My Adventures.com

NPM-DVD-133 - The Petrified Forest National Park is located in Arizona in the USA. Long ago the region was covered by a dense forest and mighty rivers cut across the terrain. Water caused by heavy flooding forced dead trees to float to a low lying swampland. In the deep quagmire of the swamp and having, in effect, been hermitically sealed, the trees were subsequently covered by layers of sediment. Thus their further decomposition was halted. As the trees piled deeper and deeper into the swamp the petrification process began. Mud, sand and volcanic ash settled above the trees that gradually absorbed minerals from the surrounding moisture. Thus, hundreds of fossilised trunks developed that today are scattered across the prairie. Today, the Petrified Forest's formerly tall conifers are the most common examples of this stone world of plants that dates back to prehistory. The numerous colours of the pure quartz and various other varieties of the "stone trees" are quite remarkable and in stark contrast to the bright blue of the mostly cloudless sky. Most impressive is the millions of years old geologic phenomenon of the stone forest in the southern region that is situated only two kilometres from the entrance to the national park. In the Long Logs area that is located close to Giant Logs, there are hundreds of thousands of fossilised specimens. There are around three hundred archaeological sites in the park that range from small discoveries that have uncovered items of clay, to ...

Green Family Summer travels across southern Colorado and into souteastern Utah. Follow them from Durango, CO, to Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah for a long day hike in the spectacular desert terrain.

NPM-DVD-147 - In the south west of the state of South Dakota is a mysterious-looking landscape that is rugged, sparse and a surreal-looking desert of rock that is colourfully known as the Badlands. For around five hundred thousand years the forces of wind, air and water have gradually shaped the mighty rocks that appear like huge walls across the Badlands. In some places the rock walls look like miniature mountains and everywhere one looks there are fascinating rock formations. In addition it is the many colours contained within the rock that also focus the attention. Conversely, the Badlands Prairie features a large variety of grasses that are only to be found in this region of North America. Between the scattered rocks are a total of fifty six varieties of grass that combine to form an ecological system that is unique in the world. Paleotologists also benefit from the weather beaten terrain of South Dakota as the south west region also features several fossil excavation sites. Remains of the original ancestors of the horse, the Mesohippus, have been discovered in the Badlands as well as the petrified bones of carnivores such as the Creodonten and various now-extinct turtles. Badlands may be its name but in no way does it describe the unspoiled magnificence of its truly unique and spectacular scenery.

NPM-DVD-151 - When viewing the Kalahari from the air it is soon clear that in spite of its arid appearance it does not only consist of desert terrain. Indeed, its extensive and dry savannah is home to a variety of vegetation zones and a surprisingly large number of plants and animals. Covering an incredible two point five million square kilometres the Kalahari extends across more than nine African countries. In the north it borders the Zaire Delta and in the south it stretches between the Atlantic and West Zambia. The largest area of the Kalahari is situated in Botswana, one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. With less than three people per square kilometre it is hardly surprising that it is such an isolated region. Amid the African wilderness we arrive at a luxurious lodge that is surrounded by several beautiful old trees, Deception Valley Lodge. A few years ago the owners of the lodge came to an arrangement with the nearby members of the San tribe that some of them would act as guides for their guests. The Bushmen of the Kalahari have a long and proud history and it is believed that the first settlement of the ancestors of the San was established here around a hundred thousand years ago. The bushmen accompany us on our trip into the desert that is also their home. Nobody knows the mysteries of the desert better than the San tribesmen. For thousands of years their knowledge and experience has been handed down from one generation to the next. Without ...

NWG-DVD-108 - Shimmering red colour surrounds Fire Canyon in the US State of Nevada's oldest national park. The Valley Of Fire Conservation Area was founded in 1935 and the valley derived its name from the fascinating blazing red colour of its sandstone. Several of the rock formations in Fire Canyon resemble huge works of art and gigantic sculptures. As the sun moves almost imperceptibly across the sky it continuously transforms the magnificent kaleidoscopic colours of the rocks below. The desert is illuminated in brilliant reds, browns and yellows and the rocks glow with a fiery intensity. The undulating terrain, the rocks and the arid conditions are all silent witnesses of the origin and creation of this legendary desert landscape.

OTT-DVD-102 - On Tour... AFRICAN BALLOON SAFARI A Bird's Eye View Of Africa AFRICAN BALLOON SAFARI The hectic pace of contemporary life can turn into a monotonous daily routine which never seems to end but, occasionally, the spirit of adventure comes to the fore, a burning desire to do something a little different. And what better than an airborne African safari in a hot air balloon! As the sun rises above the Earth, unique ever-changing horizons appear as Nature begins to stir and even the trees seem to delight in the dawning of a new day. Civilization appears to be a long way away and, from the airy heights of the balloon, nothing disturbs the balance of nature below. Everything is in perfect harmony as the sun illuminates each detail of the landscape and the balloon allows us to see nature at its most revealing. And soon one forgets various preconceived ideas about Africa: it is not just a land of scorched earth but one of lush green vegetation, an intense green that stamps itself indelibly into the memory. While the balloon's shadow drifts across the African terrain we stare down inquisitively at the ground below, the native inhabitants going about their daily tasks oblivious to our presence, hunting for food and rearing their young as they have done for thousands of years.

