ISRAEL – Journey Era

How To Find The Tree In The Dead Sea, Israel: Complete Guide

Jackson — Thu, 24 May 2018 15:00:56 +0000

The Dead Sea is a lifeless body of water between Israel and Jordan. A searingly high salt level inhibits any life-forms calling the Dead Sea home. No fish, no insects or even plants can be found in The Dead Sea. The salt level, which is 10 times saltier than the ocean, is so high that it has become a popular tourist attraction to float on the surface. However, one defiant tree made us question if life in the Dead Sea was possible.

In Ein Bokek, near Arad, we were driving towards Mitzpe Ramon to explore the desert. Out of the car window, we spotted a tree out in the Dead Sea. It was seemingly floating in the middle of nowhere. We decided to stop and explore the area when we returned from the desert.

The Salty Tree in the Dead Sea

What we found was absolutely stunning and unbelievable. There was indeed a tree in the middle of The Dead Sea. However, it wasn’t floating at all, it was perched and rooted into a beautiful salt formation, which had spawned more than a hundred yards from the shore. We all began to question if this tree was real or was it a stunt from one of the nearby hotels to draw in more guests to their accommodation.

Two of the girls in our group decided they wanted to find out first-hand and began swimming out to the tree. Swimming in The Dead Sea is much harder than it seems as you cannot splash any water into your eyes or mouth or agony will ensue. The buoyancy also makes regular swimming strokes very awkward. It took the girls more than 15 minutes to swim out to the island.

Meanwhile, I was already flying high above them making an inspection of my own via my drone. As soon as I saw the salt formation, the inner pool of water and the tree itself, I knew this was a very special and very unique spot. I shot several images from different angles, sometimes flying only inches above the still water for the right perspective.

The girls arrived out to the salt formation island and hung out in what appeared to be a natural hot tub. The view from the salt formation looked back over the hotels, most of which housed guests who had no idea of what this spot actually looked like, which is a strange idea to be so close to such beauty and be totally unaware of its existence.

After over an hour of flying and draining multiple batteries, I landed and began to wonder about the origin of this tree. How can it grow when nothing else can?

HOW IS THIS TREE SURVIVING IN THE DEAD SEA!?

The tree was placed there or planted there if you like, by a local artist. Each day he paddleboards out to the tree and puts mud around the tree for nutrients. Essentially it is an art installation, possibly to shed light on the fact that the Dead Sea is slowly dying itself as its shoreline recedes every year.

Regardless of the motivation for the art, the scientists out there can rest easy knowing that there isn’t a new strain of tree capable of living in incredibly high salt levels. It was, as far as our knowledge extends, placed there and doesn’t seem to be thriving! All origins aside, the tree makes for an amazing centerpiece at one of the most unique bodies of water in the world and definitely worthy of a day-trip from Tel Aviv or a pit-stop on your way to Negev/Mitzpe Ramon.

How to get to the Salty Tree in the Dead Sea

The Salty Tree location is pinned below if you want to go check it out for yourself.

Akko (Acre) Old Town Cliff Jump In Israel

Jackson — Mon, 21 May 2018 13:50:54 +0000

In Tel Aviv and want to go cliff jumping? The locals might laugh at you when you ask but there is a spot to do a little cliff jumping in Israel and it’s only an hour away from Tel Aviv. In the old town of Akko (Acre) there is an ancient wall (slightly sketchy), which is about 9 meters high by my guess. You can jump off of it and survive. Is it a safe jump? No. Was it an awesome day trip? Yes. Below you will find all the details you need to know about the Akko Old Town cliff jump in Israel.

AKKO (ACRE) TOWN CLIFF JUMP

Akko Old town (Acre)

Akko is in the north of Israel right on the edge of Haifa. Sitting on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, it has been inhabited for more than 4,000 years, which makes it one of the oldest cities in the world.

The remains and the walls of the ancient city date back to 3050 B.C. and are part of the attraction today. Markets, cafes, souvenir stores, and coffee shops cram inside the winding cobblestone streets of the town. It was a bit of a maze and we got lost several times!

Even if you aren’t cliff jumping, it’s an awesome spot to stop off for a coffee or lunch and take in the ancient vibes. We all agreed that it felt a bit like a coastal, upbeat, mini Jerusalem of sorts with all of the little tunnels and winding roads.

