Nick Palastro

Just a couple miles north of the Punakaiki Beach Camp in Paparoa National Park along the West Coast of New Zealand is this very short yet very rewarding walk. Parking is just feet south of the Te Nikau Retreat access road and right across the well marked and maintained Truman Track trail head on State Highway 6, designated on the map. The first half mile is through very dense rain forest ferns ...

A few miles east of the town of Luray and just a couple miles outside of the Thorton Gap entrance to Shenandoah National Park sits Lake Arrowhead Recreation Park. This small lake and park features fishing, swimming, picnic areas, and other recreational park type of activities. Use of the facilities are available for rent according to their websites. The walk around the lake just to take in the ...

A couple hours north of Christchurch, New Zealand sits the very small tourist and fishing town of Kaikoura. The drive from Christchurch brings up up along the coast to where it hugs the reaching foothills of the Southern Alps and the Pacific Ocean. Once you reach the town, there is plenty to see whether you choose to hike the nearby mountain ranges, the Kaikoura Peninsula, or stroll through the...

This is a really good day hike to explore another one of the many fantastic state parks that West Virginia has to offer while avoiding some of the crowds that many of the popular ones have. The main feature of the park is the Cranny Crow Overlook which features views into two Virginia and three West Virginia counties.  Note: a good portion of this hike you are hiking on overgrown trails so to p...

Parking at the trailhead is a few miles north of Big Meadows at the Fisher's Gap Overlook parking area. You will find much more solitude along this loop trail than if you were to park at the Dark Hollow Falls trailhead as the Dark Hollow Falls is much more popular. That makes being able to find the shot or picture that you want without other hikers getting in your shots, much easier. ...

If you are ever visiting New Zealand's south island, I cannot implore you more to consider doing the overnight cruise of the Milford Sound via Real Journeys. For roughly $300, you board, in Queenstown, a custom designed Real Journeys tour bus that has seats slightly angled towards the windows as well as a curved glass covered roof so that you may gaze upwards toward the unrelenting views of the...

Flamingo Beach on Renaissance Island is a bucket list, relaxing adventure on the southern Caribbean island of Aruba. Here you'll find flamingos mingling amongst you on the warm, golden beaches and turquoise sea waters. The island consists of two sides: Iguana Beach where kids are permitted and Flamingo Island, where you will find the pink feathered inhabitants. There are three options to reac...

The northern tip of Aruba is a very diverse landscape. It is fairly narrow, approximately 3/4ths of a mile wide, so walking around is very easy to do. A few of the main attractions so to speak are the Westpunt Boca, Westpunt Beach, and the Arashi Dunes. Because it is so narrow and full of rocky and sandy features, it is a great location to photograph both at sunrise and sunset. Westpunt Westp...