BURUNDI

A scene from the Mwishanga Falls Nature Reserve is pictured on this card. The streams of this area cascade into multiple falls, and one of the highest is pictured here, estimated at 80 meters. The falls are considered a sacred site of prayer in Burundi.

Burundi: stamp

This stamp franked the card above and shows the the Clivia lily (Amaryllis family) native to this highland kingdom in Africa's Rift Valley

CAMEROON

Mt. Cameroon, the highest peak of this West African nation at 4,040 meters, is part of a volcanic line and has experienced several eruptions in recent years, including in March 1999 and May of 2000.

Cameroon: stamp

70fr: this image complements the card above, and shows Mt. Cameroon in full eruption and was issued in 1983

COCOS (Keeling) Is.

This lovely card comes from a friend who visited the Cocos Keeling Is., which are low lying coral atolls NW of Australia, with a total land area of just 14 sq. kilometers

MADAGASCAR

This card is one of the very few I have seen from Madagascar, and shows one of the famed lemurs, of which there are some 60 species native to the country. Many species are nocturnal, insectivorous and gregarious.

Madagascar: fauna

These spectacular stamps were posted with the card above, and show a birdwing butterfly (left) and a Coua, a bird endemic to the island.

CAMBODIA

This card shows a haunting scene of Khmer classic temples covered over by vegetation. With its capital at Angkor, the Khmer civilization flourished from the 9th to the 15th centuries A.D., before being conquered by the Thais.

Cambodia: stamps

These stamps show Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, and came affixed to the card above, posted this winter from a friend in Phnom Penh

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

This spectacular card is one of just two that I have received from the remote island of New Guinea. The inset images show a highlands tribesman in ornamental dress (top) and a hornbill (below); these are set against a haunting scene of misty mountains in the interior of the island

Papua New Guinea: stamp

65t: this stamp arrived on the card above and shows tourism in PNG, highlighting white-water rafting on some of the islands rugged inland rivers

MADEIRA

This card shows a coastal view of Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira in the N. Atlantic