Donna leads this week, and she wants to know what rocks our world…. I would say Nature’s grand design rocks my world. And Earth Day is only 9 days away, so let’s Rock with Donna!
As a child my favourite things to do when I came home from school, was climbing trees and rocks. We used to pack something to drink, a couple of sandwiches and homemade buns, and then head out for adventures. My best friend would come along, and sometimes my cat too – well, that makes two of my best friends of course.
Those were happy days to remember, and sometimes I climb all the fences and brave the cows and horses up there just to find my old playgrounds again. Now those stones don’t look that huge anymore, but they are still impressive. The funny thing is, it was not easy to climb them then – but today I might not be able to climb them at all, for other reasons… Maybe they too remember though, if I gently touch them and put my ear to the sun warm surface and listen…
Geologists have a saying – rocks remember.
– Neil Armstrong
So, I will concentrate on some beautiful rocks I have met (- the soft way…).I do remember all of these with love, be they natural, manmade or who made!
The unforgettable Pancake Rocks, New Zealand, South Island. You could not climb them and were not allowed to either. But, they made a grand and very special landscape.
Shell or rock? This is New Zealand as well. There was a whole beach with beautiful stone formations – and it was allowed to climb and bring a picnic basket too.
The Moeraki (a place to sleep by day in Maori) Boulders, Otago, NZ. They may look small, but are up to 2-3 meters in diameter, and weigh several tonnes. Scientists say it took about 5 million years to create them. The rolling waves will wear them down in the end, but we can only guess how long that will take.
In Tibet – I wondered at many things, and one of them was about how many people must have walked these stones up to the Pothala Palace. They are manmade and laid – with love.
The Azores – stone fences are a great love of mine. In the Azores, the whole land was divided with stone fences ( – or Hydrangea hedges) . They witness of hard work and are often skillfully laid. In Sweden we have a multitude of these too, especially in the south part where I live. The ice left many stones to handle for the people who once settled here. Today it is forbidden by law to remove or change old stone fences.
In Iceland there are many lavafields, or Rhauns, both young and old. It is fascinating to know – and see – how our Earth constantly changes and new constructions form, and even new land. Surtsey island was formed in an eruption starting 1963, finishing in 1967.
We always return to Iceland, and went there in 1984 after the eruption of Krafla – when the ground was still hot. Walking through the old lavafields is both amazingly beautiful, difficult and sometimes dangerous. Often they are covered in moss and small bush vegetation, and there under…might be a bottomless pit in the lava stream.
If you are lucky, you can find amazing things like this one below. And in the blazing sun and heat among the rock formations, you easily imagine creatures from millions of years ago…
Iceland, Dimmuborghir lava field. Who made...?
Join us for the fun of sharing what Rocks YOUR World! We hope you will enjoy your quest, and remember to link to Donna’s original post, and use the Lens-Artists tag so we can find you.
John made us think about Before and After last week – and what great answers we got, inspiration and eye openers. A learning post indeed.
Next week Ritva will join us again, be sure to visit her beautiful site for inspiration. If you are interested in knowing more about the Lens-Artists challenge, click here for more information.
Leya 
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great photos 🙂
Thank you so much!
Great post Ann Christine, loved all of them. Found it hard to go past the first one though. I’ve been to New Zealand but didn’t see those. They are incredible. In fact from NZ the only ones I’ve seen are the Moeraki boulders. Great beach that one.
Thank you, Leanne. If you choose to visit NZ again, they are waiting for you!
Wonderful gallery – New Zealand has some unique rocks
Thank you, they do!
It’s nearly 45 years since my first trip to NZ. Recently we have been talking about visiting the South Island, I have never seen your NZ rock photos before, let alone the real thing. You have given us another reason to cross the ditch. Thank you.
Please do!
The New Zealand rocks do it for me! Those shell like formations and the rounded rocks are simply amazing. Great photos A-C. And like you, as a child I would clamber over rocks like a goat! Not so nowadays, but they still fascinate me.
I am glad you enjoyed them, thank you, and i admit I still do silly things…Last week I tried to jump over the forest stream, but the clay under the grass let me down…I slid into the stream and got totally soaked. We have had some floodings here and the stepping stone in the middle was waterfilled. Stupid me…but I wanted to walk the dog…
Oh, goodness, hope you weren’t hurt. Slipping is my worst fear.
