting with blooms and colours: muskeg resplendent with colour and minute detail, especially in the fall, dotted with inky ponds, and lichen and moss festooned dwarf trees: before the surrounding primary old growth temperate rain forest extends up the flanks of the surrounding mountains. Foraging bears frequent the meadows in the summer or dine on salmon in the rivers in the fall. At the head of the inlet there is a salt chuck  with a rock where harbour seals haul out.
    Alaska-vegetation2.jpg
  • Port Houghton is a deep inlet on the mainland just to the north of Petersburg. It was one of my favourite peaceful retreats to find solitude in Southeast Alaska, and to enjoy and photograph the beautiful vegetation. It was my favourite place for vegetation because it has such an array of consummate displays of all the lowland, coastal vegetation habitats: flower meadows bursting with blooms and colours: muskeg resplendent with colour and minute detail, especially in the fall, dotted with inky ponds, and lichen and moss festooned dwarf trees: before the surrounding primary old growth temperate rain forest extends up the flanks of the surrounding mountains. Foraging bears frequent the meadows in the summer or dine on salmon in the rivers in the fall. At the head of the inlet there is a salt chuck  with a rock where harbour seals haul out.
    Alaska-vegetation1.jpg
  • Up the next river I found a variety of stick insects and was able to watch a frog chirping at very close range. The frog chorus started in unison at about the same time very day, each species with its own distinctive call. I saw an incredible bird called a helmet vanga with the most ostentatious bright blue beak and paradise flycatchers trailing long ribbons of feathers behind them; this was the tropical paradise that I had been dreaming about. I was glad that my foot had healed sufficiently well enough to give me almost full mobility again. The next river that I paddled up was much larger than the others and there was a fishing village at the entrance and several dwellings along the lower reaches. I paddled as far as I could to find the greatest sense of solitude. I was well provisioned and I planned on camping there for a few days so that I could explore the surrounding forest. Just past my camp I found a beautiful tributary with a series of small waterfalls. When I hiked up the stream in the evening I entered frog heaven. I found six species, many of them very small and cryptic. The largest one was perched on a small branch and was not disturbed by my presence. I was able to photograph it from every conceivable angle.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-journey39.tif
  • This beautiful view is along the cliffs at the southwest end of the island with the offshore skerries and Atlantic Ocean in the distance. I also watched basking sharks from that side of the island and saw some dolphins just offshore. It was one of my favourite palces to watch the fulmars demonstrating their aerial skills. This was the windward side of the island facing the turbulence and swells of the open ocean, and a magnificent location to look down at the waves crashing forcefully against the rocks below. There was the occasional boat that visited the island during the time that I stayed there but most of the time I had it to myself, and it gave me a wonderful feeling of coastal maritime solitude that I have rarely, if ever, experienced in the UK. I could have stayed there for at least another month but there were still other islands to visit and explore on this trip.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland24.jpg
  • It was great to suddenly have a fun young American kayaking companion after many weeks of solitude paddling from Loreto. It was also great to come across a well that we could draw cool fresh water from to wash. Corrie remained with me during the time that I was on La Paz, where I was able to catch up on some urban treats like dining in restaurants and disco dancing. La Paz is a really nice medium sized city with an attractive promenade and a lively nightlife that attracts a lot of foreign visitors and cruisers. I managed to meet a lot of interesting cruisers on their yachts. I had a good social time in La Paz before setting off on the long return journey, which started with an epic close to drowning experience!
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California40.jpg
  • All the wolves that I saw in Glacier Bay were black, and the looked particularly striking in contrast with the snow in winter. Adam's Inlet was my favourite place to go in Glacier Bay, and gave the greatest sense of solitude and wilderness; there was always a good possibility of seeing moose or wolves in there. It was quite challenging getting into the inlet because there was quite a narrow twisting channel that flowed into a salt-chuck, and during maximum ebb or flood it was more like shooting the rapids, and there were a lot of hazardous shoals to avoid getting stuck on.
