PLITVICE LAKES ON FILM

Yesterday, I collected the developed film from our recent holiday and immediately felt a rush of the holiday blues. Literally; crystal clear, aquamarine, turquoise, azure blues. Plitvice Lakes was one of the most beautiful places that I have ever visited - partially down to the incredibly hued water that fills its lakes and pools. 

Based in Zagreb, we caught an early morning coach to the World Heritage Site, admiring the scenery as we swept through the countryside and began creeping up mountain roads. As soon as we arrived at the park we were awestruck by the lush green surroundings - the woods and mountains appeared to go on forever and I was itching to explore them. 

We only had six hours to see as much as possible, regretfully meaning that the woods and mountains on the horizon would have to wait for a future trip. Out of the eight routes that circuit the lakes and waterfalls, we chose route H - I would highly recommend this route, as the waterfalls and scenery become more and more spectacular as you walk and the climax of the experience is a steep climb upwards that is constantly rewarded with breath-taking birds-eye-views of the paths that you have spent the day walking.

If you are visiting Croatia, it is more than worth going out of your way to visit Plitvice. You won't regret it.

All photos, my own.

MY GREAT OUTDOORS: LAURA BANCROFT

Again, I discovered Laura Bancroft via Instagram, that most social of all networks. I instantly fell for her feed detailing her adventures in the PNW and headed over to her blog, where I was sucked in even more.

Read on to discover Laura's Great Outdoors or click here to view the previous posts in the series.

"The Pacific Northwest holds countless unreal trails and desolate destinations where the hum of the city is halted and the fresh air is rich with the smell of the outdoors. 

I'm sharing with you one of my newly discovered favourite places to spend a weekend afternoon. It's not too far away from Vancouver (Canada), and you don't have to be a mountaineer to experience and enjoy it. I think it's refreshing to learn that, no matter how much you think you've seen, there will always be places within hours of where you live that are new to your eyes. I also know huge hikes in unknown places can be daunting and I believe people of all different experience levels should be able to experience the beauty of the outdoors.

This 'hike' in Golden Ears Provincial Park is about an hour outside of Vancouver, in the mountains lying behind Maple Ridge. It's a long windy rode through a seemingly endless mass of tall trees until you reach a parking lot where you can start your walk. It's about a 45min trek along a gravel trail to Gold Creek lower falls. Depending on what time of the year you're there the waterfall might be a frothy, uncontainable explosion, or a subtle trickle over the cliffs. Either way, be sure you walk to the top of the waterfall where there lies a crystal-clear, icy pool of water that resembles a melted green jolly rancher in colour - seriously beautiful. We love to pack a little lunch and warm drinks to eat on the rocks by the falls. 

I hear rumours of the second waterfall not being too far away and I'm definitely going to head back here to check out some of the less-traveled, more wild hiking routes. On your way out of the park make sure to stop by Alouette Lake. In my opinion it's the most beautiful in the quiet winter months when it's not crowded with campers. There's a solitude that comes along with quiet, open bodies of water that can't be beat. 

Happy adventuring!"

 The Park website

@piperwinston

All photos by Laura Bancroft

MY GREAT OUTDOORS: JORDAN VOTH

Welcome to the second edition of My Great Outdoors!

My second contributor is the talented Jordan Voth. I first discovered Jordan's photography via a search for #thatnwbridge and have since continued to fall for his epic landscapes; from his local Washington forests and cliffs to awe-inspiring canyons and caves. Read on to discover his Great Outdoors.

"One of my favorite spots to explore is around the Hoh Rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula.  In a 30 mile radius there are a lot of awesome things to see, my favorite being Cape Flattery, La Push & the rainforest itself. It is located on the western side of the Olympic National Park and is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the country. The average rainfall here is around 12-14 feet (yes, feet) of rain per year so don’t be surprised if it’s raining during your visit. There are a ton of trails making it a great spot to hike through and see all of the mossy-awesomeness the rainforest has to offer. La Push is a great little town and the hike down to second beach is amazing. One of my favorite hikes to do in that area. 

Cape Flattery is the northwesternmost point of the United States and looks unreal in person. It totally looks like a different country out there. The water is extremely teal & there are many sea caves along the coastline. All of these places are fairly easy to get to, just follow 101 North from Seattle and follow the signs for each. La Push is great to visit in the summer time since the tide is usually out much further and allows you to walk out on the beach."

@jordanvoth

All photographs by Jordan Voth

My Great Outdoors: Cynthia Jimenez

Welcome to a new series of posts on my blog!

For My Great Outdoors, I have contacted a selection of my favourite photographers (all found via Instagram) and asked them to share one of their favourite outdoors spaces. This could either be their favourite place to hike, a hidden space perfect for relaxing or city streets. The aim of this series is to encourage people to get outside and explore; whether you live in a sprawling suburb or a rural retreat.

For the first post, I welcome Cynthia Jimenez to my blog. I first discovered Cynthia's photography via Instagram, which led me on to her website and blog. Read on to discover her Great Outdoors.

"This is San Francisco in a day. One of my friends came in from Texas to spend New Years in California, but we couldn't just dress up and attend a fancy party, nope! we jumped on a bus and headed to San Francisco. On the way there we searched for affordable places to stay and routes to different look out points. We also love vintage shopping and roaming around busy streets and cafés so we made sure we fit that in. These are a few of the places we went to and only some of the streets that caught our eye.To receive the New Year we ended up at a local writers/musician's event for dinner and then headed to the streets for fireworks! It was definitely a trip to remember! ".

@cynjii

All photographs by Cynthia Jimenez