Northern Ireland: Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

Carrick-a-Rede is a famous rope bridge near Ballintoy and it links the mainland to a tiny island. Carrick-a-Rede also means "Rock of casting". It spans only 20 meters but is 30 meters above the rocks below. It is maintained by the National Trust and is a famous tourist attraction. The bridge is open all year round (subject to weather) and people may cross it for free (included in the entrance fee, I meant no additional charges).

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Northern Ireland: Ballintoy Harbour

Probably my favourite place so far. Just a little picturesque village that is situated along the coast road. People would usually head straight for Giant Causeway but if you are in the area, believe me, drop by here. It will absolutely be worth it. It was also used as a filming location for HBO famous series Game of Thrones as Iron Island by House Greyjoy.

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Northern Ireland: The Dark Hedges, Ballymoney

The iconic trees have been used as filming location in HBO's epic series Game of Thrones - as The King's Road. I can not describe how excited I was. I am a huge Game of Thrones fan and being there felt surreal.

It will be pretty hard to get good shots if you were to be there after noon. There are a lot of visitors walking about and cars are allowed to drive through it. Would strongly recommend to go early morning, if possible, sunrise for that hazy mysterious effect just like in the series.

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Northern Ireland: The Duck Pond

Stinks had to leave his car in the garage for a couple of hours and in order to kill time we decided to take a 'romantic' stroll down a nearby pond. As you can tell from the name, it is literally a duck pond. I would love to name names but all I recognize are the swans and Mandarin ducks.

 

A lot people have been wondering how am I doing after I got to NIR. Truth be told, I am just happy to be seeing his fat face again. We did long distance for a little more than a month, and it was absolute bull. I would not say we are overly attached to each other but whenever I returned to Australia without him, it just did not felt the same.

All I have been told before I came over was that - You will hate it there. The weather, the lack of crazy Melbourne summer vibes, the accent and so on. I have been here for a little more than 2 weeks now, and if I were to be honest, I am slowly getting sucked into this quiet peaceful town. I am not trying to sound artistic or to justify anything, I actually think I needed this. Been living in big cities for a couple of years now. Oddly enough, the tranquility of this place help me get in touch with my artistic side. It also helped me finally sit down and do something about this space.

Watch this space. This country is amazing. Everything looks like a scene in Game of Thrones and for a first timer like me - it is, absolutely, beautiful.

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