Inspired By Nature

After his presentation in the Temple, there is no record of Jesus returning to Jerusalem until he is 12 years of age.

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.  And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.  (Luke 2:41-42 ESV)

When the Feast of the Passover ended, his parents began the return to Nazareth. We can easily imagine that a large caravan of people were traveling together on this trip that would take several days. Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem spending time among the teachers, ?listening to them and asking them questions.? Because Mary and Joseph had relatives and acquaintances in the caravan they assumed that Jesus was among them until the end of the first day.

Keener provides some background on caravan travel.

Caravans, which afforded protection from robbers, were common on pilgrimages for the feasts in Jerusalem. Traveling with a caravan, in which neighbors from their town would watch the community children together, Mary and Joseph might assume that the near-adult Jesus was with companions, especially if by now they had younger children to attend to. If we assume a pace of twenty miles per day (though perhaps slower, depending on transportation and the children), Nazareth would be a little over three days? journey along the shortest route. (Keener, C. S., The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament)

Where did Mary and Joseph stop at the end of that first day of travel? We can not be certain of the route taken from Jerusalem to Nazareth. Travel from Galilee to Jerusalem was often through Perea on the eastern side of the Jordan Valley. We later find Jesus traveling north along the central mountain range through Samaria (John 4).

Ruins of medieval church beneath a Mosque in El Bireh. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Tradition identifies the stop at El Bira. Tradition has it that the first day?s stop after leaving Jerusalem was at a place now known as El Bira (or Bireh) east of Ramallah. El Bira is an Arab town. There is a spring and ruins of a medieval church. The Hachette World Guides: The Middle East (1966) says that the tradition associating this event with El Bireh dates to the 16th century. Eugene Hoade says it is probable that this church was built in 1146 ?in memory of? the event mentioned in Luke 2 (Guide to the Holy Land). The apse of the church is visible in the photo below. The Hachette World Guide says the building was destroyed in 1915 and the stones were used for building bridges along the mountain route.

This site is only about 8 miles north of Jerusalem, but with a large caravan including women and children it is possible that a short distance was covered the first day. It was necessary to stop where water and various food supplies were available (John 4:6-8; Luke 9:51-53).

Ruins of the medieval church in El Bireh. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Is this Beeroth? Since the time of explorer Edward Robinson (1867), some scholars have identified El Bireh with the Old Testament Gibeonite city of Beeroth. The word Beeroth indicates the presence of a well. Biblical references include Joshua 9:17, 18:25, Ezra 2:25, and Nehemiah 7:29. Beeroth was considered part of the tribe of Benjamin (2 Samuel 4:2).

David Dorsey, after surveying the scholarship on the matter, says,

At present, therefore, the site of biblical Beeroth remains a matter of dispute. The most likely candidate would still seem to be the one originally proposed by Robinson, i.e., el-Bireh. (The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary)

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A special guest post by a girl named Bird.

Siam Bay beach seen from the jetty

All too quickly and flippantly the word ?undiscovered? is attached to the words ?Thai island? and the hearts of numerous beach-loving travellers start beating a little quicker. For this reason I?d quickly like to state that Ko Racha Yai, a small island found 12 miles off the southeast coast of Phuket, is not at all undiscovered ? the island?s persistently busy main beach, Siam Bay is testament to this ? yet for the beauty it holds it certainly warrants the terms ?lesser known? and ?well kept secret? and with that a few skipped heartbeats.

I stumbled across Ko Racha and the five star resort The Racha, which dominates the Siam Bay side of the island, as I researched luxury hotels near Phuket for my boyfriend?s birthday. He had two requests; a little extravagance and a lot of clear blue water and stark white sand. Thankfully Ko Racha catered for the latter exceptionally well thanks to its lone position out in the middle of the Andaman Sea. In fact, in the six weeks we beach and island hopped around Thailand, this was far and away the whitest, softest sand we dug our toes in to and the warmest, clearest water we bathed in. As for the luxury the birthday boy was after? It has to be said that The Racha provided more than a little.

The luxuries of The Racha

The Racha itself is a huge resort climbing up away from the public beach most of the day-tripping tourists from Phuket land and stay. Siam Bay is therefore somewhat sadly overcrowded with long, military precise lines of parasols and loungers, the owners of which vie for business in an impressive number of languages as the tourists arrive, all slightly in awe of the beach.

