Category: Exploring Second Life

It was back to Endless:, the Full private region held by Sombre Nyx for me recently to witness her latest design inspired by a physical world location. For this build she has turned to the southern hemisphere, and a country for which I have a certain fondness; for reasons I’ll not bore you with here.

Birdlings Flat takes its name from a settlement in Canterbury, New Zealand, at the eastern end of Kaitorete Spit and the southern end of Lake Forsyth, where the lake discharges to the sea. It’s a place of rugged natural beauty named for the Birdling family, the first European settlers to farm the area.

In her About Land notes, Sombre describes the setting thus:

Inspired by a small and isolated coastal settlement in the South Island of New Zealand, Birdlings Flat offers wide vistas, unkempt fields, a pebbled coastline strewn with driftwood, a sprinkling of science, and a chance to find stillness.

However, prior to the arrival of William Birdling and his family, the area was called Te Mata Hapuku, with Birdlings Flat nowadays used to specifically in reference to the  pebble beach on the ocean side of Kaitorete Spit, a location well known as a place to find small agates and a variety of other attractive rounded pebbles.

Designated as a rural settlement, the area actually thrived for a time as a centre of farming, even gaining its own branch of the local railway, connecting the area to the nearby town of Lincoln to allow for easier shipment of goods and produce. This line became known as the Little River Line when it was extended to another settlement (called by that name in the 1880s), and while the line was closed in 1962 and the tracks torn up, the route today is known as a public walking and cycling track called the Little River Rail Trail.

Over the years, the area has seen various uses – it is popular for those carrying out coastal studies, and the the waters are known for the presence of significant number so Hector’s dolphins and can be used by southern right whales, while during certain times of the year, fur seals and (occasionally) elephant seals can be found along the pebbled coast.

As well as coastal studies, the area was once used by the University of Canterbury for meteorological studies, the university establishing a weather station there for several years. Birdlings Flat has also been used for launching sub-orbital sounding rockets, using the US-built Arcas (All-Purpose Rocket for Collecting Atmospheric Soundings) system. These launches also fall under the prevue of the University of Canterbury, which also established a radar station in the area to monitor rocket flights and the airspace around the launch area.

The latter forms a part of Sombre’s build, which encapsulates the small, rural nature of the location and its tiny community (in 2018, the local population was just 195) whilst also capturing the rugged nature of the landscape and life along this coastal area  simply but perfectly. It’s not a setting one needs to wax lyrical about, because it speaks very eloquently for itself, and exploration and photography within it are both a delight.

However, in order to reach Birdlings Flat, visitors must go via the region’s Landing Point, and this once again presents visitors with the opportunity to visit not one, but two settings within the region. This is because Sombre is once again joined by Jackson Cruyff, who offers people the chance to visit his Forest.

Occupying a sky platform some 2,000m above the ground-level setting of Birdlings Flat, Forest presents a wooded environment somewhat mindful of the North American continent rather than anywhere antipodean; a place left to the wilds and where assorted animals and wildfowl might be found wandering and / or circling over head. It’s a place where people can simply roam and find refuge, and also – for those who look – places to sit and contemplate.

Two easy-on-the eye settings; one offering a rich depth of background on one of the more remote parts of the physical world few of us are likely to have the opportunity to visit.

SLurl Details

• Endless: Birdlings Flat (Heraiki Bay, rated Adult)

It might not seem that long since I last wrote about LuaneMeo’s Luane’s World – largely because it isn’t; I covered the spring look to the region just a couple of months back, in May 2022 (see Spring 2022 at Le Monde Perdu in Second Life).

However, I have good reason for returning so quickly to the region of Le Monde Perdu (The Lost World), because Laune, again working with Gorba McMahon, has made the Summer 2022 build a place to be enjoyed by both land lovers and those who enjoy dipping under the waves in either human form or as merfolk, as she presents Luane’s Underwater World.

With this iteration, the setting presents a south-facing arc of land sitting with its back to the rest of Luane’s estate, which embraces a wide and relatively deep bay within its protective arms. The south-facing arc of the land forms a sweeping curve of sun-bleached sand with many places set across it for people to sit or cuddle as gulls wheel and turn overhead, and waves break gently against the sloping sand.

