Tag: Exploring Second Life 2021

Hazelnut’s Kingdom is a 5-region estate held by Noubeil (noubeil Alpha) and landscaped by Dandy Warhlol (terry Fotherington) I was invited to tour some time ago – so my apologies to Noubeil for only now getting to write about it.

Drawing its name from Noubeillane – “Hazelnut” in Occitan – the estate presents a highly immersive interpretation of the Ariège Pyrenees, together with the coast of southern France, that is utterly breath-taking.

Offered as a public / private estate, the estate can be enjoyed by anyone with a love of nature and natural settings, but those wish to avail themselves of all of its facilities: rezzing rights; the ability to set home within the the estate’s public spaces; the use of group-owned items in the estate (including horses and boats), should consider a visit to the group membership area and pay L$500 to join the estate group.

Some 12 locations are available for rent across the estate, featuring houses that are in keeping with the overall theme. Most are located either on the small islands to the east of the estate, or in the western uplands. They vary in rental price, and at the time of my last visit, all but four were occupied.

The preferred landing point lies to the south-east, in a corner of the estate’s coastline alongside a small harbour. A greeter will supply various links to places such as the estate’s website and rentals page, etc., while a teleport board offers a quick way of reaching the two major public venues as well as some of the rentals (please be careful with the latter as the properties are likely occupied).

A pair of gates provide access to  north running path that passes behind the local stables to come by way of river, wharves, and trail to the local town, fronted by a golden sanded beach and watched over by a medieval church with a commanding view across the estate’s northern lowlands from its perch up on a headland.

Here there is much to see, with multiple trails offering routes around the headland and its church or that climb the slopes on which the town has been built and then roll into the lands beyond, with their mix of rocky foothills, sloping fields tumbling stream and waterfront and hillside villages. Backed by high mountains to the west that represent the Pyrenees, this northern aspect of the estate is quintessentially southern France with just a touch of northern Italy – something again totally in keeping with its Occitania roots.

More public spaces are to be found here, including a stage for open-air music performances – music is very much a part of Hazelnut’s Kingdom – and off to the western foothill, the high stone walls and stern towers of a high castle – one of the best integrations of the Fanatik design I’ve seen in a while; so good in fact, that I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned up in one of the many scenic aerial shots that grace television coverage of the Tour de France each year!

The western highlands also offer a lot to explore, as the trails running to and from the castle and through the woodland below it are only too eager to reveal. Some of the large rental properties are to be found in these uplands, together with high lakes, tumbling streams, a cable ride up to to a high plateau, and even a walk up to snowy uplands – so take a coat and suitable walking gear!

The two most notable public spaces in the estate lie to the south, occupying another flat table of rock, one that rises from the landing point mentioned earlier, and connected to it by a winding path that connects to the great chateau that crowns the rock. This is home to grand rooms and a stables on the lower level and, on the upper, The Queen’s Bar.

Sitting quite literally below the chateau, and reached via a path that hugs the foot of the plateau and which starts a little set back from the landing point, is The Owl Club, a venue hewn from the living rock, a little Tuscan-style setting located just outside to add some further atmosphere. Also, keep an eye out for the other caverns nearby!

Immersive and photogenic, Hazelnut’s Kingdom is an engaging visit, although time is required to do the estate proper justice. Also, even the depth of detail involved, some adjustment to the viewer will likely be required for those on mid-ot-lower-spec systems.

SLurl Details

• Hazelnut’s Kingdom (Noubeillane estate, rated Adult)
• Group Membership Area (Bunzi, rated Moderate)
• Hazelnut’s Kingdom website

Update, September 2021: Elvion has relocated and expands – see: Elvion expanded in Second Life.

Elvion, the homestead region design by Bo Zano (BoZanoNL) has always been a place to which I’m drawn. Since its inception and through several iterations, it has presented a haven of natural peace and beauty in Second Life that can smooth both troubled mind and upset heart, and which never fails to offer the eye and camera much to see and appreciate.

As far as I can recall, Bo has tended to keep his designs to the ground level, but with the iteration I visited at the start of June, he’s made use of the space available overhead as well and the ground level environment. The result is a setting of three distinct parts, each complete unto itself whilst also joining naturally with its companions to offer visitors much to see and appreciate – and even more space to reflect.

The ground level of the region presents a setting that in part echoes past Elvion designs in terms of general landscape and the mix of land and water, but which is nevertheless unique in its presentation, sitting as a small, low-lying island, the partial region surround suggesting it might be part of an small archipelago.

This island, rich in summer greens and the bright colours of wild flowers, is home to the main landing point that sits to the the south-east, watched over by a mature pelican and young goat. Two large buoys are stranded on the shore here, rusting and fading under the Sun. Their position raises the question of whether they might have been deposited by some past storm that tore them from their anchor chains or if they were simply abandoned by human hands, their work out in the channels beyond the island long since finished.

