Visiting a surprising grassland with Tom

Tomais and Ricco flying balloons at Noweeta Grassland (by Tomais Ashdene)

For my first exploring adventure in Second Life with my friend – and great SL photographer – Tomais Ashdene, we chose to visit Noweeta Grassland, a sim designed by Ash (Kaja Ashland), an intriguing personality who defines herself as a “photographer, traveler, dudeist, anti-feminist, storyteller, flower lover, pewdiepie bro, grid hopper, animal lover, skrillexfan, listener, friend and a real woman in RL”.

Noweeta Grassland: the windmill (by Ricco Saenz)

Big tree (by Tomais Ashdene)

Noweeta Grassland was my suggestion to Tom when he kindly accepted to contribute to this post. I thought of such a sim because it is a surprising place: at first, it looks like a grassland designed as a realistic landscape to relax and explore. In that sense, it is built as an area dominated by grass, with some sparse tree areas, resembling  a prairie or a savanna in many aspects. Contributing to this realistic sense, Noweeta Grassland is very detailed. When you go visiting, pay attention to the animals running up and down everywhere, for instance. They create an “organic” ambiance, the one of an ecosystem, in which fauna and flora are disposed under a dynamic equilibrium.

The hidden skunk: animals help creating the “organic” ambiance of an ecosystem (by Ricco Saenz)

The horses (by Ricco Saenz)

Cry Wolf (by Ricco Saenz)

Nonetheless, the visitor will also notice some mysterious elements there. Not unrealistic, but surprising, like an unidentified object (maybe a fallen UFO?) partially covered by the soil and the vegetation, but still showing a pulsing green light in the middle. Or a maze carved on the ground, which could be taken as a vestige of an old civilization, weren’t it so fresh-looking.

Did they come from outer space? (by Ricco Saenz)

A maze carved on the ground (by Ricco Saenz)

For all that, Noweeta Grassland is a place to explore. It also has balloons to ride, different spots to see and to seat at, a cafe at the arrival point where one can relax and a hidden cave that you should try to find.

Discovering the cafe (by Tomais Ashdene)

Outside the cafe at Noweeta Grassland (by Ricco Saenz)

A swing at Noweeta Grassland (by Tomais Ashdene)

The hidden cave: can you find it? (by Ricco Saenz)

My original intent, when I thought of going out exploring with Tom, was to offer two different views of a certain sim. With Noweeta Grassland, what we actually achieved, in my opinion, was more of a complementary view. I’m happy with the result, and I hope Tom will join me in other adventures out there.

Ricco and Tom playing the drums (by Ricco Saenz)

Where is Ricco looking at? (by Ricco Saenz)

Ricco at Noweeta Grassland (by Tomais Ashdene)

Noweeta Grassland’s landscape (by Ricco Saenz)