Behind the beach, the land rises sharply but not precipitously or to great height; just enough to present stepped uplands sliced into from the north by a tight inlet, and whose grassy hills carry a suggestion of this being a Mediterranean setting, courtesy of the Tuscan style villas, houses and outlands scattered across them. Furnished within and showing outward signs of being occupied, these are actually public spaces as well, offering further places to sit and pass the time – and, as with the beach, plenty of opportunities for photos.

However, do be aware that behind the villa occupying the north-east lowlands, there is a trail and bridge leading into the neighbouring regions of the estate. These regions do have private residences scattered across them, so do please take care to avoid trespassing when wandering in that direction.

Throughout the landscape, there is a gentle sense of peace and of time passing slowly; a vibe that this is a place where nothing seems to happen as the minutes and days tick one to the next. But dive into the waters of the bay, and it becomes apparent something has happened here at some point. Caught in the arms of the land and sheltered under the waves is a world which at one time lay above the waters that now guards it.

This is a place rich in colour, with corals and anemones bloom, oysters hold great pearls, shark, fish, dolphin and turtle swim – and the ruins of an ancient civilisation stand in silence, the wooden wreck of a once proud sailing ship close to hand.

Exactly what caused this place to drown and when it happened is unclear – and actually unimportant; for who is to say this place was ever once above the waters of that bay? Perhaps the ruins and statues here were not carved by human hand, but by those of the merfolk they appear to celebrate?

What is clear is that here, among the corals and anemone, watched over by sea creatures great and small, are many more hiding places where lovers can rest in one another’s arms, photographers can find ready to be used within their arts, and those who simply want to sit and pass a little time can find peace. Some of these may well be out in the open and easy to spot, but others are tucked away and may require a little effort to find – but it will be time well spent, and are welcoming to both human and merfolk.

As always, Laune’s World offers much to see and appreciate with this Summer 2022 build, and I recommend that rather than reading my twaddle, you go see for yourselves!

SLurl Details

• Luane’s Underwater World (Le Monde Perdu, rated Adult)

Rain-Washed Soul is an immersive sound environment nestled into nature, complete with guided meditations, Tibetan singing bowls, and of course the soothing sounds of rain and thunder. Have a cup of tea, meditate, relax and be one with your surroundings while listening to the healing and renewing sounds of rain and thunder.

So states the Destination Guide entry for this little setting, a part of The Nature Collective, designed by Emm (Emmalee Evergarden), and it was more than enough to guide me to Rain-Washed Soul.

Located on the northern arc of Heterocera, and tucked between Route 6 and the railway (with access directly off of Route 6), this is a parcel-based setting intended – as the description above suggests – to create a little haven of peace and retreat for those who need it.

The landing point for the locations sits on a covered boardwalk that effectively links the two halves to the setting, which overall has an east-west orientation.

To the west, surrounded by trees and with its back to the neighbouring parcel (reached through a gate in the fence), is an A-frame retreat, reached via a walk through a light tropical shower. It offers a place of meditation for individuals or groups, with a cosy little shelter for two close by. This is a place rich in local sounds, and visitors are encouraged to turn up in-world sounds and try the local bells, etc., to appreciate the local soundscape.

At the eastern end of the boardwalk the land is a little more open, with a stone terrace with a little information kiosk, together with places to sit, waterfalls, and a further immersive soundscape, with everything watched over by the local wildlife.

As with all locations connected to The Nature Collective, Rain-Washed Soul is participating in TNC’s summer hunt (July 18th through 21st, 2022) – details available from the signs within the setting.

A simple, charming little place to visit, with plenty of opportunities to recharge the batteries and forget worries!

SLurl Details

• Rain-Washed Soul. (Muslin, rated Moderate)

WillowWood is the name given to a Full private region leveraging the additional Land Capacity bonus which is held by Doc Battitude. Largely open to the public, it features landscaping by Dandy Warhlol (Terry Fotherington) and at the time of my writing this, it was a feature location in the Editor’s Picks section of the Second Life Destination Guide.

The About Land description for the region sits slightly at odds with the design of the land – describing this region which is mindful of a wild coastal region somewhere in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere as, “a once thriving town reduced to ruins and secluded happy places”. However, while there is little sign of any former conurbation within the region, there is absolutely no doubting its beauty and restfulness.

The landing point sits toward the south-west of the region, and sits before a table of rock on the west coast which is home to a mansion-like private residence with oceans views directly to the south and west. Accessed via a single drive guarded by walls and gates that are clearly marked as Private Property, the mansion is the only no-go area with the setting; the rest is otherwise fully open to explorations, including the little café sitting a short walk from the landing point.