A path leads the way up from the landing point to where an A-frame house sits as a quiet retreat, places to sit and appreciate the view both on its raised deck and among the flowers growing around it. This house is, together with a small gazebo / pergola sitting closer to the landing point and overlooking the rocky shoreline, pretty much the only sign of human habitation to be found on the island, allowing its rugged beauty to be fully appreciated.

The path from landing point to house will lead visitors past one of the region’s little pug dogs that have in the past been named after either the Three Stooges or members of the Rat Pack (along with other animals found in past Elvion iterations), but who sits unnamed here, keeping an eye on the region’s information givers and pointing the way to the teleport signs.

Set as a group of wooden signs, these provide access to the two sky settings within the region at the time of my visit.

Touching Forest will carry you to – unsurprisingly – a woodland setting. It’s a place in the blooms of spring and colours of summer that could so easily be pictured as a further part of the island, the A-frame house waiting to rise back into view if you just wandered far enough in the right direction through the surround mist.

At the same time, however, those surrounding mists, the ruins and the trails winding over the the grass and rocks to a domed stone gazebo and the falls and water that lie beyond it, present the feeling that its is genuinely an altogether different place to the island; somewhere altogether more mystical.

Walking the path from the landing point and its ruins to –  and beyond – the waterfalls and their streams, I felt I was wandering into some corner of Westeros or perhaps a forgotten outlier of Imladris, such is the deep sense of  place bound within the setting that encourages the imagination to take flight.

Dreamland, the highest of the settings in terms of general elevation offers a similar connection to both forest and the island through its landing point, which sits within a ruined abbey, and the surround rich foliage of trees.

But step beyond the confines of the old walls, and you find you have been transported somewhere entirely different: a place where desert and grasslands intertwine – but whether it is a place where prairie meets dustlands or veldt meets desert’s  edge, is entirely up to you.

A thatched cottage and nearby windmill give a slight European lean to the setting, but at the same time, were a herd of cattle to come through the scrubby grass, driven by weather-beaten cowpokes, they would be at all out of place.

And certainly, for those with wearable horses, this is a location with more than enough room for riding, whilst those seeking places to sit and reflect, cogitate or enjoy the company of another, there is also plenty here to be found.

Beautifully conceived and executed, Elvion remains a joy to visit and behold.

SLurl Details

• Elvion (Quiet, rated Moderate)

I’ve been a little preoccupied with various things of late, which means some of my blogging has been slipping. I’m not sure when the preoccupations will decrease to a point where I’m back to a more regular cadence of posts (the usual two a day at least), but in the meantime I am still trying to chug along with reports and articles on art and places to visit.

All of which brings me to Bluebell Coast, a Homestead region designed by Christina Riolz (Christina Hammerer) and John Dee Riolz (JohnMcFluff), which takes as its full title: A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast, which the couple describe thus:

The Ayrshire Coastal Path- Be ye Man or Bairn or Wumman, Be ye gaun or be ye comin, For Scotland’s Pride no Scotland’s shame, Gether yer litter and tak it Hame!

In other words, whoever you are, whether you’re coming or going, here’s a part of Scottish pride to be enjoyed and photographed – just make sure you take your litter home with you!

Split by a stream running out to sea from a rocky pool that is  in turn fed by modest falls that drop from an upland area (and which are mirrored on the seawards side, this is region that captures some of the lowland coastal regions of western Scotland, wild and grassy and – here at least – rich in bluebells.

With the main landing point a little off-centre to the region, this is a place that is easy on the eye and easy to explore. dusty paths offering the key routes over the grass. Typical to the Scottish lowlands, this is a place with dry stone walls, the ruins of ancient fortifications and ruins – one of which is suggestive of a former religious centre.

To one corner of the region sits a thatched crofter’s cottage. A nearby tractor suggests it is a working house, but the views across the region offered from from its windows and grounds are picturesque and more than make up for any daily chores the owner(s) may have to perform.

With beaches lying along its borders, this is a haven for wildlife and wildfowl – seals rest from fish hunting, watched over by a pelican, for example; whilst seagulls keep an eye on everything.

Getting around on foot is easy enough, the majority of the land undulating gently but not enough to make walking around tiring. But for those who prefer, horses and bicycles are available, with the horses capable of carrying two. Those of a romantic disposition are also welcome to make use of the many dance systems awaiting discovery, one of which is awaiting discovery within The Cave Inn – which is not your typical pub.

Rich in subtle detail, with plenty of opportunities for photography, A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast makes for an easy, engaging visit.

With thanks to Shawn Shakespeare.

