Discussion: Waterways Around the World - January 2026 Photo Contest

To chat about waterways, this is the place.

Oh, awesome! I’m already seeing some great suggestions 😊

Sunrise on the Seine

As I mentioned in the other thread, Australia, being the driest and lowest continent, isn’t exactly known for its raging rivers... case in point: but that doesn’t stop a certain kind of optimism! Simpsons Gap, Northern Territory

Unlike northern Italy, where alpine torrents are abundant:









And so on, and so forth.

Catherine

A bit of navigation in Bangkok on the Chao Phraya

The Crnojevi River (Montenegro)

Still in Montenegro, the Tara

Kravica Waterfalls, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Neretva, Mostar

An example of the downsides of social media (well, I assume, since I don’t use them): The Vis waterfall in Saint-Laurent-le-Minier in July 2018 (we found the place charming)

The same spot, the same day (a Sunday when local artisans and artists open their doors to showcase their work in their homes or gardens), at roughly the same time (within 15 minutes) in 2022... we found the place a lot less charming! 🏴‍☠️

@Muriel18 Yes, Oman and its must-see wadis 😊







In the south, in Dhofar, a few small waterfalls...

@Envallis, stunning terrestrial Ha Long Bay at Tam Coc







Still in Vietnam, on the road to Pu Long, bamboo water wheels are used to irrigate the fields.

Hi there, This time I hurried to submit photos for the contest so I wouldn’t spend days digging through my hard drive for them... which often plunges me back into wonderful memories, thankfully, but kills the productivity of this overbooked retiree! I realized that rivers and streams are rarely the main focus of my photos—there’s usually a bridge, architectural element, or landscape feature that steals the show. As for waterfalls, I’ve got nothing in my collection either, except for the Bridal Veil in Lauterbrunnen, which I’ve visited often. Compared to Iguaçu or the Zambezi, 😕 it’s not in the same league. And I still haven’t seriously explored long exposures, despite investing in tripods—your photos make me regret that. A few examples anyway: 2 photos taken while sailing on the Lot



The Loire



The Aare in Bern



The Danube in Budapest



The Douro in Porto



The Douro in Pinhão



And my waterfall in Lauterbrunnen (I’m a total fan of this Swiss region—the waterfall is just a small detail in the stunning alpine landscape!)

Thanks so much, Noëlle, for all these photos! Yeah, waterways rarely become the main subject of a photo—people, buildings, bridges, or other elements usually catch the eye first 😅. I had the same thought, which is why I specified "waterfall" or "cascade"—those are definitely the main focus 😊.

Oh no, the waterfall isn’t the main subject here 😢.

Gorge du Tarn

I love waterfalls and little streams trickling between the rocks. Photos taken not far from my place in Chartreuse 😊

Attila has already shared photos of the Chao Phraya in Bangkok, so here are some more showing the huge convoys you can see there.

Augrabies Falls (South Africa)

Machhu River, Morbi, Gujarat

Augrabies Falls (South Africa)







These falls are gorgeous, Agnès 😍

A year when the storms had been so severe that the infrastructure was destroyed... Usually, these waterfalls are much less impressive!

Oman too, on the Dhofar side

On the second one you can see the waterfall’s path 😉

Tarangire National Park (Tanzania)... practically dried up😕

Two giraffes are hiding in this photo (which I love—it was my desktop background for a long time)

One lioness is hiding in this photo

Not much left to drink 😕

Usually, these falls are much less impressive!

True! .... but still impressive (after the rainy season)

Usually, these waterfalls are much less impressive!

True! .... but still impressive (after the rainy season)



Well, I’ll have to check them out... 😁

The only waterfalls I’ve seen in South Africa are these ones further north, and they’re less impressive ☺️ Bourke Lock Potholes







Berlin Falls

The only waterfalls I saw in South Africa were these ones further north, and they were less impressive ☺️ Bourke Lock Potholes

Still, I found this spot really pleasant to explore :)

Good evening, since we're talking about waterfalls, here’s the one in Edessa, in Greek Macedonia. The Edesseos River first flows through the city, then plunges into the plain in several waterfalls.









Catherine

And in Bosnia, the Jace waterfalls.

I found one giraffe but not the second one! ;)

Augrabies Park is really nice. Not so much for wildlife, more for landscapes.