Drone shot by Rob King

Where is Akko Old Town

From Tel Aviv, it took us 1.5 hours drive. We stopped on the way to Caesarea Beach, which had old Roman ruins. It’s a good way to break up the journey and to see some extra sights along the way. I’ve included a map below that has the Old town of Akko (Acre) pinned.

Cliff Jumping at Akko Old Town (Acre) in Israel

We arrived at Akko and parked the car. I was with another Australian friend and two local Israeli photographers. They had never jumped from the walls of Akko nor had they even been to the cliff jump spot. This meant our first mission was to actually find the right spot so we could attempt the jump.

Navigating our way through the halls and tunnels of Akko old town proved harder than anticipated. We reached multiple dead ends and had to ask locals which way we should be going. Some of that seemed bemused by the mention of a cliff jump but most pointed us in the right direction. We went up and over several walls, it seemed til we reached the outer wall after about 10-15 minutes of wandering.

We now had the wall but finding the safe spot proved a little more complex. We reviewed some photos we had seen and asked around and then decided on a spot. The local Israeli’s didn’t jump first but left it up their visitor! I ran off the wall as fast I could trying to get out far away from the cement at the bottom of the wall and cleared it by a mile.

Now that I was in the water I did a more thorough check around the base of the wall. I found that there was a cement floor that slowly declined as it got further away from the wall. Essentially, my advice would be to jump out as far as possible. This isn’t a guarantee but if I had to give advice that would be it. This becomes hard when you backflip as you can’t get out too far.

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I decided I could get out far enough with a backflip and managed to clear the cement on all jumps. However, I did touch the floor a few times and it definitely isn’t a spot I enjoyed backflipping at when considering the landing area. I enjoyed it overall but love when you don’t need to worry about what’s below. I don’t suggest backflipping here unless you are confident in getting out far enough. Jumping off normally with a big running jump seems quite safe.

To the left of the jump spot is a set of old cement stairs, which is essentially the only real way to get out. These can be used as a marker for where the jump is.

After our cliff jump session, we headed back inside the walls of Akko Old Town and had hummus and falafel at a cafe. It was a great way to end a ripper day with new mates and some good cliff jumping fun in Israel.

What are my favorite pieces of gear for the beach?

There are three pieces of gear that I simply never forget when I go on a beach adventure. These are three items that I using right now and this list gets updated every year! Here are my beach essentials.

Quick-Dry Towel: A quick-dry towel is a must for travelers. It hardly takes up any room and dries in seconds.
Osprey Ultralight Dry Sack: The beach can be a great place to ruin your precious gear so having this ultralight dry sack for cameras, phones and valuables mean you have a safe place to store everything.
GoPro Hero 12: The best and easiest way to capture your underwater and snorkeling adventures.

THE WEEKLY #96: ADVENTURE TRAVEL IN ISRAEL

Jackson — Tue, 15 May 2018 21:43:04 +0000

Israel. It’s a place I knew little about. In my head, I think I pictured it as a dusty, middle eastern country with a lot of rich history. I knew it was a place of pilgrimage and huge religious importance. However, a few days before I left the Philippines, I asked Nic if he thought it was cold in Israel. We also discussed what food they ate and if it was safe.

One week later and I’ve eaten a lifetime worth of hummus, seen some amazing natural locations I couldn’t have ever imagined and experienced some truly unique moments, places and people throughout my one-week adventure across Israel.

We had an incredibly talented photographer shooting the whole trip and the other four content creators snapped some awesome shots, so the quality of this edition of ‘The Weekly’, is prime!

Because there are so many awesome photos I thought I would publish a lot of them and add small captions or anecdotes with each photo for this week. It will give you an easy read and a good look at what Israel is all about.

Before I share the photos, I want to clarify that this was not a political or religious trip, it was purely to visit the sites, try the food and explore the nature/cities of the region. There is currently conflict in Israel and I am yet to explore the issue in enough depth to form an educated opinion.

I was lucky enough to be on the trip with three awesome bloggers called Mel, Becky and Alex and also Roberto the King, a photographer from Australia.