Guests of The Racha can enjoy views over these parasols from their private beachfront loungers but if the beach traffic is still too much then retreating into the resort, which is a hillside maze of bright white buildings and bungalows, there are also two impressive swimming pools to take a quick or longer dip in.

The Racha pool

you are invited to choose a scent for the room?s toiletries and candles

The reasons why The Racha earned its five star status can be found in the accommodation, which ranges from Deluxe Villas to Private Pool Villas and The Lighthouse, a one-off four bedroom, five-storey lighthouse grandly overlooking the rest of the resort, the beach and the island. Though sitting at the bottom of the range, the Deluxe Villas are far from basic with more space and comfort than most London studio flats. Every morning, we had the tough decision of whether to use the indoor or the outdoor shower and thanks to a misunderstanding when we checked in a beautiful petal filled, candle lit bath had already been run for us ?honeymooners?. There were also a number of extras thrown in which set The Racha apart: you are invited to choose a scent for the room?s toiletries and candles, and we were greeted by a complimentary bottle of (surprisingly good) wine, received fresh fruit every day and enjoyed a nightly turn down service complete with personal notes and thoughtful quotes.

Clockwise from top left: petal-filled bath, outdoor shower, choose your scent, bedside, wine & fruit welcome.

Exploring Ko Racha ? things to do and see

The Racha also provides complimentary use of a variety of sports equipment and we took full advantage of this by going on daily mountain bike excursions to explore the other side of the island to the slightly quieter but longer beach of Ter Bay. As well as hosting the same white sand and clear blue seas, there are more accommodation options for varying budgets here. It is very easy to go off the beaten track on Ko Racha as the island?s main road is just that; an only partially concreted dirt track. There is a jungle trek, which takes you up and around one peninsula of the island, to satisfy any adrenaline junkies on wheels or on foot.

Main road – Ko Racha

Our favourite activity on Ko Racha, by far, was snorkeling. Thanks to the crystal blue waters and rocky sides to the bay the marine life we saw while snorkeling was astonishingly close and colourful. It bettered some of the deepwater scuba dives we?ve done in Thailand and had we had more time, we would have done some diving, which is also a popular activity on the island.

Siam Bay

By night we indulged in the dining that was on offer at The Racha?s three restaurants, which were seafood, Western and Asian focused respectively, before sipping huge holiday style cocktails as we listened to the waves crashing in the dark at the beachfront bar. Food and drink wasn?t cheap at The Racha (main dishes were priced from about £20 upwards) but it was of a high standard and served with the typically warm Thai smiles, which greeted us throughout the resort. The breakfast that is included in the room rate is certainly worth getting up and walking downhill for, though sitting outside overlooking the beach came with unexpected entertainment as Indian Minor birds swooped in to hungrily clean unattended plates or even your own when your back was turned.

Ko Racha is a small island and the majority of visitors don?t stay on the island, so it becomes eerily quiet at night. Though mountain biking, walking, kayaking, snorkeling and quad-biking are available from The Racha (and possibly other hotels), the island isn?t vast and there are only so many corners and beaches to explore. Aside from maybe only a couple of handfuls of other places to stay, there are even fewer places to eat or drink so this is not an island for somebody looking for an extended stay packed with activity and diversity by both day and night. Yet for those of you who are searching for little more than the perfect beach, and don?t mind sharing it with others, Ko Racha is the ideal destination. Furthermore if you?d like to experience this in luxury The Racha is the only place to stay.

Ko Racha is a 40 minute speed boat ride from Chalong Pier, Phuket.

About this week?s guest writer
Bird is a Londoner turned wanderer who blogs about her travels at As The Bird Flies. After many years of squeezing in short trips around her City job and secret life as a hyperlocal London blogger (Go Shepherd?s Bush!), she waved goodbye to it all in October 2011 to take the scenic route through Southeast Asia to Australia to meet her Australian boyfriend?s mother for Christmas. ?As the Bird flies?? documents Bird?s travels past, present and future and aims to provide personal insight as well as useful information about the places she goes and the things she does. Bird is currently in Sydney recovering from the aforementioned meeting with the in-laws and is planning where to fly to next?

Follow Bird on Twitter.

Going to Antarctic is a once in a lifetime experience and there is no way that we?re heading there without a full bag of camera equipment and electronics to capture every moment. With each trip we keep adding to our gear list and now we have gotten to the point where our electronics are definitely outweighing our clothes and other gear.

