Category: Reviews

In August we received an invitation from Jacky Macpherson to visit VUK, the Homestead region for the VUK store. Designed by Jacky along with Terry Fotherington and Ines Lauria, the region has been going through a period of development and refinement; on our first visit, there was a small island on its eastern side providing a private space, presumably for region holder and VUK store owner Mr. Vuk. However, on returning in mid-September, this small island had been removed – although it was still showing on the map, suggesting the smaller island has only recently been removed, and ban lines were still in place around the parcel.

The departure of this island (which may only be temporary) means the majority of the region is given over to a single large and rocky island surrounded by a single beach and foreshore. Rising like the shell of a tortoise, the crown of the hill is the location for the VUK store. However, this is no gleaming or fancy store; the location is clearly a former industrial area, and the store sits within the remnants of what looks to have been a factory building. Its roof gone, the walls broken and windows without glass, the building is a place where nature is slowly proclaiming her returning place inside.

Outside of the factory walls is further detritus of human life: the piled ruins of cars and trucks, one of which looks to have become a makeshift shelter for someone. A path winds down the western cliffs from the store to reach what appears to be a once-tidal bay the sea has deserted. The hulk of a fishing boat lies toppled on the grey shore, apparently abandoned well before  the sea deserted the shingle, leaving it to become a backdrop for a makeshift bar and DJ area.

More flotsam and jetsam is littered across the bay – a half-buried container, the wreck of an ancient jeep, a shanty hut and makeshift seating area, all watched over by the bulk of a rusting cable car station brooding under the plaintive cry of gulls and assorted critters. However, it’s unlikely the cars that may have once run along the cables to and from the tower ever carried tourists; more likely they carried material for the hilltop factory.

It is this element of careworn age and of life having largely moved on from the setting that gives the region its considerable character – and offers a lot of discover.

From the bay on the west side, it is possible to circumnavigate the lower reach of the island. This will take you past more of the island’s little scenes and points of interest: camps, the wreck of a windmill, and old pier that also appears to have been long deserted by the sea, and which has now become a kind of sun deck and open-air seating area  (complete with a neat little working racing car set!).

Up on the hill, the factory is surrounded by trees, grass and more signs of former working spaces. But just beyond them, and accessible from the beach below as well, is the remains of a children’s playground. It sits at odds with the more industrial aspects of the island, but at the same time its aged and rusted condition fits right in with the overall theme.

All of this makes for an engaging visit quite apart from the opportunity to check the VUK brand. For those who like to explore together  I recommend heading down to the south side of the island and the deck area mentioned above: there’s a couples walker awaiting you. Also when when visiting, do make sure you have local sounds on so you can appreciate the region’s excellent sound scape.

SLurl Details

• VUK (VUK, rated Moderate)

We first visited La Gaspesie (Canada) some time towards the end of July or possibly early August; at that time, the region holders, Tzooki and XavierJacques were still working on the design: the board walks were – for the most part – laid out, but landscaping and the setting out of buildings was still going on. Given the state of play, we got out of the way and headed home – only to almost forget about the region in the intervening weeks. So when it did come back to mind, it seemed only right we hop back and take another look.

The region takes, as its inspiration the Gaspésie Peninsula that runs along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River to the east of the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, and which extends into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.

Covering an area of some 31,075 sq km (11,998 sq mi), the peninsula’s northern shore is dominated by high sea cliffs, while at its easternmost point, there sits Percé Rock (or Rocher Percé), an island pierced by a natural rock arch. It is this landmark that serves as a focal point for the region’s inspiration, being echoed by the presence of a great rock wall also pierced by a narrow arch, sitting on the region’s eastern side.

Rather than being an island, this great wall of rock sits on a promontory of land, the rest of the region stretching westwards from it, mostly low-lying and cut by water channels that effectively split the landscape up into three large islands – although the number of bridges present can made it feel as if there are far more. Mostly rocky with a scalp of scrub grass, the low-lying lands are home to numerous buildings – huts, small houses, cottages – all of which are open to the public and within fairly easy walking distance of one another, a light scattered of trees adding to the setting.

Off to the south-west, the height of the eastern cliffs is matched by that of a bulky lighthouse – one of two in the region – sitting atop a hump of rock. A water tower rising from the hill of the south-east headland also tries to vie with it and the cliffs in the height stakes.

Perhaps the most noticeable feature in the region is its board walks. These hug the seaward sides of the region to the west, north and east, only turning inland to the south and south-east where a channel and a bay force them to do so. Broad in width, these walkways are periodically marked by circular sections that from above resemble wooden rosettes that seem to split the board walks into sections.

Together, these walks offer a means to pretty much circumnavigate the region – although there are plenty of ways to explore the individual major landmasses and find your way between them, as noted above. However, I have to admit I found the board walks perhaps a little too omnipresent. While they are clearly intended to offer a means of exploration (and are amenable to riding the scooters and bikes available from the rezzers near the landing point), I couldn’t help be feel they are also a little intrusive, breaking into the scene in a manner that is at odds with the otherwise very natural landscape and setting.

