If Only...

I'm sure many, if not all, of us have had those 'if only...' moments in our lives when looking at beautiful images of far away places that we'll (most likely) never get to visit in person.

In my email box this morning was something from Stumbleupon containing a variety of 'stumbles' that are deemed fitting for my interest catagories. And they were not wrong. I'm a sucker, and always have been, for gorgeous photos of landscapes, so from this stumble I've selected a few that I (personally) deem to be the best, but more importantly, fall into that group of places that I'd love to visit 'if only...' I had the money. Which, to be honest, is most likely the class the majority of us fall into.

So, in no particular order, here they are ( credit is given to the photographers when the information was made available, otherwise I claim no rights over any of the following pictures, which remain the property of their respective owners ):

Baobab trees in Morondava, Madagascar.

Glow Worm Cave, Waitamo, New Zealand.

Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Soca River, Slovenia. Copyright www.lukaesenko.com

 

Turquoise Ice Northern Lake Baikal, Russia. Copyright 2013 Alexey Troimov.

 

Mount Thor, Baffin Island, Canada. Largest vertical drop on Earth @ 4,101ft.

I hope you'll agree, these are amazingly fantastic places, each in their own right for their own unique reasons. For those gamers amongst you, like me, you are most likely used to viewing fantastical landscapes within which to run about and do as you will, but also, like me, I'm sure some of these images make you question the fine line between fantasy and reality.

Take for instance the first image of the Baobab trees in Madagascar; if I'd seen those within a game setting I wouldn't question it at all, but to see them in this context and to realise they exist, it just boggles my mind. Then you have that gorgeous Soca river in Slovenia. So clear, blue and magical. Again, never would I have considered something like that to exist - stupid of me, I know - but if you're used to the rivers where I live, then shitty-murky brown/grey are the order of the day.

As for the turquoise ice formations on the Lake Baikal in Russia - well, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a landscape for the next Riddick film or some other sci-fi flick, and the Glow Worm Cave in New Zealand would not look at all out of place in any good MMORPG currently running today.

I suppose what I am saying is that I know this place we call home is pretty amazing, and like most, I need occasional reminding, but there are times when it blows my mind to see such beautiful, heart-wrenching places - and not just the locations, but the diversity of flora and fauna. So powerful is the beauty and majesty of this planet and its life I think you would be devoid of a soul as not to be moved emotionally, if not to tears, when viewing such wonderous spectacles.

And that is when I get my 'if only...' moments.