After taking a much needed break from everything following my recent Alaska trip, I grew a little restless and needed to get out into the jungle. We started packing our camping gear and decided that I would go on ahead with Charlie while the girls would do some food shopping and meet us at the chosen location; the mouth of the Ie River in northern Okinawa. After setting up the tent, Charlie and I took a stroll along the river and beach looking for any dry driftwood that might help us get a fire going for the night. We didn’t have much luck with wood, barely scraping up enough before the girls showed up, but Charlie made his dad proud by locating one of Okinawa’s endangered Sword Tailed Newts along the river. Unfortunately I didn’t bring any imaging devices along for the firewood search. After getting the fire going and then cooking some hotdogs on the camp stove, it was time to try and get the kids to go to bed. That’s when we noticed this little guy hanging out on the tree next to our tent.
He was quite content just sitting there so I took my time and dug out the 105mm Macro lens and Kuangren twin macro flash to get my night started.
Once I was done messing around with this guy, my wife had the kids settled down to the point where they didn’t think the tent was a bouncy castle, so I decided that since I had my gear out I would take a little stroll along the dry river bed to see what other easy prey there might be.
The next day started out with a sunrise walk along the ocean with my wide lens, Breakthrough Photography ND filters and multiple failed shots of my favorite rock features of the area. However, I did manage to sneak a few shots that I liked.
After retreating to the campsite for some breakfast I decided to keep my exploration moving along by trekking up the river. I started out with my Rocky snake boots but quickly discovered that there was no trail along the river and walking through the river would quickly fill my boots. I returned to camp and traded out my snake protection for some felt bottom water boots and made my way back up the river. I later decided to risk a drone flight over the river to the waterfalls. You can view the video here: https://youtu.be/itN8JRQMn78
After returning to camp once again, we packed up the minivan and drove up to the very northern tip of the island; Hedo Point.
From there we drove down the Eastern side of Okinawa stopping at Family Mart for some lunch and Okuma for some firewood. We continued our travels south to route 2 and then back to the Western side of Okinawa making a complete loop of the North and concluding our travels for the day.
The next time we would leave the campsite would be for a adventure through the Yambaru on many of the unnamed roads starting with our exit from route 70 following the Oku River, but not before finding a few critters near our campsite.
After yet another stop to Okuma for firewood, Family Mart for some bathroom breaks and snacks and the local Oku supermarket for drinks, I finally managed to snap a shot of an Okinawan Blue Tailed Skink while making one of multiple trips between the van and the campsite.
After a three-night stay in the Yambaru, our jungle adventure came to an end when we woke up to a torrential downpour and leaking tent seams. We had planned on leaving on day three but as soon as there was a break in the rain we expedited our departure. This time Abby accompanied me on the drive. Our weekend trip was almost in the books when I missed my turn and ended up in a familiar location. After a short discussion with my copilot, we decided to do a little urban exploration before hitting the expressway.
