Five Seven One

Melbourne Australia has a feeling of prosperity, leisure, balance, daring, community, and health. I have not visited many cities that embody all of these attributes. The people are friendly and although they have one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world, they seem to have not lost sight of the value of life outside the workplace. At night the streets and parks are teaming with people enjoying life outside the home. Melbourne has several places for people to congregate and enjoy art, film, music, you name it you can find it on any given night.

What can I say that hasn’t been said about Arches National Park? Featured in literature, paintings, films, commercials, and thousands upon millions of photographs. Almost every person I have spoken to in my life that has done any traveling in the western United States has made the trip to arches, and rightfully so. The park is home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches and just as many more unusual sandstone formations created by millions of year’s geological events.

Little Sahara Recreation Area in Utah is one of my favorite places in world. Created by left over deposits from the Sevier River, which flowed into Lake Bonneville over 15,000 years ago, this one hundred and twenty four mile square living dune system is heading north at the rate of 9 feet per year. The nearest services for the area are in Eureka and nearest major city and airport are located in Salt Lake, which is 115 miles south.

Kangaroo Island is located of the coast of southern Australia. The nearest major city is Adelaide and is easily accessible by ferry or plane. If you are taking a rental car to the island by ferry be sure to make a reservation. I have listed the ferry service contacts at the end of the article. The Island boasts 318 miles of coastline and 1680 square miles of very diverse terrain. A population of 4259 friendly laidback residents gives the Island an atmosphere of a sleepy small town. Every time we passed a local driver coming the opposite direction they would wave, something I am definitely not accustomed to here in NYC.

Egilsstaðir is located on Iceland’s east coast. The town and the surrounding area are home to some of Iceland’s most beautiful landscapes. The town was established in 1947 as a service center for the region. It has grown a great deal over the years and is now the largest city on the east end of the island.

We left our hotel in Georgetown and traveled though the city by cab. The drive was very surreal. We saw cows standing next to pumps at a gas station. We crossed the worlds longest floating bridge, which seemed to be metal plates not joined together in any particular way, held up by various floating debris. At one point we drove along the dykes that separate the ocean from the city. Apparently the Dutch only like to make settlements below sea level. We also saw farmers drying their rice on the shoulder of the road.

We left Shanklands eco-resort and traveled up the Essequibo river by boat. We arrived at an incredibly small airstrip. Our boat captain dropped us off and then sped away. One thing about traveling in Guyana is that the people are not very forth coming with information on itineraries. Although we had no problems, being dropped off at a jungle airstrip where the only structure is basically a bus stop with a windsock on top can be a little disconcerting. We waited a little while until an incredibly small plane arrived.

Moody’s Namena is a one-resort island, owned and operated by Tom and Joan Moody. The resort consists of six bures that sit a top the islands cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Each bure or Fijian cottage is an hexagon with double doors on three walls that lead onto a wrap around porch. So, whether you are on the deck or laying in your king size bed you always have a fantastic view, and at night you have the ocean waves to lull you to sleep.

My trip started at 7:00 pm in NYC. I boarded a plane for Salt Lake City that was supposed to arrive around 11:00 pm, but didn’t get in until 1:00 am. Since I was going solo and the route I was taking is a one-way trip I had to hire a shuttle from the base to the trail head. If you need a ride arrange it before you go. At the end of the article I provided a list of authorized shuttle providers. I had to meet my shuttle at Lee’s Ferry which is about an hour and a half outside Page Arizona, so I picked up my rental car and started the six hour drive. On the way I stopped at the BLM station to pick up my permit. You can get the required permit online at: www.blm.gov/az/asfo/paria/. I finally reached Lee’s Ferry at 9:30 am and started the two hour drive back to the Wire Pass trailhead. This timetable is a little extreme. I recommend spending the night in Page or camping in one of the nearby campgrounds before you start backpacking, rather than traveling for nineteen straight hours.

Five Seven One was founded by Marcy Milks and Eric Scott. Taking their love for travel and their experience as graphic designers, they decided to share the places they have been, providing a guide for travelers around the world. Stay tuned for lots of images and travel tips. Thank you for visiting.