    Alaska-wildlife-wolf2.jpg
  • The town of Loreto is a regular staging post for commercial kayaking tour groups. I enjoyed mixing with some of them but farther down the coast I was I was shocked by the territorialism of some of the kayaking tour leaders. I encountered a dispute between two “rival” American tour groups that each laid claim to a nearby beach to camp on. The beautiful “unclaimed” beach that I gratefully accepted to camp on was evidently less desirable. The next day I stopped at an empty beach to stretch my legs when one of the groups that was involved in the dispute came into view and their leader paddled towards me. I greeted him politely as always and he promptly retorted by just asking me where I was heading. I told him that I was just heading south, to which he curtly replied, ‘I just wanted to let you know that we’ll be camping at the next beach, OK.” I didn’t take it as an invitation to join them for a campfire dinner or to share kayaking stories; I had no desire to detract from their wilderness experience or pollute their airspace with smoke from my campfire. The commercial kayaking groups don’t venture very far south of Loreto so it wasn’t long before I had left that bewildering attitude behind me and could embrace the infinite solitude that Baja had to offer.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California8.jpg
  • After the unforgettable rigours of my crossing from Ardnamurchan to Muck, the relatively short passage to the next island of the Small Isles, Eigg, was relatively comfortable. It is the second largest of the four islands with an area of 31 km2 (12 sq mi), 9 km (5.6 mi) long from north to south, and 5 km (3.1 mi), with a population of about 50. The main settlement on Eigg is Cleasdale, a fertile coastal plain in the north west. It is known for its quartz beach, called the “singing sands” because of the squeaking noise it makes if walked on when dry. The centre of the island is a moorland plateau, rising to 393 metres (1,289 ft) at An Sgurr, a dramatic stump of pitchstone, sheer on three sides.<br />
I landed on the south of the island on a beach near the ferry jetty at Galmisdale where there is a sheltered anchorage for boats, and a new building near the jetty, housing the post office, shop, craft shop, café, restaurant and bar, and of great benefit to me, toilet and shower facilities that are open 24 hrs a day. This modern and welcoming building near the ferry jetty gives a good indication of how important tourism is to the local economy of Eigg, especially during the summer months, and it was a welcome haven for me whenever I was in need of some extra treats during the time that I was camping on the island. At first I camped behind the beach in Galmisdale Bay, and then I paddled around the rugged and steep east coast to find a place to camp with more solitude.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland41.jpg
  • Between mid-November and March is when moose typically lose their antlers; younger moose keep their antlers until later in the winter and it is usually only two year old moose that may still be adorned with their antlers come March. Moose are the largest living member of the deer family (Cervidae) and fittingly bear the largest set of antlers. Moose antlers are usually paired and shaped like the palm of a hand with outstretched fingers, thus the expression palmate. After a male moose reaches one year of age he starts to grow antlers that increase in size becoming more elaborate with more points and heavier for each new set of antlers he grows until he reaches his prime. After a male (Bull) moose reaches his prime the antlers start to recede each year until the moose dies. Every year the cycle is the same. In the spring antlers begin to grow from the skull covered with a tissue called “velvet”. By September the growth has completed and the velvet dries and falls off. Moose will often aid the removal of the velvet by rubbing their antlers on trees and shrubs (on occasion they’ll eat the velvet too!). The continuous rubbing on trees, combined with the dried blood and dirt will give the Moose Antlers the brown colour in the fall. They do not serve a useful purpose until the fall and during the mating season (called the Rut).<br />
This was during one of my best winter experiences in Southeast Alaska. There was such a great feeling of wildness and solitude up in Adam's Inlet. Very few boats go right up into Glacier Bay during the winter, and certainly not deep into Adam's Inlet. It was so peaceful up there in winter. It has always been my dream to spend a whole winter camped with the moose and wolves up Adams Inlet.
    Alaska-wildlife-moose2.jpg