Now, to be honest, I have no idea if the mainland near Percé Rock is marked by board walks, and this is an attempt to emulate them (although I didn’t notice any to the same degree when looking at photos of Percé village); but it would perhaps have been nice to see come breaks in them in favour of the shingle beaches that seem to be a part of the headland facing Percé Rock. That said, there is more than enough within the region to keep eye and camera occupied without the board walks becoming too oppressive in their presence – and it cannot be denied that the region can be very eye-catching under assorted environment settings.

Finished with an excellent ambient soundscape and with a variety of things to do from sitting and cuddling to riding bikes and scooters or messing about in bumper boats,  La Gaspesie (Canada)  does make for an engaging visit. For those in particularly need of an unwind from the day’s stresses, a link is provided in the region’s About Land description to some 26+ minutes of “unwindulaxing” music…

SLurl and Links

• La Gaspesie (Canada) (Calm City, rated Adult)
• Exploring Second Life 2019

It’s been a while since I’ve last written about Binemust, the Full region held by Biné Rodenberger, a place we’ve oft enjoyed visiting for its landscapes and gardens both above and below the region’s waters. However, we were recently drawn back due to Biné having spent the last few months creating something very new and different for the region, and which she recently opened to the public.

Abrahamstrup as the region is now known, presents a great mountain of an island rising from the sea and topped by the stern walls of a tall, blocky castle keep, sans surrounding curtain walls and courtyards. The island rises steeply from a narrow ring of shingle beach, the rock offers no real means to ascend to the great keep – at least from the outside. How then, to reach it? The About Land description holds a clue:

A Mountain Island – A Labyrinth of Caves – A Castle.

And indeed, on the shoreline facing the landing point – located on a deck built out over the water and home to a small shack – is an entrance to a cave or cavern at the foot of the mountain, the board walk connecting deck to shore pointing a crooked finger towards it.

Those arriving are offered an introductory note card that explains more about what to expect, together with a flashlight. Whether the latter is required largely depends on personal choice – and possibly whether visitors opt for the local environment settings or tinker with them viewer-side. During our first visit, I opted to initially go with my preferred viewer-side settings before switching back to the region’s environment. For the pictures shown here, I used ~Clouds Fluffy White Elven Sky, by Stevie Davros, tweaked a little, together with the region’s settings.

Crossing to the shore and entering the first cavern gives a hint of the engaging curio of exploration that awaits: a great façade modelled on that of Al Khazneh (The Treasury) at Petra in Jordan faces the cavern entrance, while to one side, glowing flowers suggest a path to the heavy door of the façade. Across the cavern, a large sign suggests people EAT – with places to do so close by –  while another offers the invitation LET’S GET WEIRD.

Pass through the massive wooden door of the façade, and the path plunges downward into the first chamber of a network of caverns and tunnels. Each of these caves – about which I’d prefer not to say too much lest it spoil discovery – offers a certain setting, with those underwater offering a feel for actually being underwater, despite the flaming torches lining the tunnel walls (having the viewer’s Advanced lighting Model enabled  – Preferences → Graphics is strongly recommended during a visit), giving them a wonderful fantasy feel.

Along the way through the tunnels is a sign offering the direction to reach the castle, but when exploring for the first time, I recommend ignoring it and going in the other direction. This allows you to visit the rest of the caverns and tunnels first and avoid possibly missing what’s on offer. One of these tunnels may lead you back outside through a narrow cleft sitting above the eastern beach, if so, there are some local points of interest to see before re-entering the tunnels once more.

When you are ready, the ways to the castle can be found within one of the underwater chambers. And yes, I did mean “ways” – there are two teleport options available: a door to the very top of the keep’s central tower (use the pail of flowers and candles through which you emerge onto the roof to make a return), and a mirror that leads into the castle itself.

Throughout her time in Second Life, Biné has been a patron of the arts, and this has always been reflected in her region designs, as continues to be the case within Abrahamstrup. In fact, it is the presence of pieces by number of artists within this design that also make me hesitate in revealing too much of what lies within caverns and castle rooms. However, careful exploration will reveal pieces by the likes of Cica Ghost, Haveit Neox – whose alien and telescope found within the main hall of the castle offer something of  a nod towards his Paper Tower (see: A Carnival of Architecture to say farewell to a landmark) -, Bryn Oh and Kilik Lekvoda.

Set off to the north-east corner of the region and sitting on its own black rock island is a further curio: a Russian (Soviet era?) communal swimming pool, apparently broken and battered by time and perhaps tide. Sitting almost like an industrial era left-over, it presents a very different setting to castle and caves, and can be reached via the shoreline beach from the landing point.

My one regret with Abrahamstrup is that in order to make room for it, Biné has had to remove most of her marvellous underwater gardens – long a highlight of visits to Binemust. True, for those who plunge below the waves, some elements remain, but the gardens, paths, sunken trees and artistic corners have, for a time, vanished. Nevertheless, the island with its caves and waiting discoveries, together with the high castle keep offer more than enough to keep explorers and photographers happy, making Abrahamstrup a worthy visit.

Note: visitors must have Payment Information On File to access Abrahamstrup.

SLurl Details and Links

• Abrahamstrup (Binemust, rated Adult)
• Abrahamstrup on Flickr
• Biné’s blog
• Exploring Second life 2019