Lake Hillier

Source: Inside Sport

Lake Hillier is a seemingly innocuous lake located on an island in the Recherche Archipelago in Australia. It’s pretty big, but not incredibly so. It’s not very deep. It’s not a strange shape, nor does it have any rare, incredible creature living in it. It would be a perfectly average lake if not for one peculiar characteristic. It’s pink.

Pink is the new blue
Source: I Started Something

That’s not because someone spilled food coloring in the lake. Pink is its natural color. However, we can’t say for sure why. Most theories point to various bacteria or micro-algae that live in the lake and create a dye that gives it its distinct coloration. Whatever it is, it appears to be harmless to humans. If you ever find yourself on Middle Island where it’s located, feel free to jump in for a dip.

Source: World For Travel

Actually, it is kind of surprising that we don’t have more pink lakes in the world. That being said, Lake Hillier is not the only one. There is also the creatively named Pink Lake, still in Australia, as well as Lake Retba in Senegal (which also means Pink Lake).

Is it a lake or is it strawberry pudding?
Source: Seven Holiday Spot

Nothing like a nice, relaxing swim in weird pink stuff
Source: Seven Holiday Spot

Socotra

Welcome to Socotra, land of the weird Source: Wikimedia

Technically, Socotra is an archipelago that consists of four islands. However, one of the islands takes up 95% of the total mass so people usually refer to that island when talking about Socotra. More interesting, though, is the fact that the island has been described as “the most alien-looking place on Earth”.

I’m weirder! No, I’m weirder!
Source: WordPress

What gives the island its reputation? It’s the flora. Socotra is kind of like Madagascar, but for plants. It also broke off from the supercontinent of Gondwana, and life on the island has evolved in isolation. As a result of this, Socotra has hundreds of plant species found nowhere else on the planet.

Arguably the most famous feature of Socotra is the Dragon’s Blood Tree, known for its very peculiar branches as well as its red sap from which the name of the tree comes. The island also has a ton of endemic species of birds and spiders. Of course, the number of species started taking a nosedive the minute man stepped foot on the island. We introduced harmful, non-native species like cats that ate all the birds and goats that started wreaking havoc on the vegetation.

Source: Paradise In The World

For those uninterested in nature, Socotra has plenty more to offer
Source: Paradise In The World

One of Socotra’s many endemic species eating another of Socotra’s many endemic species

Mount Roraima

This year’s Christmas card is sorted
Source: Travel Experience

One could argue that the view from the top of any mountain is staggering. However, very few of them could ever match up to the feeling you can get standing on top of Venezuela’s Mount Roraima. It’s not really the height that gets you. The summit is only about 9,000 feet tall, which isn’t all that majestic. It’s the feeling of standing on top of one of the world’s oldest geological formations, dating around two billion years ago.

Call the contractor. They’ve only built us half a mountain.
Source: Misadventures Magazine

And then there’s the shape. Tabletop mountains are always a weird sight because straight lines are so unusual in nature. But Mount Roraima looks like it’s been carved or molded, not the product of a few billion years of natural erosion.

Source: WordPress

There is also an added bonus to tabletop mountains. Because of its flat plateau, people who want to visit the summit can skip the whole pesky “rock-climbing thing” and just take a helicopter up top. There’s also a footpath for those who want the illusion of putting forth an effort, but it’s nothing too dangerous. Actual thrill seekers can delight in Roraima’s steep, almost perfectly vertical mountain sides.

What’s the forecast for today? Partially cloudy, I think.
Source: The Huffington Post

Frog endemic to Roraima