Jude, I hurt my left leg and foot, but it could have been worse – I could have broken something.
Well I hope you heal quickly.
I hope so too, and I am already walking ok. Going to Japan April 23 – so I’d better be fit then.
How exciting. My son and his family have just returned from Japan. They had a wonderful time.
How great! Does he have any tips on food?
I’ll ask him, but he probably eats everything!
♥
Yes, if they like seafood and wagyu beef, they’ll love it. If they’re a vego, or allergic to seafood, it’s a bit trickier. A lot if menus are in English too, so that’s helpful. But also google translate let’s you translate an image these days. So you can take a pic of a Japanese menu and translate it on your phone (mostly accurate 😀). But the beef and steak is the stand-up for me, alongside the fresh sashimi 🇯🇵
Thank you kindly! I will remember google translate too!
Some wonderful examples – I was especially fascinated by the ones from New Zealand 🙂 The pancake rocks reminded me of the tsingy in Madagascar.
Thank you, NZ is a fantastic country. To me only Norway can compete in beauty. Mountains, ice, snow, green pastures, waterfalls, hiking trails. But Norway hasn´t got any hot springs.
What a wonderful round the world tour of rock formations. I really adore this post!!
Thank you so much, Cee! It was a fun challenge for me, and it seems more than me did1
Beautiful rocks!
Amazing collection!
Shell or rock, my fav, AC.
Thank you! Happy you liked them.
You are welcome, AC.
A fabulous collection here. The lava-based ones are especially fascinating.
Thank you, Margaret – a challenge I really liked!
You certainly rocked this challenge Leya
😀
Shell or rock? what a find. I enjoyed the variety of rocks.The Pancake Rocks must have been awesome to see. the scale of it. the stone fences stone fences are something I always admire too. Lovely post Ann-Christine.
Thank you, Ritva. Yes, there really is something about rocks – so many different shapes and colours, and marks made a long time ago.
New Zealand seems to be an amazing place, Ann-Christine, and Iceland is simply surreal. Rocks remember? I’m glad that humans do and that your wonderful photos help.
True about photos, Jo. Sometimes I don’t even remember where i was…the inventor of the camera was a genius.
🤗🩵
These are not simple rocks but works of art …. Thanks
Thank you kindly! Rocks are .
Nature is truly amazing. Your photos showed such variety of rocks, and all are beautiful. I loved the pancakes and the ”breads” on the beach. The lava rocks are very intriguing, too. Great post!
Thank you, Egidio, this was a lovely challenge!
Some wonderful choices Ann-Christine. As always they are all terrific but for me the big rocks on the beach and the hand/foot? print in the lava rocks are favorites this week.
Thank you, Tina – rocks do rock!
This is a wonderful rock tour Ann-Christine. Rocks carry the long-term imprint of weather in many beautiful ways.
They do, thank you. Rocks speak to us, don’t they.
Indeed.
A wonderful collection of rocks and formations. I love the paving stones from Tibet and especially the rock fences 😀
Thank you, Brian – rocks are enigmatic indeed.
I love rocks! These are all great. I especially like the ones on the beach in NZ.
Thank you, Dawn, yes they were enigmatic – and so was the whole country.
I share you fascination of rocks and you have such an amazing selection from around the world.
I am glad you enjoyed them, they are lovely memories to me.
Thank you for this post…this gift of the world that is hidden from those of us who cannot travel.
Thank you for liking the post,Brenda, that was 12 years ago, but NZ and Iceland have much beauty in common.
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What a great selection of pictures and stories Ann-Christine 🙂..
Thank you, PR!
Wonderful natural rocks! No more climbing around on rocks for me, either!
Thank you! Well, I tried to jump a stream last week (much flooding here righ now), but the clay on the ground had me slipping down into the stream – totally soaked. I kept walking for another kilometer, but then it was not fun anymore…so I shortened the walk and went home. Somehow I thought I would make it…stupid idea!
Nothing like climbing rocks and trees when we were young. A favorite pastime as mine as well. This gallery of your travel is off the charts, AC. I found myself studying the Pancake Rocks, and feel in love with the shell-looking formations. A picnic would be in order for sure. Like you, stone walkways and wall intrigue me. They are certainly art worthy, but oh, if those rocks could talk and tell us their stories. Fantastic! Start to finish!
Thank you for a wonderful challenge, Donna. And yes – if they could tell their stories I would volunteer to write them down!
Same!