siddarthmachado's Favorites

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Many thanks to Navendu Page for the ID ... efloraofindia.

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Dappled sunshine streams through Tonga's warm tropical waters. The newborn white humpback calf hovers above mum mimicking her pose. She's days or hours old, brand new and yet to colonised by the inevitable barnacles that will accompany her for the rest of her life. For her first 12 months she will be totally dependent on her mother's nuturing skills. The mother's blubber reserves must sustain the calf with fat rich milk during the winter fast until she returns to the feeding grounds in Antarctic waters. Vava'u, Kingdom of Tonga.

This was the day five, November 16, 2013, of our Subansiri River Angling (for Mahseer), Rafting, and nature observation trip along the river. To avoid a stretch of rough rapids from our camp site down stream of Subansiri River we seniors (50+) were told by the organisers to wade through this waist-deep tributary, create some tracks on the opposite side and join the raft team downstream. While tearing the thick bush, climbing up and down the terrain to gain some claustrophobic inches ahead, I suddenly spotted these beautiful strange vine flowers.
The flowers were approximately the size of my thumb. I have never seen this before, so out of curiosity I took some photos of the flowers, the vines and the area.