Underwater Photography - Green Turtles In the South Red Sea

To me Turtles are one of the hardest animals to film underwater, because, as odd as it sounds, they really aren't bothered by our presence. With that in mind then, keeping a respectable distance is something that you need to remember, and constantly! I always found it so upsetting to see people touching marine life, whether it be stamping on the coral reef or indeed trying to ride or stroke Turtles. However the temptation to get closer and closer for the perfect picture is something that I really had to be mindful of on this trip. If you're looking for a place to see or film Green Turtles then look no further. Marsa Alam in the South Red Sea is home to many. This place is my favourite travel destination, and for good reason! The highest concentration of Green Turtles (and sometimes Hawksbill, but you will have more luck finding them on the nearby reef) can be found at Marsa Mubarak or Turtle Bay as it is known locally (not the Caribbean Restaurant, but far more rewarding)
We decided to give it a go. We knew they were here as we were lucky enough to see them the previous day, nibbling inconspicuously at the sea grass which lines the sandy bottom of the bay. Getting on our snorkelling kit was no problem until we attempted to enter the water- rocks everywhere! Of course, with fins on it is almost impossible to enter the water corectly, so of course we stumbled around unable to remove our fins until one of us fell over. Luckily the camera wasn't damaged! (I have never attempted a shore snorkel or dive with my fins on since!)
The water at Marsa Mubarak has pretty good visibility despite the sandy bottom; and the abundance of both sea grass and reef (found a little further out) makes it a brilliant place to spot wildlife. Whitetip Reef Shark pups are known to visit the bay and Dugongs known as "Dennis" and "Dyson" to the locals have made it their permanent home. You'll be pretty lucky to see either of these- but your chances of seeing Green Turtles here is pretty much guaranteed! After 10 minutes in the water we were greeted by two giant Green Turtles, each one the size of a lorry tire. Camera time. I use an Olympus camera underwater - It's by no means top of the range but for a beginner SCUBA diver like me it does the trick! Here are some of the photos. This was the first time I had ever attempted underwater photography! Now I am fully aware that these aren't top of the top amazing, but I was pretty impressed that I managed to stay still enough at depth with my dive kit to take them at all! These pictures are from both Marsa Mubarak and Marsa Abu Dabbab, another exceptional spot for diving with Turtles just down the road from Mubarak. Turtles are so peaceful to dive with, pushing through the water with ease and nipping away at the sea grass, whilst us divers and snorkelers faff around with our kit and try not to disturb the wildlife. We should feel grateful that they allow us to share their space with them in this way. If you're a big fan of underwater photography or can recommend any camera kit or camera techniques, please drop me an email because I would love to hear from you!
Happy travelling,
JoGoesWalkabout

Arizona Horses - The wildlife of South Mountain

We decided to "hike with horses" during our recent trip to Arizona. I absolutely love spending time with horses, and it seemed a great way to get around - it also gave us lots of opportunities to spot wildlife (and spot we did!)
From the research I did before leaving the UK, Ponderosa Stables up near the South Mountain Preserve seemed like a great choice - Not too far from Phoenix and the horses looked in beautiful condition. Bill had never ridden before (apart from Camels in Marrakech, see previous blog posts if you're interested) and so what better place to learn than in the wild west!
We had come to realise that hiking in Arizona in the peak summer months was hard work. Both of us are fit and strong but it soon became clear that the sun was stronger. Twice we had to abandon big hikes/climbs up Squaw Peak and Camelback Mountain through either being too hot to even continue, mild heat stroke and then running low on water (6 litres still wasn't enough for us) so an early morning horse trek (7.30 am) seemed like a much nicer way of getting around, and it wasn't too hot for the horses either at that time of day.
Our guide was called Peter, or Curly-Slim (his ranch name,) an ex military man who embodied everything wild west - Tasselled boots, spurs, a thick southern accent and infectious enthusiasm which was channelled through a big smile and thick shoulders, all finished off with a Stetson. (What else?) We could point to any landmark, or odd looking rock, or Cactus, and he knew about it. Our horses (Specky, Sherrie, Skyball and Dingo) happily plodded along the terrain, which was a challenging mix of navigating up and down steep riverbeds and then guiding the horses through the infamous "Snake Alley" which proved to live up to its name. Our first wildlife sighting occurred minutes after setting off - A Zebra Tailed Lizard sat on a rock - A nice find for us, as we were yet to see anything on our previous failed hike up Squaw Peak. Turns out little lizards popped up everywhere, unfortunately I missed a few of these as my horse, Specks, wandered off the trail for a few minutes before we finally returned to Bill and Curly Slim. A Jack Rabbit was the next surprise. Huge with big, bumbling ears and a sort of dazed and bewildered look about them, native to the US and Mexico, it sat under a tree, perhaps avoiding the sun or maybe hiding from predators, it was completely un-phased by our presence, and bimbled off as we tailed past. Seeing a Coyote was a big highlight for me - I wasn't expecting to see one, and I still couldn't believe it when Bill shouted at us to turn and look. Trotting over a ridge no more than 20 metres away was a young male Coyote, panting under the sun and sniffing the air, before stopping to take a good look at us. What do we do? Are there more? Will the horses spook? Will the coyote attack the horses? It occurred to me that I didn't actually know what to do at this point, but the Coyote simply looked on and trotted away through a river bed, leaving us to our trek. What an experience to see such a beautiful animal in the wild. Seeing it on the television never prepares me for encounters like this - Life almost seems to pause momentarily.
Now the scariest part of these treks was our encounter with a Diamondback Rattlesnake. I should mention that our horses were an absolute delight - Well natured and enthusiastic but not easily spooked by birds flying from the trees or rabbits jumping nearby, but the Rattlesnake was different.  Dingo near enough threw Curly Slim on the ground, as minutes after we entered Snake Alley, a Diamondback emerged, coiled in the hot sand, hissing and rattling, ready to have a go. We weren't sure at first if Dingo had actually trodden on the snake, but either way he knew it was there. By this time, our horses had noticed what was going on as the Snake rattled and hissed and gradually we backed them away and headed up a little ridge, away from the Snake, which was an adolescent male about 4 or 5 feet long. Adrenalin fuelled we headed back to the ranch, exhilarated, Curly Slim laughing, clearly taking the encounter in his stride. I guess to him it was just another day in the west.