I’m currently at the airport about to board the first of four flights on my way to Darwin, Australia for two back-to-back campaigns in the outback with Dan Moore. We will be working with Kakadu Tourism and then NT Tourism.

JERUSALEM

Inside the Sepulcher, the holiest place in the world. Pilgrims come from all over the world to touch the stones and to be in the same spot that Jesus was put on the cross, laid to rest and many other important scenes. The sparkle in this old woman’s eye and her slight smile told me she has been waiting for this trip for quite some time.

Hookah or Shisha break from work for an elderly man on the streets of Jerusalem. I asked to take his portrait and he nodded and took a big puff.

Or capturing me capture the photo above. Most people around the world are happy to be photographed, even by a scary looking bearded guy like me! This old gentleman was no different.

Exploring the mazey alleys of Jerusalem.

There was no shortage of beautiful food throughout the trip. Hummus, salads, and pita were the staples.

Or capturing the small details as I wandered the streets of Jerusalem

More green than I could have imagined.

The crew with tour leader, Tamar.

The Dead Sea

Before we headed to the Dead Sea swimming spot we visited the abandoned hotels and water parks. The Dead Sea is receding, which has left a lot of businesses abandoned along the edge of the Dead Sea.

This water park was super strange. Totally deserted and slowly rotting away. I tried sliding down on a plastic bag… Unsuccessful!

Dead Sea

I’d always heard about the Dead Sea and seen those photos of people floating reading the newspaper but you never know these days what is real and what is an exaggeration or even fake. I can never float so I thought maybe I will still sink. It was the moment of truth.

The Dead Sea is 30% salt and burns your eyes and your mouth so bad! That’s why I tried surfing Rob haha!

All jokes aside, You do float! In fact, it is hard to swim or even turn over once you are on your front! It’s so strange the water feels very thick and heavy.

Girls doing cute stuff in the Dead Sea while I hovered pretty low with the DJI Mavic drone. Iced coffee in one hand, a drone in the other and the Dead Sea.. not bad.

Makhtesh Ramon

Repelling down the side of a cliff in Ramon Crater. This was actually one shot I’m quite proud of from this trip. It’s a spot where the angles didn’t really work at all unless you shot straight down on the repeller. I managed to find a spot along the cliffs to make the roof look like a cave, grabbed a sun star and shot the team from this position after repelling first myself! This activity was one of the many highlights in Makhtesh Ramon.

So barren! A viewpoint pitstop on the way out to our camping/glamping experience

Lunch was at a local Bedouin camp. The Bedouins used to be nomads but now live a somewhat nomadic existence in a fixed location. Shanty style tents and minimalism are the themes. However, they cook up a mean lunch and can brew a great coffee. We listened to stories from a Bedouin while we ate a beautiful lunch on the carpets in the tent.

Our accommodation for the night in Ramon Crater was glamping! It was fully catered, had a mattress, dining table and a fire that never went out! This was better than most hotels!

Sunrise from Mars, also known as the Ramon Crater!

Or capturing some portraits out in the desert.

We found an Oasis in the desert and I convinced our tour leader to let me jump into it!…. after checking the depth of course!

Sending it worldwide

Acre (Akko)

A day of cliff jumping in the old town of Akko was one of the highlights of the trip. A local adventurer called Edden took us out there and it was just a big old boys trip and a ton of fun.

The Salty Tree

We had heard about this epic little salt formation out in the Dead Sea on the way back to Tel Aviv. We stopped off and thought we would check it out. I turned out to be phenomenal and one of the highlights of the trip. All of these shots are images I shot on my Dji Mavic Pro drone.

Tel Aviv

A night of incredibly weird cocktails was a fun one at Bellboy as we arrived back into Tel Aviv. The adventures were over but we got stuck in to some nightlife, cafes, restaurants and local markets.

We had a Shabbat dinner with a local family as part of an initiative that sets travelers up with local families. It isn’t to make any profit it is just to show foreigners what the local culture is like and the family is happy to share that. This was our new Israeli family.

On our final night, we spoke at a panel at a huge hostel in front of over 100 other travelers and guests. We shared our travel stories and spoke about how we got started in the industry.

This is our awesome crew minus tour leader Tamar. The guy in the white on my left is Or, the gun photographer from Israel who shot some of the epic stuff you will see in this blog post and my other Israel content.