Phlogged

We took on Ella Rock a 10km hike that is one of the less touristy hikes in the area, but once you reach the top, it’s hard to understand why. Ella Rock has the most spectacular views in the area, the walk up is also super photogenic as you spend time walking on the train tracks and tea plantations making for some great photo opps.  From Ella town the Ella Rock hike ends up taking around 4 hours to complete. The path isn’t very well sign-posted, so it really depends on how many time you get lost, as to how long this trek will take. If this is a concern, then there are plenty of locals in town who’d be quite happy to be your guide in exchange for some rupees.

In terms of accommodation, in Ella town its all about trying to find the best of a bad bunch. All the accom options are quite primitive. We stayed at Ella’s Edge Resort, which was fairly average. But it did have an incredible unobstructed view of Ella Gap, and the staff were super-friendly.

If you are looking for epic accom in Ella, definitely try and stay at 98 Acres, which is absolutely stunning. The  restaurant there was one of the best that we experienced during our entire time in Sri Lanka.

98 Acres is also close to another great hiking option called Little Adams Peak. This one is only 4.5km’s which can be knocked over in about an hour, and it offers cracking vistas for very little effort.

Here’s a few shots of our time in Ella.

Enjoy

The hotel itself is tucked away into the lush, green hills of the Horton Plains National Park and architecturally it feels like it’s completely part of the jungle landscape that it’s surrounded by.

It’s an incredibly mystic place, shrouded in a dreamy mist for most of the day. We woke everyday to the sound of birds and nearby streams, and felt a world away from the world which we left.   The hotel is also surrounded by a plethora of wildlife such mongoose, snakes, lizards and beautiful bird life, which we could spot from our balcony whilst sampling some of the local teas.

We felt like we waited forever for our honeymoon, but the bliss we felt after just a few days here made it well worth the wait.

Checkout The Glenrock Hotel here.

Glenrock, Sri Lanka

Of the many beaches that we sampled throughout our three week trip, Talalla Beach was by far our favourite as it didn’t have the same bustling, touristy vibe that a lot of the more popular Southern coastine beaches had. It was also one of the prettiest beaches that we discovered during our time in Sri Lanka, which made it a delight to shoot, swim and spend time at.

For me Talalla Beach Resort was the perfect mix of relaxation and activities. Nat would practice yoga each morning, and I would hit up the local surf break called S.K Town. We’d meet up afterwards for brekkie, and either chill on the beach or explore the local area.  We’d then yoga/surf again late in the afternoon each day. We followed this routine for a week, and left feeling more relaxed and in-sync than we probably have ever felt in our entire lives.

A couple of key things to check out between surf sessions if you’re in the area:

Hiriketia Bay – This place goes by a heap of different names; Horse-shoe Bay and Blue Beach are the most common. It’s only 20 mins up the road from Talalla and is well worth the trip for a surf or a beer on sunset.

Lace Factory  – I was dragged a little hesitantly to the local lace factory. but I was blown away by the intricacy of this ancient art-form. It’s situated less than 5 mins from Talalla. Ask the locals and they’ll give you directions.

S.K Town – If you’re a surfer, this is the best spot within 20mins Tuk Tuk or Scooter ride from Talalla Beach Resort. It’s a super fun beach break for all levels of experience.

One of the things that we also loved about Talalla Beach Resort is their water bottle re-filling stations. Sounds ridiculous, but this was the only place we stayed in Sri Lanka that seemed to be aware of what a massive environmental problem that the country has with plastic consumption. Talalla was the only place we stayed where we could actually refill our bottles, which was so great to see and we hope that these eco-conscious practices start to get utilised more through-out the country sooner rather than later.

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Talalla Retreat, Sri Lanka

Learn How To Organise and Manage Your Photo Collection Like A Professional Photographer

Staying organised with your photo’s may seem like a chore, but there is something so satisfying about neat and logical folders and being able to refer to a specific file in an instant – it’s like a clean car, it just makes you feel like you are winning at life. And better still, it minimises the chances of losing anything along the way, which we all know is #worthit.

Here are a couple of hacks…

5 Reasons Why You Need An Aftermarket Camera Strap

Until recently, I had never used a camera strap other than the ones that come standard with my camera purchases – but after long days of shooting, I was finding myself getting sore neck and shoulder muscles, so I went on the hunt for one with a more padded strap.

I did some research and picked up two different camera straps by Peak Designs. One is a sling strap for my Nikon D800 and the other is…

We drove from San Fran to Yosemite and even the road trip was the stuff dreams of made of; steeped in deep green pine trees, so tall that you can’t quite see the tops and winding around some of the most beautiful mountain outlooks that I’ve ever seen. It was a long trip as around every corner I was jumping out to take photos – it was just that damn good.

When we finally rolled into town, we had the pleasure of checking into Tenaya Lodge , an all-season resort located roughly 40 minutes from YNP’s southern gate, and 40 minutes to the valley itself. The resort gave us a good taste of a classic American lodge; with crackling giant open fires, s’mores, spa treatments and hot tubs. It provided a super indulgent balance to the outdoor action that we had by day while visiting the park. In saying that, we could have probably had a holiday in-itself just in Tenaya as it was fully kitted with every activity under the sun, including indoor and outdoor pools, rock climbing walls, mountain bikes and archery. It felt like we we’re at summer camp for big kids!

Yosemite valley itself was an absolute theme park for the outdoorsy type. There are more hiking trails than you could ever complete in one trip (or 10 trips), proper outdoor rock climbing (where the many climbers looked like tiny ants scurrying tup the cliff face), rafting, fishing, horse riding, and mountain biking – and thats only the summer activities. We sampled some of the smaller hikes and hired bikes in the valley, which I would highly recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to visit. At a slower pace and off the main street you really get a chance to take in the absolute beauty of the valley, and hopefully run into some wildlife too. We saw deer, foxes, squirrels on our ride, unfortunately no bears (which Nat was devastated about).

We were sad to leave Yosemite as we felt like there was so much more to experience within the park. But luckily for us, it won’t be the last time we visit! Nat has vowed that next time, she will find Yogi Bear, no matter how many snacks she has to take with her.

Here’s some photos of our time in YNP.

Enjoy.

Our accommodation was located at the bottom of a dead-end street with not another house insight – the only neighbours that we came across were some friendly cows in one of the adjacent paddocks. The Carriage was such an incredible spot where we were able to properly unwind, relax and enjoy a couple of pale ales. This is by far the best CityRail experience that we’ve ever had!

You can find The Carriage on Airbnb Here.

When we weren’t chilling at the Carriage, we were exploring the local area and managed to find some great hiking and bushwalking trails up at Mount Wilson. There were tracks for all skill levels, and we ended up doing a 2hr fern-filled trail which included a great little waterfall to top it off.

We also spent some time down at the Upper Colo River to beat the weekend heat and thankfully, there was plenty of water flowing in the river due to the recent rains. It also offers an awesome pet-friendly campsite which we’ve got pencilled in for later in the year.

Here’s a few shots of the weekend that was.

Enjoy.