The rest of the land is cut through by little streams and creeks. These break it up such that the easiest way to find your way around its to follow the trails and paths to the little bridges that span the water, with the land as a whole given over to a rugged set of low undulations rich in trees and wild grass.

Scattered throughout this landscape are signs of civilisation – but nothing that would denote anything like a town being close to hand anywhere. Instead, the coastal areas offer signs that the locals make a living fishing, with a slightly run-down wharf looking west from a southern headland, and little fishing cabins and a boathouse lying further around the southern coast, while away to the north lies the wreck of a coaster that came too close the region’s sandy shallows.

A sense of age is added to the setting thanks to the inclusion of a pair of ruins – the Ruined Chapel by Markus Inkpen (a personal favourite structure that naturally lends itself to modding), and the Studio Skye Temple Ruins by Alex Bader (which have tempted me a few times, although I have yet to purchase and fiddle with it). These sit across the region from one another, the latter overlooking the north-side beach, and together they give the region a sense that it once held significant religious meaning.

Throughout the setting are numerous places to sit and / or spend time awaiting discovery. These range of wooden gazebos located above streams and water holes, to benches sitting alongside the paths and trails, to places to relax on the beachy headland and along the waterways. In addition, there are multiple places to enjoy a dance or two, including within the chapel ruins and at a small outdoor events area tucked into the north-east corner of the region.

The overall lay of the land helps given the region a feeling of being much bigger than the usual 256 metres on a side, the paths meandering up and down the hills and between them, often leading to more little surprises and touches that bring the setting further to life. These range from dry stone walls to pieces of sculpture, and even a hint of what might once have been a World War fortification.

Given this is a design by Dandy, you might expect my usual warning about performance (mesh + textures), but with WillowWood, I didn’t encounter any significant issues; even with Shadows enabled, my FPS remained in the mid-teens rather than dropping to single digits, whilst for general flycaming around with Shadows disabled, FPS was generally around the mid-to-upper 20s (I’m currently using Firestorm without any auto-tuning enabled, and (obviously) without the Lab’s own performance improvements), giving me a reasonably comfortable experience.  Even so, you may find you need to make some adjustments to your viewer, as is oft the way with SL builds.

Finished with a subtle soundscape, perhaps with default environment settings a little on the dark side for some (I varied between it and using my “default” avatar-attached EEP settings for photos) WillowWood is an engaging, picturesque region design.

SLurl Details

• WillowWood (rated: Moderate)

Back in June time, Shawn Shakespeare passed me a landmark for a curious and engaging parcel called MarDayLine Pylons, home to a design by a group of individuals out of Japan led by 奈芙缇丝 (Subsequnce). Despite its small size – less than an eighth of a Full region (one with the private region LI bonus) – this is both a public / private environment, with the introductory notes (available on a sign board at the landing point) stating:

Welcome to Mardayline Pylons. We wish yo a pleasant stay here. The café, sofa fountain bar and onsen are at your convenience. Mardayline Pylons is a private community that is casual and friendly … Part of this area is residential for rent. Please do not enter or leave other people’s houses without permission.  

With a north-south orientation, with cloud-faced cliffs forming an eastern curtain and uplands bordering the southern end of the parcel, this is a place very much defined by water. It tumbles from the highlands in sheer or stepped falls, one of which has its waterflow directed down a covered nullah, to where a flooded street sits.

Quite what has happened – natural disaster or the result of global warming – is up to visitors to decide; however, the tumbledown state of the southern end of the parcel beneath the waterfalls suggests a sudden catastrophe having befallen a part of the town-like setting.

It is along the flooded street, and sitting between it and the equally flooded tram tracks which run around two sides of the parcel, that the rental properties appear to sit, together with the local café. The onsen, sofa bar and other eateries meanwhile, all sit top the uplands, the route to them offered by way of an elevator rather than stepped climbs.

Small in size the parcel might be, but there are plenty of small details waiting to be found that help present it as a place idea for photography, and Subsequence notes that the parcel is open to rezzing for props etc., – but please make sure you clean up behind you should you make use of the opportunity.

A simple, engaging setting that makes for an easy-going and please visit.

SLurl Details

• MarDayLine Pylons (Hollandaise, Adult)