The panorama from the Bunjil lookout at Maude north of Geelong takes in a valley in the Barabool Hills where the Moorabool river has cuts its path
Bunjil the Eagle is the dream time creator of the lands and the people that traditionally inhabited the land now known as Victoria Australia
Bunjil is depicted as a Wedge Tailed Eagle, Australia’s largest bird of prey
A majestic bird in flight
The lookout Bunjil Lookout is shaped like an eagle its powerful bill in front and the huge wingspan behind
Many decades ago the air over the Barabool hills would be full of soaring wedge tailed eagles but after years of European settlement the great bird is listed ad threatened in Australia
I parked my Moto Guzzi in front of the look out
The emblem of Moto Guzzi is the eagle, a mythical eagle inspired possibly by the Golden Eagles that live in the mountains that surround Lake Como, the home of Moto Guzzi.
And looking at the two emblems together I could not help but think of how eagles have inspired us through the ages from the Dreamtime of the oldest culture on earth to the modern machine age
And despite this inspiration, this fascination the awe which these mighty birds install in us
We don’t treasure them, but have hunted eagles over centuries, destroyed their habitat and threatened the beautiful birds that are so inspirational.
The old gold mining town of Steiglitz is an interesting stop to look at an old settlement village
And in contrast to the indigenous names of Barabool and Morrabool the is the sister villages of Maude, Meredith and Elaine the run from south to north through the hills.
A stop in Geelong for a coffee and the view over the bay that was created in the dreamtime by Bunjil the Eagle.
On the Umbrial Pass in the Stelvio Region of the Italian Alps
There is a memorial to the to the Italian Aviators of WW1
And at the crown of the monument is the Golden Eagle in flight
Carlo Guzzi and his co-founders of Moto Guzzi were veterans of the Italian WW1 airforce.
And maybe that is their affinity with the eagle and how it found its way to being the emblem of the Moto Guzzi motorcycle.
Agra is the home of marvels none greater than the Taj Mahal
In some ways it overwhelms the other significant sites of Agra
So lets save it for last and start with the Tomb of Akbar
Akbar the Great led a huge expansion of the Mughal Empire and built both its military and economic strength.
Akbar arguably took the Mughal Dynnasty from Warlords to Emperors ruling over lands from Uzbekistan in north and well into southern India in the south and to Bangladesh in the east.
Coming by road from New Delhi to Agra the Tomb of Akbar is the significant monument you will come to first as you enter Agra
The Red Fort or Agra fort was the residence of the Mughal Dynasty
The Fort is better described as a walled city given its huge size
But the huge fortifications are definitely fort like
Inside the fortifications the remains of the sumptuous apartments give an indication of the luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by the Emporors who resided here
The Fort became a prison for one emporor Shah Jahan, who had commissioned the Taj Mahal, the tribute to his wife who had died.
While the Emperor was ill his youngest son seized power, imprisoning Shah Jahan, in a wing of the fort
From where he could peer out at the tribute to the love of his life and mother of his captor
The Taj Mahal – the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Shah Jahan.
As you walk through the entrance gates you can not be taken by the beauty of the Taj Mahal
I’m sure Ive read it is the most beautiful building in the world and from my first sight I can not fault that claim
From afar
From every angle it is truly an awe inspiring building
Up close the detail of the carving in the marble and the inlay work is breath taking
The view from the main deck of the Taj Mahal back to the main gate one surveys the opulence of the grounds.
And of course I could not help but admire the beautiful colours that are India
The Masai Mara richly deserves its reputation as one of the great natural reserves in the world
Here one finds the living culture of the Masai people,
The amazing landscape of the the norther Serengeti Plane, and
Most notable the array of unique and amazing African wild life
The Masai are reputed to be warrior tribe but traditionally they have been primarily nomadic pastoralists roaming the grassy planes of what was once known as Masailand.
These days like many of the tribes in North East Africa the Masai way of life is in a battle to adapt to evolving life in Africa.
The nomadic life is more constrained due to population, land use and the desire to remain close to schools and education for the next generation.
Over the next few posts I will look at the amazing wild like of the Masaimara,