There’s a great loop to do between Augrabies, KTP, southern Namibia, and the Richtersveld.

You just have to love desert landscapes...

If anyone has a photo of the Nossob or the Aob when they’re flowing, that would be an incredibly rare find. I think one only flows every 100 years and the other about twenty times?

Are those granaries in the second photo? It's pretty surprising, so original!

Or beehives? It reminds me of that because I saw a lot of them in Bosnia.

And in Bosnia, the Jace waterfalls.





I’m jotting down these waterfalls... there’s definitely potential for some amazing photos, thanks Catherine! 😊

Yes, great photos. The second one is surprising... and we still don’t know what it is 😏

Congrats, Isabelle, and thanks for such a photogenic topic. 🤪

Muriel posted a photo of one of the widest (Victoria Falls). Here, two thousand kilometers to the south, is the tallest single-drop waterfall (192m): Semonkong Falls, Lesotho.

Ah! The waterfall that made me want to go to Lesotho (and which, in the end, I didn’t get to see when I went there 😏)

I found one giraffe but not the second one! ;)

The other one isn't far ;)

@Puma2A Thanks for your photos, East Africa can only fill me with joy 😊 I’m sure you recognized the theme’s cover photo: the Ewaso Ng'iro River but on the Samburu side 😉 Here’s another view

Good evening,

Honestly, no, I was actually thinking of spots in southern Tanzania... (on the Rufiji River).

The bridge ( in good condition now ) on the Ewaso Ng'iro...



...

...

A "little" twist: Three rivers in the same picture!?



In Mont de Marsan (my hometown), La Minoterie district: - Right waterfall: le MIDOU. - Left waterfall: la DOUZE - At the bottom: La MIDOUZE, flowing south through the Landes toward the Basque Country.

(but here, the ducks replace the elephants...)

Puma2A

...

The ferry on the Niger River, near Ségou (Mali), back when it was still possible to travel freely in the country.

Ah! The waterfall that made me want to go to Lesotho (and which, in the end, I didn’t get to see when I went there 😏)

If you go back, you’ll have to forget the Micra: they’ve built moats around this country, which is a fortress. 😉



In Lesotho, again:

There used to be a bridge, and now there's nothing left (Kruger National Park, South Africa)

The track that leads to Balule?

Some really beautiful river photos already—thanks to everyone! There’s still a week left to find some hidden gems 😊

By the way, in Alaska, there are still gold prospectors in the rivers around Denali 😄

Hi there

Are those granaries in the second photo? That’s pretty surprising, so original!

Nope, they’re windmills 😉

C.

Good evening Catherine,

Not granaries or mills, but kilns. "Near" your place, in Lombardy northwest of Brescia, the lime kilns of Ponte Crotte. https://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/architetture/schede/BS320-00042/



Photo of a paper photo (hence the poor quality) taken in early May 2002. In the foreground, a torrential river (to stay on theme for the month).

The kilns (there are 3 – *three* – not 4 – *four* – Belgian-British humor 😛) are in a sorry state, as you can see on Google Street View (below).

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5563351,10.2004146,3a,75y,210.17h,91.84t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7yNhelZa3DlKwEpp37TdmA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-1.8355733298968744%26panoid%3D7yNhelZa3DlKwEpp37TdmA%26yaw%3D210.16666666224265!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDExMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Hi Raga,

I wasn’t familiar with this.

The Danube in Belgrade:



Catherine

Good evening!

Photo: The "still young" Danube (Donau) in Ehingen (Baden-Württemberg), my place of residence, and 150 km away from its source in Donaueschingen, Black Forest...



hgb

Hello,

I just realized I didn’t follow one of the rules: "Each photo must be posted in a single message, with its number indicated (1, 2, or 3)."

Oh well, my bad! Please accept my apologies anyway.

Maybe next time. Cheers,

Puma2A

Hello,

I just realized I didn’t follow one of the rules: "Each photo must be posted in a single message, with its number (1, 2, or 3) indicated."

Oh well, my bad! Please accept my apologies.

Maybe next time. Cheers.

Puma2A

Yeah, I noticed, Alain... but it’s your first time participating, so I didn’t want to greet you with a scolding 😕 Hope there’ll be another time [;]