ML-PDVD-WALD - The Waldviertel Express is leading through one of the most scenic landscapes in Austria, the so-called Waldviertel, an area famous for its mystic granite-filled landscape. IT is situated in the northern part of Austria and starts in Gmund them climbing to it's highest point, Bruderndorf, via more difficult terrain with an ascent of 25 parts per thousand. From there we continue across a high plateau, before we arrive at our final destination, Gross Gerungs. This line was constructed around the end of the 19th Century. The series 399 locomotive is pulling the carriage over the 76 kilometers in almost two hours. As an additional bonus the DVD contains the ride from the driver's point of view.

Our Coach which was due to take us to the salt lakes was cancelled, so instead we took a small van. On our way there we come face to face with the reason why the coach had been cancelled. A demonstration on the main highway from La Paz where the demonstrators had thrown large rocks on the road to stop cars driving through. They'd created a huge road block in the middle of nowhere. What I'd like to know is how all those people got there?... In the end we decided to drive off the road and around the road block, across the rough terrain...

NPM-DVD-122 - Nature Parks JOSHUA TREE California Approximately two hundred and thirty kilometres east of Los Angeles and close to Palm Springs is the Joshua Tree National Park. Founded in1994 this nature preserve near to the Little San Bernardino Mountains covers an area of around two thousand square kilometres. It consists of two different types of desert. In the southern part, the Sonora Desert extends to the neighbouring state of Arizona. The northern section of the park forms part of the Mojave Desert and, being in California, is located within a cooler climatic zone a thousand metres above sea level. Even its rock can be divided into two different geological forms. The powerful, dark scree mountains are called Pinto Gneis. The distinctly bright rock of the Monzogranite is the opposite of the Pinto Gneis that can be found in six different mountain ranges within the national park. The bulbous roots of the Joshua Tree were used by the Serrano Indians. Chopped and pounded they were transformed into soap, and string, mats and baskets were made from the plant's leaves. At the end of the 19th century when the gold mines in the northern part of California had been abandoned, the region's rocky terrain became a focus of attention. Gold diggers began to travel to the south of the State and in 1865 the precious metal was discovered in this region. The most successful gold digging area was Lost Horse Mine in the foothills of the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Each evening ...

It had been raining all the way through from Manali to Rohtang and beyond. It was sad that we couldn't catch on the spectacular view of valleys and the Pir Panjal range. The altitude of Rohtang Pass is abppx 13000ft, and is the lowest (and first) of the four major passes on the road to Ladakh. Just tried to catch on the kind of weather we went through our travel to Leh. This weather carried on uptil Baralachla after which the weather and terrain changed dramatically !

When one reaches around Keylong, that means quater of the journey is over. As one goes down Keylong, the road continues on its bank of the Bhaga river till one reaches Jispa. The Jispa village is located on the banks for the Bhaga river and commands great views of the mountains. As one continues beyond Jispa one comes to a place called Darcha. The village is sprawled across the slope on the opposite banks of Bassi. The terrain gets more and more barren as one keeps climbing on ! Due to the rains, the videos are not at all good.. but i just wanted to post them so that one can view and take an experience out of it.

As one descends through the worlds highest road, the Khardungla Pass we come across to vast sandy stretch. Nubra Valley is between the Ladakh range and the Karakoram mountains and is a confluence of the Nubra River and the Shyok River. The whole terrain is more desolate and barren. The whole region is partly green, partly rocky, and some part of it is a desert too. The road twists and turns and the drive seems endless over the rugged hills.

Crashing into our tree-house 45 meters above the jungle floor in northwestern Laos. Stopping 210 lbs of momentum with one hand (video camera in the other) is quite difficult. 3 days deep in the reserve zip-lining across gorges, valleys and breathtaking canopies was an excellent introduction to this beautiful country. The Bokeo Nature Reserve was established by the Lao Forestry Authorities and Animo with a practical approach and no external funds. It consists of 123000 hectares of mix-deciduous forest in a mountainous terrain ranging from 500m to 1500m in elevation. The Reserve is rich in biodiversity, birds, insects, and mammals including populations of black gibbons, bears, tigers, and migrating populations of wild buffalo and elephants. www.gibbonexperience.org

Descending from the Rohtang,one sees the deep valley of the Chandra river with the high peaks of Lahaul Mountains. There are small places one comes upto like Gramphu, Khoksar, Sissu, Gondhla. Cannot show them across the video very clearly coz it was foggy and raining throughtout. As one keeps traversing the road further the greenery diminishes. One can see the chandra river following along all this way. This wet weather carried on uptil Baralachla after which the weather and terrain changed dramatically !