First published: Sun 22 Dec 2024.
Els Slots
Drive-By Visits
Comments
9 comments
Michael Ayers
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
I don't have any drive-by vists... No, wait, that's now wrong, for the Saint Lucia Pitons, I was running very late, and had to hire a taxi to take me to the viewpoints before dark. Fairly disappointing.
However, I do have several "bike-by" visits, all of which were fairly large Natural Sites, without easily accessible visitor facilities, at least not anywhere close to the part of the Site that I was near. I still consider those to have been good visits, in most cases. By default, the length of time I spent going through the Site was significantly longer than a drive-by would have been, and the general scenery was well-appreciated. Additionally, it's common to be able to observe a lot of interesting flora and fauna that motorists would usually zoom right past. Not always the famous megafauna a certain site might have, but, on occasion, that happens, too. Huascaran National Park was a good example of that kind of visit for me.
I am also sometimes just as happy to "see" the core zone, as opposed to actually "touching" it.
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Luboang
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
Dont forget mount Athos for the fairier half of mankind... I dont see one can argue drive-by visit is better than setting ones foot in the actual place of interest but complimentary or even
highly enhancing and of course at times much more practical or even the only option.
Generally I observe as I gain experience with travelling new yet simmilar sites my sense of what constitutes a proper visit is evolving and my hunger for full fledged visit gets satiated easier.
Solivagant
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
Just as Michael Ayers has "bike bys" there are also "sail bys" ,,,,,indeed this is likely to be a relatively common possibility when visiting islands, many of which are closed or likely to be difficult to visit on any vparticular day because of weather. The official boundaries of some Island WHS include the "sea" for a few kms beyond the land but that is of course a rather articificial distinction. Surtsey is one which many of us are likely to come across. There is even the issue of a "fly by". Angel Falls is one such WHS where this could come into play. I also remember overflying the Big Hole at Bloemfontain with an excellent view (now a "former TWHS") and wondering whether to count it if it ever got inscribed! If the sea surface around the island can be "inside" the boundary then how much of the "air" above it is?!
I have just had an interesting discussion with Gemini on some of these matters - other Community members might like to do so to get some extra insight into this strange (and probably indefinable) concept called "Visiting"!
See - https://gemini.google.com/share/cf240e3af9d9
Els Slots
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
Oh, I like that dialogue with Gemini! @Solivagant
It also confirms my feeling that the main issue of drive-bys is the (low) amount of time spent on the WHS: "A brief stop at a site might not provide a comprehensive understanding." You don't see different aspects of the site and also (in my case at least) spend less time reading up beforehand (because you don't need all those details).
I also agree with @Luboang that drive-bys must be regarded as complementary "or even highly enhancing" to a regular visit inside.
Liam
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
I would argue that a 'fly-by' is realistically the best way of visiting a site like Nazca in Peru. I couldn't even tell you whether I stepped foot into the core zone - but I certainly got a better (if rather dizzying) view from on high.
The only WHS tick of mine I would class in this category is a 'train-by' of Lake Baikal. The maps on the UNESCO webpage are so bad that I'm not *entirely* sure whether the rail line between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude runs through the core zone (Solivigant - work your magic!); but this was a journey prior to me knowing about World Heritage Sites and I know that realistically I'll never be back in the vicinity.
Solivagant
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
@Liam - "The maps on the UNESCO webpage are so bad that I'm not *entirely* sure whether the rail line between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude runs through the core zone (Solivigant - work your magic!)"
Yes the offical maps are bad and yes the Ulan Ude-Irkutsk railway line does in part run through the core zone. The best source is the Dec 2023 "Reactive Monitoring Mission Report". Map 1 on page 14 whose text clearly states "The central ecological zone corresponding with the boundaries of the World Heritage property is delimited by the red line." See - https://whc.unesco.org/document/207572
Clyde
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
Interesting. I agree that the amount of time spent is important for the drive/sail by/flight/train ride as well as the amount of preparation before and sometimes luck too (with wildlife). Semmering and Rhaetian railways come to mind ... for both I didn't take a train ride but I hiked or drove to specifically see the inscribed infrastructure and take in the views (which I would have missed or only got for a couple of seconds on the train itself). Belize Reef and Great Barrier Reef flights were great add-on/splurges/cherries on the cake together with diving/snorkeling. Sagarmatha flight I'm very happy for the OUV and a short hiking trip wouldn't have added much. I'd love to go camping there for the wildlife but less for the climbing. Donana NP and Fraser Island could almost be better as drive-bys for the wildlife and with enough patience and a beanie-bag for birdwatching.
Liam
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 22, 2024)
@Solivagant - thanks! I knew I'd seen a better version somewhere was still wondering whether crossing over an inlet at Tankhoi (where the plaque seems to have been spotted!) counted. Actually I was in the core zone for hours and did, indeed, see a big old expanse of grey water. I'm still not convinced I experienced OUV - but let's face it, chances of a revisit are extremely slim.
Astraftis
6 months, 2 weeks ago (Dec 23, 2024)
I would also say that a drive-by visit is often "highly enhancing", but as the main choice it is rather poor.
My usual scheme is to use it after the main visit of a site to hunt for smaller coponents: it was the case in Maulbronn (the ponds by themselves are not so OUVy), hunting grounds in Denmark, for some pile dwelling sites (for which, given they are otherwise inaccessible, I was content to pass near the spot while appreciating the surrounding)...
It might be a subcategory, but I would like to add the "taxi-by" visit. And... I was going to recount my hectic taxi-by visit of the Mani peninsula in Greece, but I noticed (strangely enough?) that it is not a WHS, nor a T, nor a FT! Then, I can remember a moped-by visit of Pyi in Burma, but that was more of renting the transport for the whole day and perplexing the driver by asking to go to each and every corner of the archaeological site. But in the end he seemed to like it, as he proposed some "bonus stupas" on the way back to town!
But in general, if I can only drive through/close to a city or national park I do not count it.