December 27, 2006:
A bridge, spider and dragon flies at
MacRitchie Reservoir
Linda and her husband often walk around MacRitchie reservoir - about 13 km.
Ellen frequently joins them - and discovered the Treetops Bridge and so
today this was my adventure. What an adventure - camera, tripod, umbrella,
flash - and about 6 hours of walking / photos
A map of the TreeTop trail. We started in the upper right and I finished
in the lower middle section
Here is the plan and specifications of the TreeTop suspension bridge. Just
like the Ravenel Bridge - there are two backspans and a mainspan. Unlike
the Ravenel Bridge - the mainspan is 150 m and instead of 8 lanes - there is
one, width = 80 cm
The backspan with Ellen in front
Just to give you some idea of the scale - here is a tree - about 30 meters
high - like the length of Manny's boom on his crane
and a view from the bridge
The mainspan
Looking back from the other end
This is a one way bridge
and looking up one of the suspension cables
the backspan exit
and the walkway - from the bridge to the forest / jungle
Bees in action - part 1
part 2
part 3
and steps down into the forest
It is monsoon season - so some interesting photos of flowers with water
drops (about an hour later - there was a serious rain
Here is what in the US we would call a grasshopper. Here, I call them
either a flower hopper or leaf hopper. This one is a flower hopper
from behind
and from the side - just like a grasshopper - except there is no grass in
this rain forest
and from the front - very cooperative leafhopper
An interesting web
and all about catepillars - not the kind Michael and Jackie drive
This was just a fun photo
A dragon fly with 1 pair of wings
and a dragon fly with 2 pairs of wings
from the top
another fun photo
another from the top
From the side
and from the front
A butterfly
and Nephila maculata - a cousin of Nephila clavipes that
lives around Charleston
Actually - wife at the bottom and two husbands (orange blobs) near the top
She can dance
Husband #1
and husband #2