Game: Where-is-it? (international)

[GPSGuided]

Indeed Eggs and impressive! Looks like you are going to dominate this thread also.

This is the Simatai section of the Great Wall, the famed 'Sky Bridge'/'Heavenly Ladder', all a part of UNESCOs World Cultural Heritage sites. This section is part of what's known as the "wild" sections of the Great Wall where there's little or no maintenance in modern days, unlike Badaling which is both fully renovated and extremely heavy on tourism. These wild sections are typically far more spectacular and have a real back-to-history feel. Whilst there are warning and off-limit signs, one can walk/climb/scramble along them for miles and miles. CM, the track is the Wall itself where once soldiers marched for hundreds of miles. Yes, I was standing on the wall when these photos were taken. The best part is, Simatai section is just to the north-east of Beijing and easily accessible (N40.620224, E117.424144).

Over to you Eggs.

[eggs]

Looked good from the research.
Back to NZ for this one

Lion Rock on the black sand beach at Piha

[wayno]

south piha beach, lion rock

[eggs]

Yes. A lovely black sand beach

[wayno]

see if you can work this one out... covers a well known track in NZ

[GPSGuided]

Can see a valley at the bottom right but hard to identify any named features. Going by regular airline routes, it has to be somewhere north of ZQN. Routeburn track?

[wayno]

no but you're in the right area, on the right hand side theres a couple of geological features that identify this track...

[GPSGuided]

Given the terrain and suggestion, Mt Cook/Mt Tasman must be somewhere in there... I need to be better educated on the various great walks there.

[wayno]

its close to the routeburn, not cook

[eggs]

I can see Cascade Saddle and the Dart Glacier

[wayno]

I can see Cascade Saddle and the Dart Glacier

correct

[GPSGuided]

Eggs, go for the kill!

[eggs]

Not sure what you mean?

I suspect the track wayno was after was the Cascade Saddle track.
The Rees/Dart track is out of view on the left of the picture, although the Rees Saddle is in view far left.
The valley in the bottom RHS is the West Branch of the Matukituki River - with a track leading to Cascade Hut [technically in view], Aspiring Hut and the Matukituki Saddle

Its a fantastically clear aerial shot.
Lets try a typical normal airliner grotty window view - what am I looking at in Africa?

Morning light on Mt Kilamanjaro [5895m - Tanzania]

[wayno]

kilimanjaro

[eggs]

That obvious huh

[wayno]

new Zealand, a couple of iconic peaks here to name...

[GPSGuided]

Mt Cook on the left. The slope to the right. Was the photo taken from the same flight as the one earlier?

[wayno]

Mt Cook on the left. The slope to the right. Was the photo taken from the same flight as the one earlier?

correct, Mt Tasman to the right.. dont think it was the same flight, the flight paths have reversed

[GPSGuided]

Moving across the Pacific to North America and a 'where am I'. The bit of structures shown to the extreme left of the first photo and the city skyline with close-up should identify the locality and location, particularly noticeable if one sits on the starboard side of the plane on approach into this associated city. If you know the topology of the city well, you''ll also be able to identify the prominence in the centre distant of the first photo. At this location, there's a fair bit of significant scientific research going on along with lots of hiking trails.





From Mt Wilson, part of the San Gabriel mountains range. Peaks at 1740m and overlooks the metropolis of Los Angeles. It has a network of pleasant wooded mountain trails surrounding it.

[wayno]

vancouver

[GPSGuided]

Wrong country but correct coastline.

[wayno]

san fran cisco

[GPSGuided]

This city does not have a beautiful bay of water, see the first and second photo.

[wayno]

hard to tell with teh smog, LA

[GPSGuided]

LOL on the smog and it certainly was a clue! Yes, you got the city and the distant prominence is Palos Verdes at the south-west end of this flat metropolis. The tallest building in that city skyline is the US Bank Tower, the one that was centred on by the alien spaceship for first strike destruction in the movie 'Independence Day'. Now, just have to extrapolate the location where the photos were taken and where a brilliant network of trails can be found.

[Graham51]

I think you might be near the Hollywood sign.

[GPSGuided]

Correct aspect Graham51 but it's still a distance away. It's a well named spot of significant elevation per earlier clues.

[eggs]

Deukmejian Wilderness Park - perhaps near Muir Peak Road?

[GPSGuided]

Looks like this is tougher than I thought. Eggs, in the right direction but Verdugo is more of a hill in comparison. Think what scientific activities are typical up a mountain. The location also shares in name to a NSW country town. Hope this is the last clue needed. It's a worthwhile location to know about as it's easily accessible from LA with a very nice network of trails in the area.

[eggs]

I edited my response before you responded - on reflection I thought Verduga was too low - check again.
But I think you are referring to the Mt Wilson Observatory a bit further south again.