Felix Smith

Glenveagh National Park was one of the most stunning places I had the pleasure of riding through. The Lauf felt so nice on the gravel too - I'm looking forward to some more all road riding once I've recovered from TAW.

I took this photo about half an hour before I hitchhiked to Galway after officially scratching from @transatlanticway that morning. Coincidently a lovely couple from Cornwall (very close to where I grew up) happened to pick me up and boy was I grateful - my knees were at thier most painful, like daggers cutting in every pedal stroke!

Italy has been been very kind to us! Lots of great content for Trail Bike of the Year coming your way @bikeradar cheers everyone for making it happen! @jimmytheexploder1 wandering the streets

São Paulo street outside the hotel

A nice drizzly morning at Ashton Court with George, just like old times

It's taken a while but I finally have a job doing what I want, a videographer for BikeRadar.com! Cheers to that! I was also 2nd camera last week shooting freelance for English Heritage, could be the beginnings of a decent step on the career path!

Lovely palette and textures of a tidal area during the current heatwave.

Soon to be home...

One of my favourite things about cities is architecture combined with the natural environment

Almost a year away travelling and now I'm back in the UK. Still got the novelty of being back!

Warm evening sun shines through native temperate rainforest after a day of heavy rain in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand.

Here is classic lake sunrise photo I had been hoping to achieve whilst traveling New Zealand. This is Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown. Not long after I took this I noticed that Australasian crested grebe you can see in one of my previous photos.

Threatened southern (Australisian) crested grebe on Lake Wakatipu. I was photographing the sunrise on the lake when I suddenly noticed the unmistakable silhouette of what I thought was a great crested grebe. I was delighted to find out it was in fact a subspecies found in Australasia. These shy birds are a subspecies of the great crested grebe and are native to New Zealand. Unfortunately their numbers have declined dramatically and there are estimated to be less than 300 left in New Zealand. The main reason seems to be due to unsuccessful breeding. These birds nest on the edge of high country lakes. Unfortunately this habitat has changed dramatically since European settlers arrived. Cattle grazing, fishing, tourism and construction of dams are some of the reasons these birds are disturbed, resulting in time off incubation. Eggs are vulnerable to sudden changes in water levels. It is thought power boats disturbing water levels are partly to blame and more frequent extreme weather where heavy rainfall and strong winds can wash away nests. Interestingly, the introduction of willow present on some lakes has inadvertently helped to protect nests. Birds choose edges of the lake where the willow grows rigorously. As the plant grows it's dense roots and stems create safer nesting areas protected from wind and waves. Grebes are threatened by introduced predatory mammals like ferrets, stoats and feral cats. High water quality is important for grebes to hunt for fish as they rely on sight to locate prey. Fertilisers used on farmland can leach into lakes increasing nutrient levels and decreasing water visibility. It would seem these impressive but timid birds have an uncertain future ahead! Conservation work and education can go a long way. It was great learning more about these birds. A great article by Bill Rea on nzgeo.co.nz helped me.

Quite nice views from this campsite! #nz #vanlife

These are currently my most used items in my first aid kit in the fight against the sand flies! I have been immersing myself in the wildness and beauty of the south island. The Haast and Fiordland National Parks have definitely captured my imagination with the endless native bush and remote mountains. Looking into the distance I can't help but think there must be species out there presumed extinct like the mysterious Kókako or even new species. Anyway, I'm hoping to spend more time exploring and creating more photography and film in these awesome places.