Slurl Details

• A Touch of Scotland – Bluebell Coast (Chandrakala, rated: Adult)

So this is going to be a little different to my usual offerings under the Exploring Second Life tag in this blog, as it is not exactly about a “typical” region visit, nor is it a product review. However, a photo posted by Loverdag at the end of May sent me scurrying across the grid to pay a visit to a commercial build by creator Del-ka Aedilis (karport).

I say “scurrying” because I’ve been immersed in all things Tolkien since the days of my childhood, firstly via having The Hobbit read to me as a bedtime story, and then discovering The Fellowship of the Ring when I was a (very precocious) 12 (I would pass a pun here about Tolkien’s writings being Hobbit-forming, but I’ll leave that to one side). This being the case, I was hardly going to pass up the opportunity of dropping into the community of Men laid low by Smaug the dragon: Esgaroth – or Lake-town – on the waters of the Long Lake east of Mirkwood and south of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain.

This Laketown (to use the name given to the rezbox-enabled build) appears to be based on the visualisation of Esgaroth as seen within Peter Jackson’s (overly drawn-out) film trilogy of The Hobbit, rather than anything based on Tolkien’s own drawings of the town (which were more akin to neolithic pile dwellings than anything, whereas Jackson’s visualisation allowed for a far more adventuresome setting).

From the watchtowers overlooking the pier and drawbridge linking the town with the shore, through to what appears to be the  house belonging to the Master of Lake-town, this is an exceptionally creative and flexible build that utilises both original mesh by Del-ka Aedilis and incorporates full permission kits from the likes of IvanBenjammin to fully capture the tone and spirit of lake-town as seen in Jackson’s films.

Set within surrounding mountains that are both too numerous to be foothills of Erebor and too close to the the flanks of the Grey Mountains or the Iron Hills but which are nevertheless a perfect setting in which to show of the town, this Laketown is ideal for photography – as Loverdag demonstrated. Even moreso, for those with the space (the build tops out at around 1,736 LI out-of-the-box and covers an area of 196 x 107 metres), this is a build ideal for any medieval or fantasy role-play, whether or not any gold, kings-under-the-mountain, dwarves or dragons are concerned.

Materials enabled, the build is supplied partially dressed with reeds and (I believe) various waterside items – boxes, barrels, etc.). Even tho the buildings are all unfurnished, its hard not to wander the boardwalks around an connecting them and here the sounds of commerce and domestic life going on along the wharves and behind the wooden walls.

I’m not sure how long this demonstration version of Laketown will be available – the build is apparently available at an introductory price of L$7,499 until the end of June, so perhaps it might poof after that, I’ve no idea. However, for the photographer among us, it does make for an engaging and photogenic visit!

SLurl Details

• Del-ka Aedilis Laketown (Lumilux, rated Moderate)

The last time I wrote about Missing Melody, the home of the Oh Deer brand by Bambi (NorahBrent) – who also designed the region – it was to report she was taking something of a leave of absence from Second Life (see: The natural beauty of Oh Deer in Second Life).

However, and as pointed out to me by Shawn Shakespeare a while ago, Bambi is now back and once again offering her region as both a home to her store and a place for people to visit and appreciate – although it has admittedly taken me a while to get back there.

Bambo has a talent for creating relaxing pastoral settings that sit well with the heart, eye and camera. In general setting, the region could be a little isle hidden among the large Wadden Islands off the north coast of Holland, if only because the field of brightly growing tulips naturally (if perhaps a little stereotypically, given the song) brings to mind thoughts of the Netherlands.

With a north-to-south orientation that runs along the region’s west side, leaving the east to open waters, the main island is split between southern beach, fields for the aforementioned tulips and for cattle. and open grasslands.

A barn sitting between the beach and the fields is the home to the Oh Deer store, a track running northwards between fields and grass, splitting into two before reaching the water channel that separates the island from a smaller, more rugged companion.

Reached via a low-slung bridge, the second island hides its secrets behind green slopes down which water flows to drop into the channel, and beneath a canopy of trees. These secrets start with the Oh Deer café – open 24/7 – while steps cut into the hillside beyond lead the way up and over the island to where an unexpected surprise awaits: a little village setting that might have been lifted from a corner of Santorini and gently place down on the island’s north side.

The path around to this little village also offers a way up to the crown of the island, where koi swim and paper boats sail in a little rocky pond that sits beside another secluded spot where visitors might pass the time.

As with all of Norah’s designs, this iteration of Missing Melody is rich in the kind of detail that encourages the eye to tarry. From the places to sit to the sheep and cattle grazing, and onwards to the façades of the little village and the sprinklers keeping to grow the crops, this iteration of the region has something to see in every direction – and even overhead; whilst the general layout and design makes it a gentle treat to explore.

So, why not hop along and take a look for yourself?

SLurl Details

• Missing Melody (Angel in Heaven, rated Moderate)