So What?s Coming With us to Antarctica?

Well let?s start with the camera equipment.

The Canon 5D Mark II –  Having always been a Canon guy, this camera has been a gem to use over the past year and it takes great video too.  The full image sensor allows my wide angle lenses to capture the full focal length of the lens.

Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP - We are bringing a second body for the first time in our travels. This one has a crop sensor so it allows Dave?s lenses to have a longer reach. Plus it is smart to have a second body in case the Canon 5D MK II fails for some reason.

Olympus PEN E-P2 with 17mm f/2.8 Lens - We wanted to bring this camera to have something to pull out quickly with a wide and fast lens. I can keep this camera in my pocket in a ziplock bag and get to it quickly to capture unexpected spontaneous moments. We?ll be using our waterproof cameras for most of our zodiac activities but I wanted to have something with more versatility. This higher end camera bridges the gap between the point and shoot and Canon.

For more olympus cameras check out Olympus Canada. Dave?s loved testing their products especially the PEN camera.

Canon EF 16-35 mm f/2.8 L II USM
This is a super sharp lens that is excellent for vast landscape photography. I can?t imagine what images Dave is going to capture in Antarctica with this lens. It?s his oldest piece of camera equipment and it is his favourite. He just had it recallibrated and it is in tip top shape waiting to be used in the most beautiful location on earth.

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Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS

This is a heavy lens, but Canon?s most reliable and widely used lenses by professional photographers. It?s going to come in handy capturing close up views of penguins, whales and seals from the boat. 

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Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II This is a very reasonable lens and does the trick for good portrait lens due to its shallow depth of field. The higher end 50 m 1.4 is worth more money, but our 1.8 is only $139 it is ultra light and has done the job for us. It is actually Canons lightest and shortest lens that they offer.  

Olympus Waterproof Camera (Times 2!) : Olympus TG-810 Tough 
A year ago we didn?t have one waterproof camera in our arsenal of electronics. Now between our GoPros and Olympus, we own four! We are bringing two Olympus Waterproof cameras with us. One for each of us to use during our kayaking and zodiac trips.

This Olympus Tough TG-810 is a 14 MP, 5x Wide Optical Zoom that is not only waterproof, it?s shockproof, freezeproof and crushproof! Now I would say this is the perfect camera for Antarctica?s harsh conditions. 

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Panasonic GH1 ? If you have been following along for the past two years, you will know that we downsized our camera gear and bought a Panasonic GH1 with the 14-140mm lense. Dave used this as his main camera for a year and it took amazing photos in Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Alaska. He missed his Canon though so after that year we bought his Canon 5D MKII. Now the panasonic is my baby and I use it for video which we are definitely doing more of. We still have a year of footage to edit, but slowly but surely we?re getting it done. This micro four thirds camera is lightweight, small and takes great HD video and still does the trick for awesome photographs.  

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Rode VideoMic Pro VMP Shotgun Microphone - We really want to invest in lapel mics down the road, but right now we are very happy with the Rode VIdeo Mic shotgun Microphone. When we bought this one, the guy behind the counter said that it is taking over the industry leader Sennheiser. Sound is very important when making videos and we have been extremely satisfied with the sound quality of this microphone. It?s done well in the Canadian winter so we think it will do well in the Antarctica. What we like, it?s suspension system separating the VideoMic Pro capsule and electronics from its mount, providing isolation from external physical factors causing rumble and vibrations in the microphone.

GoPro® HD HERO2 Outdoor Edition
We love this camera. It is the best for adventure travel and capturing extreme sporting moments. We used this camera during the Mongol Rally and captured all sorts of amazing footage. We mounted it on the hood, bumper and fenders of our car and drove through rivers and deserts while our Go Pro captured the moments in time. We liked it so much, that we bought another. We?ll be taking two of these babies to Antarctica with us. It will be great capturing underwater footage. What we like about it is the wide angle lens. We dont? have to worry about focusing directly on a subject. If the camera is pointed in the general direction, it will capture the action.

XShot Camera Extender 
This is a great extender that we?ll be able to hang over our kayaks to capture underwater footage with our Olympus Cameras. It will keep us from getting our hands wet and allow us to get right under the boats for some amazing footage. We also love this extender because we can grab quick shots of ourselves without having to ask others to take photos for us 

F-Stop Loka Camera Bag 

As a Rogue Team member for F-Stop Dave has been using this bag for the past year and loves it. It has waterproof zippers and a waterproof bottom. Grabbing camera gear is easy with the back compartment. All his gear fits beautifully with it?s insert system for organization, he can change inserts to fit each situation. The Loka bag is built for adventure photographers and Antarctica is definitely a place for adventure. 

