Meilun Park

Meilun Park sits on the top of an extinct volcano just outside of the centre of Hualien. From the top one can clearly see across the few kilometres of coastal plain to the first peaks of the central mountain range - already 1,400 metres high. Turning to face the ocean one cannot quite see the United States, but it feels as though one should be able to. This is not your average town-centre park: there are no pebbly pathways on which to massage the soles of your feet, and there is real wildlife to look at as well as some really nice tree ferns and other plants.

We went for a stroll in the park last weekend, and I thought I would share some photographs. The butterflies were all moving too fast for me to get any pictures, but I did capture these two flies, which seem to be taking a break...


They had better maintain some vigilance at least, because this fellow is on the prowl...


He's a lizard. On the other hand, the chap below is a gecko. I'm not too sure what the difference is, I just know that the gecko can walk on the ceiling, and this one looks rather prehistoric. In fact, to me he looks rather scary, quite unlike the geckos which patrol our balcony at home and which come into my office to eat the occasional mosquito and leave the more than occasional 'visiting card' - they are pale and plain, and yet rather cute.


Now, regarding the critter in the next pic, I'll try not to exaggerate, but I reckon it was 7 or 8cm across. Like the gecko, it was sitting under the roof of a small pavilion, just waiting for something tasty to wander into range, perhaps a gecko. I decided on seeing this spider that I would try never to fall asleep in a pavilion in Meilun Park. I would not really enjoy waking up to find one of these stepping from my collar onto the tender skin of my neck...