Lowepro DryZone 200 -
I need a bag too and this time and our LowePro DryZone 200 fits the bill. We?ve had bag for a few years and haven?t brought it on any recent trips, so it is good to get it out of storage for our Antarctica Expedition. We?ll be in Kayaks and Zodiacs and we?ll be winter camping on the continent where there is potential for everything to get soaked.  The last thing we want to be worrying about is if our camera equipment is getting wet so the Lowepro DryZone will definitely put our minds at ease. We?ll be able to strap it on our kayaks or zodiac while we paddle to shore and while we?re using our GoPro?s and Olympus cameras, our DSLR?s will be happy and dry to in our camera bags. 

Tripod - Manfrotto 732CY M-Y Carbon Tripod and Manfrotto 494RC2 Ball Head

Manfrotto 732Cy Carbon Fibre with a 484 RC2 Ball Head ? Dave has been very happy with this tripod. It?s lightweight yet sturdy and durable. We?ll be using the tripod for time lapse photography, video and HDR photography. Since we will need a tripod for many different occasions, we have decided to take two tripods with us for the first time as well.

Intervalometer- It will be our first time using an intervalometer to take shots with the Canon 5D of time lapse photography. Since we?ll be camping over night on Antarctica itself, we imagine there will be incredible photo opportunities as the sun goes down and we plan on capturing all of it.

Computers – We will be bringing along two MacBook Pro?s

IPhone ? Old 3G that needs an upgrade, but is great for instagram photos for twitter.

Computer Storage

• A 1 Terrabite Lacie Rugged Drive- it is lightweight, small and durable.
• A couple of thumbnail drives ? to share documents and bring to the Internet Cafe if needed.
• 1 WD Passport ? This is another lightweight and compact hard drive . We store our videos on this one.

Belkin Mini Surge ? This is a must for anyone travelling. The Belkin protects electronincs from power surges, it charges several electronics at a time and it also has two USB ports.

So, that?s it. We have extra memory cards and Dave bought a new 1.4 teleconverter which increases the focal length of his lenses. Let?s hope what we have is enough, we?ll let you know when the trip is over. Only four days to go until we leave for Antarctica!

Check out Quark Expeditions for planning your own Antarctic Expedition. Mention ThePlanetD and receive 5% off your booking - 5% can be redeemed on any voyage and is be combinable with any of Quark?s promotions.

Stay tuned for a complete breakdown after our voyage by Dave to discuss what worked, what he wishes he should have brought and what he could have left behind. I just did a round up of our gear, but Dave is going to put it to the test.

Description

Rock Quarry Beach is a popular local surfing beach located on Kauai?s north shore within a somewhat protected bay. The Kilauea stream empties into this bay. A large sandbar formed by the mouth of the Kilauea River creates a calm area, however the bay itself is not protected by any offshore reef so it is subject to large surf.Surfers and bodyboarders are frequently seen on the waves at Rock Quarry though it is not recommended for beginners, especially when the waves are large. Swimming is good within the calmer areas as long as the surf is not too big. Snorkeling is best on the west side of the beach when the ocean is not too rough.

Great For

Sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing. Swimming and snorkeling when the water is calm. Surfing and bodysurfing for those who are experienced.

Highlights

The rivermouth area is known as a good fishing spot. Kayaking is popular in the bay as well as the river. The thickly vegetated hills that surround this beach provide a picturesque setting. A rock quarry that overlooks the bay was abandoned many years ago.

Rock Quarry Beach is a popular local surfing beach located on Kauai?s north shore within a somewhat protected bay

Need to Know

The water at Rock Quarry can be a bit murky due to the river runoff. Beware of strong currents and rip tides and only swim when the water is calm. Swimmers should stay within the calm pool area near the rivermouth.

Lifeguard

No

Facilities

None

Access

Rock Quarry Beach is reached from Lihue by following Hwy. 56 north to Wailapa Road just before Kilauea town. Turn right on Wailapa and go about .6 miles down the road turn left onto a dirt road that will lead you down a hill about .5 miles where you can park overlooking the beach. It is just a short walk down to the beach.